DNF @ ~40%

Okay. My biggest problem with this book is the marketing. The blurb I read when requesting this ARC was about a group of internet celebrities in a mansion, completing some type of reality tv show.

This is not what the book was about.

Perhaps this occurs in the second half of the book. But if this is what the ENTIRE blurb is about, I expect to at least read about the mansion in the first half of the story? But that is not what happened.

Instead, (the first half of) the book is about Emma - a fame-hungry young woman who becomes weirdly obsessed and kind of stalkerish about another celebrity (of course, ridiculously handsome, rich male). EVERYTHING that I read was just about her rise to fame through manipulation.

Nothing about a reality show. Nothing about other celebrities. Nothing about a mansion.

What I did read was okay enough. It was easy to read and had an unexpected side-story about a side character with Down Syndrome. Sadly, his part in the story as a tool of manipulation. Ick.

Overall, the characters were pretty one-dimensional and I hardly cared about the story. Even with the craving for trashy, celebrity fun going into it.

An entertaining stand-alone enemies to lovers romance. Different from your typical Alessadra Torre read. Seems simple on the surface, but it is not a simple book at all! It is really layered and complex.

At the core is an enemies-to-lovers romance with a happily-ever-after.Bu tit's also a delve into the life of social media influencers and a commentary on perception vs. reality and how to be truthful and have real values when you live in that world. How to move beyond fame, fortune and followers and actually accomplish something real, all under the watchful eye of the media and the general public.

Emma and Cash really grow up a lot throughout the course of this book.

A very different premise. I enjoyed the 2 POV's, there was good character development and an interesting take on social media and reality TV.

Cash is wealthy, stubborn, closed off and famous; all due to his mother who was an actress.
Emma is desperate to be in the lime light after growing up in a trailer park and having her parents constant reminder that she isn’t worth nearly what she thinks she is.
When they met, there may have been fireworks... but will Emma change so much for fame that Cash won’t recognize the girl underneath the Gucci bag?

This story was written, in essence, as a reality TV show. That aspect was really neat, and I’ve never seen anything like it before. Emma, Cash and 4 other famous (for nothing other than being famous) twenty somethings band together on an MTV show to increase their followers, their fame and their fortune.
Between every few chapters was a “quote” from a producer, a family friend, etc that would speak about an event or a character that was on the show. That was probably my favorite part, because it really made it feel like reality TV.
Unfortunately, that’s about where my enjoyment stopped. The pace in the beginning was exceptionally slow. I considered DNF several times in the first hundred or so pages. After that, thankfully, the storyline picked up. However, I still found the main characters so unlike able that it didn’t really matter to me what they did.
I will say, the author did a excellent job at writing her characters to be spoiled, selfish and rude. It’s difficult to make a character who, no matter how much they grow or prevail, the reader still doesn’t like them. She almost got me with the ending, though, which added wonderful closure and was very appropriate for the MCs.

Emma went from working at a hotel to being a millionaire overnight.  With a desire to be seen, she hired an agent to make her an actress, but he suggested something different: Emma should become a celebrity.  A social media star everyone would know.  As the followers stack up and the paid promotions start rolling in, Emma's life is scrutinised and controlled more and more carefully.  When she's offered a role on a reality TV show, starring alongside her sworn enemy, she's instructed to form a fake relationship with him.  She'll do anything for the ratings, but   maybe her feelings aren't so fake after all.

The F List was entertaining and an interesting foray into the lives of super-influencer celebrities.  The storyline was fairly predictable but engaging enough for a light hearted read.  I love the enemies to lovers trope, and The F List executed it really well.  Although there were several people in the reality TV 'house', there wasn't very much focus on anyone other than Emma and Cash.  I feel like I know next to nothing about the others after reading the entire book.  I would have liked to see some of those characters developed a little better, instead of being simple props to the rest of the story.  I've got to say, although I enjoyed the general narrative, there were some parts that really bothered me (I can't stand the 'oh this girl is a virgin, that makes me like her so much more and want to get her pregnant and marry her' storyline, I think it's just ick in this day and age, and, although it's probably a silly gripe, misquoted sayings just irk me and there were a few that just pulled me right out of the story.  These things didn't ruin the book for me, but they stuck in my mind enough for me to not fall in love with it either.

