Wow! Loved it! Influencer Island, by Kyle Ruskin, is a quick read; it will grab ahold of you and hold on until the last page. Dark, atmospheric and quite disturbing; this is perfect for fans of Fantasticland, by Mike Bockoven. I’d love to hear the audio version and see it made into a Netflix or HBO Max limited series.

I think that the concept was very original and interesting, but the format was daunting. Having read another book or two set in the back and forth interview format I thought I was prepared and able to tackle this book with a similar format... I was not. The back and forth from different media interviews and whatever else was documented to tell the story. I also felt like it was too obvious to me who some of these influencers were based off of and it made it hard to get invested. I think a little more work on some of the characters as well as more focus on the action and this would of been a much better read for me. In the end I still think it is an interesting concept, but that maybe it would work better as a series/film than a book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and really quick read- I didn’t realize it was part of a series but it works as a standalone. The story centers on an eccentric artist who invites top influencers and wannabes to a secluded island where they must participate in Hunger Games type challenges to increase their followings. The author kills off lots of people, which is fun because you have no real expectations of who will make it to the end.

The main characters are a contestant named Carrie and a journalist named Cal. Carrie has been reeling since the disappearance of her beloved brother a year ago, and Cal is having trouble accepting the death of his father. It’s a short book that didn’t go too deeply into the dynamics of their relationship, but I thought it worked.

The action throughout was fun but I admit that when all is unveiled, it felt a little contrived to me and the villain’s motive felt like a stretch. That being said, the author did a good job of tying up the loose ends.

Overall, this is a fun little horror book and I found it engaging and relevant for the times. I’ll likely pick up another book by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a.copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT A STORY!!

Have you every thought to yourself - man I wish there was a book that combined Fyre Fest with the Hunger Games - but actually could it be told to me in the style of a documentary podcast... well you are in luck!

This book features a more untraditional format and is stylized as a podcast. I LOVE unique formats and with the multiple storylines it was awesome to go back and forth so quickly betwen POVs and not have to wait a traditional chapter to know what was going on with other characters. However - I do know that not everyone loves this so BE WARNED this is not like a normal book (it's like a cool book).

I loved how this had multiple loose threads that slowly turned into one big overarching story. There were times were I was like how is this all going to connect - but it all did. I enjoy when I'm not able to figure every "twist" out and while I did figure out 1 of them - I loved being like "WHAT" to things towards the end.

Definetly going to be looking into the audio book format of this book because it truly read as a podcast - so would love to listen to it now. (and I don't every listen to audio books - so that should tell you how I felt about this book).

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this one. Can't wait to check out Kyle's other books!

Did not finish, unfortunately.

I've read several reviews complaining about the book's format. But since I've never tried this type of narration before, I said, well, go for it. Unfortunately, I didn't resonate with it, it was very difficult to keep up with all the characters. It's quite a shame because I loved the premise of it, but from one chapter to the other, I already forgot who all the influencers were and who was talking.

Thank you Net Galley for providing a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a little out of my normal comfort zone, but I actually wound up really enjoying it! I was in desperate need of a break after reading a bajillion romance novels. Don't get me wrong, a good cheesy romance is up there on my list of favorites, but I was definitely ready for a palette cleanser & Influencer Island was a great choice.

I actually saw an ad for this book on Facebook and decided to see if there was an ARC available! I am so grateful to the publisher and author that I was chosen to read and review it ahead of publishing.

As I mentioned, this book was out of my comfort zone as it is a thriller. I've read one or two books in the genre, but it's not something I usually gravitate toward. However, Influencer Island caught my attention.

To give you a basic summary, a renowned and controversial artist creates a reality show involving beloved influencers and people who want to be believed influencers. However, things quickly turn dark as contestants are eliminated -- not just from the competition, but from existence.

There is a lot more to the plot than just the competition, as we switch perspectives from our podcast narrator to some of the contestants and even an agent involved in the later investigation.

I don't want to get into the story too much because I don't want to spoil anything, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a unique way of telling a story and had a lot of interesting twists and turns. I did get a little confused sometimes between the switching of characters. I also felt like I was looking for more in terms of character development and more description of the initial part of the competition. I found it a little difficult to visualize.

