As someone who enjoys Instagram I was instantly drawn to this book. The story is told mainly from the husband and sides point of view. From her side of things everything is natural and quite normal. He says it's all planned and staged. Then there is the mystery persons point of view.

I enjoyed this thrilling story of the dark side of Instagram. From the offset you can tell she's manipulative and stops at nothing to get her own way. I didn't particularly like the main characters but that is what gave it's appeal. The point of view from the mystery person kept me wanting to know more. Great storyline and flowed really well.

Followed by Millions, Watched by One
To her adoring fans, Emmy Jackson, aka @the_mamabare, is the honest “Instamum” who always tells it like it is. 
Mamabare is addictive. Is impossible don't follow this Instagram, waiting the next twists.
I really enjoy the book,
Congrats for the author and thanks Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story centres around Emmy, her husband Dan, and her two children Coco and Bear. Emmy is a social media influencer called Mamabear. She has thousands of followers on Instagram and makes a living out of it in conjunction with brands who pay her to advertise their goods. She has no worries in tweaking her life to suit her following, and lying to get herself more followers, and more brands to invest in her life. Her husband, Dan, is a writer and had a hit novel years ago, and is still trying to write that second novel that was as good, if not better, than the first. Emmy uses her two children massively in her campaigns, her instagram is about parenting. She ironically tells her followers she is honest about how hard parenting can be, even when she doesn’t find it remotely difficult. She stages scenarios and settings, all in order to convince her followers she’s just like them. We read the story from 3 perspectives; Emmy’s, Dan’s, and an unknown 3rd person who wants revenge on Emmy. As the story goes on, we see Emmy betray her own best friend to try to win a tv show job. Which blows up spectacularly in her face, leaving Emmy to go off grid at a mobile phone free retreat, which is when the story comes to a brilliant conclusion and the story weaves together.

I really enjoyed this book, it has lots of elements of subjects in it, such as mental health, relationship woes, keeping friendships alive when you have your own lives, and how fake the internet can be, especially those influencers. I really enjoyed the characters, although I wasn’t keen on Emmy at all, but that gave more substance to the story. She had to be awful with no real morals to make the story work. I was shocked by the ending as it didn’t turn out as I was expecting. A great read, and I would recommend.

I got immediately hooked on this addictive revenge thriller about the dangers of sharing every aspect of one's life on social media. Emmy is an Insta-mum influencer and shares everything on Instagram, from her photogenic husband and kids to her "struggles" with motherhood, she portrays her life as messy so as to be relatable to her thousands of followers but in reality is completely in control, ultra organised and totally manipulative. I really enjoyed this story, it kept me on my toes, and though I mostly disliked the characters, there were times when I felt for them. It's certainly a disturbing glimpse into the airbrushed world of social media influencers and though fictional, I think it's probably pretty close to the truth, 4 stars.

I read People Like Her during our (English) Christmas lockdown and that’s how I know it was an excellent read: it totally engrossed me and sucked me in when I was going through one of my all-too-regular pandemic reading slumps.

Interestingly, when I was researching the book a little more for this review, I discovered that Ellery Lloyd is actually a pseudonym for co-writing husband and wife duo Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. The story has three distinct character voices but effortlessly flows and blends, so the dual authorship worked a treat here.

And what is the story? Well, People Like Her has a very contemporary and topical theme. It’s all about the murky depths of social media – specifically Instagram. Even more specifically, the mums who run parenting accounts – sharing their daily lives with thousands of people in a very competitive arena.

Our lead character is Emmy Jackson aka ‘Mamabare’ – a very popular Instamum. Her niche is how real and relatable she is while parenting her four-year-old daughter, Coco and newborn son, Bear. On her squares she seems like a down-to-earth natural BUT she does, of course, have an agent. Everything she posts has been calculated and planned.

Emmy is good at what she does and this novel shines a light into how much work actually goes into appearing so natural and unplanned on Instagram. From the perfect pictures to knowing exactly what content your audience wants to see.

There is an anecdote in this book that reminded me of the IRL Mother of Daughters trolling scandal – she was one of the most famous casualties of the Instamum world and this alignment adds to the novel’s authenticity. Yes, the plot might be in the realms of a thriller, but crazy stuff is happening in the real cut-throat world of social parenting. Excellent source material.

Emmy is a fascinating and complex character. One minute you dislike her and her Insta-grabbing ways – every move can seem so cynical and calculated. Then you feel sorry for her or can see her point of view and her love for her children.

People Like Her also highlights the dangers of exposing children – without their consent – in a public forum and this is where the next character we get chapter POVs from comes in: Emmy’s husband, Dan.

