I'll skip the summary on this because you can look it up, but basically we have Squid Games meets Hunger Games at the Fyre Festival. Oh, plus culty stuff. And a mysterious artist who paints dead people.

This book is so fun. It's told as a podcast transcript, which keeps things really fast-paced and allows for quick POV shifts that aren't confusing. The format also reminds me a bit of the show Yellowjackets - we come into the story knowing something insane happened, and then it's slowly uncovered.

The only negative I have was that the timeline can get a bit confusing in parts; there would be a "meanwhile" to transition to something I thought happened beforehand. Also, this is a personal thing, but I think there were references to real life influencers I missed out on.

I had a blast reading this. It is a fast read full of twists and turns, and a few gruesome shocks. I would love for it to be made into a show!

Influencer Island comes out on July 30th! Thank you to Netgalley and Kyle Rutkin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who will be the winner of influencer island? The ten contestants will fly to paradise and compete for true social media glory. When they get to the island however, things are a bit more serious than anyone expected. This isn’t just the fight to be the best influencer, but a fight to the death.

This book has been compared to a mixture between the Hunger Games and Fyre festival, and I have to say thats a pretty good description! The book is told from several different perspectives and in podcast form after influencer island goes off air and it’s discovered just how many people have died. I read this book in a single afternoon, and really enjoyed it. The only thing I would change would be diving a bit further into the characters. I think the book could have been a bit longer, but I still flew through it and enjoyed it!

Welcome to Influencer Island! Please enjoy the lovely beaches, the beautiful ocean, the parties, interacting with other influencers, and the occasional challenge that pops up. You will be pushed to your limit and be broadcast to the entire world. But, how far will you go to become more famous?

This was super unique, I loved the concept and how original it was, and it certainly wasn't like anything I've read before. However, the execution kind of lacked a few things.

I think the unusual format wasn't bad in itself, it was something new and creative and also interesting to read. Sadly, I don't think it worked for this genre at all. It took away all the suspense by basically revealing the ending right from the start since someone who died can't exactly narrate a podcast. The action scenes also could have been a lot more exciting if the character's narration hadn't been completely flat and unexciting. The shark scene could have been amazing, but the way it was told was just super boring which was just disappointing.

In terms of characters I also don't think this was amazing, everyone was pretty underdeveloped except for Carrie but even she didn't exactly have much of a personality. Again, I think this was an issue of formating. I also didn't like how everything that happened was already revealed to the reader right in the beginning, instead of steadily revealing it throughout the book. That didn't help to build suspense either.

Overall this was kind of disappointing, I was really excited for this after reading the blurb and it had so much potential but it just fell really flat.

It's one of those book you start and cannot stop till you turn the last page. Gripping, well plotted, and solid.
The elements of contemporary online make it even more interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was wholly unsettling. The ever imposing presence of the mysterious artist Wyatt James, with power and connections beyond anything the reader could dream of, is disturbing to say the least, particularly when he launches his version of the Hunger Games on 'Influencer Island'.

Rutkin structures the story as a podcast, opening with chilling flashes into the bloodbath this island competition descended into; the contestants were promised fame and fortune which was clearly a bit too good to be true. As the story unfolds, we skip from viewpoint to viewpoint, seeing the glitzy and enticing invitations shown to the world alongside the warmongering cult operating underneath this terrifying façade.

Alongside the story of the contest, we have Carrie Andrews, desperately searching for leads on her drug addicted brother who went missing as a rave, and Cal, who wants justice for his deceased father. For such a short book, there are layers of intertwined mystery - if you don't quite remember who some of the characters are and how they are connected, some of the later revelations may prove to be slightly bewildering!

Overall, I raced through this book in one sitting, disturbed by the levels of intrigue, violence and sometimes explicit gore. The story is really interesting but I honestly would have valued reading a version of this book at least one hundred pages longer so we could get some more fleshed out events and characters once on the island and more of the deliberate podcast style narrative. An exciting read but not one I will return to a second time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant book. I couldn't put it down. I was initially unsure about the writing style as I've never come across a book before that is written in a podcast format. However, a few pages in and it didn't bother me. It was easy to follow and it was definitely a unique way to tell the story.
I loved all the twist and turns and I would never have guessed the ending. This was the first book I have read by Kyle Rutkin and because of this book I am now a fan!
Influencer Island was a story that is so relateable because of the social media influence we are all exposed to and I believe this is one of many reason this story works so well.
I couldn't put this book down. It was the book cover that attracted me but this book definitely delivered.

I wasn't sure about this book before I started reading it, but I found I read it within a day. Everything moved along fast with plenty of twists. I didn't guess the ending and though deaths were involved (trying not to leave spoilers) I didn't think the descriptions were as gory as some books. A new author for me, but one I'd try more books from.