All that being said, Influencer Island gave me a much-needed thrill and mystery and was overall very creative. I gave it 4 stars, docking that one star for having a lot of great ideas that I didn't think were fully realized.

Influencer Island is available now for Kindle (included in Unlimited) and paperback.

This book far surpassed any expectations I had before reading it.
I love a good, dark, horror book but I’m finding them harder to find.
This one is really well written, the author has created an eerie atmosphere that draws you in immediately. It’s fast paced with characters that jump off of the page, a truly awesome read.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc.

I didn't have any expectations before starting this book, but I actually really enjoyed it. I was worried the non-traditional format would put me off, but as a regular podcast listener, it was easier to adjust to than I would have thought. Although, this would still make a STELLAR fiction podcast (reminded me of Limetown a bit while reading).

I really liked the unfolding stories that paralleled each other including the actual events on the island, Carrie's brother's disappearance, what lead the influencers and Carrie to separately be picked for the island, as well as Cal's surprise connection to the island and Wyatt.

While reading some of the more critical reviews for this book, formatting aside (which won't be for everyone), it struck me that as someone who enjoys pop culture and has an understanding of influencer culture, those things lead me to enjoying this book more than others because I was able to understand all the reference and source material and see through all the layers of the story. While quite graphic at times, there was still this tongue in cheek factor to the book.

The only reason I knocked a star off is because I felt the story fizzled a bit at the end and I wanted a little more of a grand standoff or climax in the lighthouse... something about it fell a little flat. Additionally, I was really intrigued by this illuminati-esque 'XIIX' group, and not much information was given to explain how they were involved, other than some of the members were involved in the island.

Overall, this was a quick but intriguing read and was a great commentary on the current culture. It almost reminded me of an indie film I saw years ago called Series 7, that was a similarly violent contest commentary on the rise of reality television. But the book never crossed the line into parody territory, which would have ruined the tone needed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read copy.

I thought the premise of this book was fascinating. The format of the novel was not usual or unusual, as books told in a narrative format (like a podcast) are becoming somewhat more common. I thought that Carrie and Cal's backstories were fascinating and I was really intrigued to see where they went.

I did find the pacing to be off - the first 70% or so was medium paced, and then the ending felt very rushed. It almost made it seem less credible because it all resolved itself so quickly, after dangling the carrot of the mystery for so long. I wish there had been another 50 pages or so to pace out the ending and allow time for each reveal to sink in.

Written in a podcast/interview style format which I loved! It was like uncovering the story with all the characters together.⁠
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It keeps comparing it to a Fyer Festival (It's not what it seems) vs a Hunger Games (kill everyone til the end), but it kind of reminded me more of Jurassic Park (fight, persevere and stay alive) or Scooby-Doo - Spooky Island (what the heck is going on and who is controlling this). There are multiple story lines that are running throughout the book and come together at the end. But is it really believable that *SPOILER ALERT* it was all because of Tuck? It seemed a little too easy of an ending. For being a thriller, there were some life lessons in that plot twist. "A wave does not care about your intentions...if you hesitate...you've already lost" ⁠
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It is a fun quirky fast read that made it worth the read.

I feel like this has potential but it needs to be polished extensively. The direct style works in a podcast format but it needs to be raw if you go with that style. If it’s satire, then lean into that. I feel Like this has a lot of interesting things but none of them went deep enough.

The book exudes atmospheric, chilling, and thrilling vibes. It creates just the perfect ambience for a psychological thriller/horror narrative. The concept is interesting as it gives you a what-if situation of what will happen if suddenly there's a competition specially designed for influencers that becomes the hothouse for an unexpected death.

It's fast-paced, and the writing style is structured as if you're reading a podcast instead of listening to one. I'm new to this kind of writing structure, so I don't know if I liked it or not. Overall, I kinda enjoyed it and it was a thrilling ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and Greater Path LLC for the eARC!

Personally, I found it hard to focus on all the different viewpoints. I get that it was a podcast and the text served as a podcast script, but there were really no clear breaks between “scenes,” for lack of a better word, which really confused me.

