This book was fun but it also felt very much like it was written for people who are online all the time. I liked the set up of it being a podcast, but that led to some of the characters not talking like real people so the author could still set the scene, and it took me out of it sometimes. But overall a fun read.

The synopsis of this book sounded right up my street.
I liked the format, and from the beginning I was enjoying it!
However, the more the book went on the less I enjoyed it.
It felt far too long, and the plot was just being dragged out. By the end of the book I just didn't care any more.
Overall I was disappointed with this, especially the synopsis got me so excited.

I had a hard time rating this book. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No. It was... adequate?

The format of a podcast transcript was fun and I think it worked really well for this story. However, there was just too much going on. It definitely needed to be cut back. As it is, there are a gazillion different things going on in this book and that's just not good.

Despite everything though, it still was a few hours of fun reading.

What a unique read.

Presented in the form of a podcast transcription, Influencer Island takes place in a world that could very well be our own.

Filled with influencers who are aiming to go viral, to have the most influence and the most brand deals possible.

Woven into the pages are individual traumas, losses and goals. Seeing the individual characters find themselves and in turn, found their true audience was really interesting

Influencer Island feels incredibly 'now'. With the rise of the social media star only gaining more popularity and traction, this psychological thriller could very much be a sign of what's to come. Let's hope not!

Thank you to NetGalley for approving me for a review copy of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m struggling to find the positive in this one.

The downfall of the podcast format is that everything is told and not shown – so it gets dull very fast. Scenes that could be propulsive are flat. Sadie, a book which I think utilises the podcast format well does so because it cuts between what actually happened in Sadie’s POV and the podcast. A book told entirely in podcast form has very little life to and the characters suffer for it. It’s impossible to care about a romance between characters who apparently love each other when there is no investment in them. The influencer who is given the most focus frequently asserts the ways in which she’s stronger than the other influencers in a very ‘not like other girls way’ – not reacting to the crazy shit around you is not necessarily a sign of strength, it just read as someone thinking this is what readers want from a ‘Strong Female Character’ when in reality we just want female characters with depth, and sadly there are none in this book but the men aren’t exactly three dimensional either.

The plotlines border on ludicrous and not in a fun way. There was also an over-reliance on pop culture references early in the book. Instead of explaining something, a character would just compare it to something else.

The ending was very basic and while I thought for a second there was going to be some interesting commentary regarding a character and their relationship to fame, there wasn’t. I’m sad to say Influencer Island really wasn’t for me as there was a lack of nuance and it somehow managed to be overly simplistic and utterly convoluted at the same time.

“May fame and followers be upon you”

when I learnt that I was approved access to a copy of this book I was over the moon. From just reading the blurb I knew I was gonna love it. I have a big obsession with black mirror and influencer island is a mix of the show, squid game and hunger games!

The plot was very clever and unique. imagine your life really depend on likes and the followers you have! And how far can you go
to gain more popularity!

I did not care for any of the characters, maybe just Wyatt James because he was the biggest mystery in the book. I just wanted to read the book to know how everything unfold. And then it hit me. I felt that Im just like the viewers who were watching all the murder and insanity happening without patting their eyes. The book notes how our generation is desensitized to basically everything. The viewers in the book were watching people getting attacked by sharks and killed by their peers while laughing and make comments about their guesses of who should die next.

I loved that the story was fast paced, dark, gruesome and gripping. I couldn’t stop reading the book because I was dying to know what is going to happen next.

The only thing that bothered me was the writing style of the book. It was in the form of podcast script which was annoying at some point because there were parts where I’m at the edge of my seat and then the part cuts into a different subject. However i feel if the book was written in the normal form we are used to I won’t enjoy it as much as it’s original form.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of places to use the adjective "unique" in this book. A unique but very, intriguing concept for a story line. Who among us would not like to see some of the media darlings face some tougher than reality TV events? Unique format. A podcast transcript being reviewed after the scheduled events went dark. Our narrator must try to figure out if the events happened as scripted or not. Did the producer plan on the deaths of some of the "influencers"? It certainly looks like he did, but why?