He is an author, eternally writing his second novel. His chapters provide a critical look at how his wife makes a living. But that’s also the problem – he is living off that money too. Despite his protests, the lure of Instagram – and the #ad pay – is hard to resist. This gives a great dynamic to their marriage and much page-turning conflict.

Every good novel needs a threatening element and it here is comes from the underlying third narrator. They provide the highly-riveting thriller element to this social-media story. I don’t want to give away too much here – but trust me, it’s a creepy, pulse-racing addition.

I enjoy reading novels about the (positive and negative) impact of social media. From how tenuous an influencers popularity is to how much power certain people can command. That much quoted phrase ‘what you see on social media isn’t real’ most definitely comes into play here in a way that makes you think.

Fast-paced, clever and a commentary on the destructive power of social media – I thoroughly enjoyed every page of People Like Her.

Rating: 4.2/5

"People Like Her" is the co-writing debut from husband and wife team, Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos - and a pretty impressive one it is too!

It is a contemporary thriller set in the world of social media and online "influencers". It highlights just how artificial and manufactured this world can be and how toxic and damaging society's obsession with social media and "instafame" can become. It explores the needs of certain individuals to constantly seen and the lengths they are prepared to go to in order to be "liked" by people who are nothing more than strangers to them in the real world.

Emmy Jackson has taken a deliberate career decision to become such an influencer - and she has become a skilled and successful exponent of it. To her army of loyal followers she is "momabare", the trustworthy font of knowledge on all matters relating to parenting and bringing up a young family. She is real and she just gets them ... or so they are led to believe.

Her husband, Dan, is a published author, but he is struggling to follow up the success of his debut novel. As his wife's fame grows, so his rôle in the marriage begins to change and we see him struggling to adjust to being supportive, whilst feeling sceptical about the online environment in which his wife operates.

Each chapter is broken down into perspectives from Dan and Emmy. This mechanic can work really well, but many writers struggle to to give the characters distinct and convincing voices when they employ this approach. This is where Ellery Lloyd take full advantage of being a writing team rather than an individual author. I am sure that co-writing poses challenges in other respects, but it is a massive boon when it comes to creating clear and authentic character differentiation.

There is also a third, unnamed, narrator who contributes to each chapter. It is apparent from the outset that this person has an axe to grind with Emmy, but the reasons for that grudge - and what this person plans to do about it - will only be divulged as the storyline progresses.

This third character brings a sense of constant background menace, to the proceedings. As a result, you have a novel which not only makes astute observations of contemporary society that are sometimes dark, sometimes disturbing and sometimes amusing, but one which has undertones of a psychological thriller too.

There will be bloggers, reviewers - and even some casual readers of this novel who will either hate it, or at least be made to feel more than a little uncomfortable, as they are forced to look into a mirror that is just a bit too close to home. Others will love it. Which group will you fall into?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Creepy, intriguing and shocking - I absolutely loved this book!

Providing insight into the life of an Instagram influencer, I will certainly think differently about posts I see on social media.

This book kept me guessing throughout and was a welcome change from the genres I usually pick up to read.

A readable, timely and pacy thriller about the dangers of social media and believing everything you see. This was an enjoyable read.

Followed by Millions, Watched by One

To her adoring fans, Emmy Jackson, aka @the_mamabare, is the honest “Instamum” who always tells it like it is.

To her skeptical husband, a washed-up novelist who knows just how creative Emmy can be with the truth, she is a breadwinning powerhouse chillingly brilliant at monetizing the intimate details of their family life.

To one of Emmy’s dangerously obsessive followers, she’s the woman that has everything—but deserves none of it.

As Emmy’s marriage begins to crack under the strain of her growing success and her moral compass veers wildly off course, the more vulnerable she becomes to a very real danger circling ever closer to her family.

In this deeply addictive tale of psychological suspense, Ellery Lloyd raises important questions about technology, social media celebrity, and the way we live today. Probing the dark side of influencer culture and the perils of parenting online, People Like Her explores our desperate need to be seen and the lengths we’ll go to be liked by strangers. It asks what—and who—we sacrifice when make our private lives public, and ultimately lose control of who we let in. . . .

Firstly thank you to the publishers for sending me over a proof of this book. It is greatly appreciated

The book is an excellent debut and I think it is definitely one to watch in 2021!

The book is full of suspense, but at the same time it highlights the highs and lows of social media.

None of us are ever really read safe!

The book is full of twists and turns with a killer ending!

I wasn’t sure this would be my sort of book, but I thought it was brilliant. It tells the story of Emmy and Dan and their experiences living their lives dominated by social media in the public eye. There are a lot of events that read like an episode of Black Mirror and feel as though they could actually happen in the social media age. It acts as both a stark warning of what social media can do and a great comforter of what social media can do!

