Gripping very easy read about Heather, a trainee teacher with a past who gets catapulted into an exaggerated reality tv world…..but it all becomes clear that it is not innocent fun and people are dying, great read about the reality insta based world we live in!

It took me some time to get into this book, and the pacing felt a bit slow for my taste. While it was well-written, it didn’t quite keep me on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the ARC.

Wow! You are on one hell of a rollercoaster with this book the amount of twists and turns that where in this. I found the start a bit slow.. but bare with it and you will be gripped.

Given the world of influencers we live in at the moment this book feels very relevent. I would have liked a more shocking twist, something to stop me in my tracks! Nevertheless, this was a entertaining read alongside some darker themes such as additicion and mental health.

Heather's life changes overnight when she wins a coveted spot in the 'Triple F lottery, promising fame, fortune, and followers. The rules: live luxuriously and stay on top of the app's rankings to secure £5,000 weekly and six months of fame. But as winners face tragic fates—addiction, depression, even suicide—Heather discovers sinister forces at play. With her secrets surfacing, Heather must navigate a treacherous path where losing followers means losing her life. This gripping read builds intensity and suspense, capturing the addictive allure of fame and the dark underbelly of social media.

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I really liked the sound of this from the premise but then when reading it I found it weird and vacuous. The beginning was quite confusing and it took a while to get into. However, I persevered and did get stuck into the book and it improved a bit. Then I started to get bored as the plot was dragging, this book is far too long for the events that take place and probably would have been better had it been shorter.
I did not think much of the characters, they are largely unlikeable and forgettable. I did like Heather and she has some interesting secrets that are revealed.
Unfortunately there was not much I liked about this book that redeemed it,
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

#TheWinner #NetGalley
5 ⭐
Heather thought she’d been left behind in life, until she won a place in the luxurious ‘Triple F’ lottery, where fame, fortune and followers await 12 lucky winners. The rules are simple: live the lifestyle of your dreams and win £5,000 a week for the rest of your life, plus six months of fame on the country’s most popular app – as long as you’re not bottom of the rankings. Lose your followers, and you lose everything. But there’s trouble in paradise. Too many winners are falling victim to tragedy: addiction, depression, even suicide. Someone, somewhere, seems to know their secrets, and is stirring up hatred online. And Heather has secrets of her own. Suddenly she’s not worried about losing her lifestyle. She’s afraid of losing her life.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

This had great potential to be a five star psychological thriller, after an engaging and absorbing beginning. However, the plot pace became too slow for my preferences and I found myself losing focus in places and having to re-read. The last third of the story picked up and offered an entertaining conclusion.

Despite only being a three star read for me, I would recommend to this to anyone who enjoys reality television or is interested in social media PR.

I would still be intrigued to read more by this author, unfortunately this new release missed the mark for me.

My millennial self will read absolutely anything that centres around reality TV, so when I was accepted for an e-arc I was so happy and couldn’t wait to read it. 

It starts off with an intense prologue, the kind that makes you speed read the first couple of chapters. I began loving this book and then around halfway through the pace lagged. I found myself choosing other books as my attention was just wandering. This book started with a pacy writing style and short chapters, but towards the end the paragraphs were so descriptive and techy.

I wanted to love The Winner, but it ended up just OK.

Phenomenal! I absolutely loved the premise of this - Fame, Fortune and Followers - it seems to be the way that so many people are trying to live their lives as influencers in real life and in the story, trainee teacher, Heather, gives it a go and is picked as one of the winners!

£5k per week and a celebrity lifestyle, helped by advisers to help with your lifestyle, social media, the press and your image. Just make sure you don't mess up, because if you find yourself ranking at the bottom, you're out and you lose it all.

Heather is doing well, but after one of the other influencers takes her own life, someone starts threatening Heather and outing her secrets online. Who knows about Heather's past and why are they targeting her?

Some clever twists and an eye-opening insight into the celebrity and influencer world. Loved it!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, C. J. Parsons and HQ for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a nail-biting thriller that built in intensity as the plot developed. I raced to its conclusion.

Parsons’ novel taps into the world of influencers and social media. Except the winners of the ‘TripleF’ lottery are never secure – they have to keep on top of their follower numbers or risk losing the fame, fortune and celebrity status. It is a dream that so many aspire to, like Heather, and when she unexpectedly wins a place as one of the influencers, she thinks she is set up for life. Until it is clear that someone out there is targeting the winners, making them crack under pressure and become the losers.

I really liked the concept explored here and how the world of social media can have such a massive impact on daily life. The world of an influencer just boggles my mind and in this story, the characters are under pressure to ensure their ‘CelebRate’ is maintained. What is their USP? How can they promote it? How can they keep public interest? Whilst Heather appears to seamlessly slip into this role, she is not ignorant to the tragedies of past winners, especially when a suicide of a new friend starts to raise more questions.

I could not fathom who was behind the threats to the influencers, despite Parsons providing clues. I enjoyed how the narrative switches to intimate chapters of the voice of the perpetrator, particularly as it is clear that this person has a lot of information at their fingertips and is intent on destroying the lives of others. The power of trolls on social media is another area that is portrayed in this book which I consider a very sad bi-product of today’s society. Although some of the characters claim they don’t let it get to them, I cannot imagine having strangers making such horrid, criticising comments from the ambiguity of their keyboards: it is uncontrolled bullying and I think this is interestingly explored in the story.

