This was a fun read. I enjoyed the mystery and didn’t predict the ending. It was an interesting take on reality TV and how it is not what it seems. I enjoyed the relationships between the central characters. The writing was easy to read and I read the book over an afternoon. This would make a great holiday read, it’s fun and not overly complex, whilst still being interesting and gripping.

People Pleaser by Catriona Stewart

I enjoyed this book overall. I'm not usually a huge fan of reality TV being portrayed through murder mystery books, but I thought I'd give it a go and I was pleasantly surprised. The reality TV and influencer aspect is not overdone and, in fact, takes a bit of a backseat to the drama apart from during Maggie's POV, which I liked. I enjoyed that the scenes from Love Shack (which, let's be real, is just a rip-off name for Love Island) showed some truth to the way reality TV is staged; from the producers withholding food from the contestants to contestants being forced into uncomfortable or downright scary situation (e.g. the hot tub with Patrick) without any thought for their feelings or safety. Theo even says at one point "I feel like a zoo animal being forced to mate in captivity" which I feel is very true for a lot of these reality TV dating shows and is one of the reasons I won't watch Love Island myself, it all feels very weird. However, I appreciated that the author didn't attempt to make reality TV look like some incredible, easy get-rich-quick scheme but instead let us see the raw truths and dangers behind shows like this.

I also must admit I did enjoy the way some of the characters were written, although I found them each to be rather irritating in their own ways; yet this did allow them to feel more real and fully-formed. The only character I really liked was Maggie, and that was only during the first half of the book before she became famous. In the beginning, Maggie is a sensitive, witty, thoughtful and hard-working young woman who is shown to be deeply caring and protective of her sister; which is the opposite of what many may associate with a stereotypical "influencer". I loved Maggie's biting sense of humour which we see a lot of in her POVs at the start and slightly during the filming of Love Shack. Although, I feel the author perhaps let Maggie as a character down during the latter part of the book, as her personality seems to totally evaporate and she becomes what can only be described as an eye-roll worthy air-head focused on her hair, makeup, fashion etc and this overtakes the real personality we are introduced to at the start. This just felt odd. Of course Maggie would have changed as a person after becoming famous, but instead the character seems to completely lose all sense of self and falls into being this 2 dimensional character with no real fleshed-out personality; perhaps though this was the author's intention? Emma felt very similar as a character; we saw her huge motivation to find justice for her sister and her spiralling depression, but that was as far as her character was taken and we don't really get a sense of Emma's personality (other than her being a "butch lesbian", which I don't feel is something that should be used as a way to dictate someone's personality as that is a huge generalisation) until around halfway through after she begins interacting with Amanda. I liked Emma as a character, and felt sorry for her, but did feel she was a rather one-noted character. Don't even get me started on Amanda; why was her POV even included? She added nothing to the story other than driving me mad with her narcissistic tendencies. The story would have been just as interesting had Amanda just been a background/secondary character as she's not directly involved in the drama really in any way and her participation in the plot felt forced. Jill just seemed like an insecure person who is unable to respect other people's or, in fact, her own boundaries. Some of their flaws did help to make the characters more relatable, yet as a whole I just didn't enjoy this group of characters as much as I feel I could have done.

Right from the very first chapter where we see Maggie gruesomely bleeding out, I found the plot incredibly gripping. There were a few chapters which were slower to read (mainly Amanda's parts) but the majority of this was intense and fast-paced. Emma's investigation into Maggie's death is what spurs the plot forward, and we slowly start to pull together pieces of the puzzle bit by bit. I really liked the multi POV way in which the story was told (minus Amanda's part because WHYYYY?) as it kept the plot from becoming stagnant and allowed us to see more action than would have been possible by just following Emma. It also allowed us to get an insight into each character's internal monologue and sense their personality; it's just unfortunate that their personalities didn't come across as well rounded as hoped. Furthermore, I began to have theories about who the murderer was about halfway through and found it a little disappointing to then be proven right, yet this didn't necessarily detract from the enjoyment I got from reading this book as a whole.

Considering this is Catriona's debut novel, I must say she has done a very good job. I will certainly be looking out for more of her work as I feel this book had a lot of promise and I did enjoy the overall writing style. I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Catriona Stewart for the ARC.

People Pleaser is something that is very much up my street. I enjoyed the premise a lot and the execution was, overall, pleasant to read. I love a mystery that keeps you guessing, and in this case, I never once suspected there person behind the crime. I was trying so hard to piece together what had happened with a whole load of other characters in mind, but it never quite worked. I will say, though, that I wasn't really a big fan of this book's motive, and while it's good in the sense of fitting in with the rest of the story, I do wish it had gone somewhere else. This aside, it's a good book, and I will be recommending it!

3.5

The characters were very distinct and skillfully drawn. The insight into the nastiness of reality television was well done. It's definitely a page-turner and kept me gripped throughout. But given the complexities explored in the story, the ending felt a little simple (not the reveal but resolution) and not tonally similar to the rest of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

"I still have this suspicion that everyone hates me. Which I know is paranoid. Except maybe it's not paranoid?"

