Such a Bad Influence by Grace Demyan

When Grace Demyan reached out I looked up a blurb of her debut novel and decided to go for it. I am so glad she reached out! When I say I couldn't put down the book, I mean I read from 9am-2am to finish. This book is 7/5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Simply amazing!
This book follows Felicity, a woman in her late twenties who owns a blueberry farm in a small town. The town is so small that rumors and grudges spread incredibly fast. Felicity is struggling with depression after loosing her mother a few years ago and has love/hate relationship with her neighbour Wade. When she has a good or bad day she calls her mom's old cellphone number even years later and the new owner hasn't blocked her. One day Felicity gets a call from her mom's number and this is where the book introduces Alex, who is calling from prison. Felicity thinks that Alex is sent to her from her mom and even though she's in debt she goes to help Alex. Together the two of them have so much fun with a revenge business and grow to trust and love each other like family.

I hope that a good summary 😂 it took me 30 minutes to explain only 50% of the story to my husband because I didn't want to leave out details because every detail is so good!

This debut was absolutely fantastic it made me feel all sorts of emotions from laughing with them after revenge plots, crying with them when they have a bad day, and finally the feeling of catharsis when the story wrapped up so perfectly. You will not be disappointed when this book comes out in October, it was such a cozy cute read.

Join with Felicity and Alex as they learn to trust one another, to not be afraid of the future, and learn how to cope with grief. I had lots of favorite quotes but this one I had to share.

"I scrolled through my Kindle for a romance novel, needing a distraction from my worries."
Me too Felicity 😂 this story really hit home, Felicity was incredibly personally relatable. Like her I also lost my own mother to cancer and grew up in a very small town. The message of "Don't Run" in this book and her personal struggles hit home and hit it hard with me.
I want to say a huge thank you to Grace Demyan, for letting me read this e-ARC with Netgalley. Thank you so much! I look forward to following whatever other stories you create!

P.S there's a super cute doggo

I would recommend this book to a friend for an easy, beach read. The story line was easy to follow and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I was happy to see the two main characters were able to work through their differences and end up together. I think many readers will be able to relate to the high school bullying story line. Leaves you feeling like there is still good people in the world.

This was a fun read definitely not something I normally look for but I had a great time reading it! The story didn’t feel like it had a flow the way I expected it to. But that aside I loved the ride it put me on

First of all, I would like to express great gratitude to Grace for inviting me to my first ARC read. It means a lot to me ❤️

For the review, I would like to share how comforting this book is. I also realised that I was emotionally attached to the characters at some point, because there was a day when I unfortunately couldn’t read and I felt myself missing them.

The character development in the book was so wonderfully portrayed. It didn’t feel rushed and the pace was genuinely so soft yet so perfect.
I was so invested in what will happen next and the romantic details in this book made me feel butterflies! 🦋

The plot, the story, everything was beautifully written! I totally recommend this book to someone who needs a little hope and love in their lives because this book will make your heart feel so generously full🤍

Thank you Grace for this beautiful book! 🫐

This charming debut blends small-town romance, family drama, and a heartwarming tale of unexpected connection. After inheriting her late mother’s blueberry farm in rural Ohio, Felicity finds herself overwhelmed by grief, entitled neighbors who believe the land should be theirs, and by the quiet isolation that follows loss. When her mother’s old phone number is reassigned to Alex, a local teen with her own struggles, an unlikely friendship begins to grow between the two.

Growing up in a small town myself, I really connected with the atmosphere. Living in a place where everyone knows who you are and is all in your business it’s hard to separate your personal life from your reputation or familial reputation. The story captures those dynamics so well, while also weaving in themes of grief, found family, and community.

Juno was definitely the star of the show, and the neighbors-to-lovers romance adds just the right touch. This book is a fun, heartfelt, and easy read! It’s perfect for a holiday or weekend escape. I thoroughly enjoyed the ups and downs, and I’m so glad I requested this one on NetGalley!

Midwestern blueberry farmer Felicity attempts to grow a backbone against small town bullies but is stuck in the past. After an unlikely encounter, she inadvertently gets teenaged-criminal Alex to do her bidding. Their partnership brings out their inner anarchist as they wild out across the once quiet town.

Felicity could have saved years of financial hardship and depression by hiring a therapist, but she finally grows into a better version of herself. Wade’s only redeeming qualities are his margs and abdominal muscles, but we are all here for it. Alex is Alex and if you have been a teenager, you know what I mean, she is perfect the way she is. All of characters must grow confidence and learn valuable lessons about life.

