Read this book so long ago and unfortunately didn’t post my review in time! Review to come, apologies for the delay

The permise of this book did sound really interesting to me which is why I originally requested it but it did become a book that lay unread for so long then when I did give it a shot it was not what I thought it was going to be so I did Dnf this one, so there for I will be giving it a middle of the road rating

I'm a huge fan of Sara Shepard and this book didn't disappoint!

The characters were well developed and I loved how they each had a distinctive voice. That is one of the skills of Sara's writing for sure, as you can always tell just whose head you're in as a reader. My favourite character was,

The plot was interesting and something different, yet also somehow similar, to Sara's other works and honestly, as a fan of her writing style, it won't be the last book of hers I read.

The story follows four influencers and shows the ups and downs of living your life in the public eye.
A murder takes place and of course the main characters all want said murder solved. The different personalities, the way in which they are under constant scrutiny, all of it just added up to a real enjoyable read!

Influence reads a bit like Pretty Little Liars but is modernised to include influencers, and also somehow reads younger too. It’s written by Sara Sheperd so you know instantly where this comparison comes from. On the influencer side we have Lilia Buckingham who brings her experience, although I’m not sure of how much she wrote.

I’m unsure if this was done on purpose, but the characters feel both insanely young and like adults at the same time. Each of the influencers we meet are to some degree controlled by a parent and/or someone on behalf of the parents. But in other cases, like Jasmine she’s written to seem much older than she is – and I think this is commentary on how creators are more and more acting and looking older than teenagers.

After the glamorous parties and socialising events our 4 characters attend, one of them shows up dead and the other 3 are all suspects in some way. Each of these characters have their own backstories, and these backstories include a lot of guilt which is pushed to the forefront after the death for multiple reasons. I liked that we see how difficult it can be for these young girls to navigate life in the limelight, even when they have support.

The overall story took time to get to for our characters, the first maybe half of the book was focused heavily on our main characters, who they are, who they know and what they do. I felt this part was more of a social commentary at times and wasn’t as gripping as it could be. Then when the girls story arcs come together it starts feeling more murder mystery and thrilling.

I don’t think the ending was foreshadowed as much as it could be – the answers given felt more given than worked out at times. But no one is selling this book as a huge mystery thriller, but on the characters and conversation around influencer culture on the rise. I also think the book is for a younger audience, and there’s a lot of good morals in the story as well as a gripping mystery as you want to find out who did it.

As a whole, Influence is an easy read with a mystery twist, however it does steer to the younger side of YA and doesn’t have that “wow” factor that many thrillers do. If you’re looking for a quick read on a Saturday afternoon this is a good shout, but if you want a book to really think about who the killer is then this wouldn’t be for you.

Positives of Influence
Interesting murder mystery
Shows off the negatives of being a young “influencer)
Negatives of Influence
A lot of backstory before we get to the main plotline

We all know them....influencers. They tell us what to wear, what's the new trend in music and what to absolutely NOT to look for in a partner - EVER. I would recommend the book to all the younger readers, to get a behind-the-scenes look on how it feels to be popular. To love with the constant pressure to be the first with everything, even the things you might not like.

Having read other books by Sara Shepard in the past I was looking forward to reading Influence. Unfortunately I was left disappointed and I didn't really enjoy the book at all.

The story follows four influencers and the challenges they face within their job but when one day one of them is killed they are left trying to find out who did it. What put me off this book most was that I didn't feel like I ever really got to know the characters. With them all doing the same job and how slow the story started I couldn't tell who was who with each of the chapters being from a different influencers perspective.

I enjoyed the first few chapters but then found the book incredibly slow. It took half of the book to get to one influencer being killed and even then the book didn't get much more interesting! It also didn't help that I still didn't really feel like I knew or cared about any of the characters. I was glad when the book ended because I was so fed up of it by that point but I didn't find it a surprising or interesting reveal. I wanted to like this book but I really didn't enjoy it, maybe it would be more enjoyable for younger readers.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

A fun, modern take on the morality of being popular. I think lots of young people will enjoy this, especially those who are interested in the function of influencers in society, or perhaps want to be an influencer. If you like Sara Sheperd's other books, you'll definitely love this.

I have read a lot of Sara Shepard over the years and I really enjoyed this collaboration with Lilia Buckingham; whose experience of the inner circles of high profile influencers is seamlessly entwined with Shepard’s expert pacing and twisty narrative.
The book centres upon four female influencers at different stages of their careers but who all have their own secrets and pressures that cannot be filtered over. Delilah, Fiona and Jasmine become fast friends after all crossing the infamously ruthless Scarlet Leigh but to their fans the drama only increases their ‘likes’ and reshares. But when events take a dark turn for all the girls their worlds are thrown into chaos and they have millions of people watching their every move.
I have read a few books now about the darker side of the social media world but I felt this one had a level of integrity, as the various pressures and events will have been experienced by Lilia, but as it is still a YA/ coming of age story it maintains that intrigue but ease of reading.
The only thing I would say I was frustrated with was that not all of the loose ends were tied up but as a fan I am not surprised as Sara always likes to leave us on a cliffhanger.

