After reading and absolutely loving Jesse's previous novel Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers, and then reading the description for this, I knew I had to read it!
This was such a fun, not too serious or intense book about 'mom-fluencers' and all the things that come with it-good and bad. I loved the character development and that it was solely focused on a few characters as to build their personality more. At the half-way mark is where the big development happens and it just gets juicier from here.
The ending was perfect for this book, and it felt realistic and stayed true to the personality of the characters. Overall a great, fun, exciting read for any fans of social media.

Meredith has successfully established her brand as a rising influencer and takes on the role of mentor for her new friend, Aspen, aiming to elevate her social media presence. However, when Aspen rapidly surpasses Meredith, amassing over a million followers on Instagram and TikTok, the power dynamic shifts dramatically.

Can Meredith navigate the challenges of losing her position as the leading influencer? It seems the competition is about to escalate.

This engaging thriller features deeply flawed characters that I found thoroughly captivating. It prompted me to question the authenticity of popular influencers online—definitely a thought-provoking exploration of contemporary social media dynamics!

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

I love Jesse's writing so much (Dial A for Aunties is one of my all time faves) and last year I read her first foray into thrillers, I'm Not Done with You Yet and also loved it. So I had high hopes for You Will Never be Me, maybe too high?

It's very juicy and it did me engaged and I just think it fell a little flat for me! All of the characters were super unlikeable (I get they were meant to be) but I just never really learned to get on with them! I'd still definitely recommend as it's an easy and darkly funny read.

Social Media, now you don't need leadership skills to gain followers, you just need a niche. In this cutthroat world, where seeing is believing and image is everything, You Will Never Be Me combines all of those things that everyone knows you should never mix. Business, friendship, success, money jealousy and insecurity, to a deadly and devastating effect.

*"You Will Never Be Me" by Jesse Sutanto is a thrilling and darkly humorous novel that expertly weaves suspense with wit. Sutanto's sharp and gripping storytelling keeps readers on edge as they follow a protagonist caught in a web of deception, rivalry, and high-stakes drama. The fast-paced plot, filled with unexpected twists and complex characters, explores themes of identity, ambition, and the price of success. Sutanto's unique blend of humor and tension makes this book an addictive read from start to finish. *You Will Never Be Me* is a compelling, clever, and highly entertaining thriller.*

Meredith is a struggling influencer and a single mum to baby Luca. She recently fell out with her best friend, Aspen, also an influencer, albeit more successful than her.

Meredith ‘made’ Aspen. She first met her at a party eight years before, and Aspen (whose real name is Ryleebelle) was a struggling YouTuber/ wannabe singer. Meredith was a successful influencer, specialising in beauty and fashion, and she took Ryleebelle under her wing. She came up with the name ‘Aspen’ and urged her to find her ‘niche’.

Fast forward eight years and Aspen has it all: a husband, three beautiful children, huge house, and an extremely successful career of ‘momfluencer’ on Instagram and TikTok.

Meredith’s following has plummeted and she is really struggling to navigate her life as a single mother and ‘momfluencer’.

After the fallout with Aspen, Mer steals an iPad belonging to Aspen’s daughter. She soon realises that she has access to all of Aspen’s appointments, as her ex-friend kept everything online with her accounts linked across all home devices.

This gives Meredith an idea…

Aspen’s life starts to spiral out of control. She keeps missing the important appointments, and she is filmed by others looking disheveled and stressed. Is she losing her mind?

I LOVED this book.

There are some unexpected twists, especially the one that happened halfway through the book. I was blown away by that one.

This book shows the reality and the ugly side of social media. It certainly made me realise that we shouldn’t believe everything we see online. Most of the time we see the edited version, and not the real truth.

If you think that a certain famous influencer has it ‘easy’, then think again! They only show the ‘good’ side of her lives, while underneath, they might be hiding secrets. Aspen’s online life was nothing like her real one, and we soon notice the cracks.

I definitely recommend this book.

Many thanks to HQ for approving my NetGalley request.

You Will Never Be Me is a suspenseful and all-consuming psychological thriller that will draw you into its obsessive, toxic relationship. It combines social insights with smart and sharp humour to excellent effect.

This peels back the façade of perfectly curated social media lives to show the hard work and sometimes deception involved. Both Aspen and Meredith are incredibly self-obsessed and have their lives determined by their status and need to be liked. They fit that mould of influencer that is obsessed with their follower count and perception at all costs. Some of the best scenes involved the behind the scenes work to create that idyllic feed. This warps their entire perception of themselves and the world around them—everything has to be just so for the aesthetic of it all. This means that the line between fantasy and reality becomes increasingly blurred. I loved how we saw this across a collective of influencers though, creating this wider-spread atmosphere where the currency is your influence and that is a precarious place to be in. The mighty can always fall.

