I follow this author on TikTok and when I saw this book on NetGalley I gasped. I am so grateful and happy to have been accepted to read this book.

Some of my favourite movie genres are found footage and fake-umentaries; this novel reads like those genres. This novel is off to a great start. The writing style adds to the format of the book due to its nature of being straightforward and direct. It is also very immersive and interesting- I found myself drawn in and I didn’t want to put it down.

This plot had some twists and turns, some were guessable and others weren’t. This book was thrilling and a bit off-putting (in a god thriller way). The characters were super important to this story and were very well written, a few are sure to be favourites from this moment onward.

3.75⭐️ This book was a very interesting read. First off the book is written in a podcast script style inside of a normal book format, which I actually really enjoyed and felt like I read it faster because of this. This story was super fast paced and every time I would read it I got sucked in and couldn’t stop, it kept me engaged. I didn’t get too attached to the characters, but I was interested in their story. The story highlights the dark side of social media, which I thought was really interesting. If you like dark psychological thrillers with lots of secrets this is a perfect read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC for my honest opinion.

Influencer Island started out great. My eyes were glued to the page, and I read almost 70% of it in one sitting because I was so curious. I barely cared about the lousy editing (like the spelling mistakes and changing names, despite having lost my time word searching Derek just to find out it was the plainer name the author had given Zan before editing) because I was so interested in the story. Still, it ended up biting more than it could chew IMO. Instead of being satisfying, the plot felt convoluted and lost, like Rutkin couldn't pick a lane.
The "romance" between Carrie and Cal was unnecessary as well, and felt like a cheap way to manipulate character motivations. Also, the influencer names were way too close to their IRL counterparts (Kaylyn Jenson, really?), which was weird because sometimes he would mention real people like Kim Kardashian, which implies that the Kardashian/Jenner clan already exists in this universe.
Influencer Island would have been a 5 star read for me if it had been simpler and well-executed instead of the mess I found.

Did you love A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? Then this book is for you! Told in a podcast form, it is the unraveling of a crime and mystery. It adds a Fyre Festival type spin to it that is addictive and compelling.

Influencer Island was promoted as the biggest competition: promising to make aspiring influencers famous. Models, parties, a whole island to party and become famous. Audition tapes poured in, and 10 lucky contestants were chosen. The morning that the wanna be influencers were heading out, a warning from one of the models there was posted online. She warned that everyone was going to be killed. Will it be a blood bath? Will people keep watching? How far will people go to become famous?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for graciously allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was not what I was expecting AT ALL! What a ride, from the first paragraph to the last - a terrifying tale.

This is a view into what life would be like if the social media influencers ruled the world. It's dark. It's dramatic. It's deadly. Luckily, it's also dystopian fiction, or is it?

Cal and Joss are creating a podcast about Influencer Island. It's safe to say they had absolutely no idea what they were in for. Think Fyre Festival meets Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies and you're getting close.

This was a quick read, or good enough to not put down - sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

This book was really not for me however I am giving it 4 stars as it dares to be different,the premise is good,writing interesting and tge idea of it all being via a podcast original,just because it wasn’t for me I can see how good it was and how it will appeal to many,deserves 4 stars ( hope that makes sense )

Fast paced and campy read. Interesting style and tone of writing. Switches quickly from various points of views. Great for those who are binging on this social media obsessed generation - Hunger Games/Fyre Festival/Wold War Z on crack

Influencer Island is what happens when a good idea is met with confusing plotting, pretty bad dialogue, and absolutely flat characters. The result is that you have an interesting enough set up to push the reader into hoping that there's something better on the horizon only to discover that nope, there really is nothing good to look forward to. Even the overarching cult/secret society angle of the book gets almost shrugged off as a half baked idea with no actual payoff.

Frankly, most of the convoluted plot just confuses you with so many aspects not fully developed and it being revealed in a format of a podcast transcript (a choice that frankly is baffling). By simple logic, there is absolutely no way that a podcast network would be given FBI interviews for an active case, and the fact that some moments are recreations and some were broadcast as all part of the installation is so utterly confusing.

