Thank you to the publisher and netgalley. This is going to be a hard pass at 37%. I just cannot.

For a mystery being written by adults, I find this one to have many YA elements. I did not need 2-3 pages on Coco's getting dressed routine. How her eyes can look different colors and then even how she went to the salon many times to get the right shade of hair. While I can do vapid characters, this was a bit much for me.

I just found the first 1/3 of the book to drag on and on. Coco's inner talk was just long and drawn out. I have seen reviews say this picks up at the 2/3 mark. I don't want to wait that long for characters I do not like.

This was such a refreshing and loveable cozy mystery. I love a good story about a social media influencer and Coco may be one of my favorites so far!

When a client of Coco's is found murdered in the unopened shop Coco must work quick to get her clients out of the suspect category and find a way to get the store ready for a grand opening. But, as Coco is quick to find out there are secrets that are hidden in town and who ends up being revealed as the killer will have everyone shocked.

This is such a fun and entertaining read! I absolutely adored this one and blew through it!

I went into this book hoping it would be a fun, light-hearted murder mystery but unfortunately, it didn't hit the mark for me at all!
Basically, we find our main character, influencer/social media consultant Coco, attempting to solve a murder that is linked to her newest clients. In parts, its a humorous, cheesy read but there was a lot in the book that wasn't for me.
The characters weren't overly likeable, especially the main character. I felt she was only really concerned with herself, with her clients and the murder as an afterthought. Not only that but the pace of this book is so so slow. For about 3/4 of it, the main character is talking about her webinars, hashtags, lifestyle etc with an occasional mention of the homicide, suspects, motives; the only real "action" happens in the last part of the book as if it was thrown in last minute.

I think it's a fun premise for a book but to me it was very media focused rather than focusing on the plot or character development. A 2⭐ read for me!

Follow for murder !! Thanks NetGalley for this arc !


Follow for murder is a very light mystery! It was so good ! I recommend this book

I divide into this book, enthralled by the cover art and the synopsis both.
I went in with high expectations.

And I cam out, not disappointed as much, but just sad because I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It was fine. Ok, as one might say.
The plot was very slow and boring, and I just felt like it wasn't for me. I am a fan for fast-paced books, and this was not fast-paced at all. Might I also add that the plot was predictable.
I don't like leaving some books unread or finished halfway, but there was just a point in this book where I just couldn't continue reading anymore. I was bored to my wits end and I didn't connect with the characters, and everything was predictable. I honestly did not want to Dnf this book midway, but I did.

I was intrigued to read this book based on the cover - and this was my first cozy mystery read.

This book was okay for me - I found the focus on her job in social media dragged on a little longer than necessary - and I didn't fully connect with Coco's character. Overall the first half of this book was a bit slow for me, but the second half definitely picked up.

3/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah E. Burr for the ARC!

This is a very easy book to dive into and read quickly. I liked that Coco, while her job profession isn't anything new, a blogger / influencer, I did like that she didn't just sit around on her new fame and money, she kept busy with her blog and new business ventures. There were times she seemed a little flighty for an entrepreneur, and her hyper focus on taking the next step with her boyfriend got a little repetitive. The ending felt quick and even a little rushed after so much build up, but everything was solved and the reasons were known so it felt 'complete'. If you're looking for a light, easy, beach read, Follow Me For Murder would be a good pick.

I couldn't finish this one. I don't like to give up on books, but I'm trying something new this year where if I can't get into a book by 20-30%, then I give up so I can move on. I didn't connect with any of the characters, they were all one dimensional, the dialogue and writing just seemed forced and I just ended up going to the end to see who the killer was. I wish I liked it more, it had promise.


Thank you Netgalley & to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the cover looked cute and that it was another one of those series of cozy mystery series. This is the first book of the Trending Topic Mysteries.

A famous blogger, Coco Cline returns back to her hometown, in Central Shore to start up her own social media consulting firm. One of her clients is Sean and Olivia Chen who are going to be celebrating a grand opening of their store--but when Coco stumbles into the store, she comes across the dead body of their assistant, Stacy. Using her influence, Coco sets about finding the killer only to find this innocent assistant doesn't seem to be that innocent at all...

This book to me was OK--not really good, but it wasn't that bad either. Some parts of the story was boring, and I thought this sounds a bit like spoilt kids, kind of like I am watching Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars in the book. The characters particularly the main one didn't really warm up to me and the story was in Coco's perspective. However, towards the middle of the book, the story got teeny weeny interesting. The ending was predictable and expected. Not much twists and turns, not fast paced either.

This is an OK thriller but if you are into books about bloggers as a main character, then this one is for you--worth three stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Certainly a good start to the series of the trending topic mysteries. Like how the main character and her boyfriend and a couple of friends team up together to solve a murder. A quick and easy read.

This book was so good!! I loved the characters, I loved the lavish lifestyles and the beautiful costal setting. I was flipping through the pages eager to find out who was the murderer. Loved it and can’t wait for book 2 in the series!!

"It's the difference between life and death."

Thank you @netgalley @levelbestbooks and @authorsaraheburr for the ARC!