It is also interesting that both of them eventually become family influencers, reminding you of the exploitation of children often used in that industry. There has increasingly been conversations coming from the ‘child stars’ of these family influencers that shows just how dark and uncomfortable these channels can be for the real people behind them. Of course some aspects of this are exaggerated and do not necessarily reflect all the real life examples, but you can imagine some of this is very close to reality.

Ironically, Jesse Q. Sutanto exposes the false sense of authenticity and vulnerability as an additional weapon in the arsenal of influencing. Nothing is real, everything is filtered just so. It makes for darkly hilarious reading at some points and deeply disturbing at others. This toxic bubble also lends itself perfectly to the unhealthy relationship at the core of the book. It is a minefield of jealousy and unspoken competition. The methods Aspen and Meredith use to one-up each other are underhanded and downright nefarious. Sutanto pushes things to the extreme, but only in increments so that the tension and stakes feel like they build somewhat naturally. It is a cesspool of negativity and toxicity which completely contrasts the positive outpouring of their content.

Sutanto magnifies this further with the use of dual timelines, following each ‘friend’ at the pinnacle of their fame as they grow increasingly envious of the other. You chart their rise and fall in this claustrophobic social bubble. It also allows for some sprinklings of surprises as the twists and turns unfold. I also enjoyed how certain relationships were skewed very differently through each perspective and timeline. Neither one of these protagonists are particularly likeable, even if you can understand elements of their motivations. They also constantly feel like unreliable narrators, adding another element of manipulation and control. It means as a reader you are always on the backfoot and second-guessing what is in front of you. After all, within this space, what is an influencer if not a manipulator.

In addition to the space of beauty and family influencing, there is also an element of true crime. Sutanto focuses particularly on influencers within this industry and how easy it can be for cases to become sensationalised, to the extreme of dehumanising the real people involved to treat them as characters in a story instead. They become vessels to project your theories and preconceived ideas on. However, Sutanto adds a brilliant twist to this that slots in perfectly with the manipulation and unease throughout.

You Will Never Be Me places obsession and toxic influencer culture firmly in its crosshairs and delivers an explosively entertaining and skin-crawling story.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Sutanto
I give this book 4.25 stars.

My Thoughts
This was the perfect popcorn thriller for me. Told from the perspectives of two equally unlikeable momfluencers, who live in LA. We enter into the toxic world of social media and your follower count,likes and amount of views your reels/videos reach.How authentic is your portrayal of everyday life and how far would you go to achieve popularity. I loved the twists especially the big one and how the jealousy and betrayal and desperation seeped through the storyline. This book was an addictive and relevant read and the author has given us a juicy deeper delve into the dark subject matter.l think this would make an excellent buddy/book club read.
Thank you to Netgalley,Jesse Sutanto and HQ for my chance to read and review this book.

Book Description
I’m stalking my best friend Aspen Palmer, she has everything I want. The worst thing is, I showed her how to get it. And now I’m dead to her.
But I’ve found a way to get revenge.
Aspen won’t go down without a fight. But I made Aspen, and I know exactly how to break her.

I love reading books by Jesse Sutano and I read this book very quickly as I didn't want to put it down. It had great pace and twists that were very well done.

And after reading this book nor would you want to be!

Meet Meredith ( Mer ) and Aspen, 2 of the most hideously delicious toxic people ever to be in a book, there lives ruled by Social Media, their happiness dependant on likes, adoration and fakery….when they are besties it’s doable BUT when there is a fall out BEWARE as these 2 take no prisoners and nothing but nothing comes in the way of their influencing and adoration

Its a poisonous look into the world of Insta and Tik Tok ( seems Insta is now Facebook and old fashioned and Tik Tok the place to be ) and what happens when Mer who helps Aspen get on the ladder of popularity suddenly finds herself less popular whilst Aspen is flying, it was outrageous the lengths she then went to sabotage, the anger and hatred that builds is terrifying and when push comes to shove there’s no thought or love just menace

The last quarter of the book is chilling in it’s conclusions and will shock

If anything would ever put anyone off Social Media it is this book, I am not exaggerating when say it is one of the best and scariest ( psychologically ) books have read with this as the main theme

Likes and comments are the only currency that counts and woe betide if you get in the way…..cruel, wicked and scarily believable

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is my first book I’ve read by this author, though I think I’ve got a couple of others in my TBR pile!

I enjoyed the insight into influencing, if I ever thought I could do it, I definitely don’t now!

The ‘mic drop’ moment arrives about halfway through, and I definitely didn’t see it coming! After this, the narrative stepped up a bit, and I was invested. I do think the first half of the book dragged a little while the scene was being set. But, on the whole, a decent read.