The plot twists really took me by surprise. We all make mistakes that we end up regretting, but it’s what we do once we tell the truth that shapes us into better people.

This book felt like it was perfectly broken up into Netflix-like episodes that kept me hooked. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a series from this. I usually read books with trigger warnings because of my mental health issues but this was a breath of fresh air. Since this made me laugh and cry, I will be recommending this lighthearted book for years to come.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing and for providing me with a digital copy for review.

In this heartfelt and funny debut novel, recent grad and grieving daughter, Felicity, crosses paths with a broody and closed-off teen, Alex, either through fate or coincidence. The duo quickly realizes how much they need each other to grow and become the healed, sassy women they are meant to be. The small-town gossip, the handsome, former high-school quarterback who lives next door, and the peculiar town tradition of their mayoral election make this story a fun and light-hearted backdrop to Felicity's grief after losing her mother and the seriousness of the theft charges that Alex is facing.

This book was an absolute delight to read. I fell in love with Felicity and how quickly she jumped all in to help Alex. (On a side note, I kept picturing Alex as Aubrey Plaza in her Parks & Recreation days.) The quirky small-town vibes were so spot on. There are always people in small towns who have nothing else going on beyond gossip and maintaining their place at the top. The Ohio backdrop was just *chef's kiss* and not just because I grew up in a house with a deep-seated love of Ohio and The Ohio State University.

There's so much more I can love on, the Blueberry Bandits, Wade, Juno, pranking the town, found family, and self-discovery. This story was truly great, and I'm eager to read more of Grace's work.

Thank you to Grace and the team at NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

About a week ago I’ve received a message from Grace Demyan about her debut novel called ‘Such A Bad Influence’. It’s a contemporary women’s fiction and will be released on the 21st of October.

The fact that this is a debut novel and the story being that good. There were moments that had me laughing and the end (and this doesn’t really happen, ever) had me fighting back my tears.

Felicity inherited her mothers blueberry farm after her mother lost her battle with cancer. Overcome by grief her she became a recluse; she hasn’t left her house in a long time apart from when she really had to, no one has been welcomed in her home. But something is about to change, she has to be courageous since there are thieves stealing her blueberries. After finally being able to scare them away she goes home and dials her mother’s number. It’s been a weekly constant even if she knows her mother won’t answer and the number belongs to someone else. She does get to leave voicemails, so that’s what she does.

Alex is 18 years old and homeless, a bit lost in live but she is a girl on a mission. She has to get felicity’s attention somehow, but for that to happen she needs to do something big. Stealing something of value and being caught is the only thing she can think of and it works!

Felicity lets Alex stay at the farm, to help with the Blueberry Bandits. They are kids so; nothing to scary. While they plot and succeed with their plan, they set up some kind of revenge business so they could earn money, with being in a humongous debt they need every single dollar they can get. But in taking these jobs, some of the town’s most important people are angry and will be making live for Felicity and Alex a lot harder. Those shenanigans will help Felicity in coming out of her shell; once cowering away when being bullied, she now faces things head on. Letting people see she’s not to be messed with; but also letting them see that underneath it all she is a woman with a heart of gold.

And Wade; Oh Wade… A total stunner, which a good book like this just needs to have. ‘Enemies to lovers’ is a thing and whilst I don’t always like stories with this as an element, in this one it fits. The teenage douche growing up to be infatuated with the once geeky girl turned neighbor.

All the elements in this story connect and make sense. It’s a cozy read and a story you can read in one sitting, but it will pull at the heartstring.

It’s a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐star read!

What do you get when you mix a grieving blueberry farmer, a homeless teenager, and a makeshift revenge-for-hire business? A surprising, heartwarming, and often hilarious story that hits far deeper than you'd expect.

Such a Bad Influence is the kind of novel that sneaks up on you. It starts with a quirky premise—Felicity calls her late mother’s phone number daily and ends up connecting with its new owner, Alex, a prickly teen fresh out of the foster system. From there, it grows into something much richer: a tale of found family, healing, and the messy joy of unlikely friendship.

Felicity and Alex are both wonderfully complex, and their dynamic sparkles with dry wit, vulnerability, and reluctant affection. Their revenge-for-hire scheme provides plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (including chickens, baseball bats, and questionable disguises), but it’s the emotional undercurrents—grief, abandonment, belonging—that really ground the story.

The tone strikes a great balance between heart and humour, and while the plot veers into chaotic at times, it fits the characters and their journey. Grace Demyan delivers sharp dialogue, small-town charm, and a cast of side characters you can’t help but root for.