The story overall had a lot of potential with the action scenes between contestants, but I feel that the author wanted to pack so much and so many different viewpoints that the story became rather jumbled. I had a hard time remembering the characters who were associated with the office - I think a character was named Lane but who was Lane, and why was Joss a relevant character?

The novel was pitched as Fyre Island meets Hunger Games, and those aspects were present from the beginning.
Personally, I had high hopes for this book, and I was definitely intrigued throughout but I’m not as impressed or excited by the ending and the book as I had hoped to be.

It definitely has potential and some points I was rushing to find out what happened next, but overall I feel I have more questions and confusion over the plot now that I finished reading.

With a title like "Influencer Island," you sort of know the kind of book you're signing up to read. I anticipated a fast-paced, fun time with this one, and it delivered. Is it the most original book? No. Is it kind of predictable? Yeah. Did I still have a fantastic time with it? Absolutely. Unfortunately the characters are a little one-dimensional and the pace kind of makes it so that it's hard to really get to know and like any of them, so this one is just a 3-star for me. But I would recommend it for anyone looking for a really fast and not-too-serious book.

This novel is a fairly quick read but I like it because it feels like listening to a true crime podcast or watching a documentary. In fact, I really wish this could be done as a film or something because it’s so compelling!

It really speaks a lot to what we as a society tune into and give attention to, plus has commentary on our influenced culture and what we will do for fame. Definitely recommend!

I am on the fence about this book. On one hand, the suspense created definitely kept the pages turning. On the other, the book was too abrupt. There was a lot of hype leading up to the show and the mysterious artist hosting it and then the actual competition took about 3 chapters. If you're going to compare something to the Hunger Games, which took three books plus prequels, you gotta do better than three chapters of challenges.

The book is told interview style and the narrators are a podcast producer and his assistant producer, interspersed with FBI agent testimony and two survivors of the island. I have seen this style before and it was done better in the other book I read as sometimes it was difficult to remember who was who (they kept referring to someone named "Lane" who I still don't really know who they were in relation to the story and I didn't care enough to flip back to remember).

Unfortunately, I am comparing this book to a few other similar ones I have read this year and this one does not pass muster when contrasted with those. I think this book has excellent bones but the author needs to go back and flush out the story more, including lengthening the show aspect of Influencer Island and the games to a more acceptable level. It is a severely missed opportunity since Mr. Rutkin clearly has it in him to be sinister and creative when it comes to plot devices.

Starting off this review, I wanted to point out that this is the first book I've ever read by this author. With that in mind, I will immediately say that I loved the idea of this format of a podcast, and more books should be written this way. That’s what drew me to request this book for review in the first place.

The story (podcast) is very fast paced. However, there was something just… Lacking. For me, personally. Backstories were drawn out a little too much and characters were just a little too unlikable for me. It made it hard to resonate with anyone. On top of unlikable characters, there was also a lot of flip-flopping around in the story. That, personally, was a bit of a mood killer for me.

I wish the other went into a little bit of more gory details with some aspects. For example, I was really hoping that *spoiler* the shark scene would have a bit more oomf. However, it was lacking for me. That disappointed me the most. The lack of gory detail.

I want to personally thank NetGalley, as well as the author, publisher, and anyone else involved in providing copies, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Reviews will also be submitted to Goodreads.

The description of Hunger Games meets Fyre Fest is SPOT ON! This book was a quick, thrilling read. As somone who doesn't "get" social influencers I loved they way they were written in this book. The transcript writing style made for an fast read but you really have to give it your attention, sometimes I had to back up because the narrator changed on me. Kept my interest till the end and I enjoyed the read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is really different. I really liked the way that this book was written. It was a fresh and new take and I love books that write differently. It is also a really engaging book. It is in parts edge of your seat. Lots of action and things going on. There is alot of strange things going on in the book and it is also a book that has alot of things that you need to try and put together along the way. It is also eye-opening if you are someone who spends alot of time on social media following influencers. (not my kinda thing.) As it shows you how the race for insta fame can be really damaging. I really do recommend this book.

Love love love the concept I can’t say that enough but this was just not it for me. It gave off too much of a hunger games or squid games vibe