This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

This is a book told in dual POVs; Aaron the influencer, and Crystal, a teen who is very perceptive and notices basically everything.

But there’s more to Aaron that meets the eye, he’s the Speaker, and he’s not happy that Crystal unmasked him on his first day at his new school, so the only option is to get rid of her - forever.

This book is about his plans to infiltrate her friend group to try and persuade them to be his followers, and to ultimately join in with his plans. He needs to feel some kind of emotion so adding Crystals death to his already growing body count is nothing.

I really enjoyed this book, I was gripped from the start, I was glued to my kindle. I wanted to find out what would happen, it was interesting reading Aaron’s pov, reading about his justification, how he manipulates and does whatever to get it done his way and only his way. His constant talk of serial killers, and just other things about him that stood out.

I definitely recommend this if you like psychological thrillers, I will say check the trigger warnings before you read this, it’s always important to do that just incase.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is darkly twisted and impeccably researched.

Told from dual POVs, it chronicles the story of Aaron and Crystal. When Aaron starts attending Crystal's high school, he quickly shakes up the dynamic in Crystal's friendship circle. Crystal's quickly realises Aaron is The Speaker, a mysterious Instagram celebrity. But is there more to Aaron than meets the eye?

Yes. Yes, there is.

This book kept me frantically turning the pages, desperate to find out what happened next. I loved the dual POVs, even though they were antithetical, it worked beautifully. The author also put an incredible amount of research into the novel, making Aaron's inner monologue and actions feel very authentic and therefore more deadly.

I have deducted a star because I feel there could have been a twist at the end or something else just to give the story a gut-punch crescendo.

If you are planning to read this, please check the trigger warnings as it does have some very graphic content.

Also, there is a depiction of animal cruelty that I really didn't enjoy (I can't take the deaths of fictional characters but please don't hurt the pets!) and this wasn't mentioned in the trigger warning.

This book was provided to me as an ARC from NetGalley and I'm leaving the review of my own free will. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.

Wow What a Fantastic read !

What first drew me in was the cover and then the Description. It was completely up my street. Id never read anything by this author, it certainly wont be my last.
Hooked me in from page 1. A brilliant first chapter.
Following duel pov's. Crystal and Aaron.
A group of misfits joined by the NEW Classmate Aaron.
5 Stars Couldn't put it down.
Thank you to net galley for the advanced copy.

Dnf @ 18%

This is so disappointing!

I loved the start of this book. It’s was like an opening to a horror movie. We start the story with a kill before getting to meet our group.

Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the group and only cared about Adam’s chapters. I. Couldn’t continue the story only having interest on one side.

We follow Crystal, a teen, and her new classmate, Aaron.
The concept of the influencer psychopath and the opening were intriguing.
I expected more - the writing and the execution were 3/5 for me.
I hope YA readers will enjoy it more than I did. It was not my cup of tea.

This was okay, I wouldn’t say it was amazing but I did keep reading. It didn’t feel as if it was unique or did anything to us genre hasn’t done before, but it was enjoyable and I’m sure it’ll be amazing for come people

I love the Clown in a Cornfield series by Adam Cesare so I was excited to see Influencer in print form as originally it was only on audible.

Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of this one, I liked the concept but I didn't feel like it had enough "influence" so to speak.

The character of The Speaker aka Aaron isn't really padded out enough to show why he has such a huge following and why people should listen to him.

I also liked the references to different serial killers and could see where the author was trying to take Aarons character but it didn't fully materialise.

The other character that it swapped the POV with was Crystal which again she didn't feel fully developed and personally I much preferred reading Aarons chapters.

Perhaps it is better in audio form and creates more drama/tension but in written format it just feels like a slog.