Influencer and celebrity blogger Coco Cline runs her own social medial consulting firm in her hometown of Central Shores Delaware. She's about to launch the grand opening of Sean and Olivia Chen's new shop when Coco stumbles across their store clerk Stacy dead behind the register. What has happened? Who could have murdered this sweet girl?
Coco will use her celebraty status and social medial savviness to help the police in their investigation.

The first sentence got me hooked (see quote) and I was sure I'd love the book from start to end. But I feel like there was something missing. There wasn't enough suspense throughout the investigation. I discovered the murderer quite quickly even though the author tries to take us on other paths.

I also find the character quite superficial. I didn't hate them but I didn't feel closed to them either. The plot is great but maybe a bit too perfect in my opinion.

Yet I really like that the plot was up-to-date because it's certain that nowadays we'd use social media platforms to help with an investigation.

I'd like to see how the characters evolve in potential future books.

While this may work for a good deal of people, it didn't work for me, and I couldn't finish past chapter four. I found myself skimming and skipping, the characters all unrelatable, and too much backstory to keep my attention.

This was a cute mystery. I think I would have like it better if the MC wasn’t so off putting. I know this is the way she is suppose to be with being an “influencer” but some of these parts made it hard to read. I am a sucker for cozy mysteries and this checked a lot of my favorite ticks.

It was fun reading this very modern cozy featuring a social media influencer. Coco and her crew (esp loved Jasper’s snark) are very relatable and I look really look forward to seeing where the romance with Hudson goes. The mystery was fast-paced and bingable (I read this all in one go). This is book one of the Trending Topic Mysteries and I can’t wait for what comes next.

The combination of the hashtag title and series name drew me to investigate reading this novel and I'm so glad I did! I loved it! I'm also very excited as I think this series has the potential to bring new readers to the delight of cozy mysteries that I've enjoyed since reading Nancy Drew books in the 4th grade.

After early career beginnings with friends developing a LiveIT smartphone application that included a lifestyle blog, Coco Cline is continuing the blog independently as part of an acquisitions deal. Coco has also started a new consulting business and is passionate to assist small business owners navigate their presence in the world of social media. But Coco never anticipated that her new role would include investigating a murder to protect her newest clients from negativity prior to their business launch and grand opening.

There was one outcome that was easy to foresee but the investigation has some unexpected twists and turns that add to the freshness of this cozy offering. Friendship and romance 21th century style, and a surprise and savvy nod to Montecito’s newest high-profile residents give a contemporary lift and sparkle to the author’s storytelling. Small business owners or anyone new to creating a social media presence might want to consider this cozy required reading as sprinkled throughout the storyline Coca Cline shares innumerable tips for success.

I’m looking forward to reading future mysteries in this series!

My sincere thanks to Sarah E. Burr, and Level Best Books for my complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

#FollowMeforMurder #NetGalley

#FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr is the first book in her Trending Topic Mysteries series. This storyline was quite intriguing. Amateur sleuth Coco Cline, her boyfriend and two close friends banded together to solve the murder of Stacy Lockner. They each contributed to solving the case with Coco taking the lead. Cco sure never expected to be in danger but ... You can read what happens for yourself. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book in the series.

This is a lighthearted amateur sleuth kinda book.

It’s obvious how they story will pan out but I loved the build up to that point.

It’a very detailed so you do get the thought processes and exact movements of the characters as they’re trying to figure out just what has happened.

This is the first in a series. Though I did enjoy reading it, I probably won’t pick up any further books as it was too predictable for me.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fun in a few different ways - main character is a famous blogger, lots of focus on social media, a murdee mystery, amateur sleuths... this was an entertaining read!

I enjoyed most of the characters! There were a few I didn't like but I think that was the point haha.

The murder mystery was probably pretty obvious to people who guess endings lol I can never guess an ending so I personally didn't know where it was going but I wasn't super surprised either. Still thought it was interesting though and I really liked the detective work happening throughout the story!

I would definitely suggest this if you need a lighter read and want something that is kind of cute and funny but also has mystery!

This one hurts because I was excited for this and found the story intriguing. For me, it fell flat and I really only kept reading because I was expecting it to pick up.

The biggest issue for me was there was way too much focus on the social media/PR/branding side of things. It almost felt like in fantasy novels when there is so much world building and not a lot of story growth. I get that the social media information was important, but there was a lot that was really unnecessary to the story.

The murder itself intrigued me, but I figured out who it was pretty much from the jump. Now that's probably because I've watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU so I figured out who did it before you truly find out in the story. I did like the different potential killers, but I wish those had been explored more to really trip up the reader on who did it.

I actually enjoyed Coco. She easily could've been a stereotypical influencer, but she wasn't. I liked seeing how she handled the murder, her clients, and her personal life.

You know who I didn't like? Hudson. I wanted to like him, but I found him boring. I know he cared about her, but the lack of commitment with his apartment and marriage annoyed me for some reason. Personally, I was hoping something would happen with Gavin.

Overall, I don't think it's a bad story, it just didn't hit home for me like I wanted it to. I enjoyed it for what it was and it had a good premise. I think balancing out the story better could benefit this book. I do think it's enjoyable for folks looking for an easy read. Besides the murder, there aren't a lot of triggers and the characters are fun to read about. I could see myself recommending this to people.