I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

If you've ever looked at Instagram and envied the perfect lives of the influencers you see on there then this is the book for you. It hilariously highlights the fakery, the impossible perfection and the ridiculousness of the whole thing, and on a much more serious note it explores the addiction that our society has to our mobile devices and to social media.

The premise is fab, the intertwined stories of the two main characters are well developed, and the book is a hoot from start to finish. The romances and associated plotlines are polar opposites, and both are unresolved - but that's OK as there is a second book out in June.

A funny and tongue-in-cheek story which may make you pause next time you doctor a selfie.

I do love a book that features social media influencers and the assorted tricks they use to make their lives looks perfect.

And Shelley and Ali are just two such influencers, both who seem to live on Instagram a lot more than in real life and thus have lost all track of reality.

Especially Ali who capitalises on some misunderstandings that suddenly give her a big boost in followers. I was amused to see just how this comedy of errors for her would pan out,

While at the same time she is also regularly visiting her father who unfortunately no longer recognises his daughter, and all the associated feelings that go with that. In fact if it wasn't for all the light hearted hi-jinx in the rest of the book, this could have been quite a different tone of book.

Meanwhile Shelley not only has her own Insta, but she manages her husbands, who is reluctant to do anything but likes the payoff, and also her 3 year old daughter, who seems almost like an accessory than a daughter initially.

This is a contemporary really up to date story that had me smiling, laughing, gasping at some of the goings on, and generally feeling good about myself.

I did at one point while reading wonder if I should start taking 100s of photos to find the perfect one with perfect lighting, before using filters and editing software to improve it further before posting to my own Insta... but then I remembered life is far too short, so I'll stick with the followers I have!

An incredibly entertaining debut novel and I'm delighted to see at the end of it that there will be a sequel, and it means I don't have to say goodbye to Shelley and Ali just yet, as I need to see what they get up to next.

Thank you to Hachette Books Ireland and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Both Ali and Shelly use Instagram as an escape. Ali, as something to distract herself from her father's imminent death, and Shelly, as way to ignore the fact that her perfect life and marriage is falling apart all around her. While Ali is trying to break in to the Instagram influencer scene, Shelly is the most prominent lifestyle blogger in Ireland. Hundreds of thousands of followers are watching her every move as she puts her life on display to the world to the detriment of her family. Her marriage is crumbling and her daughter spends more time with her nanny than with Shelly, but that's just the sacrifice she has to make to be big on Instagram, right? Ali, meanwhile, is one of those women obsessed with Shelly's perfectly curated life. Ali would basically sell her soul to the devil to get big on the "'gram," which is essentially what she does after she is mistakenly thought to be pregnant and runs with the burgeoning interest in her perceived baby bump. If faking a pregnancy is what it takes to gain fame and fortune, Ali is all in. The perfect life or the perfect lie?

Sophie White uncovers all the dirty corners lurking beneath Instagram's shiny mirror finish in her new novel, Filter This. This is a hard novel to love, just because the characters are so despicable. If this book does anything, it open your eyes to how superficial social media really is, and the lengths that people will go to for followers, and essentially acceptance because isn't that what this whole social media thing is really about? Heavily filtered, this novel only goes skin deep - it is a great read for those looking to hate the superficiality of the human race.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books Ireland for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely put me in mind of OUR STOP by Laura Jane Williams and I think readers who enjoyed FILTER THIS would enjoy that book as well. FILTER THIS missed the mark for me mainly because I didn't like and couldn't connect to the writing style at all. I found the take on Instagram fame really interesting though and will probably recommend to a few friends. Thank you Hatchette Books Ireland for the review copy!

I had seen Filter This popping up on social media so I was delighted to be able to read it. While I wanted to love it, I found it really hard to get on with it. I get the whole instagram and social commentary thing, but I just didn’t enjoy it.

A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet comedy set in the world of Instagram influencers. Hard to put down and brilliantly done!

I really enjoyed this! I typically read psychological thrillers but every now and again I need a break from murder mysteries and this was a nice and light book.
If you are an Instagram user, you will relate to this book, especially with the influencer culture we now have. It's a case of be careful what you wish for!
I liked the humour in it, and look forward to book two.

Ali Jones is stuck in a job with a boss she hates, her father is ill, her relationship with her mother is strained and the most meaningful relationship she has is with a bottle of wine. She joins Instagram as a way to escape life and channel her creativity and soon becomes hooked, obsessing over the number of followers and likes she gets on her posts. She looks on in envy at some of the big names in the Irish scene, wishing that could be her.

Shelly Devine is THE biggest influencer in Ireland. Beautiful, an actress on a popular soap with a gorgeous successful husband, and cute baby daughter. Not to mention big stylish house and all the brand deals, her life looks complete. But underneath this shiny Instagram portrayal is a different story, with her husband Dan slowly becoming disillusioned with the whole thing and sick of brand Shelly coming before the real Shelly. Can Shelly and her assistant keep the cracks from showing?

When one day Ali leads her followers to believe she's pregnant when she's not, she goes from an up and coming influencer to an overnight success. Ali decides to continue on with the facade but as the time goes on it becomes harder to keep the house of cards from tumbling. Can she succeed in pulling this off?