All in all, The F List is still a very enjoyable read, with fun characters, and a storyline relevant to today's world and if you enjoy celebrity type stories and the enemies to lover's trope, I'd suggest you give it a try!

I was surprised by this one. Emma is a woman who came from nothing. Her life was crap and one moment changed everything.

Cash has been a celebrity since before he was born. He knows what the life is like but the moment he saw Emma his life was changed.

These two are on a reality show together and are going to have to manage their hate, lies, family, and fame if they want to survive the show.

It was seriously interesting to read and I enjoyed it a lot.

4 1/2 "F-abulous" Stars!

Well now, this was such a fun read! The F List was such a unique book for Ms. Torre. It felt salacious at times, but yet there wasn't any sex in it. The chemistry between Cash and Emma was definitely evident - - sometimes it looked more like hate than love....but it was always there. The way their relationship evolves over time was one I truly enjoyed.

This book was a creative way to look at the impact of social media and the "influencers" on our society. Also, an honest view of how negatively it impacts those with a celebrity status. The things people give up to achieve that elusive and highly sought fame. Kudos to Ms. Torre for such an engaging and entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 stars

the great

everything about this book lit me on fire. was I in the right headspace to spend three hours on a Saturday morning burning through this, completely consumed, unable to move? yes. be prepared to think about this book for days afterward, because I sure as hell did.

The F List manages to read like a romance AND a slow-burn psychological thriller. this was such an incisive look at social media influence. and what a ride it was!!

everything else

our main characters had their heads up their asses ~30% of the time. but hey, that tracks with what I was expecting going in, so can't complain. even the handful of interchangeable, one-dimensional, tangential characters couldn't get me down. I. loved. this. book.

to conclude

social media destroys mental health, folks. this book was so fucking good, and i was not prepared. i will be devoting resources to acquiring a finished copy.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The F List by Alessandra Torre is a very fun book, I like the author’s writing style which is so easy to read and the book flows quickly. The F List mixes the idea of Instagram influencers with reality stars, then sprinkles in some drama plus a dash of humor. Its a fast, entertaining read!

Check it out:

There was a lot I did to get to this point, to get 42 million followers. Some of it I was proud of, most of it I wasn’t.

There was a group of us, all internet celebrities, and everyone wanted in, which is how six of us ended up living in this mansion, a camera always on, the public always watching. Two months and nine carefully scripted TV episodes that would get us more of the three F’s we were desperately chasing.

Fame. Fortune. Followers.

I knew my role. I was Emma, the unlikeable one. The dark villain with the devious smile. The package of dynamite that would blow up any chance of peaceful living and harmony.

Cash knew his role. He was the good guy. The lovable one. The one that everyone, even the darkest cast member of them all, would fall in love with.

They were supposed to just be roles. None of it was supposed to be real. My heart didn’t get that memo.

This is the perfect book to read in between heavier thrillers and dark dramas. You are going to love it.

I love how Alessandra Torre can write so many different genres. This was a sweet story and I liked how each chapter was set up. The chapters were nice and short and helped to pace the story well. In F list we get to see the ugly side of fame with a happy ending.

Emma was written well and you got to see why she was the way she was. Though her choices she made to get famous was hard to swallow at times.

Cash was also well written and even though he was born a celebrity you got to see the other side of the coin where he too made bad decisions to keep his fame. And we get to see even though he was born a celebrity it doesn't mean his life was happy.

I loved Wesley he was my favorite for sure.

And Dana, OMG what a bitch! I can't believe she did that. It was cruel, yet its part of that whole fame game which I truly don't understand in real life either.

I liked Cash and Emma together and I liked that this book was written differently than others. I'm always a fan of out of the box writing. Can't wait for more from this author.

