One of my favourite reads of 2021.

Underbelly features nuanced characters and tackles a number of issues including poverty, marriage, fertility and influencing in a totally accessible way. I LOVED reading Underbelly so much that I felt like I knew the women and could imagine myself in the scenarios they faced.

I was unable to sleep knowing that this novel was waiting to be read. A brilliant read.

I started reading this book back when it was first released in August but did lose my way with it a little bit during the first third and picked up something else.

I am so glad I went back to it as the second two thirds of the book really picked up and had me hooked. You all know I enjoy a thriller and the latter half of the book seemed to move into this type of territory with some nail biting moments. The story follows two women, who I grew to like and identify with, their friendship and the world of social media. Both miscarriage and domestic abuse play a role in these women's lives and these topics are handled sensitively, but with a good dose of reality.

I found it such a relatable and thought-provoking read. Written by Anna AKA @motherpukka - you can tell she has experience in the world of social media and writes with honesty and insight. The story is relevant to the times we live in and gives people a peek at what goes on behind the 'perfect' Instagram accounts we all see on a daily basis.

I enjoyed this; a good reminder of how social media is. Can’t be a bad thing when pointed out once or twice.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Although it’s fiction, you can clearly see how this could happen in real life (if you can call social media that)! The two protagonists start out at different ends of the spectrum with one fully immersed in social media and one extremely sceptical. However, with some convincing (& some cash) the other quickly warms to it and quickly suffers the harsh reality of been an “influencer”.
I think books that cover the realities of social media are so important to show what is really going on behind the scenes rather than the false portrayal we see.
It was frustrating that the two characters couldn’t have just had open honest conversations to save some of the chaos that ensued, but again this is the reality of living through phones.
Definitely recommend.

A fantastic look into the Instagram lifestyle on a daily basis and domestic abuse, moving and relatable

After hearing the craze of this book I was excited to be given an ARC. Unfortunately for me, this didn’t live up to the hype.

I hope that people who hadn’t heard about the book enjoys the read but I ended up giving up on it as I didn’t like the characters.

The story focuses on two Women, both Mothers, who live very different lives but they have their Children in common who go to the same school. The obvious difference that the story focuses on is that one of the Mothers is an 'Influencer' and social media is central to her world, identity and worth, while the other Mother needs to remain 'under the grid' in terms of staying away from social media so as not to be discovered by an abusive partner.

I delighted in reading this split perspective novel surrounding female friendship, the influencer world and what can go wrong.

It's a bit different to other novels I've read with the influencer aspect and it kept me interested throughout. I particularly flew through the last 25% as the drama definitely amped up. It was believable, dramatic, funny and sad all wrapped up with a great ending. I loved seeing the "behind the scenes" parts with the desperate need for content, the heartbreak behind the gossip site and the misconceptions we can have of each other.

I only dropped a star as there were a couple of parts that felt like they jumped around with no connection to the previous scenes and there was a storyline that I didn't feel was complete.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review</i>

Underbelly was a good read and gave a stark reminder of the horrors that lurk in the world of social media. Really well written with likeable characters.

Dylan and Lo are two unlikely friends that meet when their children become friends at school and insist on a playdate. Dylan is a struggling single mother who has escaped an abusive relationship and is living in poverty. Lo is an instagram influencer who has the kind of financial security Dylan dreams of. After being guarded initially, she relaxes into their friendship and the pair become close. I thought this book was excellent, so different to anything else I've read lately and completely gripping. I can't remember the last time I raced through a book so quickly!

I have to say I absolutely loved this book.
Underbelly by Anna Whitehouse is a really easy read, not always in its subject matter but definitely in its engaging narrative and authentic characters. It is raw and insightful, and I fell in love with the flawed protagonists. I understood them, rooted and worried for them and felt the blows as their friendship developed and misconceptions grew.
Anna Whitehouse perfectly captures womanhood, motherhood, sisterhood, contemporary living, social media culture and all the doubt, superficiality and obsession that comes with it.
I was totally involved and loved my evening reads. And there is some gorgeous writing at play, one-liners that had me highlighting and nodding - real, genuine observations that were at times really beautiful. I loved how Whitehouse expresses motherhood the highs and lows, the love and the sacrifice, the mother’s paradox. I could absolutely identify with it all.
As the story built to its climax I was feeling it all and I loved how it really delved into human nature in our social media age. It’s so easy to judge others but we rarely have the full picture. It was illuminating without being preachy and I was appalled to discover that trolling platforms like ‘Influenza’ actually exist.
The only downside for me was, initially, that feeling of it being yet more London-centric affluence (I’m keen to read more northern stories) but then this story did directly address inequality contrasting Lois’ affluence with Dylan’s very different reality.
I think this is one that will definitely sit with me for a little while – the characters, the honesty and the importance of how we need to straighten each other’s crown – and I highly recommend it.
Thank you Orion Publishing and Anna Whitehouse for my ARC copy.