A heartfelt, offbeat, and emotionally resonant read. I’d absolutely recommend it to fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The People We Keep, or anyone who loves found-family stories.

Quirky. Small town vibes. A little bit of love story. A little on building unlikely friendships. And even overcoming grief. This story had a bit of everything. Although, I didn’t connect to Alex’s character as much as Felicity seemed to benefit from her moody, teenage angst - I did enjoy Felicity’s journey to better herself as a person, community member, and neighbor. Although at times I felt like the character me actions were somewhat juvenile for my taste, I kept turning pages to see how Felicity, Alex, & Wade’s stories turned out.

This was such a beautiful and heartfelt novel. It was well written and had good pacing with a great cast of characters. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end. I look forward to reading more by the author. I highly recommend it.
💖 Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Such a Bad Influence by Grace Demyan

Felicity and Alex form an unexpected friendship after Alex’s latest shoplifting charge forces her to call Felicity, who’d been leaving voicemails on her recently deceased mother’s phone number, which Alex now possessed. Felicity, who lives on and runs a failing blueberry farm, has been trying to catch the Blueberry Bandits stealing her berries. Alex, formerly in the foster care system with a surly attitude, knows how to think like a thief. With Alex’s help, the unlikely pair sift through decades long family feuds and help resolve disputes plaguing their small town, while trying to evade the local police. Unfortunately, their plan goes awry and Alex ends up in jail…again, forcing Felicity to reconcile with her high school crush in order to avoid further charges.

4 ⭐️

Felicity hopes to turn Alex’s life around and leave her life of crime behind her. With bumps along the way and legal issues to combat, Felicity helps Alex change her life, while Felicity’s life changes, too. This story read like a Hallmark movie with more action and left me with a smile on my face.

Meet Alex—18, in foster care, with no one in her corner.
Meet Felicity—27, grieving her mother and trying to save the family blueberry farm.

Two women, worlds apart, both carrying grief and trying not to sink. When small-town gossip pushes Felicity to the edge, she and Alex form the Revenge Club (because of course they do). But plans don’t unfold as expected, and Felicity has to rethink what healing really looks like.

With the help of Wade—childhood crush turned unlikely ally—and his loyal dog Juno 🐾, these two broken hearts begin to mend through community, connection, and a whole lot of honesty.

This book has all the vibes: raw emotion, found family, small-town drama, and moments that’ll make you laugh through tears. And yes... totally Gilmore Girls energy. IYKYK.

Thank you Grace Demyan and NetGalley for this heartfelt ARC.

Such a Bad Influence was a fun read for me, I'm normally a thriller girlie but this was a good palate cleanser. I loved the drama as well as the humor and heartfelt moments. 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

When 27-year-old Felicity receives a call from her deceased mother’s cell phone number, she knows that she has to help. Even when it’s an 18 year old petty criminal on the other end of the line, needing to be bailed out of a local jail. 18-year-old Alex has had a rough life. She grew up in and aged out of foster care with nowhere to turn and nobody who cared about her, until she met Felicity. Author Grace Demyan has reminded us that even though they’ve reached the legal age of adulthood, these people are still children who deserve to be loved. Such a Bad Influence is full of heartfelt moments, humor, small-town drama, and even a bit of land feuding! You will not be left disappointed by this book, and it reminds us that the bonds between women really can change the world. This is one that I would be proud to display on my bookshelf.

Thank you SO much to Grace Demyan for personally reaching out to me to review her book, Lake Union Publishing, and for NetGalley for facilitating it!

A funny and endearing read, I was entertained the whole way through! Felicity and Alex are incredibly well written characters and I loved every second of their adventure.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was such an enjoyable read with endearing character, entertaining humor, and an easy to follow plot. I adore Felicity and Alex and the relationship between the two of them was endearing. Both have pasts that seem to haunt and burden them and both really need each other when they team up. Felicity wants to get back at some vandal kids and Alex needs a place after some mistakes she’s made. They make a hilarious great team together and I was rooting for them. A perfect example that you CAN choose your family and lean on them during hard times. In between heavier reads, it’s nice to have a lighthearted story with laughs once in a while and this book checked that box for me.

I enjoyed this book! Perfect amount of spice and attention grabbing plot ! This would be the perfect read if you’re looking for spice, a little mystery, and adventure!

Thank you for this arc!

I found the book quite enjoyable! I really enjoyed the characters and their growth throughout the story. It felt more than just a small town romance it felt like it had a lot more emotional and mental depth to it. Definitely recommend!

Cute story of finding your people, accepting others as they are, grieving, and giving others a second chance. I enjoyed this book.