This was an interesting premise and format - and those two things saved a story that felt just a touch not-fleshed-out-enough. Overall I enjoyed it and will be interested in what this author does in the future.

A bunch of influencers get thrown together on an island thinking they're going to party down, but instead, they're forced to fight to the death. It's an intriguing enough premise that caught my attention. The book has a format resembling a podcast with interviews and snippets taken from the island event. I thought Kyle Rutkin executed its podcast structure quite well with moments that built to a shocking reveal. If it was a podcast, you'd be anticipating the next episode, which is how the chapters are arranged. It pulls you along nicely as you want to learn more about the mysterious Wyatt James, the mastermind behind the island contest. Also, I enjoyed the mysteries around our two leads: Carrie and Cal.

There's plenty of brutality on display once our story makes it to the island. But even before the island, there are moments that shock like hearing about Cal's dead father on display in an art exhibit that was pretty gruesome (and entirely unbelievable). Yes, you'll need to suspend your disbelief quite often. It's a fast, fun read but also a little disposable. I'm not sure how much it will resonate with me in a few months, but it's good in the moment.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5. Fear Nerd says, "Check it out!"

Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy!

I always enjoy a book that's written in a different kind of format. This story is told as a podcast transcript. It was a bit hard at times to get into the writing and to keep who was saying what straight but once you get into the flow of it it's relatively easy to follow. The plot is one that I've seen done before but still has enough of a spin on it that made me be interested in it. The story gets kind of lost towards the end with the two different plots between Cal and his father + Carrie and her brother and I didn't feel super invested in either, tbh. Overall I had fun reading this and I think people who like borderline campy stuff would have fun reading this, too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Greater Path LLC for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the podcast format and the idea of the Influencer competition. The concept is unique. This book is everything you want in a dark thriller.

I was really disappointed with this book. The first half started out so brilliantly. I loved the podcast format and the idea of the Influencer competition.
I could hear the voices of the different narrators perfectly and things were twisting into a great thriller/horror story.
Then, sadly, about the halfway mark- once they actually got to the island- things started to fall apart.
I understand with only a few surviving characters that there would be a lack of audio for the podcast format but with that lack you lose a lot of the tension and the atmosphere.
Hearing Carrie talk about her experience was fine but it would have been better for more build up to hear more influencers or to hear more about what was done to them.
It felt like many influencers were killed off quickly but we didn't care because we had no emotional connection with those characters- it was like those tributes in Hunger games whose names we never got.
In addition the reasonings behind the influencer island were quite anticlimactic. I wasn't as enthralled by the reveal of Tuck's connection as I was by Cal's father's. In fact both connections seemed spurious.

I think that what would have made this better would have been more interviews/ audio clips with other influencers. Maybe more information on the 'cult' conditioning. Even a small interview with those followers who went through rehab afterwards. Maybe a multi-media finish with visual interviews or newspaper clippings, Buzzfeed quizzes etc would have given more life.
Such a shame because it had such great promise at the outset but just failed to deliver.

This book wasn’t exactly what I had expected. Very predictable from the beginning, and nothing really left to shock or surprise the reader, but Rutkin still managed to come up with a somewhat unique plot that was at least entertaining to read.

Reminiscent of Hunger Games, this unconventional novel reads like a podcast or crime show interview. Following a cast of “influencers” on a remote island as they try to fight for their survival while maintaining their influencer status through social media. The main focus is on one character in particular named Carrie as she tries to learn more about the disappearance and death of her brother. The story gets a bit messy as she discovers new clues yet moves through each scene too quickly to allow the reader to feel any emotions towards the characters.

Quick and easy read. A bit dark for a summer read, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark. Twisted. Wild. This book is everything you want in a dark thriller. Influencer Island is the Hunger Games of the elite. It’s a wild ride from start to finish.

I liked the concept and thought it was unique, but I think it needed fleshed out a bit more. The last half of the book felt rushed and I would’ve appreciated if the characters were more developed and if more time was spent delving into their time on the island and what went down. It all just happened too fast. But overall it was enjoyable and I think the format was also pretty unique, it’ll be great as an audiobook.

This book sounded so good. But I really did not like this. I found it hard to keep up with the overall story. I did not like the style this book was written in. And by the time I got to the end I really did not care. This was just not a good book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kyle Rutkin for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Influencer Island coming out July 30, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I remember seeing a post about this on BookTok, so I was excited to read it! I love books set on creepy islands.

Influencer Island was created by street artist Wyatt James. Out of millions of submission videos, he chooses ten social media influencers to travel to the island compete against each other. After the competitors get to the island, chaos ensues. Several of them were found dead or missing. There wasn’t a winner. Cal Everett is a young reporter who hopes to solve the mystery of what happened on the island.

The book chapters are episodes with a podcast script format. I haven’t read stories in strictly this format before, but I loved it. I thought it was a tight, short story and I loved it was heavy on the dialogue.

Overall, I really loved the book! I thought it was clever and dark. It was a fascinating commentary on our society and social media.

I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys isolation stories and the influences of society on individuals.

This book was a really interesting concept but it kind of lagged on for me.
I wish that the majority of this book was not written like a blog. It made it feel choppy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this one

I appreciate the originality of this book, it's very clever.

It takes a while to get used to the format, which is unconventional.

The characters were flat and I'd have liked the author to have spent more time developing them.

The story was very fast-paced, dark and gripping.

