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

Yes, yes, yes!! I flew through this one! I had some time before work this morning and decided to start it and needless to say, I read it on every break and couldn’t put it down tonight until I finished it. I think my favorite part was the way it was told like a script and I think it would make an amazing full cast audiobook. It made it a very quick read.

When I saw it being compared to Fyre Fest meets Hungar Games, I knew I had to read this. What could be better than a deadly meeting of influencers on a private island?

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I saw this author has other works and I will definitely be picking them up asap!

When I saw this book I was instantly drawn in by the cover and the title.
Sold as “Fyre Island meets the Hunger Games” I knew this was going to be interesting.
I really enjoyed this story, I read it so fast as I was gripped.

“I wish to burn all that is false. The water will run red like the hearts on their photos. How far would be willing to go for fame and followers? Stay tuned for my masterpiece”

This is a contemporary story for this modern age. Battle royale for thé tik tok generation. The lucky few selected to take part in this game compete to become the next big thing. The whole world is watching, backing their favourites and no matter how much the stakes are raised the viewers can’t get enough.
“The internet wanted blood. Everyone tuned in”

This story is told through a podcast, using transcripts and “audio” recordings to tell the story, it also isn’t linear so if you aren’t a fan of stories going back and forth with quite a few characters you probably won’t enjoy this, but I would still say to give it a go as I think the story is worth it. When I was reading it, I imagined it as a “making a murderer” sort of tv show which helped bring it alive for me.

My rating…4.5/5

This book was a load of fun. I felt due to the interview style format mixed with the chapters in the past, the stakes were not too high for the characters as we knew what was going to happen to them - overall, we knew they’d survive.

The premise was great though and I had a really enjoyable time reading the story!

Thank you net galley for this arc

STRONG 5 ⭐️

ICONIC... Honestly i finished this book in a day.. when i saw this title it really caught my eye. i have been looking for a competition based book for so long HOWEVER when i started this it was not what i thought it would be but it was BETTER it was in interview format and stuff and i love books like that and i wanted it to just be the competition but it BUILT up to it and i loved that it basically follows a DARK competition but it starts off with podcast format with surviving people and stuff and later on it takes more so on the island so overall it was perfect all around. and it was DARK. The stuff that happened in this book was so iconic the author basically took the conspiracies that people do in modern day and turned it into a novel form and all the references and TV show references that i got from this book was amazing. The writing was so graphic and it made the story so damn dark. I LOVED THIS BOOK. such a good concept. Will certain people find out the real reason they are on this island and what ties together? Find out and read this book it was so good. SUCH A PAGE TURNER i could not put it down.

Wow! I enjoyed this book way more than I was expecting. It does come with warning in regards to it’s graphic nature, I personally did not find it very graphic, but I have also read a lot of dark and twisted books. The other warning was for the writing style as the story is told through transcribed podcast episodes which I personally loved! I thought this way of writing was creative and absolutely perfect for this book.
If you are an Influencer, then Influencer Island is where you want to be, however only 10 contestants will be chosen to compete on in this competition being compared to Fyre Festival meets The Hunger Games. None of the influencers knew what they were getting themselves into but the time the “contest” is over, dozens are dead or missing. Do you have what it takes to survive.
There’s much more to the story than just the competition and the storylines intertwine together so well.

I unfortunately could not finish this book.

Whilst the story itself was interesting, I simply could not get into the writing style. It made me quite confused and overall just wasn't for me.

This was an interesting book for me to read. The format is different than any book I have ever read, so it took a little getting used to for me. But I found it to be a fun read. Has an intriguing storyline and nicely developed characters. I would recommend this to anyone who likes the horror genre or scary, tense type stories.

Well this was an interesting format for a book! It’s written like a transcript for a podcast which is something I haven’t come across before and I gotta say - I didn’t hate it!

