This was a really enjoyable read. I found myself smiling often and feeling empathy towards the different characters situations at multiple times throughout. Grace battles some tricky topics with care and understanding. Being done in this way, made it less challenging to read while also feeling like I could empathise with the difficulties each character faced. I enjoy the wit and humour that perfectly complimented the heavy topics. Ultimately I felt that the ending was realistic and that the main character Felicity had embarked on an immense journey of personal growth. I rooted for all the characters, found most of them incredibly likeable and found it refreshing to read something so wholesome that was well paced and enjoyable throughout.
Thank you for allowing me to read this book 💜

This was such a good read. It had me laughing out loud. The banter was top notch. This is a small town rom-com that gave me “Hart of Dixie” vibes. Our FMC is a blueberry farm that has fallen into depression after her mother’s passing, her neighbor that is her high school nemesis and an 18 old year thief. Oh the troubles these characters get into is hilarious.
You have humor, grief, second chances, a lovable dog, blueberry bandits, enemies to lovers, found family and forgiveness. Such a cozy fun read. Revenge for hire part had me rolling on the floor. Loved the characters.


The ending had me in my feels. Such a heartfelt read. If you are looking for a good rom-com with a beautiful story then go read it.

The power of grief, loneliness, love and family is clearly reflected in this beautiful story. I encourage the author to keep writing this kind of novels where we can get in touch with our feelings and rethink whatever we have pending in this life before we go. Thank you Grace for trusting me with your precious ARC.

Fast paced, sharp and full of attitude, Such a Bad Influence is a bold take on teen drama and the messy realities of growing up online. The story follows a social media influencer whose carefully curated life begins to unravel when secrets surface and loyalties are tested. What starts as a glamorous glimpse into fame quickly turns into a gripping exploration of identity, pressure and the cost of visibility.

Grace Demyan captures the voice of her protagonist with confidence and authenticity. The dialogue is snappy and the emotional stakes feel real, especially as the character navigates friendships, family tension and the blurred lines between public and private life. The plot moves quickly, with twists that keep the reader hooked and moments of vulnerability that add depth.

This is not just a story about fame, but about self worth, resilience and learning to take control of your own narrative. It is ideal for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction with edge, especially those interested in the impact of social media and the pressures faced by young women in the spotlight.

A smart and engaging read that balances drama with emotional insight.

In rural Ohio, Felicity Lavigne keeps her late mother close by tending the family blueberry farm and calling her old phone number…until someone answers. That someone is Alex Norse, a homeless teen just out of foster care. Their unlikely friendship sparks a scheme to fend off local troublemakers, but when things spiral, they must rely on each other to face both their pasts and what comes next.

Such a heartwarming, feel-good read 🩷 I adored Felicity and Alex and how their friendship turned into something so special..you could truly feel the love and care between them. I also loved following Felicity and Wade’s relationship (I was rooting for them the whole way!), and Juno the dog was the sweetest touch 🐾. This story gave me all the cozy vibes and left me smiling long after the last page!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.

In the end it was a bit to sentimental for my taste. The story was fine. I personally don’t love when characters forgive people who have wronged them in the past but it wasn’t horrible here. I wished more had happened with the town. The running for mayor felt like an after thought all though that was the most interesting thing in the book since the demise of Revenge Incorporated. The ending to that and the entire book was very anticlimactic and felt rushed.

Such a Bad Influence centers on Felicity, who lives in a small town (very Stars Hollow-esque: there is a white gazebo and “two tourist shops dedicated to selling snow globes”). She is deeply stuck in her grief after the loss of her mom, and struggling to hold onto the financially stressful blueberry farm she inherited. She meets and takes in Alex, a surly teen who finds herself homeless and facing legal trouble after aging out of the foster care system. The two team up in creative ways to save the farm and with that comes fun, lighthearted moments, and eventually some more emotional excavations of their troubled pasts.

Felicity is deeply relatable and darkly funny, and one of my favorite parts is the sarcastic banter between her and her neighbor Wade, ex-high-school-quarterback turned good-guy she can’t fully trust. The romance between them was cute and satisfying, if exceedingly tame (romance readers: I would consider this a closed-door, level 1 spice level), and I think it fit in well in the context of the book. The action in the book overall is fast paced and gets right to the point without sacrificing backstory, which I love, and the chaotic ups and downs of living with a teenager felt very real. I personally wish we saw more of Alex’s past as a foster child, but the story didn’t suffer without it.

This story may lean too heavily on the sappy side for some readers, but you do get an emotional pay-off in the end that actually made me tear up, so if you’re a sentimental softie (like me, apparently) it should work perfectly for you! Overall this was a cozy and fun read with some deeper elements that kept it interesting throughout. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review!

