This is a brilliant read for the summer! I don’t think it’s a thriller as such but it’s more of a contemporary fiction with some dark and twisty themes which I actually really enjoyed! It has I found this book quite difficult to put down and the ending didn’t disappoint. Didn’t like the main character too much but wasn’t sure I was meant to! Overall, a good book! Always love Louise O’Neill!

A powerful novel about a seemingly powerful woman, which challenges assumptions both within and outside of the narrative. It was a real page-turner too - the perfect choice for book clubs.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Press publishers for the opportunity to review this book.
When I first started reading I wasn’t too sure if it was my type of book, however OMG did it pick up pace. All the way through the book I couldn’t decide which character my sympathies should lie with.
I couldn’t put the book down and that ending!!!!
Highly recommend.

This is a perfect summer read , good escapism but with very current themes being the focus. I wouldn't describe it as a thriller like some say , more of a dark piece of contemporary fiction.
It's told in a dual timeline , set in the late 90s and present day so we get to see how the drama plays out.
Our protagonist Sam is not a likeable character but there's something about her which gets the reader invested in her life. There isn't an awful lot of plot but it's addictive at the same time and is very relatable to the current day with the rise of celebrity influencers and social media. It also makes you question who you can actually trust in the digital world , definitely a good read for a book club.!

Loved this book!!!! Super successful wellness guru Samantha receives an allegation against her from her childhood….she revisits her past and herself. An entertaining indulging gripping read, I was intrigued by the characters!

I didn't enjoy this book. I hated the characters and really couldn't care less about what happened to them. Sadly not a book for me

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 3*
Writing skill : 4*
Plot: 3*
Pace: 2*
Characters: 3*
Twist: 3*

I loved the concept of this one but it fell slightly flat for me and that was mainly down to the pace. Not alot happened and when it did, it was drip fed at a much too slow pace for me. I can absolutely see why this has got rave reviews, the author writes well and brilliantly descriptively. I guessed the twist but it was enjoyable none the less.

Thanks so much to @transworldforbooksellers for letting me read Idol! Samantha Miller is an extremely famous, completely woo-woo wellness guru just about to release her new book Chaste (the kind of book I would never ever pick up!). As part of the book's publicity, she writes a confessional about the time she hooked up with her childhood best friend Lisa. They haven't seen each other in years, and Sam is completely appalled when Lisa contacts her manager, saying that her memory of their 'hook-up' is completely different than Sam's. Who's telling the truth? And how much has Sam actually concealed from herself? 👀

I wish I could offer a succinct and incisive review of Idol – because it's an interesting book that covers interesting themes in a very self-aware and contemporary way – but really, I was just enjoying the ride. Sam is the ultimate unreliable narrator; you just can't trust anything she says or thinks or feels. I still have no idea what's true and what isn't; how much is her own self-constructed narrative and how much actually happened. There were a few things that I wanted the narrative to be more conclusive on – especially relating to Josh, Lisa's husband – but this was a really engaging and immersive read, the kind of book I was excited to pick up again.

Goodreads is full of people saying that Idol just reinforces why they hate social media, which I think is completely besides the point. Idol isn't really about influencer culture; it's about celebrity and the myth of wellness and unethical business practice and what happens when you let the concept of a 'personal brand' overtake your entire existence. I also don't think it's really a thriller: it's more subtle and exploratory than that, and doesn't offer much in the way of twists. If you're interested in unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters and the way that memories shift and corrupt over time, then I think you'd really like this. I definitely did!

So many layers to unravel - I was fascinated by this book and the world it explored.
Samantha Miller is a wellness guru, with millions of followers hanging onto her every word and proclamation. She believes in speaking your truth and not hiding from your past, and shows others how to do this in a meaningful and authentic way (predominantly young women looking for an answer to life's questions).
She writes an article about a same sex encounter that she had in her teens; she doesn't name the other woman but uses her initial L, and this sets the cat amongst the pigeons. L is Sam's old best friend Lisa, but the two haven't seen each other for years, Lisa still lives in the same town that they grew up in, and is married to Sam's old boyfriend Josh.
Lisa is horrified that she will be identified in her small community, and immediately makes a statement that it didn't happen in the way that Sam says, but that it was non-consensual. For someone with Sam's brand, this is career-breaking and she needs to find a way through, to get Lisa to remember the events in the same way that Sam does, and to retract her statement before its too late.
There are high-school enmities to deal with as well as the thought of seeing Josh again. There are also family relationship issues that Sam is not looking forward to addressing
The story is told solely from Sam's perspective but with dual timelines, going back to the past and the events that made her and Lisa's relationship so special, and the fall out now. The characters were very real and fantastically drawn, the whole idea of different memories of the same night was expertly told. I really enjoyed everything about it and would recommend it to everyone.
Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read it- and extra marks for the gorgeous cover!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the approval of Idol. This has been on my radar to read for some time and I've finally gotten round to finishing it. I had this finished in 2 sittings such is the ease of the writing by Louise O'Neill. She has the knack for keeping you hanging to see what the end result will be for Sam.

The story follows two childhood best friends Sam & Lisa - flitting between childhood and adulthood. Sam, now a successful woman within the mindfulness field and Lisa, who stayed in their hometown and raised two children with her husband, Josh. The two women drifted apart as adults, but an email sent by Lisa about Sam threatens to topple everything in Sam's life.