I read SHE DIED FAMOUS so knew a bit about Rutkin's style, but this book was a great, short read that had me turning back pages to see what I'd missed. SO, Rutkin is 2 for 2 with great books. What's next?

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book. I would like to thank NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for the ARC copy.

Right from the beginning, I knew I would like this book. It sucked me in and I spent as much time as I could spare in my work day reading it. I’ve found that, for me, the podcast style of writing somehow works. I’ve dabbled in writing it and it’s interesting but takes practice. This does make it almost easier to visualize it as a show or hear it as though I were listening to it, that’s for sure.

I ended up reading the majority of this book on an airplane, and I can say that it succeeded in fully distracting me for the entire trip. I was surprised by the reveal at the end, seeing as I had my own theories, and while I appreciated the twist, I didn’t necessarily enjoy it. I loved everything about this book except for those few lines where we found out Wyatt Jones’ true identity. Other than that, the book was well written, just graphic enough, and really had me imagining I was watching a social media battle to the death!

I highly recommend this, but do watch out for trigger warnings because it’s quite graphic at points. I gave this a 4.5 out of 5.

Influencer Island was an entertaining summer read. The references to pop culture and technology really make this book feel like it is relevant NOW but will it be in a year or two? Possibly not, which is a little bit of a shame because I actually quite enjoyed this book.

The formatting (a podcast transcription) was an interesting choice - it didn't put me off personally, but I can see how it would be an issue for some people. The timeline does skip around a bit, but not so much I couldn't follow it. All in all, the tension throughout the book was enough to keep me hooked and reading when I perhaps should have been doing other things,

This was a really fun read in the sense that is was the true meaning of a page turner that raced along.
This dark psychological thriller asks the question how far would you be willing to go to be famous.
It explores the influencer/ social media culture, and the lengths people go to to be famous. This just takes it to the extreme, pitting influencers against each other in a hunger games/survivor style reality stream, where losing means death.
I personally really like the podcast transcript format and felt that it really helped the story line maintain its pace.
I can see how some people don’t enjoy it, or felt that it wasn’t able to flesh the characters out enough. I thought however it was an interesting take because social media often portrays these ”influencers” at there most superficial and we often don’t get anything any deeper than a quick quip about the latest “sponsor” and a sexy photo.
My one gripe with is that the names of the characters are obviously quite derivative of current social media influencers and stars and you can’t help but try and make comparisons, I found in some moments it took away from the story.
Otherwise overall I would highly recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.
Thanks to the publishers, netgalley and the author for access to the ARC for my honest opinions.

What would you do to have millions of followers? Would you go as far as killing your competitors?

Let me start with I’m probably not in the age range the author is trying to reach but the storyline intrigued me. I love podcasts and really enjoyed the podcast style writing. The characters were shallow and could have had more description/backstory to help me keep them straight and maybe root for them instead waiting to see who was killed off next. Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Influencer Island. This is an interesting novel. Written in many voices and led by two main characters.
What if you had the chance to go to an island set specifically for those young and up and. Coming influencers and celebs. A chance of a lifetime for those who live their lives with their phone and social media attached to their bodies. Would you go? Even if you might have to fight for your life or is it likes.
A strange person, an artist, has sent the invites and only a lucky few will be selected. But soon as the ads start there is a back drop of sinister messages. Will you be picked and will you survive Influencer Island. You might die trying.
This is a fun book and different. 3.5 stars

EN: I was send a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The moment the author choose the format of the book was the moment this book was set for failure.
Don’t get me wrong, I kind of liked this book. But the format doesn’t allow to deliver any emotion to what the characters are living nor care for any of them.
The romance subplot was not necessary (stop trying to add romance to every genre, please and thank you). And overall, I feel like the author tried to achieve too much for 200 pages and the ending end up being underwhelming.
2.5 stars.

ES: El momento en que el autor eligió el formato del libro fue el momento en que este libro estaba destinado al fracaso.
No me malinterpreten, este libro me gustó. Pero el formato no permite entregar ninguna emoción a lo que viven los personajes.
Había tantos personajes y no me importaba ninguno de ellos (ni siquiera te puedo una carácteristica de la protagonista). La subtrama romántica no era necesaria. En general, siento que el autor trató de lograr demasiado para 200 páginas y el final fue un poco decepcionante.
Por esta razón le di 2.5.

