I can't say this novel wasn't entertaining. And if you like a quick, easy read with a bit of a gossipy plot, then it'll be up your street. It's a contemporary storyline about, as others have said, a woman, Samantha Miller, who becomes a kind of guru for women and women's mental health, and finds herself on the social media gravy-train, reaching massive success and having millions of followers who hang onto her every syllable. Of course, the mighty often fall, and the story is about the fall of Samantha Miller. She's accused of something serious and is forced to face up to her past. It's a good idea, and I was really looking forward to reading it, but... I found the quality of the writing quite poor. There was, it seemed, such a reliance on accelerating the plot, that it was at the expense of the writing. In dialogue, there was the often used 'said the other woman' as a dialogue tag instead of referring to the name of the person who was speaking, which I found grating, and sometimes the use of the word 'for' instead of 'because' as if it was suddenly a 19th century novel. On top of that, some of the sentence construction was off whack. I think the worst thing, for me, was the 'so what' factor. I won't give anything away, but basically there's an allegation, which is pretty serious, yes, but in the narrative resolution, there are some revelations that are supposed to shock, I think. They didn't. I know some have found the ending satisfying, but personally, I saw it and I'm not that observant, so I won't be the only one, I'm sure.

It's a shame, because this could and should have been a really excellent novel, but to me it feels rushed and first-draft-like. My thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the pre-release copy. Much appreciated.

This book completely lived up to the hype - at its heart, it chronicles the fall of wellness guru Sam, who's kind of like a Gwynneth Paltrow/Brene Browne hybrid. I loved that Sam is such an unreliable narrator, because the whole plot hangs on a she said/she said dilemma.

I pinballed between sympathy and disgust the whole way through, and I loved how of-the-moment the plot and the book felt. It would be a brilliant beach read!

A super interesting take on "influencer" culture, an examination of memory and how much we can trust our own memories, a friendship study.. all in one compelling book. Uncomfortable reading at times but brilliantly written.

Prior to this I've really enjoyed some of Louise O'Neill's other works and loved the premise of Idol but unfortunately it didn't work for me. I don't mind unlikeable characters but I felt like they really lacked depth and I struggled to understand any of the characters' motivations in this novel. I also think the discussion around social media/gurus/abuse/addiction/abortion could have been much more insightful. Louise O'Neill is clearly a great writer though and I would read more of her work in the future - just this one wasn't for me.

This book has a lot to say about wellness gurus who play on young vulnerable women and make a lot of money out of doing so. It covers a lot of issues-self harm,eating disorders,sexual abuse and self image amongst others.The main character,Sam,is truly horrendous-self centred and selfish and really made me wonder about the people who make a living from self help .I hope they’re not all like her.
There was a bit too much focus on the past,as I some of the book is about Sam’s schooldays and the things that happened in her teenage years- those sections read more like YA books.However,the ending was very satisfying and overall I enjoyed the book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

As always this author did not disappoint, loved this book and once I started it I could not put it down so it was read in the one sitting, everything about this book was great and a great finish to it..

A darkly satirical look into the way social media affects our perception of reality, Idol is bleak and bitingly fresh, a story of two former best friends dealing with the decades-old aftermath of a sexual encounter that one reads as an awakening, the other sees as a trauma. Not for the faint of heart but well worth a read, it's a gut-punch of a novel with a cathartic ending that feels less like a sigh of relief than a howling scream.

So twisty and shocking. I adored the opening and stayed very gripped throughout. The setting was really believable and although the characters were very dislikable it worked well for the story.

This was a super quick and addictive page-turner. The subject matter is a little darker than the synopsis lets on, and Louise O’Neill does not shy away from shedding light on complex emotional situations.

Samantha Miller was a multi-faceted character that I found very intriguing, and could see many aspects of different social media personalities and celebrities in her. The book is very good in keeping you guessing about her, and that kept me hooked until the last page.

A lot of the topics in this novel definitely deserve a trigger warning but are handled with care and are never described in a gratuitous way. Reading about certain things made me very uncomfortable, which I’m pretty sure was the point Louise O’Neill was trying to make.

I knew while reading that the way this story ended would make or break my enjoyment of it and I’m happy to say that the ending was satisfying. It felt like a big movie moment and I could picture it in my head playing out on the big screen.

Some of the side characters fell a little flat for me (especially Josh), but that was made up for by Lisa, who was a really interesting character.

Everything else I could say about the twisty plot would be spoiler territory, so I will refrain from doing so. The only thing I would like to add is that if sexual assault is a triggering topic for you, be sure that you are in a good mindset and feel safe while reading this. Nothing is described in detail, but the fact that this is written from the POV of someone who is accused of sexual assault and not knowing whether this is true or not could potentially be super uncomfortable. Proceed with caution!

(Thank you to NetGalley, Louise O’Neill and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions in this review are my own.)

I was excited by the premise but I found the execution could have been more developed. It's really a story about two teenagers rather than an adult read. When it was set in the present tense, I just found the storyline frustrating and a little far-fetched - why would you be friends with someone who you just accused of assaulting you? While Sam was a really well-developed character, some of the others needed more developing and relevance such as Josh and Becky.