The re-writing of history plays a key part in this book, each character having their own version of events until it all unravels and the truth is revealed at the end. Social Media has such a prominent role to play in everyday life - it only takes one wrong move for someone's career to be cut short and that's when Social Media turns on the individual.

I enjoyed this - good premise for a story, well put together and wonderful writing keeps you gripped, even though a whole lot doesn't happen within the plot, there is still enough there in the unravelling of the secret to keep you transfixed.

"How can anything be true then? How do you know what's real?"

There are many themes explored in Idol and O’ Neill does an amazing job at delving into these without getting too sidetracked from the story.

Our protagonist Samantha Miller is a social media lifestyle guru who has built her brand and business from scratch while recovering from a sexual assault and struggling with addiction.
Samantha’s manager receives an email questioning the truth behind an essay she had composed about her sexual assault, and this is the beginning of her online empire and persona starting to unravel. This tackles a very relevant topic of trial by social media and cancel culture.

I think O’Neill explored the online blogger fascination and demonstrating to the reader how all may not be as perfect as it seems.

Well written, and a very dark but addictive thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The information provided on this book, the first I have read by this author, details the main points that Sam has become a 'lifestyle' guru with an enormous following on social media following her own recovery from addiction, and her celebrity status is jeopardised by a claim made by an old friend. The plot seems plausible but there were 2 things I disliked about this book, which other reviewers have also described:
The first is extremely slow delivery where very little seems to happen other than never-ending circular discussion about the email and post, and the teenage relationship with Josh. I got to 50% of the book and this was still going nowhere.
The second is the absolutely awful main character; Sam is an extremely manipulative, selfish, unqualified, insincere person. I presume that this is partly the point of the book, that we do not know those who are raised to celebrity status but I disliked her so much that I could not bring myself to finish this book.

God how I love Louise O'Neill. Her stories really live in the gap between how things really are and how they seem and she takes this to another level in IDOL. Her best book yet.

This book is very involved and hard to put down. If you were asked about the definition of The Truth you'd probably say it's an account of what actually happened in a given situation. But, what happens if what you perceive to be the truth about a situation differs from your protagonists version? What is the real truth and who should be believed? Read on and see what you think!!

Brilliantly timely, topical and relevant, this throws up so many things to think about and makes you look at social media in a whole new light. A great read

𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌…..

This is one that I devoured. One sitting, completely unable and unwilling to put down. I’m just like wow, this is the best yet from @oneilllou

This is a book that introduces us to Samantha and Lisa. Samantha is in the public eye and releases a story about her past. Only for her manager to receive an email from Lisa.

This means Samantha has to face her past. This takes us on a rollercoaster that I didn’t expect to consume me in the way it did.

This is powerful, well written and has moments that are tense, makes you feel uncomfortable and really takes you to a dark side. I have loved it, there are so many themes to unpick in the one. The characters are an interesting bunch and I admit I haven’t trusted all of them at all.

This is A MUST READ!! It’s a complete gem and addictive to the point that you won’t want to put this down. The only thing I’m sure of is that everyone needs to read this gem.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A novel that tackles difficult issues - sexual assault , the influence of social media and its tendency to be judge and jury. I found it a little slow paced and at times unbelievable.

This is a book with a promising premise - Sam, a self-help guru who fears being cancelled when her ex-best friend Lisa comes out to contest that a sexual encounter they had in their teenage years was consensual. Sam travels back to her childhood town to find Lisa and convince her not to go public with her allegations.
It's an interesting topic and an interesting take on cancel culture, with an unlikeable main character and contradictory memories, but the second half of the book didn't feel as clever and as polished as the first half. There is an ex-boyfriend of Sam who is now with Lisa; there is a girl who was ignored in high school, possibly bullied, who is now friends with the people who rejected her. A lot of it revolves around events that took place when the protagonists were in high school and it didn't really appeal to me - at times it felt like watching a teenage TV drama, and I lost interest in the intrecasies of what happened and who is telling the truth.
Overall it was fun enough to read but sadly I probably won't remember it in a few months. Oddly I could imagine it as a TV series, quite brief, maybe 8 episodes, because the characters feel... telegenic.

*Trigger warning for bullying and assault*
I am a big fan of Louise O’Neill and I love how she never shies away from big and serious issues that affect women; ‘Idol’ is no exception. The novel focuses on influencer Samantha Miller who at the top of her game, she has a bestselling book out and a sold out tour where she inspires young women to find their own inner happiness. Riding high on her success, she writes an essay about her sexual awakening which goes viral; however her recount of the night is not shared by her best friend.
As always O’Neill writes with current, controversial topics in mind and the question of guilt being discussed by the online world makes this one right up to date. I really felt uncomfortable at times because of the charged interactions between Sam and Lisa. However I couldn’t put the book down because as always O’Neill’s writing is intense and unflinching but utterly captivating.
My only downside was that I found the character of Sam extremely vapid and quite draining at times but that personality definitely adds to the themes of social media personality and the thread of cancel culture. This dark story is definitely one to get readers talking!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Samantha Miller has it all. She’s famous, with millions of adoring fans, and she knows it. She loves it. Just as she is about to hit 3 million followers, however, she is accused of a terrible crime that she has always spoken out against. How will she manage to survive the accusation with her squeaky clean image still in tact?

I enjoyed this book, it was different to what I normally read. We see the story through Sam’s eyes, and she is a classically unreliable narrator. I did guess a couple of the twists before they came, but, on the whole, an entertaining read.