If you're into psychological thrillers, you definitely need to give this one a try.

Influencer Island is almost like an extended Black Mirror episode told in a podcast format. Cal and Joss tell the story of what happened on "Influencer Island" - a social media/artistic publicity stunt that had deadly consequences. Wyatt James is a Banksy-esque mysterious Hollywood artist who wears hoodies and a gold ski mask and does pop-up art featuring famous people with a gold blur over their eyes. James is also a technological expert and has begun a contest for social influencers. A handful of select contestants go to a mysterious island where they'll compete for the ultimate prize. Everyone thinks this is like an exclusive Survivor-esque show, being broadcast to millions over the Internet. But when they arrive they find out it's more like The Hunger Games or Battle Royale, as the influencers very lives are at stake. But at the core of it all, the mysteries at the heart of the lives of one of the influencers as well as one of the podcasters will be revealed - if they survive.
I was a little unsure at the start if I would end up liking this book. But it took very little time for the story to totally suck me in and make we want to keep reading till the end to find out what really happened. The story continues along at a rapid clip, and, for the most part, maintains more integrity than a book like this should. It was exciting and interesting and made for some on-the-nose social commentary. The sticking points are the fact that, while the chapters are set up to mimic episodes of a podcast, the story within goes back and forth between characters and perspectives the way a book does, not the way a podcast ever would. And the tale does become even more over-the-top toward the finale to strain the willing suspension of disbelief. But, it is nonetheless very entertaining and while I was sure I knew who Wyatt James really was, I was totally unprepared for the reveal of who they turned out to be.

This pains me to day but I DNF this at 35%.

When I first saw the cover to this I was instantly drawn to it!

The premise behind the book sounded so intriguing, an island full of influencers who are getting killed off one by one? Yes sign me up!

I really liked the writing style in this one, it’s meant to be like a podcast which I do like and haven’t seen since I read the book Sadie.

Unfortunately for me this book was a bit slow at times, especially when we were hearing from Cal and his con workers. To be blatantly honest I couldn’t have cared less about Cal. I did want to know more about Carrie and her brother but I just don’t think I could continue this.

I wish this was more focused on the island and the influencers instead of the Wyatt and Cal. I also feel like there were just too many plots in this one going at once.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. Especially with the author’s note in the front and the back. Since this was an advanced reader version, I won’t be too harsh on the typos and errors but I hope those are fixed in the final version, because there are quite a few.

The premise is really interesting: influencers battle royale style on an island. I love me a good battle royale story.

But to compare this to critically acclaimed works such as “World War Z” and “Daisy Jones and the Six?” Those are big shoes to fill and this just didn’t compete.

We follow Cal and Carrie mostly in the format of a podcast and audio clips that were clunky. Their story was compelling and the author did a good job of keeping intrigue the entire time.

I did want to know who Wyatt James was and that reveal actually did catch my by surprise. So there were good bones here.

This book just isn’t ready for publication. The format is clunky, the characters aren’t all that fleshed out, and the story just doesn’t work.

I think there are just too many ideas here and not enough focus. I would have rather spent the whole time on the island with the contest. The weird art/cult plot took away from the story, even if it was the whole plot.

Unique, but not my cup of tea. I just wanted a bloody battle and that’s how this book is being advertised and it just didn’t deliver. I’m sure there are people out there who will enjoy this. I’m just not one of them.

***thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me this advanced ecopy for my honest review.***

Fun thriller that combines social media culture and reality tv. Currently and absolutely a blast to read, all will enjoy this thriller.

A relevant psychological thriller, taking on as it does the constant chasing of fame via social media and the influencers who live a life in that strange spotlight.

Survivor meets Love Island in this narrative that is part horror, part social commentary- it is both addictive and compelling where fame equals death equals fame.

I do feel it could do with a decent copy editor casting an eye over it, there are a few technical hitches and editorial issues but as an ARC you often find this and it didn't take away from the cleverness of the plot.

Overall a genuinely entertaining read that deserves its fifteen minutes of fame.

4 solid stars

I loved this book! What a great and fun summer read. The topics and setting are so relevant and relatable. The style of writing was uniques and perfect. This had plenty of twists and was devoured over the course of one afternoon!

So this is a really interesting concept. I won't lie and say that I love social media, we all do, but there's no doubt that some people go through some great lengths in order to gain something from it. Some want fame, glory, free products or money. Others want all of the above. There's nothing wrong with with any of these things, but there comes a point when you need to take a step back and reflect on what certain influencers are trying to promote. With that in mind, I feel like this book had a case of right idea with a bad execution. There were a few grammar mistakes, which really doesn't bother me as much, but then there were also cases in which names kept getting changed and that was a little weird.

The format took some getting used to since it's a podcast/script format. But I think it would work well as an audiobook. Overall while this book wasn't necessarily for me I know there will be people who enjoy it

Influencer Island is a dark, can't-put-down, at-the-edge-of-my-seat thriller/horror. I read the book in one sitting. It really is Fyre Festival meets Hunger Games meets Squid Games. It's also a commentary on society today and the dependence on social media. The story is told through a podcast format, which was unique and definitely added to the story. While the overarching plot is about what happened on Influencer Island, there are side mysteries as well. The author did a great job weaving all the mysteries and characters together. The book is full of unexpected twists. I would warn that some scenes are quite gory. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and quite different from anything else I've read lately. I'd definitely recommend it! 5 stars!