Listen, I really wanted to like this more than I did. The premise sounds right up my alley, but unfortunately this one just fell flat for me. Seems like the author tried to do a bit too much without really doing much of anything at all if that makes sense.

Good premise but I found flaws with the execution! Will be interested in what this author does next!

I really enjoyed this, it was such a unique idea for a ya horror story. I am glad that I was chosen to give this one a read. I will be checking out anything else by this author

Intriguing book with a reality TV sensibility. The idea is unique, but I had a hard time with the format which is basically a podcast. I think a regular plot would have worked better for me; although, I did enjoy the mystery.

I think the author presented an interesting premise but I found a lot of the mystery aspects lacking.

I wasn't a fan of this book. The way it is written was really confusing at times and a lot of characters were similar.

3.5 rounded up to a 4.

This was actually SUPER fun. So fun, in fact, that I went out and got the other two available books by the author. I love it when stories are stylized, and I'd never encountered a story written in podcast form before. I know some may not like the gimmick, but I found it fun.

This was definitely a quick and entertaining read. It's nothing too deep, but sometimes that's exactly what you need- good, pulpy fun. I'm not sure I'd exactly class it as horror, but I didn't care as I enjoyed the ride so much. Horror adjacent, maybe. Just needed a little bit more editing to clean some mistakes up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I requested this book because of the Fyre Festival comp but I did think all of the influencers just melded together. I also didn't love that the entire thing was a podcast script. That being said, I did enjoy how fast-paced it was and the final twist so I would recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I found Influencer Island by Kyle Rutkin to be disappointing. The book promised to provide insights into influencer marketing, but it failed to deliver on that promise. The writing was a bit boring, and the author seemed more interested in promoting his own agenda than in providing useful information. The book was also poorly organized, with confusing chapter headings and a lack of clear direction. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking to learn about influencer marketing.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc for an honest review!

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. It was much darker than I had anticipated and I didn’t find the characters particularly entertaining or engaging .

This book was good, but I felt it needed more. I love the idea it brought to us and wished it went a little darker.

First of all, the cover of this book is so gorgeous. Influencer Island reminded me a lot of Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky if it had been much more sinister (and not YA). Fast-paced and intriguing, Influencer Island catapulted me to the scene of the crime. I did find the writing style to be a bit confusing at times, the back and forth with time and the podcast style. There were A LOT of similar characters to keep track of.

I had really high hopes for this book - the premise sounded exciting, unique, and a little unconventional, all components of a book that would really capture my attention. And trust when I say this book really captured my attention, but probably not in the best way.

The author attempted to unfold too many storylines, leaving them all severely underdeveloped. There was an unnecessary romance, a Banksy-style artist with a vengeance, and a podcast premise that would never make it on the charts. I wanted so badly to love this book, and I truly couldn't put it down, but it left so much to be desired. I left the book with more questions than I went in with and overall, just really confused.

Something else to consider, and I would never point this out unless it really was glaring, was the inconsistency in many of the details. Sometimes the character was named Kiki and sometimes it was Gigi. Sometimes it was Kaylyn and sometimes it was Kendall. Not sure if this is the fault of the author or the editor, but it was entirely too distracting.

This is like nothing I've ever read before. The format took a little while to get used to, but it's definitely one I enjoyed. It made it so clear as to who was speaking / who's perspective we were seeing things from, which made things easier to follow and understand.

The story itself was so captivating, it kept me hooked throughout, especially as different people were figuring out different mysteries at the same time.

As i did not read a physical book, I'm not sure how long it was, as digital pages are always different due to font size being changeable. I read this quicker than I expected to, but i think the format had something to do with that, as it was very easy to read set up as it was. This is a bonus i didn't expect, but am fascinated by, so wanted to feedback on that too.

Influencer Island by Kyle Rutkin is written different than most books. It's written in the style of a podcast which I didn't mind. Overall, it was an interesting and fun read.

So when I saw the tagline, Fire Festival meets Hunger Games, I thought "hey, why not give this a go?" And then, I read the book.

I think this book tried to be satirical about fame/influencer culture and perhaps it was but the narrative was so overblown, I can't even tell. There wasn't a whole lot of nuance when it came to Rutkin's writing and while the concept seemed interesting enough, the book seemed to bounce from cultural commentary to vapid melodrama to failing to be a thriller. And because of the script format coupled with the writing, there was no room for showing any character depth and with that, no reason for any attachment to any of the characters.

I was so so excited for this one. The blurb had great potential, and I really loved the concept. I've seen some reviews take issue with the podcast style writing, but that didn't bother me too much. The twist at the end just didn't satisfy me for some reason.

The concept was great but the execution was lacking a bit. It needed a bit more work. Plus I couldn't connect with any of the characters and that was a bummer (i'm the type of reader that needs to connect to the characters)

Influencer Island is a superficial look into social media and how society has cultivated a fake image. While it does bring up serious issues there is not much depth in the characters or plot. Its a quick read with not much substance.