I love a good stalker book, and this one did not disappoint. Audrey is a social media influencer with a million followers. She's used to people recognizing her and wanting to be like her. But one man won't settle for watching her through her posted content, he has to watch her in real time, all the time, and make her his.

This book is creepy in the best way possible and had a surprising twist at the end. Audrey wasn't particularly likeable to me, but I enjoyed her story and could imagine following her on social media. This book is perfect for binge reading in bed one weekend. Just make sure you cover that little camera button on your laptop, and lock your doors from strangers who might want to watch you sleep...

Thank you to Netgalley, Kathleen, and Gallery books for an advance copy of Follow Me.

I know that social media / technology thrillers are all. the. rage. right now, but I don't care because I am TRASH for them, give them all to me. Never stop. My favorite thing about this niche of the thriller genre is that they actually hold very good lesson in them most of the time and people still ignore the warnings.

Follow Me ... follows... (get it?) three interlocking characters. Audrey is a social media queen in New York, oversharing and monetizing on it is her thing. Her life isn't nearly as glamorous as she portrays (are they ever?), but she works it and it pays off, earning her a dream spot as social media manager of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which as a personal note is one of my favorite museums which always has amazing installations coming through so it perfectly fit this story. Audrey is in charge of creating buzz around a new exhibit which tells the story of an actresses untimely demise at the hands of a stalker. The only friend that Audrey has in her new city is the awkward and shy Cat, a budding attorney who is all work and no play. Our third POV is a character only known as "HIM" who has been following Audrey's social media for years and thinks her relocation to his city is fate.

The plot itself was well-done, I remained engaged and curious throughout the book. There was some solid redirection on trying to figure out exactly who may be behind the stalking or if multiple stalkers are involved and I enjoyed the final twist. There are some past / backstory plot lines as per most thrillers.

As for characters, Audrey is definitely the focus of the book and while she makes mistakes, they are 100% classic mistakes that any independent young adult would make. Despite being all the negative things you expect a social media influencer to be, she is still likable. Cat is okay...I never care for the wallflower sidekick friend characters, they're so boring and I just want to shake some life into them. BUT as far as that style of character goes, Cat isn't the worst. "HIM" is written creepy as all hell, very well-done on making the reader an uncomfortable voyeur. I also enjoyed the writing of the various side characters.

All in all, I really enjoyed this timely thriller.

Wow! I like to think I am fairly good about online safety, but this book really had me checking my locks during my late night reading sessions!

Audrey Miller is a girl I know well, updating her social with every activity she does on the daily and blasting her personal life across her very public social accounts.  The only difference between Audrey and a lot of the women I know and follow on Instagram is the number of followers. When she moves from NYC to DC for a shiny new job at an art museum, she reconnects with an old boyfriend and her sorority sister/college best friend Cat. In this new city, Audrey finds herself with a possible stalker and no one to turn to other than two people she knew very well years ago.
The scariest parts of this book were the moments I related to the most. Like Audrey, I moved across country and suddenly had to grapple with my own loneliness and a desire to be safe but still see all of my new city. The sad reality is that just existing as a woman is a dangerous move, and Audrey's mistakes only heighten the stakes. 
I think other readers may see a glimpse of their 20s friendships in the way that their is a good time friend and a responsible friend in each duo. I have been the Audrey and the Cat at different times in different relationships in my twenties, so I could understand their dynamic and sympathize for both. There's a level of selfishness that we all hopefully mature out of that I did not see yet for the women in this book. 

This is a fast read if you can get past the general fright of the reminders how crazy social media has made everyone. In Audrey's case, her social media "tells" are being told  to one person that is not satisfied with just observing her, but wants to possess her too. What a great idea for a novel and I hope this makes everyone step up their online security presence as much as I did!

This is what I wanted from Caroline Kepnes’ You, but didn’t really get. Follow Me is the perfect blend of a cautionary tale and a freak you out thriller! I am not the reader that gets freaked out by a book but Follow Me did it.

I appreciated the multiple points of view narration as that created an even creepier vibe. I was submerged into Audrey’s life and kept second guessing the stalker at every page. I read this one night before bed and when my kitchen sink turned on by itself (I swear it did. It is a touch to turn on sink and no one was in the kitchen), I refused to read this book before bed anymore.