I have read all (apart from one) of Jesse Sutanto's books and have enjoyed them all (her last thriller was a five star read for me), so when she has a new release you can bet anything that I will be reading it!
So being a big fan of this author I went into this with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. This is all kinds of dark and messed up and I loved it!
Right from the start I was hooked by the authors writing style. It all just flows so well and before you know it you are 100 pages in. The pacing was great and the tension didn't let up until the very last page.
I was invested throughout in our main characters Meredith and Aspen. Their relationship felt very real to me and I was sucked in by the tale of female friendships, jealousy and obsession.
Even though the characters are unlikeable, I found myself really enjoying being in their company and I didn't want the book to end. I also really enjoyed that our characters were influencers. I've not read a book where our MC's are influencers before, so I enjoyed that aspect. Which is good as it plays such a huge part of the plot!
This is such a fast paced, binge able thriller that I highly recommend.

Meredith is a blossoming influencer and when she meets Aspen she realises that she can be her protégé, however when Aspen overtakes Meredith with her followers they fall out and Meredith, full of jealousy, does some light stalking. Aspen doesn’t understand what’s happening when her influencer lifestyle starts to fall apart. To what lengths will both go to retain being the perfect momfluencer?

I have never read a book by this author but that is set to change as I hugely enjoyed this book, it was such a fresh, fun read. I was so invested in reading all about the influencer lifestyle and it was very entertaining to find out the extreme measures taken to keep up popularity. The characters were brilliantly written and I had a real love to hate relationship with them. The story is told in both friends point of views which I think worked really well.

This story focuses on obsession, revenge and envy, each was explored brilliantly and you could feel these emotions simmering throughout, which really helped build a tense, suspenseful atmosphere. As soon as the twists start, they carry on and the story weaves in and out at a fast pace. I had a lot of fun with this book and just had to carry on reading to find out the outcome! I can’t wait to read more by this author and will recommend this to everyone, especially those looking for a totally crazy, dramatic thriller full of shocking situations. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

I adore Jesse Sutanto and everything she writes, and this twisty thriller about two momfluencers is one of her best yet. I was completely gripped from the start and was disappointed when the book had finished - I'll be recommending this one to everybody.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Having loved 'Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers' I was keen to read another of the author's books. The main reason I loved it however was Vera - such a unique, funny, formidable, straight-talking and brilliant character. Whereas I didn't take to this cast of near identical, ruthlessly ambitious, self-obessed, fame hungry momfluencers. I did like the story and the behind-the-scenes look at the life of a influencer but because I wasn't rooting for anyone it didn't quite have the impact or enjoyment that it could of. That said the ending was genius, not quite the ending I would've like but super smart and unexpected nonetheless.

This is a fast paced thriller that you wouldn't be able to put down because you'll want to know what's going to happen next. I definitely loved the book and all the glimpses in the life of an influencer and what it takes to become one but also what others will do to stay one.

This book has got such a slow start with the backstory to the characters that it took me ages to really get into it. However, when it gets into the main storyline, it is so worth it!

I loved all the twists and did not see any of them coming! This is such a good psychological thriller!

Amazing!

I read Vera Wong and it was a very easy holiday read which I really enjoyed and expected the same from this one, I was wrong. This one is darker and manipulative. I loved it.

I read it in 1 day as I couldn't put it down. It is also one of those books that you will be thinking about in days to come.

Fantastic!

Massive thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC.

‘You Will Never Be Me’ by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a dark, twisty, revealing glimpse into the “momfluencer” industry which focuses primarily on former BFFs Meredith and Aspen, who are both obsessed with followers, content and appearing “authentic” despite their highly curated feeds. The novel explores the corrosive nature of jealousy, the demise of a female friendship and the question of just how far a mother will go to protect their livelihood and their children.

With unlikeable characters galore, this book was incredibly addictive and eye-opening, with jaw-dropping reveals and lurching tonal shifts from comedy to noir. I found some of the discussion of what goes on behind-the-scenes of polished instagram reels and TikToks eye-opening, but I appreciated how the motivations of influencers were laid bare and made somewhat relatable. One particular scene, in which a character discusses how they got sucked into creating more and more shiny content to keep a roof over their family’s head and pay for healthcare, was challenging and thought-provoking.

The pace of the novel was excellent, and while I don’t want to say much more about the plot, for fear of spoilers, I really do recommend giving this on a read. I’m awarding it 4.5 stars!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher HQ via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Firstly thank you to the publishers for my early access in exchange for a review .
This is a raw exploration of modern society and our relationship with social media ,the good, bad and the ugly .
Fascinating ,gripping and insightful.
What happens when the likes become more important than real life friendships and relationships.
Cleverly written as alternate narratives tell the story