This is a great horror/ thriller showing the lengths people will go to to be instafamous. It was surreal at times and full of action. It was quick to get through because of how intriguing and interesting the story was. It definitely feels appropriate for the times and was very unique. I think with this podcast format it would have been better for me as an audiobook, it was hard to decipher at times with all of the different points of view randomly entering. I really enjoyed this quick read!

Thanks to NetGalley, Greater Path and Kyle Ruskin for access to this ARC.

I loved the idea of this book and it was so different than a lot of the current books involving influencers. I do think some of the writing/plot could use some improvement but this can be a tough thing to write about "correctly." I did love the way that the book was written in podcast format - I've not really read something like that before. I liked that there were some lessons about what social media and status can ruin for people and society. I found myself wanting to continue reading to see the symbolism of all the characters. All in all, I did enjoy this read but it wasn't my favorite thing in the world. I would read more by Rutkin!

I do believe this plot had potential and I do think that it could be a good book. But in this state this book is close to unreadable.

I understood that it would be written like a podcast script, which was fine by me, but the author forgets that we cannot see gestures in a podcast so it makes no sense to write them in.

The author forgets changed names and we have Kaylyn become Kendall several times.

The overuse of the word “snickers” is very silly, added to copious typos and grammatical errors I ended up having to read many sentences over and over hoping to get the point.

The author is ambitious, fitting all these plots in to a shorter length book but in this many characters are sacrificed as are the motives of the main characters. I have just read a whole book about them and I still don’t know why some of it was important to them.

The ending is rushed, similar to getting an essay in on time for school homework.

I really wish this had been all it promised, horror with a cult element and a good mystery is always a great read, but with all these errors, it didn’t happen here.

NOTE: I re downloaded this book when asked to by the publisher as the previous one apparently had typos. The book I read was the updated text, so I’m not sure how bad the first one could have been.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest opinion.

3.5 stars to this crazy quick read that kept me entirely entertained as I read it in a single sitting.

Drama! Art! Murder! Cults! Secret societies! Add that to a social media frenzy based on 10 popular influencers being invited to a secluded island in a contest that reads like Hunger Games. The guests find their environs much like those unlucky enough to sign on to the ill-fated Fyre Festival — except they discover quickly that only one of the contestants is meant to make it out alive.

I really liked the use of the transcript type format as different characters relate events from their own points of view in a sort of interview style for the podcast produced by Cal Everett. Unfortunately, I did not relate to any of those involved in this entire island fiasco despite the tragic ends for so many. Obviously there was some real insanity behind this plan to basically punish all those who seek fame and fortune by being fake on social media. The connection between the competitors was sort of lame, really, but the story was very fast-paced and the author quite imaginative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this novel, and when I realised it was written in the form of a podcast I was really excited to read it.

It started off well, the plot and direction were promising and the writing style was refreshing. However as it went on it was clear that the author wrote this book to make clear his distaste of influencers and social media culture in general.

"Influencer Island" wasn't awful.. but I wanted to like it more than I did.

I'm really sorry, but I didn't enjoy this book. It felt very derivative of a couple of existing intellectual properties, even name-checking them on more than one occasion. The plot seemed far-fetched and contrived. I didn't think the author made the best use of the podcast transcript format, which is usually a writing style I really enjoy (Matt Wesolowski's Six Stories books are some of my favourites). This might be enjoyed by a younger audience, although the technophobia/moral panic aspects of it might be off-putting. Plus sides were the book was well written (no grammatical errors) and well-formatted for an ARC. Thoselooking for a casual read might enjoy the sweeping scope of the story.

1.5 stars and this is SOLELY for the originality of the plot. The idea if you will.

I did not like it at all and I was honestly so excited to read it. It was boring, chaotic, all over the place and it made no sense.

I got nothing out of this book and I'll call it a complete waste of time.

The characters were lousy and I didn't like any of them, nor did I understand whatever they were trying to do. They all felt super pretentious and fake and I'm glad I don't have to think about this anymore.