I have no posts on my Instagram and My YouTube history consists purely of Tom Holland's Lip Sync Battle, Pomeranians being groomed and BTS dance rehearsals... just to give you an idea of how utterly lacking my knowledge about social media influencers and viral internet trends is.

This however didn't stop me from enjoying "Influence" and the glimpse it gave me into this mind-boggling world (not enough to ever want to make a vlog but still!)
Sara Shepard once again weaves a tantalizing web of secrets, motives and lies to create one hell of a who-dunnit. With every new reveal I was double guessing each character and trying to piece it all together.

So despite being twice the age of the target audience for this, I found it to be a thrilling mystery and interesting insight into this equally dazzling and awful world!

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK in exchange for an honest review.

I was a huge fan of Pretty Little Liars back in the day so I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book. Being a fan of books centered around social media, I was keen to see a PLL-style take on it. I think sadly I have outgrown this kind of writing but that doesn't mean it's a bad book.

Let's start with the positives-unlike some of Shepard's other work, this didn't feel derivative of PLL. The characters had distinct problems (one is struggling with sexuality but it hits different beats to Emily's story) and their roles as influencers took the story in a very different direction which was nice. I liked that we only experienced Scarlet through her live vlogs as it broke up chapters nicely and gave her a more unique edge. I couldn't really tell where the story was going to go, and it's a little bit more chill than PLL as well. You're not stressed by these characters being majorly screwed over at every turn.

Now for the negatives. Putting aside the fact that it reads a bit juvenile (very understandable as that is the age group it's aimed at), I found the characters converged a fair bit. They started off quite distinct but as the book went on, I kept getting a little confused as to who was who and what drama they were involved in. This leads me to the next point which is that the climax was very messy. Things were paced well and then all at once, everything started happening and that's when the characters became less distinct and the story sort of fell apart. In particular, I didn't even remember some of the characters involved in the ending which is a bad sign. I suspect this might have been written as a series and then rushed a bit when it was released as a single book (though it still has series potential).

Overall, Influence is a fun read and it has more positives than negatives. If you're part of its target age group, there is a lot to like here and I do enjoy Shepard's writing. Older audiences won't find much to keep them gripped beyond nostalgia, but I can see this taking off in the same way PLL did.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A razor sharp YA thriller. This book perfectly encaptures the feeling of being young and social media obssed. The author did well to encapture the feeling of having to be online and up to date all the time. The characters were well developed and complex.
The story was a bit predictable at times and sometimes, it was frustrating how self obsessed the MC's were. But perhaps that is from a post COVID world.
On the whole, an addictive read.

Well this book was quite different from what I had expected in a number of ways. This was my first Sara Shepard novel and I think I would definitely like to pick up more from her in the future.

I really loved the way this book was structured. Each character had their own voice and we got to hear from each of them. The characters felt fully formed and I could really imagine watching Scarlet's live videos or Delilah taking photos and getting products just for the 'gram. I also loved the setting because I feel like all of these improbable things could all go on in LA.

What I struggled with in this book was the thriller/mystery aspect of it. I read this in eBook form and I think the actual ins and outs of the storyline would have been harder to follow on audiobook which is how I normally do most of my reading so I am glad that I didn't choose to read this book on audio. I didn't feel particularly invested in the crime that took place or the other influencers efforts to get to the bottom of it. I also didn't really think it was that thrilling even knowing how everything ended up.

Aside from the structure and the realistic nature of the characters though, I also really loved the exploration of maintaining a relationship whilst being at the forefront of public attention. I felt like this was dealt with really well in the novel. How can you go from being a child star to admitting you're in a same sex relationship, how can you form a new relationship when every follower is so invested in you current ship. I really liked this side of the storyline and that is what has stuck with me after finishing this book.

So as a thriller this book fell short of the mark for me, but as a contemporary novel about the life of influencers I thought it did a good job. Go into this book knowing that it is not the world most mysterious of thrillers and you'll be fine!

I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. I was not absolutely obsessed with it but I also didn't hate it. It was just a standard young adult thriller that was a bit predictable but I did enjoy some aspects of it.

'Influence' is told in multiple POVs which I think really suited the book and helped to get to know the characters a bit more than if it was written from a singular point of view. Sometimes with multiple POV books, I tend to get the characters mixed up or forget half way through whose chapter I am reading but with this one, I never had that moment which was definitely a positive for this book. My favourite perspective was probably Jasmine's, but I did also enjoy all the other perspectives too.

This book was a bit predictable but that does not mean that the book was not enjoyable. I definitely preferred the second half of the book over the first as the first half was a bit slow but the pace picked up a bit during the second half.