Written by an Instagram mother influencer, Underbelly is a cautionary tale of you dont get something for nothing. Lo is a successful blogger and Instagram influencer, living a comfortable life with covetable decor and a beautiful child, posting content for Scandi brands and making good money. On the other side of the metaphorical tracks is Dylan, a single parent who has escaped an abusive relationship and keeps her life private. Their worlds meet at the school gate and their children become firm friends. The parents' worlds get more mixed up with each other, and Lo promotes Dylan's blog - but as in all social media rises, there comes a swift fall from grace.
Written by someone who has obviously had a keen insight into the social media world and had their fingers burnt before, I really enjoyed reading it

I was provided with a free ebook copy of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publishers.

This book follows two mothers who get sucked into the negative side of blogging, social media influencers and online gossip sites.

Lois is a succesful mummy instagrammer who posts lots of content of her child Scout online. Online, she has the perfect life: the kid, the husband, the house. In reality, she feels distant from her husband, doesn't feel like he respects her job and is contantly stressing about what her followers are saying about her on an online gossip from called Influenza.

Dyland is a single mother who writes an anonymous blog about her difficult upbringing. She was raised by her mother after her father committed suicide but ran away from home and ended up in an abusve and controlling relationship. She then got pregnant and ran way from her abusive partner when she felt herself go into labour. She is trying her best to raise her son Noah, but struggles financially and is worried that her ex will hunt them down and try to hurt her again.

Despite being in very unsimilar circumstances, the two women strike up a friendship and begin to enjoy each other's company. Lois even starts directing followers to Dyland's blog and she gets offered a book deal she has always wanted. Things are going well until an ill thought out social media campaign involving Lois sends a lot of online hate both of their ways and their friendship falls apart.

I thought this was an incredibly well written book that really explored the not so positive consequences of sharing your life online. I've read a lot of books where the main characters are bloggers/influencer and I think this may have been the most realistic one I have read thus far. Specifically the sections involving the gossip forums, I have friends who have been on the receiving end of that sort of hate online before and I've seen first hand how damaging it can be.

This book was well written an thoroughly addicitve. I raced through it in only a few hours. I would recommend it, easily one of my top reads of 2021.

I’m not certain what I was expecting from this but it wasn’t what I got! I throughly enjoyed it and read it in a few sittings. In fact when my kindle briefly wouldn’t load I felt bereft because I was missing Lo and Dylan.
The descriptions of the parents on the school playground were spot on and made me laugh as well as wonder what group I would fit into!
I felt like art was imitating life at points and I know the author has been clear to say the story wasn’t based on anyone but I definitely had the author in mind every time I read Lo. I wish she had a different t colour raincoat!

A really thought provoking read. Clever, funny and dark this little glimpse into the extremes of the toxic traits of social media and the current influencer trend was spectacular. The characters were rich with personality, the story believable. Simply great writing

This book is the perfect antidote to how we live our lives today. Bringing our use of social media to the forefront, Underbelly shows us that not everything is as it seems.

This book is incredibly timely and really shows the effects social media - and keeping up with it - has on our lives. Brilliant read.

A book of two halves for me. An interesting commentary on influencers, which I found fascinating, and a second, more 'thriller'ish storyline which I felt only came into its own towards the end. Until that point I wasn't hugely gripped by it and found (across the board) some of the story to be quite repetitive. But I did like the way it took me behind the gloss of the Insta perfect world and by the end I did find the Dyl storyline quite compelling.