All in all, a great thriller with some very unexpected twists and turns. I look forward to reading more of Lloyd’s work!

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Social media really does have a lot to answer for these days. This is a prime example of how social media can rule someone's life and their lies will get caught eventually. It just so happens that on the other end of the phone/computer, there are some not nice people who will go to extreme lengths to punish that person for their lies.

This was so gripping, I honestly couldn't put the book down, it had me from the first chapter right through to the end and I was on the edge of my seat, sometimes screaming in frustration.

Loved it.

An interesting peek into social media and insta-fame, mixed with revenge and bitterness. I held my breath several times and cannot fault the twists even though the plot seems a bit simplistic at times. A good read which reflects accurately the times we live in.

People Like Her is a gripping and at times nauseating thriller which touches upon a range of issues such as social media, privacy and being a parent in the world of family instagrammers, bloggers and vloggers. I will say I think Ellery Lloyd makes some points about social media and how accessible everyone is and how easy it is to find out a lot of details about someones life from what they post, although of course you can never really get the entire picture.

While there is definitely an interesting premise here and I had a sort of morbid fascination reading the behind the scenes glimpses of being a popular influencer, the plot got gradually more and more far fetched and you definitely have to suspend your disbelief after a certain point. None of the characters are particularly likeable and I don't think they're meant to be the type of characters you root for but even so, they were pretty terrible people. Emmy in particular was something else, on top of creating an entirely fake persona she also steals her childhood best friends miscarriage experience and takes it as her own to get on a tv show. I get the point that the author may have been trying to make with Emmy and the world of influencers, but it definitely feels heavy handed with the whole 'instagram is a highlight reel and everyone and everything on it is fake'. Dan is just as bad in certain regards, with some minor moments of being a decent person but this is only occasional and quickly brushed over in favour of dumping on his wife.

In short, this book makes some points but overall was a fairly average read for me. I can see this being a popular thriller but it's not one I particularly enjoyed.

Definitely in my top 5 thrillers of the year.

This novel is based on a very popular “mum influencer”. The novel takes turns from presenting her perspective, her husbands and ultimately the person that changes their lives.

Mamabare is a carefully constructed page with planned mishaps to show how relatable she is as a mother. It’s nothing like her reality as her husband tells us. Unfortunately there is a price to pay for being so public.

A real thriller that keeps pace until the very end.

Oh my goodness, but this was a good book.

#NoSpoilers : The story sucks you in like quick sand, fear rising the deeper you go.

The characters are complex and credible. The situations and cultural observations are relateable, even if the social media world is not one a reader might frequent.

A cracking good read.

Highly recommend.

This story was dizzying, in the best way. I was so caught up in the mummy blogger life and hypocrisies of Emmy and loved the overarching idea that your careless actions can have dramatic repercussions for you, especially in an age where what you post can be shared, seen and made more of than intended. I liked how well written the couple were and how we’re not at any point supposed to root for them, I hate-loved them. Really fun to read.

WOW I was completely hooked from the first to the final page and nothing could drag me away from this book!!

I’m not a fan of Instagram and have never paid influencers much notice, but this book opened my eyes to the horrors of social media.

Emmeline Jackson an instamum has many followers, she is married to Dan and has 2 children, Coco who is 4 and baby Bear. Dan is not keen on his children’s pictures being online but knows his wife’s career is important to her. But someone is out there in the background watching and planning revenge!!

The story gave me goosebumps, I loved how it is told in alternate chapters, you know something bad is going to happen but it’s told in bite size pieces that slowly builds the tension up to boiling point!!

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers then you will love this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review

People Like Her is a modern day cautionary tale woven around the rise of the Instagram influencer. Emmy, a former fashion editor is the woman behind the successful and influential Mamabare , amassing a huge following with her realistic take on motherhood. Married to Dan, an author struggling to write his second novel, Emmy earns her living by sharing her private life with her husband and children Coco and Bear online, making her a much loved figure amongst other mothers. However, as we all know this kind of publicity comes at a price so this is a storyline that comes with a warning label attached. Just as Emmy has built up a legion of adoring fans so too has she attracted the attention of those keen to shoot her down in flames. The more negative aspects of this kind of lifestyle are examined in People Like Her, bringing the perils and pitfalls of sharing details of your life with millions of strangers to the fore. Trolling unfortunately goes with the territory when you’re as famous as Emmy which this compelling storyline recognises, focusing on what can happen when one stalker in particular takes a step too far, invading Emmy and Dan’s family life and threatening to destroy it. Ultimately this is a storyline about one person’s desire for revenge or justice (depending on your perspective!) and whether Emmy and Dan will take heed of the warning signs or not. I absolutely loved it.

