This was not what I expected at all - I thought it was going to be a light, fun read, but it was actually a quite unpleasantly toxic story. However, it was scary to read as I felt that it is something which could - and probably has - already happened. I did not like Sam at all as a person; she was difficult to warm to or have any sympathy for. In my opinion her character is an accurate reflection of the monsters that social media and its interactions breed.

She is a complex person - who has clearly experienced some difficult situations, but her ability to be the victim and to continually 'reframe' her part began to annoy me. Lisa was a weak character who was always quite two-dimensional through the novel. This story is written with lots of smoke and mirrors to keep you guessing and you often learn additional facts about the situation (and a different point of view) from some of the peripheral characters.

No-one is quite who you think they are and nothing is ever as it seems. This is a book which will keep you guessing and it had a satisfying end, though the character progression continually made me shudder!

This is a scathing look at wellness influencers with deeply unlikeable characters and badum moments that aren’t as surprising as they should be. An entertaining read.

Sam seems to have it all, looks, charm, money, status and a childhood friend whom she adores. So why does this childhood friend not feel the same. A story of complete two halves as we delve into Sams persona and realise not all is as it seems.
Lisa, Sams best childhood friend who remembers an event that happened when they were young, which is a whole lot different from what Sam recalls.
A bleak story of wanting to own someone and not letting them decide if this gets to happen or not

This was a very peculiar book. I truly hated the main character, but you're really supposed to. It wasn't an easy read by any mean, but I still couldn't stop reading. It was a pretty captivating read. It made me very uncomfortable at times but that was the entire point of the book.
All in all, I truly do not know how I feel about this book and I don't know if I can blindly recommend it? I think it depends on who is reading this.
And make sure to check out trigger warnings.

Hoo boy, this weird-ass cult lady main character was difficult to get behind. She's so self-obsessed, and it's shocking that she genuinely believes in the meaningless drivel that she spouts - she genuinely somehow thinks that she's helping anyone other than capitalism by selling books and memberships and workshops based on the incoherent platitudes she's vomiting. I never rooted for her, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't meant to, but it did really suck being stuck with her.

I genuinely smiled at her sobbing at the board meeting where they forced her to step away from her own company - especially when it revealed one of the board members was a friend of her dad's and that's presumably why she was able to turn her brand of self-involved self-help into a multimillion business. Rich friends in high places mean you can only ever fail upwards, and this woman was in rehab in her early 20s yet is rich as hell in the present day.

Every time we learn something about how scummy this main character is, it's not a shock but it does make me snort because of course she's done this other thing that is absolutely awful, why wouldn't she?

I couldn't help but feel that the lasting message of this book would've been more powerful if it was a shorter book. I can put up with an unreliable and unlikeable narrator to a certain extent but when I'm forced to put up with her obvious bullshit for a tortuous amount of time where she acts like the victim constantly, I just cannot cope. The book dragged on and on because I hated the main character, and I wasn't very fond of her best friend either.

Kudos to O'Neill for writing a thoroughly despicable and yet believable main character.

Revisits similar territory as some of Louise O'Neill's previous novels (she tends to focus on unlikable female protagonists and question if their mistreatment/suffering is justified because they are not "socially acceptable" women) but this one delves into social media, "cancel culture", and one person's word against another. It was an enjoyable read however I do indeed think that she's covered similar themes in a better way before

The book kept my attention throughout this clever thriller, keeping me turning pages. However, the character's are rather troubled and quite unlikeable at times. It covers a lot of fears about Social Media and issues you could face, which makes the reader think.

I was a bit in two mind about Idol. Although I felt the message it wanted to convey was very relevant, especially how important it is not to idolize influencers, after all, whatever you see on the internet, especially on social media, must not be believed without doubt. I simply did not connect with the main characters in the story. I had a certain curiosity to see how the story would develop and see if the characters would "grow" but I was not really engaged or caring about the end result unfortunately.

This is an interesting concept for a story as it asks us to think about the social media users that we allow to influence our lives and whether they are all that they seem to be.