If you liked Sara Shephard's other books or just want a quick, fast paced young adult thriller about social media and Influencers than you should pick this one up as I think you will enjoy it.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A great book, perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars. I finished it in a day and was hooked from the very start.

This is a ya murder mystery, its told from the point of view of four female influencers.⁠
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This really made me think about the pressures people are facing from social media. The number of followers they had in this book and how many comments/likes that equates to and how that effects there mental health, how people treat them and how they feel about themselves.

I felt like a lot of this book was a little out of focus, the change in narration and the slight mistakes made in the tech talk through me if a little. I think maybe if this was more well research it would have been better while I was reading it felt clear to me it was written from an older woman, This was a good idea and I felt it could be done more justice if coming from a younger voice or had been more researched.

I didn’t feel this way about pretty little liars and maybe that because of the time it was taken out the technology made sense and because other things were incorporated it gave me more. I felt like I was being told this story and not shown. Maybe I just don’t get on with following stories about influencers or celebrities.

Influence follows the story of four different girls all involved in the influencer world, things take a darker turn when one of the girls is found dead.

The first half of the book was really interesting, I liked the focus on the influencer lifestyle and how the main characters each dealt with the different aspects of the lifestyle. The book is fast paced and deals with the day-to-day activities that the girls get up to, I did like the main characters but because everything is happening quickly I wanted to see more of the relationship between the girls develop – I liked seeing their individual personalities and the things they were hiding but their friendship seemed rushed and underdeveloped. I enjoyed the writing style of the first half, I liked how the different girls had distinctive voices and how Scarlet’s chapters were written in a different style.

The second half of the book focuses more on the mystery and develops the plot more, although I do like the suspense and overall tone to the second half it was really disappointing. It felt really rushed, the plot felt cliché and predictable especially the red herrings and the final reveal was disappointing and anti-climactic. The first half which had little plot was more interesting, the second half was boring because nothing was surprising – especially because there were three narrators it felt like a lot of cliches were in the book and it made for a dragged out read.

2/5

Influence
By Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham
Pub date jan 5 2021
This is an exciting read I learnt so much about social media that everybody should read this book. You learn so much about Instagram post and social media I loved learning about influence you learn so much about social media and how much of a impact it has on everyone and I loved the behind the scenes how long it take two take photo the setup the story post what it’s you need two get followers you learn a great deal. This book covers a great deal of metal health and how influence has a impact you you life. This book is a griping read that covers allot of topics for young readers I loved how it covers parties and having fun and being rich just by taking photos I was hooked on this story x

My first thought upon finishing this book was, ‘What in the merry hell did I just read?’

Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham starts out like Mean Girls on the internet, and then it slowly turns into a teenage crime-solving caper in Hollywood.

And I loved every moment of it.

As an aging ‘Xennial’ who remembers a time before cell phones were even a thing (remember pagers?), let alone YouTube and Instagram, I am fascinated by influencer culture. The fact that people can be rich and famous just for posting pictures of themselves drinking smoothies and trying on makeup is mind-boggling to me (she says with no small amount of envy). So when I saw this on Net Galley, I knew I had to request it (and many thanks to @netgalley and @littlebrown for this ARC).

And bloody hell – is this what it’s really like to be an influencer? Minus the whole, ya know, crime-solving bit. Lilia Buckingham – an influencer herself – was a contributor, so it must be somewhat accurate, right? It sounds exhausting…

The first half of the book is like a window into the life of a teen influencer, a life which sounds insane, in my aged opinion: events, parties, posing for selfies with rabid fans, ducking the paparazzi, always being ON, and meticulously crafting your brand and image. After a bit of standard teen drama (there’s even a quick makeover AND a prom!) the story gradually becomes more sinister. The shadow side of influencer culture is revealed as some of the characters begin struggling with their carefully-curated images and the expectations placed on them by their family and fans. And in the end, one of them will pay the ultimate price…dun dun dun!!! Sorry, no spoilers here.

While thrillers and/or books aimed at teenagers aren’t my usual cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I found it engaging, easy to read (but not in a childish way, if you get me), and just plain fun.
Even though towards the end when the teenagers are scampering around trying to solve the mystery, I was honestly waiting for a big madcap finale when they catch the villain, who would inevitably exclaim, ‘I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!’

And if you’re too young to understand that reference, then you’ll definitely love this book.

Now excuse me while I make a nice cup of Ovaltine and watch an episode of the Golden Girls…

I was gifted this lovely e-book a while back but I've only just gotten around to reading it and WOW! LOVED IT @saracshepard and @lilia!

For anyone who loves the Pretty Little Liars books or series will love this one too! I couldn't put it down, was full of twist and turns throughout, kept me constantly guessing and not trusting anyone!

Each chapter is flipped between each character but it's really easy to follow. I loved each character in their own right, the personalities jumped out at me.

Full of drama, showing the good and bad side of being an Influencer, which so many people today thrive for! Including topics about bullying and mental health.