An ordinary person boosted to fame, this book explores the successes and pitfalls of instant “celeb-dom”. Heather herself has secrets and I was intrigued to see how far they would remain that way – because when you are on social media and working to remain current, nothing is left private. I was curious to see whether Heather’s past would remain unexposed and enjoyed watching her character grow over the story, using her experiences as a TripleF winner to understand more about the new circles she walks in.

This was a great read. It developed unexpectedly and I thought the story really grew in intensity as it reached its conclusion. There were plenty of surprises along the way and I found that I became as addicted to the story as the influencers were to their follower numbers.

With thanks to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When reality TV winning isn't all they make it out to be.

I was immediately sucked in by the prologue and hooked all the way through, even though the middle slowed down a bit, but that was nice because WOW that ending!

CJ Parsons is another thriller writer that I will be gravitating to and recommending to many other people moving forward.
Thank you NetGalley and HQ for allowing me read it, and CJ Parsons for writing the book for us to enjoy.

Chilling and poignant.

This novel is almost too close to reality. The lottery for reality tv, the millions of watchers.

This is a brilliant, smart, and fast paced read.

For beach reading or for a free weekend.

The description of "The Winner" piqued my interest. Despite not being a huge fan of reality TV, I find books on this topic quite fascinating, and this one was no different. The story's twists and turns were enjoyable once it picked up pace, but I felt the book was somewhat lengthy and could have been shorter.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Winner.

This concept is right up my street! I liked Heather, the main character, I felt for her and what she had been through. You are straight in with the prologue, and it keeps you wondering for a while how it fits in with the story.

I thought maybe it dragged a little in the middle, and could have been slightly shorter, but, on the whole, a solid, entertaining read! My first by this author and I wasn’t disappointed!

"The Winner" by C.J. Parsons, narrated by Lucy Walker-Evans is a thought-provoking thriller exploring reality TV's darker side and obsession with fame and fortune. The concept of a lottery that promises winners a life of luxury and celebrity is fascinating, and the author does an excellent job of building tension and suspense as the story unfolds.
The protagonist, Heather, is a complex and relatable character who wins the lottery and finds her life turned upside down. At first, she's thrilled to have the opportunity to live a life of luxury and fame, but soon she realises that the cost is much higher than she ever could have imagined. The rules of the lottery are strict, and the winners are constantly under pressure to maintain their social media presence and keep their followers engaged.
As Heather navigates this new reality, she begins to uncover dark secrets and sinister forces. The author does an excellent job of building tension and suspense, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I wondered what would happen next. The characters are well-developed and complex, with motivations that are both relatable and terrifying.
One of the things that struck me about this book is how relevant it is to our current culture. The obsession with social media and reality TV is a major theme, and the author does an excellent job of exploring the darker side of these phenomena. The book raises important questions about what we value in life and what we're willing to sacrifice for fame and fortune.
Overall "The Winner" is for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers or is fascinated by the darker side of reality TV. The book is a gripping and thought-provoking exploration of what happens when we prioritise fame and fortune over everything else.

The blurb on the book says “be careful what you wish for…” Well if what you wish for is a pacy but smart and different psychological read, then I recommend this. I got through it fast.

Fun to read because the social media lottery contest in the book is (depressingly!) easy to imagine, ‘The Winner’ also has a dystopian edge, wit and sharp writing that takes it way above the average in a packed genre.

A viably unusual take on the ‘normal person wins reality TV show’ sub genre ( with it all going downhill quickly ) this time the school trainee teacher, Heather, realises pretty quickly something is going terribly wrong for certain contestants and ex contestants as their secrets become public knowledge with devastating effects

Heather herself has a secret ( not the normal type we are all used to by now ) and she is targeted…..the story progresses as she battles to find out who us behind the ‘trolling’ with surprising results

It is a good look at fame, wealth and popularity that rises quickly and fades even quicker and I really liked Heather and her determination to do what she thought was right whilst still being human enough to enjoy the glitz of it all, while it lasted

Maybe a tad long at 428 Pages but very readable and different

Heather is excited to have won the ‘Triple F’ lottery, where you live the lifestyle of your dreams while keeping up your followers. The catch being, if you come bottom of the rankings you lose it all. It soon becomes apparent that many winners are falling victim in suspicious circumstances and soon Heather is wondering if it’s too good to be true.

I really liked the concept of this one; using current issues, such as social media and trolling as the subject for a thriller with a hint of speculative fiction. It was interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes and I found the majority of the story entertaining. The main issue I had with the book was I found it a bit too long and feel it could have been condensed down slightly. However, this was a fun, compelling read and I’d definitely read more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Contemporary Suspense.,
When a pipe dream turns reality, things soon take a toxic turn in this contemporary suspense where nothing is as it seems. A dark and twisting tale, a chillingly deep look into the world of social media and those that chase a lifestyle dream where materialistic values matter more than anything else. With a deftly drawn and credible cast and a propulsive plot, an immersive and timely read.