Idol is a glitteringly delicious shiny read that captivates and draws you in from the first page and keeps you hooked until the last word.

I read only ever yours by this author a few years ago, and the story has been burned in my brain ever since. I could not stop thinking about it, and this book is no different.

The author has a serious skill for twisting a storyline so it never goes the way you expect it will. The ending isn’t a happy one, but neither was only ever yours, and I personally think it is so rare to have a story end in a way that things aren’t wrapped up, and there is no “happily ever after.”

I liked how the narrative switched from present day to the past, and it was done flawlessly. The author only gave as much information as she wanted to.

The reader starts out the story feeling nothing but sympathy for Sam, but as the story plays out, your opinion changes. She does things and you find yourself on the edge of your seat, wanting to scream at her to stop. The author is incredibly talented, they convince the reader to feel for the character only what they want you to feel. And at the right times, of course.

I have no doubt that, just like only ever yours, I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come. Highly recommend!

Louise O'Neill is my 'must buy' author. I have always enjoyed reading her books. From Asking For It to After the Silence and the rest in between I love reading her stories. Idol has just joined that list of books I enjoyed.
Idol is the story of Samantha Miller - lifestyle guru is a 3 million strong following. Her latest book release has been a huge success helped along by an article that she released a few days earlier where she talks about an important sexual experience she had. However, when the person discussed in the article makes claims that Samantha is lying, that things didn't happen that way and that Samantha took advantage, Samantha's world begins to fall apart.

Idol was brilliant and what Louise O'Neill has expertly done is to dissect the argument that famous people are at a disadvantage in the sense that because of their fame they are prey to people trying to take advantage take them down a peg or two whilst also looking at the alternative argument that people who are famous are privileged and believe that their fame allows them guilt free behaviour.

Coupled with this we also have two really unreliable characters Samantha and Lisa. As a reader, you are constantly on your toes trying to figure out who you believe and who is telling the absolute truth.

Idol is a ten ticket thrill ride of a novel and one that will have you hooked from the very first page. I loved it!

Idol by Louise O'Neill is available now.

For more information regarding Louise O'Neill (@oneilllo) please visit her Twitter or Instagram account.

For more information regarding Random House (@randomhouse) please visit www.randomhousebooks.com.

For more information regarding Transworld Publications (@TransworldBooks) please visit their Twitter account.

For more information regarding Bantam Press (@BantamPress) please visit www.bantam.press.

Hmm not sure what to make of this one. The main story revolves around 2 childhood friends, we pick up the story when they are adults, living their own lives, Sam is a celebrity author and life coach and Lisa is happily married living the suburban life.

They are back in each others lives after Lisa makes a public accusation against Sam and now Sam is desperate for Lisa to denounce it publicly. The story is shared in a dual time line, one in the present and the other leading up to the incident.

I kept switching sides when reading this story and throughout the book didn't really like either of them.

I don't want to gv anything away except say that it could have been a great story even without the twist at the end, which I found really unnecessary.
Just before it happened, I was quite satisfied with how I thought the story would end, a bit ambiguous and not really knowing what happens next, but just ending on an affirmative of how I felt towards Sam and eventually sympathetic with Lisa.

Therefore because of the ending I give this story a 3 star. I do like Louise O Neills style of writing and just because I'm not a fan of Idol, doesn't mean I won't read her other books.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Louise O’Neill continues to write about dark issues in a page turning fashion.

This book deals with the internet celebrity really well, and captures the disconnect really well. I stayed up late multiple nights reading this, unable to put down my kindle for “one more chapter”. It is so hard to write an unlikeable character who makes the worst decisions who you also want to make better choices? It’s not a case of yeah let us watch her world burn but a “no get her a fire extinguisher please!”).

A book that could easily be seen as real life splashed all over twitter and Reddit that will make you think twice about what your idol on insta is saying…

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book, I couldn't get into it, I disliked the characters and couldn't care less about what happened to them. Not one I'd be willing to read again

I’m really sad to say that I struggled to get into this book. The synopsis sounded great but this one just wasn’t for me. This could be a case of it’s not the book, it’s me as I can see that plenty of people have really enjoyed it so don’t let my view on it put you off giving it a go.

With thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the copy of Idol.

Idol by Lousie O`Neil is the perfect beach/holiday read, gritty and fast paced, I’m sure it will be a best seller and be on everyone’s summer list.