The story itself was an interesting concept. We find a bunch of influencers on a island in a competition. This is something that happens on Mtv all the time. This competition has a dark twist - it’s a fight to the death. It’s such an interesting story and I found myself hooked in wanting to see where it would take us - and if we’d get to meet the mystery man behind it all, Wyatt James.

It’s a quick read for sure. The transcript type nature of the book makes it seem even quicker than it is. I will say one thing - in true podcast form - it’s jumps around with adding in sound bites and this is harder to read than it is to listen to. I’d love to hear this as an audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ebook - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Upon receiving this book, I was skeptical as I shortly learned that the format of the book is in "podcast form." It felt as if reading a script and I highly doubted that I'd be able to get into a book with this format. However, after the first few pages I found myself plunged into the world of Influence Island wondering what was coming next. Rutkin's podcast format of this book, added a new, modernized way of reading books that are relevant to the times. Rutkin's uses an abundance of imagery and a articulate way of story-telling to make sure that you are sucked into the book. I found myself a few times, forgetting that I was reading as I felt that I was truly engulfed in a podcast.

I had trouble finding the chemistry between some characters at times. It had seemed somewhat rushed where there were some characters whether they be friends or romantically involved, where the relationships seemed to have evolved with little or no progression really seen. While reading these moments, I had wondered if I had somehow missed a part or misremembered a part as there was no progression really discussed in these relationships.

Besides the chemistry between character, and the format of the book that I surprisingly, and pleasantly enjoyed the story was fantastic. It tells the story of a sadistic artist that utilizes influencers to create his murderous artworks. However, there is a twist when one of the influencer's brother was found to be somewhat involved with this artist. There were times where I felt genuinely creeped out for the characters and scared as if Rutkin knew my worst fears and were writing them down.

Although this may not seem like the book for you, whether it be the diversified format or the tantalizingly creepy plot, I heavily encourage you to give it a chance as it was a great, fun read. Before you know it, you will have this book finished in a matter of a few short hours.

Influencer Island kept me awake needing to devour this book in one sitting. The podcast style made it easy to read and fast paced. It was chilling but not scary. There were so many twists and turns that the ending took me by surprised. I loved it.

I made it to 17%. This just wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the format. I feel like maybe if this were an audiobook it would be much better. Kind of like Fantasticland.

DNF'd at 10%. The style is not one I found easy to follow and the characters kind of blend into one another. Interesting concept and premise.

I'll skip the summary on this because you can look it up, but basically we have Squid Games meets Hunger Games at the Fyre Festival. Oh, plus culty stuff. And a mysterious artist who paints dead people.

This book is so fun. It's told as a podcast transcript, which keeps things really fast-paced and allows for quick POV shifts that aren't confusing. The format also reminds me a bit of the show Yellowjackets - we come into the story knowing something insane happened, and then it's slowly uncovered.

The only negative I have was that the timeline can get a bit confusing in parts; there would be a "meanwhile" to transition to something I thought happened beforehand. Also, this is a personal thing, but I think there were references to real life influencers I missed out on.

I had a blast reading this. It is a fast read full of twists and turns, and a few gruesome shocks. I would love for it to be made into a show!

Influencer Island comes out on July 30th! Thank you to Netgalley and Kyle Rutkin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who will be the winner of influencer island? The ten contestants will fly to paradise and compete for true social media glory. When they get to the island however, things are a bit more serious than anyone expected. This isn’t just the fight to be the best influencer, but a fight to the death.

This book has been compared to a mixture between the Hunger Games and Fyre festival, and I have to say thats a pretty good description! The book is told from several different perspectives and in podcast form after influencer island goes off air and it’s discovered just how many people have died. I read this book in a single afternoon, and really enjoyed it. The only thing I would change would be diving a bit further into the characters. I think the book could have been a bit longer, but I still flew through it and enjoyed it!

Welcome to Influencer Island! Please enjoy the lovely beaches, the beautiful ocean, the parties, interacting with other influencers, and the occasional challenge that pops up. You will be pushed to your limit and be broadcast to the entire world. But, how far will you go to become more famous?