So, this book is different from Alessandra's other books and it's really enjoyable. It was sweet and a little emotional with the characters. The writing in this one pulls you in and its definitely some of her best work.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I loved this book! The way it was written made me feel like I was watching reality tv front and center!

I loved how with interaction good or bad we saw both Cash and Emma grow and learn! Yes hard eye roll on emma but she was a lost girl trying to be more without realizing she was already enough! No there isn’t a huge amount of romance but honestly that’s what I loved! We got their story and got to see the negative side affects of fame and influencers! It blows my mind how much happens behind the scenes and my heart hurt because nothing was their own so that jaw dropping ending was so perfect and exactly what these two deserved!

I loved every word of this story and it’s my first Alessandra novel and not my last!

<strong>F Yeah!</strong>

Alessandra Torre brought me to my knees with probably my absolute least favorite kind of person. I know. I know. It's terrible of me to judge but influencers...social media "whores"...reality tv people seem so darn fake it hurts. I was honestly not sure I would even like this book but something about the blurb just kept getting to me. It was like a pop corn kernel hull getting jammed into your gums. I tried to ignore it. I tried to move on. I looked at other books. I read other books but for some reason I jept coming back to it. NOW, I'm smiling like the cat that got the canary (no creatures were harmed, Marissa).

The villian is redeemed. The true bad guys exposed...or light shed on them. Love is found and conquers all. The F List proves that even I can fall for a reality star/influencer. If I can, you can too.

Just whatever you do...don't tweet this!

Emma just wants to be IG famous with tons of followers, Cash grew up in the spotlight thanks to his famous mom. They can't stand each other, and now they have to live together and have every interaction filmed. I super enjoyed this book. It was sweet, had a good faster pace, but still had all the elements that give you all the feels. Both Emma and Cash were great characters that were relatable on some level. I adored Wesley and his relationship with Emma. It's about so much more than just filming a "reality" show, it has some depth. I loved the format, shorter chapters with quotes in between, you get several perspectives without an overwhelming amount of characters. Overall this is a fantastic quicker read, that's a great distraction and keeps your interest. Definitely recommend!

"I was still having trouble wrapping my head around that because the last thing I needed was another reason to want Emma Blanchard."

It was the title that got my attention. What's funny though, is that the direction it takes my dirty mind is NOT what F stands for. 😂 It's all about Fame. Fortune. Followers.

While Emma is supposedly the unlikable one...I liked her. Especially when I learned her secret. The one that would totally ruin her reputation...and it did. But not the way I expected. Truthfully, her secret was my favorite part of the book. And it also stressed me the most, worrying about it being discovered.

Cash, I loved him from the get-go, just like the rest of the world. And when I learned his secrets, I loved him even more. Don't get the idea that I liked and loved all the characters. That's most definitely not the case. If I had a voodoo doll it would look like acupuncture gone wrong. My poking fingers were really twitching just thinking about what I'd like to do to more than one character that raised my blood pressure.

This story is different from any other I've read by the author, not steamy like I was expecting. All the heat was in the insults and social media posts. But it DID engage my feelings. It pulled my heartstrings and left me with a smile on my face.

When I read the description for this book I couldn't resist requesting it, and overall I'm glad I couldn't. Torre creates an awesome story with characters that you can't help root for even when it seems unlikely. Towards the end of the book I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen - I physically couldn't bring myself to stop.

That being said I did struggle to get into the book in the first place, I found it hard to follow what was happening at the start and struggled with how the story almost flashed back and jumped from event to event. I also felt like it took a very long time to get to the part of the story that was advertised in the description (although this did work in the books advantage in the end as I had a deeper understanding of the characters and their decisions). Initially I also disliked the quotes before each character, however, these did grow on me and added to idea of the reality show.

I wasn't entirely sure on what to expect with this novel, but I think Torre effortlessly explored a new aspect of our everyday lives (social media influencers) and brought up some interesting thoughts about the influence social media has on us.

I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone after a nice light read.

This is the kind of book I'd typically devour, and while it was an easy read, it felt like we were given the very surface of a story and then pushed through it at light speed.