With this tale narrated alternately by Emmy and Dan, the reader is treated to both their perspectives of the reality of insta parenting. Interspersed with their thoughts is an mystery voice, a voice that leaves the reader in no doubt that Emmy’s every move is being watched. This person seemingly has a valid reason to hate Emmy and everything she stands for, yet it will take the reader almost the entire novel to work out why.

What fascinated me from the start was the disparity between this couple’s opinions and thoughts surrounding the ‘birth’ of the Mamabare brand and the impact creating this persona has on the whole family. To begin with I recognised Dan’s own cynicism in myself, finding the whole sharing your private life on social media shallow, distasteful and more importantly incredibly fake. Through his eyes, you quickly realise Emmy is simply a magician creating an illusion and a successful salesperson to boot. There is an art to achieving her kind of popularity which until reading this novel had passed me by. Having only a basic grasp of the power this kind of platform can generate, the author enlightened me in terms of the sheer extent of pretence and hard work that goes into formulating, honing and marketing a certain way of life. Keen to be in tune with the majority of her followers, empathising and understanding the daily struggles of breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, and all the myriad of problems parenting entails, Emmy as Mamabare has cast herself as some kind of parenting guru. I found myself shocked at how these women hung onto her every word, believing her to be the font of all knowledge parenting wise. She has a responsibility to her followers that to my mind puts Emmy in a very dangerous position. Watch this space!

Never for one minute did I warm to Emmy. She’s a highly organised, ambitious and calculating woman who has a ruthless approach to achieving her goals. She’s single minded, focused only on maintaining her pole position as numero uno instamum who fails to realise the amount of power and influence she wields through her Mamabare brand until it’s nearly too late. She’s the complete opposite to the mother she’s pretending to be and I felt quite angry that Coco and Bear were part of this marketing train that gathers momentum until events transpire to derail it. Having set off down this particular path, there seems to be no escape route when the going gets tough, without losing face (and their income!)To admit defeat just isn’t in her vocabulary. As for Dan, I had mixed feelings regarding his character. He’s like a hanger on supporting the Mamabare brand, despite his misgivings and I almost felt sorry for his lack of control over his wife’s chosen lifestyle. However any sympathy I felt was short lived as thanks to Emmy he could afford to luxuriate in doing nothing to contribute to the family’s finances, accepting all the freebies that come their way. However, underestimate this character at your peril. He may just surprise you!

Despite my abhorrence of the way in which Emmy chooses to live her life, I fell hook line and sinker for this storyline. It’s well written and thought provoking as well as suspenseful. All throughout this thriller I wanted to know who was patiently waiting in wings, watching Emmy’s every move, preparing for the perfect opportunity to pounce and trap their prey. Equally I wanted to understand the reasons behind this stalker’s behaviour, whose voice is menacing and chilling. At no point did I have a clue as to the identity of Emmy’s stalker which added the requisite tension, building up to a most unexpected climax. The final pages will have you reeling in shock and are jaw droppingly good. This debut took me by surprise and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to fellow readers. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

This is a gripping thriller about the danger of social media. It is told from the perspective of the husband, the influencer and the stalker. None of the characters are particularly likeable and it would be hard to feel any sympathy for them at all were it not for the children. It got very dark towards the end and was not the ending I expected.

Wow. Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

This is a gripping thriller about the dangers of social media, and easily one of my top reads of the year.

The life of an influencer isn’t as easy as it looks. Every moment of Emmy’s life is carefully curated to appeal to her followers and the brands who pay her to promote their products. This isn’t all no make-up make-up and filtered moments of perfection though. Emmy’s market is the world of Insta motherhood, so it’s styled to look natural with messy floors, baby sick and sleepless nights. The fact that Emmy’s kids both sleep really well and she has a cleaner twice a week doesn’t quite make the cut for ‘life on the grid’. Husband Dan is grudging of his wife’s use of their children and family life, but as he’s trapped in second novel hell he’s realistic that they need the income her online activities bring.

Of her million followers Emmy’s used to the hate amongst the love, but she doesn’t suspect that one of those followers isn’t just a keyboard warrior. They have a very personal hate for Emmy and have sinister plans for her future.

This is a fantastically well written book. Normally I’m put off by books written by two people (Ellery Lloyd is a pseudonym for husband and wife writing team Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos). But, here it works really well. The story is told in first person perspective from Emmy, Dan and the stalker and each voice feels very authentic. I really enjoyed reading a sympathetic male character (Dan) as it feels the men have been all been one-dimensional villains who treat the women in their lives despicably.

I finished this within 24 hours and it absolutely would have been a one sitting read if work and sleep hadn’t been necessary. A brilliant read and I heartily recommend it.