I loved it and think that it is a better stalker novel than You. It really makes you think about how easy it is to be followed in today’s society.

This is a first for me by this author. While I truly liked the book it seemed to go on a bit to long in parts. I did enjoy learning about some of the things that can be done via the internet and from behind the lens so to speak. Cyber stalking is an all to scary thing and it does happen. It has to be awful to be caught up in this and never even know you are.

Audrey was a very popular instagramer. She had millions of followers and lived the life of someone who had all the popularity she could handle. But did she have any real true friends. Was anyone completely there for her? When she moved to DC from New York there her best friend from college, Cat, was excited to have her there. She wanted Audrey to move into her guest room but Audrey had already got an apartment and wanted to be on her own finally. Did she make the right choice or was it one big mistake to think she could live alone. Audrey really hated being alone. She had always hated it even as a small child.

Cat was an up and coming lawyer who had been in love with Connor for years. She had absolutely no confidence in herself though and depended on her best friend Audrey to make things work for her. But was she really a friend or was she just another user. Cat was very selfish in my opinion. I never through this whole story liked her at all. She was way to needed and clingy for someone who worked so hard to be a lawyer with a big firm. She didn’t have a clue how to put herself out there for anything. She was totally dependent on Audrey. What’s worse was I kept wondering how did she survive before Audrey moved to DC. How did she make any decisions on her own. She did love to blame all of her problems on others. I just didn’t connect with her at all.

Max... He was a sad kind of person. He tended to fall in love at the drop of a dime but always over did everything. He too was another clingy type. But he was loyal in his own way. He did some pretty bad things but he did mean well. At least I think he did. He did things that he thought were the right things to do for the one he loved, or was obsessed with at the time. But he was sincere.

Nick. I liked him. He was the only one that seemed to be up front and completely honest. Him and Audrey were both pretty much themselves and didn’t put up fronts for others. Well Audrey may have a bit for her followers, but in her private life she was truly sincere with her feelings. Could Nick really be trusted though?

One of the people in this story is a stalker and you will have many guesses before the end. While I did figure out who it was, it was fairly on into the book before it clicked with me. There were many intense moments in this story that will keep you on edge and wondering what will happen next and who is doing what. It’s a good book though a bit long and in places could have been shortened to make it even better. Some parts just seemed to drag on to me. But over all I enjoyed it.

There were no characters besides Audrey and Nick that I liked. None that seemed likable at all except in places Audrey and Nick. Well I have to admit I did like Nick. I think he was very likable. Audrey was in places but she was also an attention grabber so that made her a bit out there.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Kathleen Barber, #Gallery Pocket Books for this eARC. This is my own true review.

I give it a 3.5 star and would have given it more if it would not have dragged in places. I still recommend it as it’s a good one and you will learn somethings from it.

Follow Me is a must read for anyone who is into social media or has friends that maybe post too much about their personal life online. The book does have a “You” vibe, if you’ve read that book. However, this book stands on its own. It is fascinating and I wish it would have gone on longer. I need a sequel! Just the right amount of danger, thrill, and believability to make anyone afraid of their own electronics.

I’ll be honest. I only requested this book because the author’s other book was recently an add on for Book of the Month club. I haven’t read the other book yet but have heard good things. I was reluctant to read this one because it sounded the same as so many others I have read. Girl is on social media, girl lives alone, girl gets stalked, girl is afraid, etc etc.
Let me just say, this book grabbed me from the very first few pages. I’ve been in kind of a thriller rut but this kept me wanting to just keep on reading! The ending was a complete surprise, there were twists and turns I never expected, and I ended up really loving this book!!! If you want a book that grabs your attention right away and keeps you guessing and interested, this is the book for you!!!
Thank you #netgalley and #gallerypublishing for this advanced copy of #followme!

