This book sounded so good. But I really did not like this. I found it hard to keep up with the overall story. I did not like the style this book was written in. And by the time I got to the end I really did not care. This was just not a good book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kyle Rutkin for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Influencer Island coming out July 30, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I remember seeing a post about this on BookTok, so I was excited to read it! I love books set on creepy islands.

Influencer Island was created by street artist Wyatt James. Out of millions of submission videos, he chooses ten social media influencers to travel to the island compete against each other. After the competitors get to the island, chaos ensues. Several of them were found dead or missing. There wasn’t a winner. Cal Everett is a young reporter who hopes to solve the mystery of what happened on the island.

The book chapters are episodes with a podcast script format. I haven’t read stories in strictly this format before, but I loved it. I thought it was a tight, short story and I loved it was heavy on the dialogue.

Overall, I really loved the book! I thought it was clever and dark. It was a fascinating commentary on our society and social media.

I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys isolation stories and the influences of society on individuals.

This book was a really interesting concept but it kind of lagged on for me.
I wish that the majority of this book was not written like a blog. It made it feel choppy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this one

I appreciate the originality of this book, it's very clever.

It takes a while to get used to the format, which is unconventional.

The characters were flat and I'd have liked the author to have spent more time developing them.

The story was very fast-paced, dark and gripping.

If you're into psychological thrillers, you definitely need to give this one a try.

Influencer Island is almost like an extended Black Mirror episode told in a podcast format. Cal and Joss tell the story of what happened on "Influencer Island" - a social media/artistic publicity stunt that had deadly consequences. Wyatt James is a Banksy-esque mysterious Hollywood artist who wears hoodies and a gold ski mask and does pop-up art featuring famous people with a gold blur over their eyes. James is also a technological expert and has begun a contest for social influencers. A handful of select contestants go to a mysterious island where they'll compete for the ultimate prize. Everyone thinks this is like an exclusive Survivor-esque show, being broadcast to millions over the Internet. But when they arrive they find out it's more like The Hunger Games or Battle Royale, as the influencers very lives are at stake. But at the core of it all, the mysteries at the heart of the lives of one of the influencers as well as one of the podcasters will be revealed - if they survive.
I was a little unsure at the start if I would end up liking this book. But it took very little time for the story to totally suck me in and make we want to keep reading till the end to find out what really happened. The story continues along at a rapid clip, and, for the most part, maintains more integrity than a book like this should. It was exciting and interesting and made for some on-the-nose social commentary. The sticking points are the fact that, while the chapters are set up to mimic episodes of a podcast, the story within goes back and forth between characters and perspectives the way a book does, not the way a podcast ever would. And the tale does become even more over-the-top toward the finale to strain the willing suspension of disbelief. But, it is nonetheless very entertaining and while I was sure I knew who Wyatt James really was, I was totally unprepared for the reveal of who they turned out to be.

This pains me to day but I DNF this at 35%.

When I first saw the cover to this I was instantly drawn to it!

The premise behind the book sounded so intriguing, an island full of influencers who are getting killed off one by one? Yes sign me up!

I really liked the writing style in this one, it’s meant to be like a podcast which I do like and haven’t seen since I read the book Sadie.

Unfortunately for me this book was a bit slow at times, especially when we were hearing from Cal and his con workers. To be blatantly honest I couldn’t have cared less about Cal. I did want to know more about Carrie and her brother but I just don’t think I could continue this.

I wish this was more focused on the island and the influencers instead of the Wyatt and Cal. I also feel like there were just too many plots in this one going at once.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. Especially with the author’s note in the front and the back. Since this was an advanced reader version, I won’t be too harsh on the typos and errors but I hope those are fixed in the final version, because there are quite a few.

The premise is really interesting: influencers battle royale style on an island. I love me a good battle royale story.

But to compare this to critically acclaimed works such as “World War Z” and “Daisy Jones and the Six?” Those are big shoes to fill and this just didn’t compete.

We follow Cal and Carrie mostly in the format of a podcast and audio clips that were clunky. Their story was compelling and the author did a good job of keeping intrigue the entire time.

I did want to know who Wyatt James was and that reveal actually did catch my by surprise. So there were good bones here.

This book just isn’t ready for publication. The format is clunky, the characters aren’t all that fleshed out, and the story just doesn’t work.

I think there are just too many ideas here and not enough focus. I would have rather spent the whole time on the island with the contest. The weird art/cult plot took away from the story, even if it was the whole plot.