This wasn't what I expected but I loved every second of it. I couldn't put it down until I knew the ending because I needed to know if is figured it out.

This was such a fun read!

Meet Felicity: a woman in her late-20's who has barely managed to survive following her mother's death.

Enter Alex: a homeless teen who just happens to share Felicity's dead mother's phone number.

Felicity and Alex are quite the odd pair, but they make it work. While the start of their friendship was a little bumpy, Felicity's cautious, by-the-rules, socially anxious personality was the right contrast to Alex's daring. Neither woman is perfect, but in the real world, who is?

Like romance books, this book has its lighter moments--like the revenge pranks, but at its core, this story goes a lot deeper: it's about two women trying to define who they are in a world that wants to see them fail.

Facing foreclosure on her property, Felicity does what any sane woman would do: start an undercover pranking business. Chaos ensues in the best of ways.

The pranks these two pulled were funny--but not the main driving plot of the story.

There is a romance subplot, but it doesn't take center stage. I loved Wade's character and I thought he was a nice counter to Felicity.

I thought it was well written and fast-paced with a nice bow on the ending. If you're looking for a book with depth that has humor, romance and character growth, Such a Bad Influence is the book for you!

Thank you to the author for inviting me to read this story and to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC access.

This book has an intriguing premise: a lonely blueberry farmer teaming up with a teenager to run a revenge business, but for me, the execution didn’t quite land.

The writing itself flows well and the tone has a Hallmark/Gilmore Girls vibe at times, with sweet moments and small-town quirkiness. I especially enjoyed the revenge pranks, which added humor and energy to the story.

Where it lost me was in the setup and character work. Felicity, the FMC, is portrayed as anxious, reclusive, and emotionally fragile, but she makes some baffling choices, like bailing out a stranger with money she doesn’t have, then inviting her to live on the farm. She quickly grows hugely attached to Alex, despite barely knowing her, which stretched my suspension of disbelief. Felicity also read older than her late 20s, with a tendency toward catastrophizing and histrionics that made it harder for me to connect with her.

The romantic subplot with Wade felt thin. The big obstacle keeping them apart (that Felicity’s late mother didn’t like him as a teen) came across as weak, especially given the heavy hints about their shared past that took too long to reveal. Meanwhile, the townsfolk were generally unkind, and I would have liked to see more redemption there to balance the tone.

Still, I wouldn’t call this a “bad” book. Readers who don’t mind Felicity’s quirks may find her endearing, and the friendship between Felicity and Alex is the heart of the story. Overall, it leans more toward women’s fiction than romance, and may suit readers who enjoy small-town dynamics, prickly characters, and found-family themes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Grace Demyan for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

My first thought? This is a clever storyline. I wasn't sure what I was getting into with a revenge business plot, but I ended up feeling happy to be there. : )

Felicity is drowning in grief and financial struggles as she tries to keep her late mother's beloved blueberry farm afloat. In order to feel connected to her mom, Felicity continues to leave messages on her voicemail - only to discover that Alex, a teen who has aged out of foster care, has been receiving them. One night Felicity must come to Alex's rescue, but Alex ends up saving her in return. A group of entitled kids in town have been stealing Felicity's blueberries - so Alex helps her pull off a crafty revenge prank that turns into a secret business to generate more income for the farm.

While this is going on, we've got the town golden boy (Wade) living across the street and you just can't help but root for him. But are Felicity and Wade enemies or lovers!?

If you love a found family, quirky townspeople, a closed door romance, and a woman making a comeback, this one is for you! The dialogue was quality and the character development was on point.

Thanks, Grace Demyan, for the opportunity to read this lovely story before its release date on October 21st!

50% of all preorder royalties will be donated to Fostering Futures!

Such a Bad influence is a lovely debut book by author Grace Demyan. The leads characters are a grieving blueberry farmer & an ex foster care teenager are two social misfits, who through chance or destiny find each other and create a lasting friendship, showing that family is not always blood ties.
I found myself smiling and laughing at myself at times, especially their escapades of revenge. Such a heart warming book.

Lovely to see that 50% of all profits are going to the fostering futures charity too.

Thank you Grace Demyan , NetGallery & Lake Union Publishing for this eARC.