Social media is laid bare and an aspect of the seedy dark web exposed in this new thriller. We view the narrative through three POVs: Audrey, the social influencer with a million followers; Cat, a DC lawyer and friend from Audrey's college days; and Him, the stalker. Throughout the book there are men introduced who could be "Him." The name is revealed as an inevitable confrontation brings all three players together with their very lives and reputations at stake. This was a compelling read, but in my opinion the big reveal was a bit anticlimactic. There were not enough dots to connect beforehand. I was guessing his identity, not so much on the personal details revealed from his perspective but by process of elimination. Not as much there there as I anticipated, but still a fun read and television ready.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What an incredible ride! I gobbled this book up- couldn’t read it fast enough- couldn’t get enough of it.
Audrey is an irritating, self-obsessed main character who’s uncomfortably relatable for anyone buried deep in this social-media-driven world. Her actions were, at times, infuriating yet genuine in the strangest, most shallow way. The mystery behind her friend Cat’s “secret” kept me guessing and the “Him” chapters were perfectly creepy & disturbing.
I’d definitely recommend this book to all the social media junkies, sorority girls, and fans of Netflix’s YOU.

If there is one thing that freaks me out more than anything else, it is the thought of someone watching me. I’ve always been that person that closes the blinds as soon as it gets dark (if I open them at all). I refuse to buy any of those Alexa type of devices, even though I know my phone listens to me all the time anyways. It was only in the last couple years that I even turned the location services on on my phone and that’s only because I need to use the GPS so often. As a blogger, there’s definitely a balancing act between wanting to share some personal details, while not sharing too much.

That’s definitely not a balancing act that Audrey Miller cares about, though. In her desire to be an “authentic” Instagram influencer, she has no problem sharing the intimate details of her life to her million followers – in a curated, aesthetically pleasing way, of course. When she gets a new job and moves to DC, she comes within striking distance to one of her biggest fans. He does things like follow her around town, peep in her windows, and download scary, spyware on her computer. Though Audrey does become paranoid and frightened, the thought to chill out on Instagram never really seems to cross her mind.

I found the writing pretty addictive. It’s told through three POVs – Audrey, her friend Cat, and the mysterious “Him”. I thought the multiple POVs were used well and it helped move the story along, from an otherwise kind of slow pace. Audrey is completely self-absorbed and not the most likable person, but I found her kind of compelling to read about. Cat was the straight man to Audrey’s craziness and for awhile I found her kind of relatable. She did frustrate me, though, with how obsessed she was with Audrey’s friendship. She was a successful lawyer with a promising career, but she let herself get caught up in Aundrey’s whims and drama. She has a shady past alluded to a lot that she’s desperate to keep hidden from everyone, but when it was finally revealed, it didn’t really seem like that big of a deal to me. It’s something she didn’t really get in trouble for before, so it would have been easy for her to spin as an adult. The Him POV showed how truly crazy the stalker was and I enjoyed his chapters. I think that Barber did a pretty good job of giving us several characters to suspect. While I did figure out his identity awhile before it was revealed, I debated between him and another character for several chapters and I liked that it wasn’t completely obvious from the start.

Overall, I enjoyed Follow Me. Though I expected it to be a little creepier and suspenseful than it was, the subject matter alone was enough to creep me out. I wish the pacing had been a little faster, but the writing was addictive enough that it kept my attention the whole time. I definitely am interested in checking out more from this author.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

A social media nightmare! This book just might change the online behavior of some social media addicts. At times, even the most innocent post is giving the public a wealth of information about the poster, and this story is a great example.

Audrey Miller has a prestigious new job in DC and has a sideline career as a social media influencer. Some friends call her a narcissist, some call her an attention-seeker and others just want to be in her circle and get noticed.

A certain someone is obsessively trying to get into Audrey’s circle and will resort to just about anything to get there. There are several great choices of who Audrey’s stalker might be and I loved the process of elimination as I read the story.

The ending was shocking—in more ways than one. The big question is, does Audrey’s experience cause any change in her previous online behavior? You’ll have to read to find out.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

Title: Follow Me
Author: Kathleen Barber
Genre: Thriller /Suspense
My rating: 4.5 Stars

I loved the take on Barber’s thriller. Felt original; like I was in the middle of a suspenseful movie and I was screaming at the heroine on my tv set. I admit, after reading Follow Me; I wondered how much of my life people have access to online (a real eye-opener). That aside, this book is about a young woman on social media who posts too much information about her daily happenings. There is a such thing as TMI, people. And that was something Audrey Miller didn’t get. Audrey hit 1 million followers, and she’s on cloud-nine.