It doesn't help that Cal is such a wet blanket of a character that every time he talks about his own history and pain, it leaves you wishing you were back on the terrible island, so that we could be spared his own monologue. In addition, none of the dialogue feels like the way people actually talk, especially not on a podcast. Making it worse, there are small bits of stage direction indicating characters are smiling or crying, all things that you could never see on a podcast because... it is an audio medium.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

How far would you go for fame and fortune?

Several minor influencers have been invited to a private island to party with the big guys. The hot shots, the verified checkmarks, the internet celebrities. Following that will be a competition for fame: who can become the most famous of the group? After arriving, they find out that this competition has a deadly twist. Can they make it out alive?

Another amazing novel that makes you look at your life as an influencer, aspiring or otherwise.

It’s got a rather strange format, being laid out as if you’re reading a podcast transcript. It’s easy to get used to though. It’s got a quick pace, with just enough in each chapter to keep you turning the pages for more. The first plot twist really shocked me, but not as big as that finale. You will never guess who’s behind the mask, I promise. It ends up reading like two or three stories at one point as you read from three different perspectives. Rutkin has a way of keeping your interest through each part of the story. I don’t remember a single moment of being bored or waiting to get to the point. The way everything comes together is wild.

If you enjoy a quick paced mystery thriller, this is the one for you. I give it four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

First, I have to say the concept for this book was so intriguing! I have read so many thrillers and mysteries but none with a similar plot. I have however read tons that use the idea of mimicking a podcast or making a podcast a key source of conveying storylines and this..well it wasn’t really that. I’ve never listened to a podcast that concurrently covered two different stories every other paragraph. This gave us 1 paragraph of Cal’s adventures then switched 1 paragraph of Carrie’s adventures and that just doesn’t make sense for something that is supposed to be a podcast. Having the entire thing read in this format also did not help the character development and left a lot of the characters feeling two dimensional and I didn’t get to connect with any and want to root for them. I really think this book could have been so special if it was written in regular format.

Plot hole?
I really hope someone sees this review and can start a conversation and help clear things up for me but one of the biggest issues I had with the book (and admittedly this may be mine own misunderstanding) but without giving spoilers…a character died…then Cal walks up to a ceremony and that character is said to be sitting in the center of the ceremony blindfolded. My first issue was the book said a woman was sitting in the center of the ceremony and ‘he’ was blindfolded. This character was a male so that is a pretty big mistake I hope gets fixed. But the main issue was this person was killed earlier - eaten actually..in the first challenge..how is their body now in tact and placed in a chair. Then later one of the characters said they shot this person point blank with the gun they found in their backpack…I am actually really angry that I can’t figure out what has happened here with this character.

I would give this book somewhere between 2-3 stars.

Influencer Island had a very interesting concept that drew me in while reading the summary. However, I feel that the book focused more on the backstory and conspiracies of the characters rather than honing in on the action of the island game. The book switched point of views too quickly, making it hard to follow each plotline when reading. There was just too much going on with not enough detail and it was difficult to get to know each character using this format.

This one was a bit too cliche for me. Maybe I am just growing out of YA fiction at this point in my life but I found myself annoyed and rolling my eyes as opposed to liking the story. It wasn’t horrible but it was predictable and added nothing new to my reading experience that I haven’t read in other books before. Giving it 3 stars because it was partially me and partially the book.

I was absolutely drawn in by the premise of the story. Hunger Games meets Fyre Festival sounds like the recipe for an amazing gore-filled horror. I loved the dark side of the technology aspect and how that ties in with social media popularity. The story is fairly fast-paced and although it was written in a format that I'm not too fond of (interview transcript) I still found it very easy to read and enjoy. The book is laid out like you're reading the podcast episodes detailing everything surrounding the actual events that go down on Infunancer Island, the making of the podcast, and how it's all somewhat connected.

Aside from the format and the lack of gore I loved this book. I will without a doubt recommend this book to everyone remotely interested in this genre of books.

I absolutely loved this book. It took off from the jump and didn’t let up for the whole book. The story was full of different points of view that made it full. It is written in the form of almost a transcript from a podcast so not in traditional format but it is easy to follow along with the characters.

This is my first Kyle Rutkin book and I now want to go back and read his others. This story was very gripping and fast paced, though I wish there was more detail to some of the scenes, especially some of the action scenes like the one involving the sharks. Overall, I loved the concept and really could see this one being adapted as a movie. It is a great take on social media and influencing, it definitely made me think and really kept my attention.