Samantha Miller has it all - she is an award winning author, has a wellness website and 3 millions followers on social media. She preaches to her 'girls' how to live their lives and be authentic in honouring their truth, however, Samantha's life is about to unravel in spectacular fashion. As an outspoken believer in the #MeToo movement and having shared her own experiences of sexual violence she believes that she can say what she likes, when she likes. Writing an essay for a prominent publication, Samantha details an experience from her past with her childhood best friend Lisa...but Lisa remembers the events very differently and accuses Samantha of sexual assault. At first only Samantha's publicist knows about Lisa's accusations but it isn't long before they hit the internet and Samantha is shedding followers at an incredible rate. Instructed by her manager to head back home and make Lisa retract her allegations, Samantha takes a trip back to the past where she finds that things aren't quite as she remembers them and perhaps her memories of the years gone by have been rewritten.

Samantha is a thoroughly unpleasant character, she is wholly aware that she is manipulating her followers and her internal monologues reveal that her every word and action is carefully scripted to make them even more dependent on her and her advice for life. Upon her return home it soon becomes obvious that she has rewritten the past to suit herself and that everything she has told her followers isn't quite as truthful as she would have them believe. She is also deeply manipulative and soon has Lisa back under her spell, but not everyone from her past is happy to see her and so easy to forgive.

There are parts of this that are confusing and required a bit of rereading to make sure I knew what was going on, but it does make you wonder about the people that we slavishly admire because of their social media - and for that alone it is worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

Wow, this book. This is so edge of your seat that you quite literally find yourself on the edge of your seat whilst reading it.

There’s so much tension, fleshed out characters and it had the most page turning quality in a book I’ve experienced for a long time.

I recommend this to everyone, although urge people to google the content warnings first before picking this up.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

What an interesting book! After the last couple of books I’ve read by Louise O’Neill were a bit disappointing, I’m so glad that this was a return to form from an author I love.

The themes discussed here are fantastically done. I loved the commentary on “wellness influencers”, the impact and perception of trauma, and the lengths people will go to to convince themselves that they are a good person.

If you are the kind of person who needs to like the main character of a book, then this is not for you because as the story goes on, and the more we learn about Samantha, the worse she becomes. However, for me, this makes the book so much more interesting to read. The things this woman does are absolutely wild; it’s like being unable to turn away from a terrible car crash. Pretty much every character is a shade of grey; no one is completely likeable or sympathetic.

The writing is well paced and it doesn’t take long to get into the action of the story. Every scene feels necessary and nothing feels like filler.

The most interesting idea discussed, to me, was the differing perspectives on the incident of alleged sexual assault and the utter hypocrisy displayed by Samantha regarding it. It’s similar to the many people crying out to believe victims, while also begging for proof when it comes to their favourites. Samantha is known for the former, but doesn’t for one second stop to think about things from Lisa’s perspective. Two different people can have two wildly different versions of the same event. I loved that, in the end, Lisa stuck to her guns and finally told Samantha that she really did believe that Samantha had assaulted her that night. I loved that Samantha is implied to get her comeuppance in the end. I love that, overall, it’s not about what Samantha did that night, it’s her attitude to the whole accusation. If she had had some more compassion, understanding, or self awareness, she may not have brought about her own downfall. It was her own self righteousness and staunch belief that she was a good person who could never do such a thing that caused her to treat the people involved so terribly, that caused her to deserve to have her whole livelihood taken away.

