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.

This book started off great. The premise, the plot and everything about it seemed super intriguing but soon enough, the plot wavers into multiple storyline's and it failed to sustain my interest till the very end.
Thanks for giving me a chance to read this!

influencer island is literally insane!!
i love the way the story is told in podcast form, it really gives it a mystery vibe. the whole concept of influencers being killed hunger games style all for art is just so 🤌🏽
cant wait for everyone to finally read!

A gripping psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. Fyre Festival was a hot mess, and I love mess, and The Hunger Games clearly has a grip on my generation, so of course I jumped at a book advertised as a mashup of them.

First I would like to say that Kyle Rutkin has dedication, passion and the utmost love for his work. Halfway through this, I received an email about updating my download and that errors had been correct and earlier comments taken to heart to rework some things.

The format of this novel was definitely different as it is read like a podcast script as a reporter attempts to determine what happened on the island and the mystery behind the organizer and their involvement in the deaths of the celebrities. However, the mystery itself is interesting and the celebrities are just as unlikable as you would assume by the title and the influencer stereotype.

A quick read for those that also love mess and mystery, Influencer Island is easy to binge poolside or in the downtime between your favorite true crime podcast's latest episodes.

Thank you for the ARC of Influencer Island!

3.5 stars.

‘Influencer Island’ tackles to what extent people are willing to push the boundaries of social media and influencer culture. A horror take on Fyre Fest, it follows an anonymous artist hosting an online competition which promises one lucky individual the coveted title of influencer - but tones quickly change as the world is forced to watch as, one by one, contestants are killed on Instagram live…

~

The premise of this book is unreal - takes on social media / influencer culture can often seem very cringe and a desperate attempt to be seen as modern; but this was so out there that it worked very well.

Every scene set on the island was written phenomenally as was the mystery surrounding the characters and what the true end goal was - I was hooked the entire time. Superbly executed, you are placed in the shoes of the audience - reading about the most horrific events, but you cannot help but turn the page.

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However, it attempts to follow a dual POV - with a perspective of the outside, of two people running a podcast to solve the mystery.

I could not care less about this storyline. It took away from the main premise completely and offered very little purpose other than to flick to for cliffhangers, it removed my focus and honestly I ended up skipping a lot of the chapters which involved the characters.

Furthermore, a lot of the final reveals / motivations really fell flat for me. I understand it was an attempt to highlight the shallowness of each character but it felt like a half-assed and rushed ending, disappointing given that it ruined what was truly a great book.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

With all the influencer content in media as of late, this makes a great addition with a twist. I can see this easily becoming a television show or movie that would pan out very nicely. Maybe not for everyone as it is a sort of written podcast, but definitely different! A nice little true crime slash YA horror pick!

What I liked: this was a quick read for me. It definitely kept me engaged and wanting to figure the central questions of the plot. I liked the format (transcripts of a podcast). I also liked the Hunger Games vibe. It was Ann interesting tie in to our society’s obsession with social media and influencers.
What I couldn’t get into: I did not feel amenable or connected to the characters. Maybe it was because of the format but I found it hard to root for any of them. I also feel like there wasn’t enough substance to care one way or the other about the one romantic plot line in the book. The whole plot reveal of the reason for Influencer Island left me feeling baffled. Seemed like a pretty thin reason to have such an elaborate scheme.

This was a short, easy read, that kept me interested throughout. It was a creative idea, a mix between survivor and hunger games. Some grammatical errors exist, but my biggest issue was lack of character development. Why and how did Wyatt turn into such a psycho? The author alludes to it, but the reason doesn't seem adequate. I found it hard to believe that all these influencers all of a sudden thought it was ok to murder someone to get likes and followers. They were such bad people, you didn't care who won. Except for Carrie, who had some redeeming qualities, so you do root for her. The format is easy to follow, written in interview style, like 'Daisy Jones and the Six'. So that was intriguing. I could definitely see this as a movie, with the shark scene being one of the highlights.

In the beginning someone has a quote saying that today's generation does not want to be doctors or lawyers, but influences. What a sad state is that!

All in all, a very solid effort about a real phenomenon that just needs some tightening up and some additional character development. (Maybe expand on Wyatt's backstory a bit).