How far would you go for ultimate fame?

Part Battle royale and part The Hunger Games, Influencer Island is a roller coaster of a ride. It had me hooked from the first page and I devoured it in less than 24 hours.

There is lots of twists and turns and is part horror and part crime novel,

I’m sure this book will become a best seller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

This is a story about social media influencers on an island and what happens to them. It focuses on the main characters Cal-a podcaster and Carrie a surfer and now wannabe influencer. Cal tells the story of the run up to influencers appearing on the island, during and the aftermath. There is murder and betrayal along the way. Everything appears to link back to Carrie’s brother Tuck, but how do these ‘celebs’ fit in?

The tale is told in the form of a podcast transcript and jumps from character to character, sometimes with different storylines in different paragraphs. I found it quite difficult and confusing to follow the storyline, especially when past and present were intermingled.

In saying that it did keep my attention and I was desperate to know the identity of the mysterious Wyatt James-no spoilers but what a shock!

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

let me just start this review off by saying that if i wanted to read a podcast script, i would read a podcast script.

influencer island is pitched as fyre island meets the hunger games (literally, within the novel itself) and follows reporter cal everett as he seeks to uncover the truth about a reality show gone horribly wrong.

this book had potential. from the summary, i was expecting a thriller that involved social media influencers fighting for their lives on a secluded island and what i was given was... not that.

for one, i could barely differentiate between the influencers. each one of the contestants was given a one-line introduction and we never really got to know them beyond that. the main pitfall of having the entire book written in the form of a podcast script means that we rarely get to know something about characters that they wouldn't be willing to tell the public. the podcast narrator and main character, cal, also felt one-dimensional. his motivations were hazy at best and it didn't make sense to tell the story through his perspective at all. carrie was a potentially interesting character, but ultimately, i just didn't find myself caring about her. additionally, one of the influencers (bella) is israeli-american, and she repeatedly asserts that her heritage has taught her to work hard because nothing in life comes easily. nothing about the influencer's ancestors displacing and killing palestinians should be treated as some kind of family story meant to teach their children to always fight for what they want.

the plot itself was also difficult to keep track of. there would be 3 sentences about what cal is trying to figure out about wyatt james in the present, and then it would switch back to carrie and the other influencers recounting what happened on the island. neither of these plots were engaging on their own, and because there were too many flashbacks and timeskips, it was almost impossible to stay invested in the mystery. i kept waiting for the book to pick up the pace, for there to finally be some kind of big reveal or bloody final showdown, but i was already 80% through before anything exciting happened.

there were too many pop culture references throughout the book- it actually calls out katniss by name and likens the influencers' experience to squid game- which not only dated the book but made it more underwhelming. if the author is constantly and blatantly drawing comparisons to iconic dystopian media within their own text, it's fair for a reader to have high expectations, and influencer island causes those expectations to be shattered.

the ending had potential to be an exciting reveal, but by the time it came around i just wanted the book to be over. in order for the ending to be successful, you had to be really invested in the individual characters' pasts, and as i mentioned before, i simply wasn't. nothing about this book made it easy to care about superficial internet personalities or a struggling reporter.

this author presumably set out to write a book that would be hailed as a nuanced commentary on influencer culture but ultimately failed due to how chaotic it was. the author shot himself in the foot with the comp titles and the best part about the book is honestly the cover.

Influencer Island

FYRE FESTIVAL meets HUNGER GAMES in this dark psychological thriller about a social media competition that turns deadly. 10 people travel to paradise to compete for social media fame to become the biggest influencer...
Thats what they think they quickly discover something far more sinister is going on. How far would you go for fame !

Ok I get why some might not like this book but my thoughts are this book was brilliant. Genius ! The format podcast transcript style was so well written I loved it. The Suspence was killing me! I could not put this book down I knew I wouldn't be going to bed last night till I was finished.
I can't wait to read more from Kyle Rutkin!

Thank you to Netgalley, Greater Path LLC and Kyle Rutkin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review

With a tagline like Frye feast meets hunger games, how could I have not read this book. Add in the fact that it’s written in a podcast format and has cults involved, is like icing on the cake. I really enjoyed reading this book and thought it was very inventive. I will be very interested in reading more by this author