Unique, but not my cup of tea. I just wanted a bloody battle and that’s how this book is being advertised and it just didn’t deliver. I’m sure there are people out there who will enjoy this. I’m just not one of them.

***thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me this advanced ecopy for my honest review.***

Fun thriller that combines social media culture and reality tv. Currently and absolutely a blast to read, all will enjoy this thriller.

A relevant psychological thriller, taking on as it does the constant chasing of fame via social media and the influencers who live a life in that strange spotlight.

Survivor meets Love Island in this narrative that is part horror, part social commentary- it is both addictive and compelling where fame equals death equals fame.

I do feel it could do with a decent copy editor casting an eye over it, there are a few technical hitches and editorial issues but as an ARC you often find this and it didn't take away from the cleverness of the plot.

Overall a genuinely entertaining read that deserves its fifteen minutes of fame.

4 solid stars

I loved this book! What a great and fun summer read. The topics and setting are so relevant and relatable. The style of writing was uniques and perfect. This had plenty of twists and was devoured over the course of one afternoon!

So this is a really interesting concept. I won't lie and say that I love social media, we all do, but there's no doubt that some people go through some great lengths in order to gain something from it. Some want fame, glory, free products or money. Others want all of the above. There's nothing wrong with with any of these things, but there comes a point when you need to take a step back and reflect on what certain influencers are trying to promote. With that in mind, I feel like this book had a case of right idea with a bad execution. There were a few grammar mistakes, which really doesn't bother me as much, but then there were also cases in which names kept getting changed and that was a little weird.

The format took some getting used to since it's a podcast/script format. But I think it would work well as an audiobook. Overall while this book wasn't necessarily for me I know there will be people who enjoy it

Influencer Island is a dark, can't-put-down, at-the-edge-of-my-seat thriller/horror. I read the book in one sitting. It really is Fyre Festival meets Hunger Games meets Squid Games. It's also a commentary on society today and the dependence on social media. The story is told through a podcast format, which was unique and definitely added to the story. While the overarching plot is about what happened on Influencer Island, there are side mysteries as well. The author did a great job weaving all the mysteries and characters together. The book is full of unexpected twists. I would warn that some scenes are quite gory. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and quite different from anything else I've read lately. I'd definitely recommend it! 5 stars!

"Your seriously have no idea how delusional this man was. How dangerous he was. The terror we dealt with."

Influencer Island is a terrifying tale of our lives depending on social media - literally.

This book is written in the style of a podcast and overlapping interviews. We follow the stories of primarily, Cal and Carrie, as we dive deeper and deeper and deeper into what changes from paradise, to terror, and finally, to conspiracy. With several alternating points of views, this story gets very tangled, messy, and fast paced from page one. Before you even have a chance to learn names, you're already wondering, "what the hell happened?"

This story took off from the first sentence, and does not give the reader a moment to breathe. At first, it seems like just a bunch of paint thrown at a wall, and the reader is trying to dissect the information they're given to try to make sense of the plot, or let alone find it.

Then with each page, things start to click. Once one domino falls, the whole house starts falling in terms of everything coming together.

In terms of rating, I would give the book a 4.5 stars out of 5, but rounding up to 5 for the sake of scoring. My only reason for that is no fault of the author, but the editing seemed to have fallen a little slack toward the end of the book, and minor issues such as typos and incorrect usage of pronouns began occurring. Prior to the last 20 percent of the book, I truly did not notice that many issues. In terms of story, I did NOT want to put this book down, but alas, I had to sleep at some point. Before I knew it, I was already 90 percent through the story and still having whiplash.

Overall, this story was excellent. I was desperately holding out to the last page. I will say I felt the ending felt it needed more... or at least a sequel. This book is not only an exposure on the extremes humanity will go to for what they feel they are owed, but also how social media and influencer culture has purposely profited off the desperation of influencers to be relevant.

And I promise, I am not missing the irony of me writing a review for attention on social media about a book where your life depends on social media attention.

Trigger warnings: Gore, drug use, mental health, violence, death, torture, dead bodies, mutilation

There isn't a SINGLE dull moment in Kyle Rutkin's Influencer Island. I absolutely tore through this novel, and whenever I had to put it down, I struggled to focus on what I needed to do (aka my 9 to 5 job) because I was so caught up in wanting to know what happened next. The podcast approach is pretty clever, and I can see some people having an issue with it, but personally, I love it, and I thought it added an extra layer of complex storytelling that was specific to this story. Podcasts help promote someone's brand, whether they're a true crime podcast, a comedy podcast, etc. Podcasts promote an image, and so the method of telling Carrie's and Cal's stories via a podcast made perfect sense to me.