Filter This is a sharp look at Instagram culture and the influencers behind it. Ali is an anti-heroine, you find yourself rooting for her even though you know what she's doing is wrong! The writing style is very down to earth and very Irish when it comes to dialogue and turns of phrases, something I love seeing in novels. While some of the other influencer characters we see seemed a bit of a stereotype in one sense (peaceful earth mother of a brood of kids who's secretly a nightmare to deal with, a friend who only seems interested in you because your star is rising), they didn't feel forced or farcical, they felt believable. This book made me laugh and cry. Having read Sophie White's part memoir part cook book Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown earlier this year, you can really tell that Sophie is writing from the heart and past experiences during some of the sadder scenes, they made me choke up. The humour was right up my alley too, I laughed out loud several times. Looking forward to seeing what happens in book 2! 3.5 stars

An interesting read, but not for me, just wasn’t my cup of tea, but well written and interesting

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Ali Jones’ life isn’t exactly going to plan; her father is ill and her relationship with her mother can best be described as distant. Instagram provides a much needed creative outlet and a way to regain some control. She wants to be Ireland’s next big influencer, so when a misunderstanding leads her followers to think she is pregnant, she decides to play along. ‘Mummy Influencers’ are a big deal right now.

Shelly Devine has it all; the perfect husband, an adorable daughter, a lust worthy house, and all the important brand sponsorships. But Shelly’s life is far from what she portrays online, for one thing her husband isn’t as keen on their family being used as part of Shelly’s ‘brand’.

Filter This is a witty and poignant look at the people behind the perfectly curated Instagram feeds. In the hands of lesser writer aspects of the storyline may have seemed far-fetched, but Sophie White’s writing is razor-sharp.

This is a fantastic book! So I'm not into Instagram at all, and generally can't stand the 'influencer' culture, however it's always been somewhat intriguing; how people put their lives on show for the world to see, how people put on a mask of happiness in front of their followers. And what happens when it all goes horribly, publicly wrong?

This novel explores the highs and lows of Instagram and those that fall victim to the hype of the 'perfect' lifestyle. And Sophie White is such a great writer - I was hooked from the very beginning. Sophie's characters are often flawed (Ali especially) but despite how shallow she often seemed, I couldn't hate her. There is emotion, warmth and some heartbreaking moments in this book, along with so much humour and relatable moments. I was cringing along at Ali's shenanigans, and couldn't bring myself to put this book down.

Admittedly I did work out the ending quite early into the book, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying it. Filter This fully focuses on the search for an Instagrammable lifestyle, and there are many Insta-related terms, however even if, like me, you are not into it at all, it's still a fantastic read. I think we all know people who are slaves to social media, and Filter This fully captures that life, and how the innocent search for likes can hurriedly spiral out of control.

I'm really looking forward to Sophie's next novel!

I'm having a really hard time putting together my thoughts for this book. Overall, I found myself enjoying it but the premise behind it is painfully wrong. The main character is an up and coming Instagram influencer and accidentally gets her followers thinking that she's pregnant... Does she fess up and tell them the truth? Nope! She decides to run with it and fake a pregnancy in order to increase her following and make money.

This plot line is not uncommon right now, there are plenty of books out that involve an accidental social media posting that turns into a long term ruse, however, the fact that this revolves around a pregnancy rubs me the wrong way. Especially considering Ali, the main character, allowed her one night stand believe that he had knocked her up. Like that is a level of manipulative that I really didn't need to see come from this book.

In terms of things that this book did well, I found it nice to read about the extremely messy side of being an influencer. Lots of lies and dirty tricks to try and make everyone believe you have the "perfect" life. However, with all of the references to things that are relevant now, well, I have to say that this book really isn't going to be timeless.

I think that this book was really messy. It was gross to realize just how into social media some people can get. Like the fact that Ali was literally Instagramming stuff from her father's hospital room... Oof. But that also really shows just how dirty social media has become. People will do whatever it takes to get a following.

In the end I'm going to rate it 3/5 stars and when the sequel comes out I might pick it up just to see if any of the characters are able to redeem themselves.

An interesting read which looks at the lengths people take to gain a following on Instagram. There were a lot of twists and turns however I just found myself struggling with the book as a whole. Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me and I'm gutted because I really wanted to like this one!

Although this is not my usual genre, I was pulled into it from the description, and it proved to be a fantastic read. Lots of twists and turns, and a great social commentary on the lengths some people will go to for followers on Instagram. Looking forward to book two!

A strong read, some really fantastic characters who are well written and developed throughout the plot.

Not my usual sub genre, but this was very enjoyable. Some of the intricacies of instagram bypassed me, which sometimes led to me skipping some paragraphs. I had predicted the end early on, however this was still an enjoyable read and I will look out for the follow up story.

Recommended for a light, easy read which is up to date.

I really enjoyed this novel about how social media can take over your life and the lengths we go to to make our lives instagrammable. The characters are likeable and realistic. This is an easy read along the same themes as The Mummy Bloggers by Holly Wainwright.
Can’t wait to read the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have really enjoyed reading this book, I was attracted to the book by the description. I feel that any users of instagram would easily be able to relate to this book. Ali Jones comes up with a lie in order to gain instagram followers, I did not find this book at all predictable and I didn’t want to put it down.
This is my first read by this author, if definitely will not be my last. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this. I enjoyed the read overall. Anyone who uses Instagram will be able to relate to a lot of the content in this book and how for some people, Instagram is a livelihood. I preferred the storyline of Shelly over Ali. Shelly’s seemed to be more realistic as at times I found it hard to relate to Ali. Overall though, the book kept me engaged and I will certainly read the follow up book.