This is such a fun novel, with lots of witty banter and commentary, small town shenanigans, and a little (a lot) revenge-for-hire. Yes, you read that right. The MC is Felicity, who runs her family's blueberry farm and has a love/hate relationship with her handsome neighbor. Said neighbor Wade has a lovable dog who becomes a significant character herself. See? Fun. But, there are heavier themes involved also. Felicity is lost in grief for her mom, who passed away three years ago, living in the house they shared with all of her mom's things still in place and leaving voicemail messages at her mom's old cell phone number. Meanwhile, Alex, the new owner of the cell phone number, is homeless after aging out of foster care. The book opens with Alex executing a shoplifting plan that lands her right in the middle of Felicity's life.

Throughout the course of the novel, there are lots of laughs, lots of arguments, lots of pranks, and lots of character growth for Felicity, Wade, and Alex. There's even a little growth from the cast of small town characters who take small town gossip and backstabbing to a new level. I loved it. By the end I was getting choked up as often as I was laughing. I definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author for inviting me to read this story and to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC access.

Such a Bad Influence by Grace Demyan is an endearing and heart-warming story that had me rooting for its main characters from start to finish! Deyman tells a story dealing with many heavy topics with just the right amount of whimsy and humor. Felicity is an insecure, lonely and grief stricken twenty-something that is struggling to survive mentally and financially. Just when things seem like they can't get any worse, fate brings angsty and rebellious Alex, an aged-out foster care teen, into Felicity's life. These two social misfits along with annoying, but drop-dead gorgeous neighbor Wade are more than the cozy little town of Elswood can handle! As all of the nosy Elswood residents turn up their noses at Felicity and Alex, these two ostracized and misunderstood social misfits grow to learn a lot about each other as well as themselves. The characters are well-developed and grow from their experiences, self-reflection, and increasing willingness to open their hearts to each other. I highly recommend reading Such a Bad Influence!

Thank you Grace for sending me this book. This is a heartfelt book that make you feel all the emotions: laugh, cry and even swoon. A beautiful and fun story that will hook you from the start.

Such a Bad Influence is a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Two fantastic women carve out a corner of chaos in a small American town, learning to love and trust again. Grace Demyan writes about grief, all different types of grief (for those who have died, the lives we haven’t had, the lives we thought we would have) so well, it’s heartfelt and heart warming. I loved how each of the main characters had something to learn and had to grow as people, but the growth felt real and deserved. The FMCs feel real and are so much fun to be around, it’s their platonic love that carries the whole book (sorry to the MMC, you have a great story line too!).

This really is such a fun read, you’ll laugh, have a little cry and want to give your own found family a big hug! Really impressed with this debut and so happy that I got to read it. If you need a cosy, uplifting read, this is for you!

Book Review 📚
Such A Bad Influence by Grace Demyan
Publishing Date 10/21/25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Author Grace Demyan , NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance E-ARC of this novel

This is a story of friendship , family and love in a small town plus a dog which always makes the story better 🐾

Grace Demyan delivers an uplifting story that deals with hard issues yet skillfully infuses humor throughout the novel

I highly recommend you get yourself a copy on publishing day 10/21/25

#netgalley #netgalleyreview

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The novel kept me engaged from the beginning, first to read the antics of Felicity and Alex, and then find out what they were going to do to make up the wrongs done to the town. The charity Alex picked for the fundraiser could not have been more perfect.

This debut novel is set in a small American town and follows Felicity Lavigne as she tries to navigate life after the loss of her mum. At its heart, it’s a story about finding your place, becoming confident in who you are, and creating your own happiness.

I really enjoyed this book! It has a little bit of everything — funny moments, sad ones, and plenty of situations that feel deeply relatable. Grace Demyan’s writing makes it heartfelt, engaging, and easy to connect with.

The whole book has cosy, small-town vibes that reminded me of Gilmore Girls — that “it’s us against the world” feeling.

⭐ 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵: 𝘈 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩.

I absolutely loved this book. It is written with such heart, that I just wanted to keep reading until I was done, but also could have read more of the story quite happily. It's a story about two women who are brought together in unusual circumstances, but who need each other more than they realise or might even initially admit. They turn out to be exactly what the other needs, and the friendship (and family dynamic) that grows between them is beautiful to see unfold. There's laughs along the way too, as well as a lot of tough emotions. Themes like grief are also addressed in a way that is very relatable. Of course, there's also a love story woven in there too but I love that really even there, there is a basis of friendship (even if reluctant at times) and a history to be addressed. To see how people can change and try to make up for their past. How holding onto the past can hurt more and hold you back from so many things, especially your own happiness. There's so many ups and downs throughout this book, and I don't won't to spoil it with details, but despite it being set in a small town there's so many things we all can relate to. You'll laugh, maybe shed a tear and definitely smile. Definitely add to your TBR.