THE F LIST is the story of Emma, a normal girl who turns into a mega-influencer after she both witnesses a suicide and then wins the lottery. (Okay, this was the first bit of confusion for me - I didn't understand how the suicide and finding/unlocking the dead guy's phone fit into the plot at all. Since this was the scene that opens Emma's journey to stardom, I kept waiting for this setup to pay off at some point down the road. But unless I missed it, the fact that she saw a famous guy before he committed suicide at her hotel and then stole his phone just is...dropped? I truly don't get it.)

Oh, wait, let me back up. Emma is a normal girl who is very beautiful (but doesn't know she's beautiful - everyone's favorite trope in a main character) who meets the ultra-famous, ultra-talented Cash at a party and he defends her when people make fun of her teeth. (Yes. Her teeth.) Then he NEVER FORGETS HER EVER even after she becomes famous, but even then, it was still an odd setup that a celebrity sees an average girl with bad teeth at a party and then can't stop thinking about her.

Next, Emma has the famous-guy suicide happen at her hotel, and she steals the famous guy's phone (but then that bit never pays off), and then she gets a lottery ticket and wins one million dollars. That money fuels her move to LA where she decides she wants to be famous, hires a manager, and starts off down the route towards influencer fame by getting a bunch of plastic surgery.

Of course, she meets Cash again, only now she is a BAD BITCH (for reasons? I never quite understood the downside of her being pitched as this 'villain" when we never really see the impact it has on her daily life. I could see if she constantly had fans being awful to her, but we never seem to see the downside of her climb to fame other than she's lonely sometimes.)

Then for more reasons, she decides to figure out where Cash is keeping his brother (who has Down's syndrome) for...reasons? (I also didn't understand her motivation here - why is she suddenly invested in this?) and then she starts volunteering at the facility and befriends Cash's younger brother. (I did like this story line - I thought the relationship between Emma and the brother was sweet.)

After all this build up, we finally get to the filming of the reality show with all the mega-social-influencers, and I have to say, this part was the most interesting to me. I always love to see behind the scenes of how reality shows are produced, and this part was fun. There were some sweet scenes of Cash and Emma flirting.

But of course, there is third-act DRAMAAA with families and reality-show hijinks, and Cash and Emma have to figure out if they really belong together. And this is where I realized that Cash is 27. (And Emma is 24)...the age part threw me and I had to stop reading for a second. The entire book, I figured these were both teenagers - like 19 or 20? That's what their emotional intelligence suggested, and the whole "will they/won't they?" relationship. When I realized the male lead was nearly 30 (!), the book started to take on a weird dissonance with this being a YA genre. (That's just a side rant, but I thought it was an interesting editorial discussion.)

Finally, (SPOILER) they decide to get married after less than a year of dating and then eventually delete their social media pages and become recluses. Again, the entire book was this incredibly slow burn of if they would get together or not, but I never actually saw the connection they had other than physical. The majority of the story also felt like a classic "too much telling; not enough showing"

I don't know why I'm being so tough on a fluffy YA novel, but most likely because celeb fluff is one of my favorite genres to read. This wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either.

The F List is a fast-paced, mixed media romance novel that you won’t be able to put down. The crazy whirlwind lives of the celebrities in the novel will shock you. Actually, it seems like almost everything the characters do is for maximum shock value. I was immediately drawn to the rags-to-riches story of the main character and found myself liking her, despite the fact that she is a self-proclaimed “bitch”. The inclusion of quotes in between chapters of people close to Emma and Cash, as well as magazine articles was creative and kept me in suspense. I found myself flying through chapters trying to figure out what was real (if anything) and what was all just for show. A really great read overall and I look forward to reading more works by this author. I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

The back of this book kind of missold this as i thought the living in a reality tv house would have come in much sooner. The two main characters, Cash and Emma, were interesting and well rounded to a certain point but this was an interesting and exciting read. I did like the romance aspect of this but it was more of a fun, flimsy read even though it did try to explore a couple of deeper moments.