Entertaining read about what happens when a wellness and lifestyle influencer is accused of historic sexual assault by an old friend. Although this novel deals with some pretty dark and contemporary topics, it was a fun, dramatic read that I found pretty page-turning. I was surprised when it was revealed Sam was 40 as she reads much younger in a way that didn't quite ring true. I like an unreliable, unlikeable narrator but rather than her being morally complex, I felt Sam's troubles (drug use, random sex, eating disorder, abusive relationship and rape) were a bit cliched and only scratched the surface in terms of her psychology. But I particularly enjoyed reading about the hypocrisy and manipulation of influencer culture - and the novel's end was great.

This is my first book by Louise O'neill which I was sent by NetGalley to review.

Tbf it wasn't what I expected but, I did enjoy it.

Samantha Miller is a wellness guru at the top of her career when something from the past comes back to haunt her & undo everything she's built.

Well written with plenty of ups & downs, twists & turns. It keeps you riveted & wanting to read on.

Initially I was drawn to this book simply because I'm doing something related to the unreality of social media with work and I was interested to see how a book would handle the subject. Then I realised it was by Louise O'Neill, who I find always does really interesting explorations of feminist subjects that don't take the easy way out. This book was no exception, and I loved that it examined the complexities of some of the issues around belief, trauma, MeToo, etc. In a strange way, I was actually rooting for Sam, so the conclusion felt quite raw - though inevitable.

I'm not sure if O'Neill was inspired by the implosion of Rachel Hollis' career, but there were definitely elements of Sam's journey that I could see echoed Rachel's white woman wellness culture and 'the video'. I didn't like any of the characters and wouldn't have wanted to be friends with them, but that doesn't matter to me when reading - I just care if they're compelling, and they were! The three key women are all handling trauma in different and unhealthy ways, and then the women around those women are clearly shown to be part of a wider societal issue. I don't want to write any spoilers so I'm probably being irritatingly vague, but I really would encourage people to read 'Idol'.

I really enjoyed 'Idol' but felt anxiety while reading it too, so be warned! At times I wanted to look away, but I had to keep reading. I'm glad to have found a book touching on the cult of influencer, trauma, assault, cancel culture, 'my truth' etc. Engaging for me throughout.

This was an addictive unique read and I really enjoyed it. Makes you question and think about the reality behind what you see and read online. Would definitely recommend this author and be looking out for further books.

There’s something about Louise O’Neill’s writing style that is super addictive. I read this book in one go.
The story is original and engaging and the characters are intriguing.
I was excited to read this book and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It’s a great read and one I’d recommend.

This was a great story about a social media star who writes a story about a night she had with a friend. Years later this friend contacts her to say the night they had together she remembers very differently. It was interesting to see the aspect of ‘should we believe everything we read online’.

This book was completely different from what the cover, title and blurb promised. I thought it was going to be much more superficial and 'glossy' about the nature of influencer/social media fame but it was actually quite dark the further you got into it. The real meat of the story is the teenage relationship between Sam and her former best friend Lisa and the fall-out from that time that both characters are carrying around mentally still.

Sam's character was really well written, messy and complex. You find your sympathies constantly pulled one way and another as more is revealed about the past. I feel like the other main characters Lisa and Josh could have been a bit more rounded out - Josh in particular was a catalyst for much of what happened but he was quite 2 dimensional. Still a good pacy read and recommended.

Samantha Miller is a highly successful motivational speaker and author. Millions of adoring fans hang onto her every word; her social media following is booming and success is oozing from every pore. But when Samantha tells the story of her sexual awakening with Lisa, her best friend from high school, her perfect world starts to disintegrate because Lisa‘s version of events is completely different. To Samantha’, the act was consensual but Lisa argues otherwise. Who is telling the truth?

After reading this book, one question looms loud and clear: why would anyone want to be in the public eye? The sudden events that play out for Samantha and the intrusion into her private life - going back decades - is alarming. The existence of social media means that no stone is left unturned in trying to discover the details of what really happened and anyone can voice their opinion. Anonymity gives the keyboard warriors full permission to do their utmost to damage reputations.

Brilliant writing by Louise O’Neill has created an intensely dislikable character on one hand, who generates pity and sympathy from the reader on the other. Sam is desperate to cling on to the life she has created for herself and in doing so unleashes hurt and devastation all around, but is she wholly to blame?

This book completely gripped me and really made me question people’s values. It is evident that for some the thirst for fame can be all consuming and for others the need for revenge is paramount. A very uncomfortable read in places but an absolute page turner. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was not what as expected. O'Neill writes with great confidence and fluidity and both the story and her telling of it are bound to find not only an audience but also the success it merits. However, it reads 'young' - an early reference to Sweet Valley High novels when the protagonist returns to her childhood home summed it up rather neatly: however 'adult' the themes may be, these are teenage relationship dynamics. Nothing wrong with that at all, just not quite the complex psychology hoped for. With that in mind, it remains a solid well constructed read - just not one for this reader.

Took me a while to get into this one, as not normally a genre I would read. But it was worth persevering, as I ended up gripped! The main character was very believable if completely unlovable, in fact we potentially all know someone of the type. Many issues and topical references covered, but the plot twists sinuously throughout and results in an excellent and captivating read..