What I liked:
- The podcast style of the book - I haven't seen it before and I thought it lended itself well to a milder thriller (i.e. if they're talking about it...you can assume they survive). Might not be to everyone's taste, but as someone who doesn't always like thriller, I preferred it

-The commentary on influencers and of course, the big reference to Fyre Festival - I thought it was interesting.

What I didn't like as much

- The characters: all of them fell flat to me and unlike real people. There was a lot of scoffing and smiling when honestly, there shouldn't have been I don't think. The romance was also blegh and didn't need to be included.

-The podcast style of the book - it would have been better if we didn't have so many people commentating at once about different things. If this were a real podcast, you'd get even more confused, so I don't understand it from that perspective.

-The end: it was disappointing, considering the strong beginning, and that's all I'll say on that.

This book was going to be 3 stars, but having written my review, I see it as a 2 star, maybe 2.5. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish the book, I read about 10%, the writing style wasn't for me ie being written like I'm listening to a podcast. I do think this will translate very well into an audiobook.
I did however think it was very well written and I 100% would've finished it if it was written like a "regular" book.

I really enjoyed this book. I had previously read a book with a similar format (Sadie) and I listen to a lot of investigative podcasts so I was familiar with this type of format (which this book does well!). The premise is reminiscent of The Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Beauty Queens. I found myself rooting for everyone and nobody at the same time, which is definitely a good thing. I would recommend influencer Island,

This book was very interesting in that it is set up with each chapter being a podcast episode. This does however make some of the storyline difficult to follow and at times the number of characters that were speaking got confusing as to who they were.
However, the storyline was fantastic and had me at the edge of my seat. I needed to learn more about the mystery of the island and what was happening and how all the characters were connected. This book definitely had my attention the entire time I was reading.

Think of a grim version of "Total Drama Island" series , but with celebrities, influencers and aspiring influencers. Very suiting for today's society. I really enjoyed the idea and the plot. There is a lot of potential, but still needs a little bit of work. There is too much happening and I could hardly keep up with the characters and the action. The author keeps switching between characters and locations, giving the impression that he just chaotically wrote ideas on paper. I don't know. I just don't like the format. It feels rushed and unfocused.

I liked how this was written in the style of a podcast. I was hooked at first but it fell away fort about half way thought and the ending let it down.

Thanks netgalley for this advanced copy of this book

I thought Influencer Island was a fun, quick read perfect for summer.
The idea is very interesting and unique. I didn’t love the way it was formatted as podcast transcripts but that’s just personal preference. That said, I think it would make an excellent audio book.
I enjoyed!

This book was incredible! I’ve never read a book in this style but reading it was like having the podcast playing in my mind. Kyle’s writing was very creative and engaging. I read this whole book in about 3 hours. I thought I had it figured out and then something new would happen.

Give this book a try even if you don’t think you’d like the style!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kyle Rutkin for the ARC of this novel.

Influencers island is a social media competition, that challenges influencers to go against each other. By the end of the competition, most of the influencers haven’t made it. The real challenge is to figure out why this all happened the way it did. The book is set in a podcast format. This is my second book I’ve read with this formatting and it takes a while to get used to. But the story is worthwhile. The story had a promising premise and that’s what caught my attention. The story has some interesting characters and some characters will have the reader rooting for them. The creator of this competition shows the reader, what some people will do for fame. It’s sad and a realistic commentary.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This one of the the most unique stories I've had the chance to read. The fact that influencers are used as what I would call props was an outstanding move on this author's part. The whole premise of people only wanting to gain followers and likes is so prominent in this day and age.

The books being laid out as a podcast and mixed media was done fantastically, every aspect of this book will really reach this generation of readers. I enjoyed that there were a few different plot lines and how they ended up intersecting. I appreciate the fast pace and how the story as a whole flows.

I feel like this book will be for a certain type of reader and can see why others would not be into the writing style, but I loved it. I felt like parts were over the top, but in a great way. I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Loved everything about this book. It’s faced paced, it keeps you interested and on enge the whole time your reading, which lead to me reading it in one sitting. The characters and the story in general is very relatable and there are parts within the story that really hit home aboht social media and how much it does effect you as a person. However the one thing I really loved was how it skips between different people. Usually I don’t like it when a books does this, however I think because it does it throughout the whole story, easily and with multiple people it’s just so natural and really adds to the need to read on and builds excitement. I’ve been in a reading downer recently and this book has really got me out of it!! Great book and can’t wait to read the other books from the author now!

If you’re looking for something to get you out of a reading slump and you’re into thriller this is it!! It gave me a mix of fyre festival and squid games. It is a fast paced thriller , I appreciated the documentary / interview/ podcast style writing, it was pretty easy to follow along and I know this would sound so awesome as an audiobook ! I read this in two days and enjoyed it so much!