3.5 stars out of 5 (though it won't let me reflect this)

Whats your relationship like with social media and in particular Instagram? I ask this question because I think the enjoyment you’ll get from this novel will be affected by your answer. I have a love/hate relationship - loving the connections you can make and hating the influencers that one minute preach about sustainability but two posts later are flogging clothes from fast fashion companies; with absolutely no self-awareness whatsoever. So as soon as I read the blurb, I thought this book is for me. There are two protagonists, firstly, Lois an Instagram influencer on the rise; she campaigns online for women’s rights and has a loyal following who believe she can do no wrong. She has a young daughter Scout and an enviable lifestyle living in an Insta perfect home. She even has a tomato subscription! She has suffered several miscarriages and is desperate to get pregnant and have a second child. At Scout’s school she meets Dylan, mother of Noah. Dylan has escaped from an abusive relationship and is bringing up Noah singlehandedly in a rundown flat, working in telesales and existing on very little money. She dreams of being able to give up work to fulfil her ambition of being a writer, but lives in fear of her ex finding her. They are both strong and flawed women. Due to Scout and Noah’s friendship at school, Lois and Dylan form an unlikely friendship. This friendship suffers from misunderstandings, mis-communication and assumptions made by both parties which ultimately threatens to destabilise their relationship and lives in unforeseen ways.
I found both Lois and Dylan to be depicted particularly well in terms of their emotions and fears. The novel covers such topics as miscarriage, self harm, suicide and coercive behaviour but they are handled sensitively and well balanced with plenty of humour. Lois and Dylan’s increasing obsession with ‘Influenza” is fascinating to observe as they both fall victim to a following that turns against them. What I particularly enjoyed was the depiction of the relationship Lois had with her agent and her constant striving to increase her following and get that engagement rate up; whilst balancing the demands of her home life. What I found so interesting was that a lot of the problems Lois and Dylan experienced could have been solved simply by them speaking to each other. It seems that whilst social media is seen as a tool for communication their reliance on their smartphones seemed to make good old fashioned talking redundant. The author does have an Instagram account with a large following so clearly knows what she’s talking about when it comes to the rise of ‘Influenza’ type sites and trolls. The Author Note at the end of the book is particularly interesting where she states “that we don’t need to tear each other down’ - unfortunately while there is online anonymity, I don’t see this changing any time soon.
This is an entertaining read that I can highly recommend.
Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book ahead of its publication in return for an honest review.

Wow, this incredibly eye-opening and thought provoking book totally drew me in, the cover definitely attracted me first and then I was completely sucked in by this excellent story.

I received a copy of this book from Orion Publishing Group via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the fiction debut from Mother Pukka & her husband, writing as Anna Whitehouse. I was attracted to the book due to the striking pink cover & the description of … “parallel lives, worlds apart” – and how these parallel lives are introduced in first few chapters is really clever.

“Lo is the ultimate middle-class mother, all perfectly polished Instagram posts and armchair activism.

Dylan is just about surviving on a zero-hours telemarketing job from her flat, trying to keep food on the table.

But when they meet at the school gates, they are catapulted into each other's homes and lives - with devastating consequences . . .”

I really like the play on words that “Underbelly” evokes too, because within the book there are descriptions of caesarean scars and soft bellies of mothers that fall to the bed when laying on your side, but Underbelly here also means “A dark, hidden part of society”, apparently chosen due to the dark, anonymous side of the internet where faceless avatars judge & comment - and this book seeks to expose the damaging effects this can have.
It was obvious that I was going to imagine Lo as the picture of Mother Pukka herself that I have seen online; and Dyl conjured up visions of Jack Monroe for me, possibly because of the cropped hair & wonderful cheap filling “pommes de terre de toms” meal she makes for her little boy Noah, with little money.
I enjoyed reading the book – it was eye-opening & thought provoking (#bekind) and both main characters were well developed enough to be believable. Its not a comfortable book, and that’s deliberate. It makes you question your own beliefs & (online) behaviours whilst shining an unflattering mirror up to a society that judges (mainly other women) via a square box on a social media feed. The book deals with self-harm, baby loss & domestic violence and I wanted to raise this to ensure anyone potentially affected goes in with their eyes wide open. They’re brave topics that are handled sensitively & not gratuitously through the book.
There are some “loose ends” & open questions that aren’t quite tied up by the end of the book – I don’t know if this is deliberate to leave it open for a sequel, or deliberate because life doesn’t have neat endings.
I’ve heard that the book has already been picked up by a production company to be developed as a TV series and I can absolute envisage this as a CH4 program – modern, dark, sometimes funny, grittily realistic, with a strong female empowerment message. Fans of Motherland would appreciate it I’m sure, but really there’s nothing else I can think of to compare this book to and that in itself means you should take a read of this unique insight into 21st Century western women’s struggles.