It could be debated, with all the information we learn about Samantha throughout, whether or not she deserved her fame in the first place. She is such an interesting character from start to finish as her own version of events about that night isn’t the only example of her rewriting her own history when it suits her. Sometimes, you can understand. She changes the details of her own story as a victim of sexual assault as she’s frightened that people won’t be sympathetic if they knew it was her boyfriend that did it. While this is a still a questionable choice, you can understand. However, she is so stubborn about her own perceptions of her childhood and her own life events that it’s hard to tell if she actually believes it, or she has to believe it to keep herself sane. We are lead to believe that it was Lisa that had the abortion from the way Samantha thinks and talks about it, only to find that it was really herself, with no indication until it is revealed to us. She forgets that Lisa didn’t write the letters she found, she wrote them herself. She remembers her father being cold and uncaring when other sources tell us that he was deeply loving in his own way and tried to provide for her always. Everything we think we know about Samantha is a lie, but does she know that or has she gaslighted herself to such an extent that she truly believes her own version of events.

Honestly, the more I think about it, this might be one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read and I might need to change my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars. I think I could write an essay (even longer than this one) all about this book. If there is one thing Louise O’Neill is an absolutely stellar at, it’s creating deeply complex, rich characters and stories that relate heavily to current events and discussions in a really mature and smart way. This book as intrigue, mystery, questionable motives and actions, unlikeable and despicable characters and a killer plot. Seriously read this!

Deliciously twisty and brilliant, This is the first adult novel of Louise O'Neill I've read - it was fabulous!

I loved the close narrative, the twisting plot that carefully laid down little titbits to place a doubt or two in the readers mind. And then... BOOM! That wonderful, karma-led ending. Brilliant!

I really enjoyed this book. I love this author and have read everything by her.
I loved the way the plot unfolded, I found the characters extremely relatable.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Louise O’Neill for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my honest opinion with prejudice.

Samantha Miller is an influencer, she tells her adoring fans how to live their lives and has three million followers. She travels the world as a motivational speaker and her book "Chaste" is top of the bestsellers list.

Samantha receives an email from her childhood best friend Lisa, who challenges an article Samantha wrote about a sexual experience they shared as teenagers. Lisa argues that it was not consensual and now Samantha's career is hanging on the brink.

Whose truth is a lie? And how can two memories be so different.

A captivating read that I couldn't put down.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

She deftly portrays the emotional toll that comes with living in the spotlight, highlighting the disparity between public image and personal reality.

In conclusion, “Idol” by Louise O’Neill is a compelling and timely exploration of the dark underbelly of celebrity culture. With its swift pacing, relatable characters, and incisive commentary, the book captivates and engages readers from start to finish. If you’re seeking a thought-provoking and impactful read that sheds light on the complexities of fame and societal pressures, “Idol” is a strong choice. The novel’s swift pacing, coupled with its introspective themes, will likely keep you turning pages well into the night and leave you pondering the realities of celebrity long after the final chapter.

Memory and recall play a huge part in this story an show just how differently two people can remember key events. When you add in the modern day social media not only do you have a hugely relatable story but you also have a harrowing read. Filled with flawed characters, Idol proved to be a quick and thought provoking read.

A good summer read. I've read a few thrillers with influencers and this one covered some of the same topics but it was a page turner although the ending was a bit abrupt.

Full stars for this one. Kept me engrossed, kept my 100% attention. Easy to follow. My interest was continually peaked.

Idol

Idol because it’s based around just that however, it’s also based around a friendship from the past all remembered differently.

You know that song?

“It was a sunny evening”
“No it rained”
“You wore a red dress”
“No it was blue”

Oh yes! I remember it well.

Very much like that.

Past catching up with the future.
Obsession and control.

It was such a superb story.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you like female friendships gone wrong
Secrets
Lies
Tragic past events dominoing on you like now…..

You found it, look no further!

I recived an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loiuse O'Neill can do no wrong. Her books are always thought provoking, engaging, and make you feel intense emotions. I read this book in one sitting. It was impossible to put down and i NEEDED to know how the story was going to end. There were amazing discussions around cancel culture, white feminism, and the perceptions of memory, but unlike other books that try to tackle similar themes, it never felt preachy.

One of my favorite things that O;Neill does is create main characters that you can't help but hate. Despite Sam being the worst, you still feel for her and understand where she's coming from. Ultimately, if you want a fast paced read that will be on your mind weeks and months later, you should read this book.