Though, unaware she has someone’s eyes following her every move. This creepy stranger knows where she resides, her hobby’s, her work. He even knows her friend Cat, her ex and intricate details one should never know. Audrey has an itch; a creepy suspicion someone’s watching her.

Who could it be? Why are things in her apartment (slightly) altered without a smidge of evidence someone’s there? These are the things I asked myself; and you’ll ask yourself too in this fast-paced. Page-turning thriller that’ll surely have you reevaluating how you conduct your life from here on out. I loved the 3-part POV: Audrey, Cat and the creepy stranger. It made for a more suspenseful read, in my opinion. Try it for yourself. I highly recommend reading!

*I received this wonderful ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Audrey Miller is a popular person with a bouncy personality who only shows others a carefully curated version of her life and her emotions- both in person and online. She's become a successful Instagram influencer with over a million followers, which has nabbed for her a coveted job as a social media manager at a Washington D.C. museum. Things might look perfect, but behind the scenes Audrey is dealing with some dark issues. The apartment she rented sight-unseen is a basement apartment with a window into an alley and a creeper with a spare key on the first floor. The only people she knows are her former roommate from college and an ex-boyfriend. While some co-workers are great, others are more than pushing the boundaries set by HR. And moving to D.C. has put her into the range of someone who's been obsessively following her online for years- and is no longer content with following her only online.

Follow Me brings up all kinds of questions for the modern age, and does a great job of arguing both sides of every issue. It's up to the reader to decide if Audrey is a self-obsessed narcissist who only feels alive when over-sharing with strangers, or a people-person who hates to be alone and sees social media as a way of connecting to others and never truly being by herself. Is she "asking for it" by sharing so much? Has she erased all expectations of privacy in her life? To me any argument that starts with "asked for it" has already lost, but what's interesting (and really creepy) in Follow Me is seeing things not only from Audrey's point of view, but also that of her stalker. Obviously, I don't agree with him in any way, but it makes you wonder: how many people out there think like that? Probably more than we'd like to imagine.

Barber uses an interesting mix of characters and personalities to tell this story and I have to give her points because I didn't see the end coming until pretty close to the end. It's a bit of a shocker, and leaves the reader with more questions. Mostly: is any person capable of any action given the right (or wrong) set of circumstances? Is it our upbringing, childhood bullying, or something specific to each individual that guides our choices- both for good and for bad?

Follow Me has moments of serious intenseness, periods where it drags, and everything in the middle. Not a book I can see myself rereading, but I'm glad I read it for the thought-provoking arguments it raises. I definitely don't recommend reading this one alone at night!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

In a time where several books with social media themes coming out Follow Me falls short especially in comparison with The Followers coming out so recently.

This is a multi point of view story, where you will meet Audrey (a social media influencer), Cat (the awkward roommate from college), and a character referred to as Him (STALKER). Audrey moves to DC when accepting a new job which happens to be where Cat lives. As soon as Audrey movesand reconnects with Cat, strange things start to happen to Audrey.

This won’t be an overly long review, as I don’t want to give anything away especially on a thriller, but let’s just say this was actually not much of a thriller. This felt very tired, and really there was nothing spectacular in this story. It was a fairly quick read, with short chapters. I kept waiting for a twist and it just was not there. It is extremely readable book, but just missing that something special.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars for Follow Me by Kathleen Barber!

Kathleen Barber will have you looking at your instagram followers after reading this one!

Audrey looks like she has it all if you are a follower of hers. She has reached the status of being an influencer and reaps all of the benefits of such. She gets the latest and greatest beauty things sent her way, everything from masks to organic sheets. Her followers are loyal, many of them following her for years. She is focused on her brand, her image, making profit, and settling in to her new job.

After she relocates to DC from NY, she reunites with an boyfriend of hers in addition to some college friends. Aubrey's life becomes saturated with jealousy and obsession in a way she has never experienced.