While the premise of this book isn't original, I went into this thinking it had promise. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat. Written in podcast transcript form, this book pulls inspiration from Fyre Fest, Squid Games, and The Hunger Games. The thing about Hunger Games, though, was that the author had to build a new world for us and did it really well. This book, on the other hand, takes part in Los Angeles, where I'm from, and it still felt unreal. I could have done without Cal and his father's backstory, the lack of urgency in tone especially when people are killing each other, and the characters who were all one dimensional. I didn't care about any of them. Even the revelation on Wyatt was just blah. Yet here's the weird thing, I still felt pulled to read this book all the way to the end. Was it worth it? Eh. Knowing I wouldn't like the resolution, it was still addicting. Perhaps aligning with how I feel about instagram these days. Could be good as an audio book if brushed up a little and done right. See Sadie for a good podcast form audio book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the galley.

Thank you to Greater Path LLC for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I initially read that this book wasn’t in a traditional format, I was really excited. I had been looking for a horror book that stood out from the rest of the lineup, and “Influencer Island” fit the bill. While it took a minute to get used to the format, I do think it worked well with the story. If there is an audiobook, I might recommend that over reading it, but that would depend on the person.

As far as the story, while I liked where it was going, I don’t think it ever reached its peak even though it had a conclusion. There were plenty of elements thrown out, but not all of them really made it to fruition. The “love story” between two characters felt really contrived and added very little to the story. The connection between the main protagonist and antagonist did make sense when it was finally revealed, but it didn’t feel as developed as it could’ve been. The purpose of the main event made sense, and the theme it was meant to get across was clear, there was just something I can’t put my finger on that didn’t quite work, especially when the secondary antagonist was revealed. The three-way triangle of how everyone was connected was certainly interesting and kept my attention, I just don’t think it worked as well as it could’ve.

Don’t get me wrong. I did understand what the author was getting at, and the (at times overhand) discussion of social media and what people are willing to do for fame. The frequent comparisons to Fyre Fest were also really fun, though the lifting of direct situations related to that real event was a bit much. Ultimately, I wanted to know who the artist was and how it would all end.

Would I read it again? No. I felt I got everything I could out of the book from my first reading, but I wouldn’t rule out reading it again after some changes in my own life. It did intrigue me to read other works by the author, which I look forward to doing soon. “Influencer Island” is a fun read for someone looking for an unconventional format with an engaging premise.

This book had a very interesting plot. A group of social influencers are gathered together for a mystery contest on a deserted island. Soon after arrival, things turn deadly for the contestants. I am fascinated by the whole social media culture so I really liked this. Although it was hard to believe that this contest could even exist, let alone go forward to the end.

My only complaint was the non linear format of storytelling. We also jump around between narrators frequently. It is well written and exciting. I was never bored.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

A dark psychological thriller written in podcast form, this was unlike anything I have read before. Ten influencers are invited to an island to compete for social media glory, but all is not as it seems and is in fact far from it. The influencers go to the island expecting to take part in lighthearted competitions in the hope of winning some prize money and eternal fame. Instead, they are thrown into an evil and twisted game of life and death, hosted by an infamous celebrity artist. Influencer Island is a book written in a non-conventional format and despite its 400 pages, makes for a quick and easy read.


Influencer Island is described by the author as Frye Festival meets The Hunger Games, which is a huge claim to make. Unfortunately, I felt this description was inaccurate and leads the reader to expect something more. The podcast format makes for quick reading but this writing style made me feel disconnected to the characters and we missed a lot of information. Despite its flaws, Influencer Island is a unique psychological thriller with interesting plot twists and backstories. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

From the description of Influencer Island, I anticipated enjoying this novel. There were similarities to The Squid Game and Hunger Games which I liked. The interview style of writing was similar to World War Z which I also liked. However, I only made it up to Episode Eight in this book before I felt lost and skipped to the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for letting me read this title!

It took me a bit to get into this book because of the format. You are essentially reading the transcript of a podcast. HOwever, once I got the flow I really enjoyed it! I thought it was a unique way to present a relevant topic of the desire to be recognized in the world of social media. It does have an extremist view and would have a niche audience based on the graphic nature of the novel. I would recommend it to high school students as they have grown up in the age of TikTok, Snapchat Insta, etc. and influencers becoming millionaires overnight based on anything that goes viral. Again, this is a bit extremist, but entertaining and puts focus on what lengths people will go to in order to become popular.

I'm looking forward to reading the other titles in the Died Famous Universe!