Publisher: Berkley
Release Day: Aug. 20, 2024
Special thanks to Berkley Publ. for the gifted arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.
When cracks start forming in an influencer’s curated life, she finds out that jealousy is just as viral as a video in this riveting suspense novel by bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.
Review:
Author Jessie Q. Sutanto takes readers on a chilling,
eye-opening deep dive into the cutthroat world of social media super
influencers in YOU WILL NEVER BE ME. A place where the stakes and potential for
making six figure incomes are high and the odds of crashing and losing it all
higher. A place where friendships are made and broken and greed, jealousy and
insecurity take root and grow. A facade where revenge turns dark, ugly and
deadly.
Super "Momfluencer" Meredith Lee is riding a social media
high at the top of her game when she takes a struggling mother, Aspen Palmer,
under her wing teaching her how to become a successful, top earning influencer
on social media. In a short amount of time, the student surpasses the teacher
in the number of followers, likes, sponsors and income earned on TikTok and
Instagram. Suddenly, Aspen is the social media darling invited to all the right
parties, meeting other super influencers and making the big bucks, and she has
little time for her former mentor. After a particularly nasty argument, the
former friends part ways. Aspen is basking in her new fame and lifestyle while
Meredith's flame is fading fast leaving her on the outside looking in, but
don't count her out just yet. She made Aspen . . . and she can break her.
Meredith begins stalking her former friend and when opportunity knocks, she
walks through the door. Two can play this game . . . until someone goes
missing, and the accusations fly.
YOU WILL NEVER BE ME unfolds through the dual points of
view of Meredith and Aspen. The pace builds slowly as the author lays the
groundwork, allowing readers to get to know each of the women and their
families while setting the stage for what's to come. Halfway through, the pace
intensifies, and the tone takes a dire turn into an imminent danger zone with
warning signs flashing on every page. From this point on, no one will be
putting this book down for any reason as it shifts gears with each shocking twist.
While most of the characters are shallow, arrogant and extremely self-centered,
the kind you love to hate, they are exactly what one would expect to find
within the context of this story. Sutanto does an expert job at character
development, allowing readers to see what drives each one. Like a wreck on the
highway, I couldn't look away afraid of what I might miss. I suspect the ending
may be controversial, but whether you like the way the author chose to wrap
this story up or not, I guarantee you won't forget it anytime soon. I know I
won't, and I'll never look at social media influencers the same way ever
again.
Author Jesse Q. Sutanto brilliantly renders a dark, witty,
parody of the fake, cutthroat world of social media influencers in YOU WILL
NEVER BE ME. Toxic friendships are fed by greed, lies and the desire to be seen
as the top influencer in the niche. I'm amazed and quite frankly shocked at the
idea of how far some will go and how much they're willing to sacrifice to reach
the pinnacle of success in the influencer world. I'm happy to say this reader
has no desire to dip a toe in those toxic waters. Highly recommended to fans of
suspense thrillers and anyone curious about the world of social media
influencers.
Synopsis:
Influencer Meredith Lee didn't teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.
Then Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen's kids' iPads and swipes it. Now she has access to the family calendar and Aspen's social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen's place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer's only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers.
Meanwhile, Aspen doesn't understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn't find out who's behind everything, she might just lose it all. But what everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn't become one of TikTok's biggest momfluencers by being naive.
When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen's world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.
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