So much praise from well known authors but not sure why.
Sam a social media influencer is accused of sexual assault by an old school friend.
Sam returns to her old home town to get to the bottom of this.
She faces up to old memories and events.
The book was hot and cold .I enjoyed some parts but wanted to skip some bits and just get to the end.
Not great.

This book is so relevant at the moment. For me, it really highlighted so much of what I dislike about social media and the influencer wagon- it's all just smoke and mirrors. It's a really great journey, though I'm pretty sure every single character in this book is completely unlikeable.

I zipped through it in a day and I agree with other reviewers; a great beach read.

a real cracker in the book world - this is so relevant right now with social media the way it is.

Friendship turned bad and how theres two side to every story, how history disrupts the memories and doubts slides in.

A scarily realistic and atmospheric read.

Oooo a proper page turner here, yet all the characters are very unlikable 😂 however I still enjoyed it immensely and could not put it down!! A great book and one which is perfect for a hot summers day!

I really enjoyed this book and loved the twist at the end of it.
There weren’t really any likeable characters in it and the main character was pretty awful!
I liked all the twists in it - when we were lead to think one thing and then it became apparent that what we were thinking was wrong.
It’s really interesting to see how things can spiral out of control really quickly on social media and I found this really true to life.
I would definitely recommend this book.

This book is such a page turner. I read it in a day as I just couldn't put it down. I had to find out what happened to Samantha.

The story had some good twists and really made me think about how what we don't know what is real online and that things aren't always what they seem. I'm not sure I will be able to look at influences the same way after this addictive thriller. It was also how to think about how different people can remember the same event differently.

This would be an ideal beach read. Prepare to be hooked!

This book grabbed my attention from the start - incredibly addictive and hard to put down.

I found the main character to be complex and unlikeable, feeling a mixture of emotions for her whilst also questioning her reliability as a narrative.

Personally, I thought it wasn't the easiest read at times. The plot moved on slightly too quickly, so I did have to go back and reread at times. But nevertheless, I enjoyed the plot and the focus on modern society.

Twisty, gritty, ABSOLUTELY my kind of book. I just love reading about complex, unlikeable people making terrible decisions! Five horrible stars from me.

Samantha Miller has made a career for herself empowering women to speak their truth and love themselves. However, following the release of an article about her best sexual encounter when she was a teenager, her childhood best friend speaks out accusing Samantha of twisting the experience because she never actually consented.

There are so many twists and turns in this book and it’s a long time since I’ve read a book with an unreliable narrator and actually enjoyed it. I don’t know why but I wasn’t expecting this book to be anything like what it was, but it was great!

Samantha Miller is the author of “Chaste” and has 3 million followers- to her “girls” - her fans - she’s nothing less than perfect, telling them how to live their lives, be happy, how to find and honour their “truth”.
She writes and publishes an essay which quickly goes viral, about her sexual awakening with her female friend Lisa when they were both teenagers.
When Lisa gets in touch- years after they last spoke- to tell Samantha that she has very different memories of their encounter, which are much darker and of course are damaging to Samantha’s reputation and career, it becomes clear that both believe they are telling the truth.
I enjoyed this book, the characters were well written and believable and I found myself alternating between believing Samantha and Lisa., depending on who was giving their version of events
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

This book was an absolute rollercoaster! I had not read any of Louise O'Niell's books but was intrigued from the moment I read the blurb.

Samantha Miller, an online influencer admired by millions around the world, finds her business and a reputation on the line after disclosing a sexual experience with a friend online. Her viral admission of lust and sexual discovery is remembered very differently by the friend in question.

This novel was full of twists and turns, forcing us to face how true what we read online really is, consider how reliable memory really is and how we would react when someone so beloved is accused of the most horrific things. This book is timely and oh so relevant. An fascinating depiction of one woman's quest to save what she build and "her truth", whatever the cost.

My one wish for this book would be to have the characters of Lisa and Becky more fleshed out, although that could alter the story based on the focus of Samantha's perspective?

A good read - 3.5 put of 5.

This was really engaging from the start. It was addictive and I didn't want to put it down.

The main character is extremely unlikeable but in a good way. Sam is really complex and you have to question if she's a reliable narrator even from an early stage in the book. I felt for her in parts but this is so well written that I couldn't make my mind up. There were so many little tidbits of information interwoven that asked questions of her.

The ending was good but it was so quick that I actually went back to read it again to get my head around it. Becky felt a little unnecessary to the plot - would have liked more from Lisa. Overall, this is a timely story about social media and the me too movement.

Great read.