This book will make you think twice about the number of followers you have, and exactly who they are. Unique, fast-paced, and believable, this one is a quick read with a fast heart rate! Which guy in her life is the stalker? Which one is the good guy? And, most importantly, is Aubrey going to survive this cat and mouse game?

Thank you to @netgalley, @gallerybooks and @pocket_books for letting me sink my eyes into this one before the rest of the world. #followme #newrelease #readgoodbooks #5stars #bookreviews #bookblog #booklife #instainfluencer #influencer #greatread #suspense #kathleenbarber #booksof2020 #bookstagram #bookfollowers #sendmebooks #nerdlife #bibliophile #expertreader #bookworm #winterreads #bookinfluencer #socialmedia #socialmediainfluencer #netgalley #gallerybooks #pocketbooks

This psychological thriller certainly lived up to its genre. The story flowed and I was totally engrossed with the characters.
Audrey has her ideal job, a great personality and likes to share every moment on her Instagram page. She stages her photos and adds catchy phrases so that her many followers can watch her daily life and enjoy or envy her. She has a good friend Cathy who thinks that Audrey is a bit over the top, but she would still do anything for Audrey. Cathy has a past which Audrey knows nothing about, but then Audrey meets Max and Max knows Cathy and what she did many years ago.
Sharing your whole life on the Internet can bring problems, especially when someone becomes obsessed with seeing Audrey on computer every day and knowing her every move.
I thank the publishers for my ARC through Netgalley and give this book the 5 stars it deserves.

This is a timely cautionary tale that shows the negative side to sharing everything online. You never know who is watching and what his/her intentions might be. I love reading novels that incorporate the social media angle into stalking.
'Follow Me' is told through three perspectives: Audrey, Cat and Him.
I really enjoyed Cat's narrative. She was an awkward, sympathetic character that I grew to like. For me, she really saved the book. The other two narratives, unfortunately, are lacking.

This book is very similar to 'You' by Caroline Kepnes and, for anybody who has read both, it will be hard to not draw comparisons between the two. The reason I gave this book 3 stars is because it failed to do what its far better predecessor was able to do, and that is to create a sinister villain. In 'You' Joe Goldberg was a pure psychopath-Charismatic, cunning, creepy. He just got under your skin and stayed there. Sadly, I felt like the Him narrative was fairly weak in this novel. Not to say what he did wasn't creepy, but it wasn't spine tingling. It was more telling the audience he was scary than making the audience feel that fear. I didn't fear him. In fact, IMO he came off as a nerdy goofball more than someone to be afraid of.

Well, this was a fun beach read.

It was very creepy and there were so many *wrong* characters that it was really tough to figure out who our stalker was. I didn’t actually like any of the characters, but I was kind of obsessed (yup) with reading all the seriously odd behavior.

The ending surprised me. I didn’t expect it to go where it did.

I liked this. I mean…I would have liked someone to root for. But, boy this kept me reading!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Follow Me is a cautionary tale to our society that not only values, but pressures, many to overshare their (often edited) lives online. Audrey, a highly sought after social media influencer, uproots her NYC life to make the move to DC for her dream job. The new setting allows her to not only connect with people from her past, but also brings her face to face with her #1 follower. Obsession, jealousy and vanity culminate to build a thriller that you can’t resist but find out the ending.

Creepy creepy creepy ... suuuuuper creepy. Everything about this story was a modern day nightmare. The author does a pretty masterful job of keeping you guessing about who the stalker is - shocking that there can be so many possibilities without it seeming like a comical and unbelievable plot! I can only imagine the crazy post-it note wall and serial-killer-like map of connecting plot elements and reveals that had to exist for this book to exist, sheesh. And it's so realistic with social media nowadays. Every time you tag your location in a post on Instagram or Facebook ... every link you click in a private message ... there's just no certainty that someone isn't tuning into that and tracking you down ... So. Creepy. And add to all that, complicated human relationships, with sort-of friends that have been friends so long, they just sort of hover there, becoming a beacon when the character suddenly moves to their town for work, but quickly realizing it's no longer college, and were they ever really that close? ... So twisty!