^^^ girl, SAME.

Okay, I'm desperately trying to gather my feelings about this book. I've been deliberating over the appropriate star rating for a while and I'm still not sure if I've got it right.

This book is about a girl called Maggie who becomes famous on a reality TV show called "Love Shack" (but come on, we know this is basically Love Island) she is murdered a couple years after the show and the nobody knows who did it. We follow this book through multiple POV's from Maggie's sister Emma, her friend, the creator of Love Shack and interestingly enough, Maggie herself.

Maggie's POV was by far my favourite. She would talk us through episode by episode of her time within the reality show and then her life after it leading up to her murder. As a girl that has always loved watching reality shows this felt like the ultimate *wink wink nudge nudge* from the author who had clearly researched the process and knew some of the inside secrets on how its made. Although I have to be honest, it was a pretty depressing insight into reality shows and the process of making them. At one point a character describes it as "I feel like a zoo animal being forced to mate in captivity" ... yikes.

"Not only was she sad, but she was sick of being sad"

I'm a little disappointed that this book didn't attempt to add much depth to reality show contestants. It seemed to continue perpetuating the image of reality show contestants becoming cold, fake, caricatures of themselves. Maggie had the potential to be an incredibly in-depth complex character, but once she reached fame her personality seemed to be reduced down to caring about nothing more than diet, surgeries, money and social image. I think this book had an ideal opportunity to blow apart the generic stereotype of reality TV contestants, and I honestly think this story would have benefited greatly from that. Seems like a waste opportunity, and a waste of what could have been some pretty interesting characters.

Finally, I'm still trying to understand why Amanda's character was included. Seemed like a whole lot of back story and filler with little gain to the story itself.

"The kind of day that made her want to crawl into a hole or scream into the void or walk into oncoming traffic."

Overall, this was definitely an interesting, thought provoking read, but it could have given so much more.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC ❤️

This book isn't what I expected it to be.. I thought cosy crime to read for the autumn... boy, was I wrong. It had me hooked right at the start .. while I think the writer took read life avent that's happend and used them to write the book the side story's of the different characters where very interesting. This took me 2 days, and I couldn't put it down. The twist at the end was amazing, and I personally couldn't see it coming. I would definitely recommend 👌🏻

For a debut novel, I think it’s a very accomplished piece of writing. As a millennial who grew up with Instagram and Love Island being pumped directly into my eyeballs the overall premise really scratched an itch.
Some of the plot lines were a little hard to follow, and I did have to occasionally remind myself of who people were (even towards the end of the novel) but I loved that the characters felt like real living people - they were flawed and some were downright unlikeable.
I’m excited to see what Catriona Stewart writes next!

An engaging page turner that shines a light on what goes on behind reality TV dating shows. Told from various perspectives, some of who were more interesting than others. Saw the ending coming about halfways through the book, but that didn't really take away from the enjoyment of it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

Full disclosure, I don't like reality shows, and I have never watched anything like love island, it's all so fake to me. So when I saw this book I was pulled with the murder mystery part and eye rolled at the reality star part.
That said, I was HOOKED from the get go. Maggie, a reality star is laid bleeding out, wondering who did this to her. She feels herself drifting just as she closes her eyes she sees who it was.
A book I couldn't put down.  Following Maggies death, her sister Emma needs to find out what happened and who did this to her sister. Follow her and friends as they unravel Maggies life to try to find out what and why this happened to Maggie. I love a good who done it book and this was perfect. I also love that it has my views on reality shows, so I was even more invested.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3

’Do not fuck your best friend’s murdered sister’s widowed husband. Do not do it. Do not do not do not’

A fun fact about me is that I fucking LOVE, Love Island (the English version, not the crappy US one). Of course, I know it isn’t a good show. It’s slop, total garbage, the worst of the worst. And yet I watch it every single year without fail from the start to the end. Everyday I yearn for one of its former contestants to write a biography on their time on the show, and everyday I realise that probably isn’t going to happen.

But I suppose People Pleaser is the next best thing.

I knew I’d really enjoy this book, and I definitely did. I got through it in one day, and had so much fun. I think its pacing and style are very impressive for a debut, and it kept me hooked all the way through. I literally couldn’t put it down until I was finished, and it’s a long time since a book has done that. The story was incredibly engaging, and crime aspect very well-crafted. I wasn’t sure who the killer was at any point, and while that might just be because I’m an idiot, I’m going to instead put it down to this book just being well-written.

I think my biggest issue with People Pleaser was Amanda. Whilst I enjoyed her chapters, I wasn’t entirely sure what the point of her was throughout the story. It took a very long time for her to be actually relevant, and even then I’m not sure it was a great pay-off. With regard to Jill, Emma and Maggie, however, I enjoyed each of their chapters / flashbacks, and I liked that each woman had such human and realistic flaws. Their bad behaviour and mistakes were never simply forgiven, and none of them were perfect. It made me believe I was reading about actual people going through an incredibly shitty situation, and it made it all the more interesting.