Also, reading this book right after the Amber Heard trial felt particularly potent. Her trauma and pain were memed and jeered at across the world, going viral to the point where content creators on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram were jumping on board just to increase their followers, views, and attention. It was absolutely disgusting watching how social media thrived off of Amber's trauma, and the whole idea that social media can be heartless and in some cases genuinely dangerous, was a clear theme throughout the book.

I didn't love a couple things about the book, namely the Big Reveal of who Wyatt James is and what happened to Tuck. I like the idea behind them, and I need to add that my lack of enthusiasm about them is more of a personal preference than a reflection on the author. The cult angle was also a bit confusing and at first seemed to be unnecessary, especially, since the cult's storyline isn't resolved and is left just hanging there, but then I saw that Influencer Island is part of a fictional universe this author has created, which made a lot more sense. I'm excited to check out the rest of this author's work and to get deeper into the Died Famous universe! Highly recommend!

🔪 Review: This was a NetGalley arc, so thank you @netgalley @kmrutkin !

So Squid Games meets Hunger Games meets Fyre Festival. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by that? Not my usual genre but maybe that needs to change as I binged this book in 1 day.

This dark, fast pace, psychological thriller was such a fun and gory read. The writing format was similar to a transcript/podcast kind of style which made it really easy to follow. This is the second book this month iv read that’s written this way (Daisy Jones being the other) and it’s something I really enjoy.

What I liked about this books so much is that as far fetched as it seems, when you stop and think about how our current world acts around and towards ‘influencers’ and the lengths people go to create viral content, is it really as far fetched as it initially seems? The author created characters with names and characteristics to real life influencers so it was quite easy to guess who they were based off of, I actually really liked this aspect.

Although compared to a few other stories at the start of my review, the storyline, contest and challenges are all original within themselves. I loved the originality, page turner moments and the plot twists!

I feel like Netflix should really get on board and turn this into a series asap.

Rate 4 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really enjoyed this book! Loved the podcast format! Like Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies! Definitely good for horror fans.

This was such a fun concept/read. I think the idea of an killer influencer island told in a podcast format is so interesting and cool. However, I did think Cal's role in the book (aside from podcast host) felt a little heavy-handed and like trying to make as many connections and tie loose ends as possible by the end of the book. It just felt a little unnecessary and random in the grand scheme of things - like is it not enough to just make influencers play IRL hunger games? do we really need plot and backstory? It just felt like it over complicated things a bit when the formula is already interesting and successful in its most simplest form.

Overall, I really enjoyed this.

This wasn’t as gory as I was hoping it was going to be but it was still really good. I really enjoyed the writing style of it being like reading a podcast and from lots of different pov’s I found it was quite action packed and fast paced so kept me hooked!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was a bit slow at some points, but otherwise it was a very thrilling story!

Influencer Island starts with Cal he works for blue law studios. It’s never really explain what type of studio it is but he is a journalist and is doing a podcast for them about the island, but has been working for them for years and the podcast is just starting. When gathering all the entries for the contest he gets a tip that links him to Sherry and Katrina they are slotted to be top contenders. When he goes to the link he sees Sherry on the toilet giving a rant and although we only know that she uses explicit language and that her best friend Katrina is in the video we don’t learn what it’s about until much much later. The person having The contest is a Banksy type artist named Wyatt. He is secretive and is so popular it’s starting selling thumbnails for millions of dollars. His tag is he covers up all his subjects eyes with gold paint or some variation of it. Cal initially wanted to be an artist like his dad who was very talented painter but suffered from mental issues and that is why he never knew his dad when he meets Sherry and hears about her brother who is also missing he feels an infinity to her. By the time the book gets to the end the stories will all be connected in one way or another everything gets blurred right and wrong, missing or murdered and even genders. It was a lot to keep track of but it is told in podcast form so the chapters are short and you’ll be in one place and instantly go to another I didn’t dislike the book I just thought it was all too coincidental, but if you like thrillers in a fast pace ride with a pat ending you’ll like this book. I was given this book by Net Galley and the author and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.