Overall, People Pleaser gets 4/5 stars. This is a great little thriller that I can’t recommend enough as a palate cleanser or for those, like me, that need that reality tv kick.

Really enjoyed this fun take on the darker side of Hollywood and the world of social influencers. A pacy plot packed full of very flawed characters. I found some of the characters a bit one-dimensional but that didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of the book. Plus, the WONDERFULLY flawed character of Amanda was the icing on the cake for me. I loved her and would definitely read an entire book with her as the main character. A fun novel perfect for a holiday read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the change to read this.

A real page turning mystery.
I felt sorry for Emma - the sister of the famous murder victim - as you get a real sense of the mental battles she’s facing. Obsessed with uncovering her sister’s killer, as the police turn it into a cold case, she goes on an internet conspiracy hunt to unearth what really happened.
The pages turned themselves and I gobbled it up in a day.
I will be recommending!

This was perfectly fine, an easy read. A generic thriller that explores the darker side of reality television. Personally I was expecting a lot more from it, and a lot more from the main characters but all in all it was ok.

Reality Turns Toxic..
The unbelievably toxic world of reality television is explored in all its gore in this twisting and turning murder mystery. When Maggie wins ‘Lovestruck’, her life is changed, seemingly overnight - so, when she is found murdered a wave of grief from adoring fans and followers ensues. The FBI seem at a loss to solve the case, so enter Emma, Maggie’s sister, who soon becomes obsessed with finding the truth. Pacy and engaging and with a well drawn cast of characters this is a one sit compelling read.

4
When a famous reality star is killed, her sister has an obsession with wanting to find the person behind it.

The book flows through the dark sides of reality tv and shows the behind the scenes drama with glances into each episode. It shows how both producers and cast mates get into drama that will forever affect their lives .

The book is a extremely modern page turner and perfect for fans of shows like Love island- or any romance reality tv, since it has mysterious twists and turns. The story is a true Who-Dun it and personally kept me guessing until the very last moment .

I do however think the ending was slighty contrived but the novel was still enjoyable regardless

People Pleaser really took me by surprise - this book’s short chapter point of views are obsessively psychological and deceptive, and yet so so easy to read. I was completely hooked from the first short chapter.

The novel unfolds and predominantly follows Emma whose famous reality star sister, Maggie, was murdered. Now a cold case, she’s trying to find out who really felt the need to get rid of her, and why. Was it Maggie’s reality TV love-match Theo? The screenwriter for the show Amanda? Someone else?

The novel interweaves these tricky collective narratives into an addictive murder-mystery. Whilst I didn’t entirely know what the title would mean I was letting myself in for, Catriona Stewart’s handling of pace, her deft prose, and her ability to withhold information from the reader makes this such an interesting, deep, but easy read.

People Pleaser by Catriona Stewart is a sharp, insightful exploration of self-identity, relationships, and the complexities of living for others’ approval.

Overall, People Pleaser is a beautiful, thought-provoking read that will resonate with anyone who finds themselves on social media more than they'd like.

I think the premise of this book is great but the execution is lacking. The ending wasn’t a real shock and it took a slow journey to get there. However, that being said I flew through this book and it was an easy evening read!

Emma, who recently lost her sister to murder, is chronically online which helps her solve the crime. She’s bitten off more than she can chew in the process… do you really know the people closest to you?

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC!

People Pleaser is an exciting, glamorous mystery that will keep you on your toes. Stewart expertly weaves a world with a cast of secretive, nefarious characters and I was left guessing until the very end. I would heartily recommend this LA adventure.

Maggie, a star who rose to fame after starring on LoveShack, is found dead in a warehouse and the police are left stumped, declaring it a cold case. Maggie's grieving sister Emma is unsatisfied with this result and takes the investigation into her own hands. She is joined by her roommate, Jill, and the original creator of LoveShack, Amanda, in her detective endeavours.

Emma, Jill, and Amanda are all wonderful eccentric and vivid central characters. Although they are not always likeable, I was rooting for them throughout the novel. Each character has their own backstory, career aspirations, and motives for cracking the case. Moreover, every few chapters we are treated to flashbacks from Maggie's point of view before her death. This helps both build the suspense in finding Maggie's killer and gives the audience an insider look into the toxic effects the Reality TV lifestyle had reaped upon Maggie.

As our protagonists' tireless investigations lead them from LA to London, a range of famous LoveShack characters have secrets come to life and the truth slowly unfolds. The novel does not shy away from the misogyny, racism, drug abuse, and sexual assault culture found in Hollywood. People Pleaser shows the ugly underbelly of Reality TV, brand deals, and social media influencers.

Stewart's People Pleaser is a vibrant, clever adventure that is deliciously entertaining while also commenting on the dark side of fame, tv, and social media. This is an exhilarating page-turner that will delight those that wonder about the perverse effects of shows like Love Island and The Bachelor.

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.