Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I didn't like the fact that we never got to see or hear the other POV from Violet, and also Lily just seemed worryingly unhinged. I felt it was slow enough and struggled to hold my interest once I had put it down.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.

When Violet Young, a hugely popular mummy vlogger and influencer goes off line it sets a buzz amongst her followers. Why has she shut done all her social media accounts? What's happened? Is something wrong with her, her three adorable children or Henry, her perfect magazine publisher husband? What are her addicted fans going to do now they can no longer get their daily fix of Violet?

The mystery unfurls from the point of view of two of Violet's followers. Lily, who has an unhealthy obsession with Violet's online persona, and Yvonne who is harbouring her own secret about Violet's family. This is a deliciously fun and twisty psychological thriller which playfully highlights the dangers of believing all you read on social media.

What I Loved:
Phew! Let’s talk about influencers for a second. They put themselves all over social media, inviting people into their homes and lives virtually and they have no idea who all of these people are. What are their intentions, will they begin stalking you, emailing you, trolling you?

Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth took me by surprise! I loved the plot surrounding one Vlogger’s successful social career and a glimpse into the lives of two of her followers. I was captivated by the story and did NOT want to put this book down.

How I Felt:
So, I wasn’t really convinced that Unfollow Me should land in the “Thriller” genre. I think that the term gets thrown on a lot of books and maybe should not be. BUT, I looked up the actual definition of Thriller and here it is:

"A thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television whose primary feature is that it induces strong feelings of excitement, anxiety, tension, suspense, fear, and other similar emotions in its readers or viewers—in other words, media that thrills the audience."

So guess what…Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth absolutely falls into the Thriller genre! This book managed to elicit three out of the four feelings in the thriller description!

Excitement ✔️
Anxiety ✔️
Suspense ✔️
Fear ❌

Quick overview of My Thoughts:
* Great overall plot and story
* Lots of twists and turns

* I really want to know if one sub-character is going to be okay and did not get that closure
* One character’s parental neglect really bothered me

The Characters: There are 2 female main characters and a variety of supporting people in this book. I didn’t really like any of the main characters and I’m not sure I was supposed to. My feelings did not, however, negatively impact my utter enjoyment of this book.

The characters are well-built with history and experiences that are revealed as the story progresses. I felt like I had one type of feeling towards each person and as the story progressed and I learned more about them, but feelings changed. It was surprise after surprise about each person.

The Writing: I found Unfollow Me to be a well-written story. I was grabbed right from the beginning with an email from a stalker to vlogger Violet Young. I was immediately grabbed by the story and needed to know more! Charlotte Duckworth did an excellent job of weaving a tale of mystery. She wrote in a way that lead the reader in one direction, thinking they knew what was happening, and then she revealed another piece of information, and everything changed. It was a delight to read.

The Plot: Violet Young a celebrity in the mommy-vlogger circles, has just closed all her social media accounts. No notice was given; she’s just gone. The story follows two of her followers as they process the loss of their YouTube vice. Her disappearance consumes them. Where has she gone? What has happened to her? Is she okay?

The two followers take different approaches to find out what happened to her and as they go begin to piece together the events leading up to Violet’s sudden social media disappearance, we, the reader begin to piece together why each of them are invested.

The Ending: This ending was completely unexpected to me. I did not guess one thing until I was given enough information to do so. I was just along for the ride through this entire book and I enjoyed it so much!

Content Warnings: Child harm, stalking, harassing, late-term pregnancy termination, infertility, alcoholism, addiction to social media (that one’s probably not a trigger, but just in case).

Overall: I really enjoyed Unfollow Me. I loved the numerous mysteries to solve and the way this story had me bouncing from one theory to another.

To Read or Not To Read:
If you are looking for a book that will keep you on your toes and keep you guessing at the true story, you will enjoy Follow Me. Don’t go into this book thinking of a thriller in terms of a murderer on the lose. This thriller is focused on suspense, excitement, and secrets! It was completely worth reading!

I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest, unbiased review voluntarily.

This book was a good thriller. Unfortunately it was very predictable and the main character wasn’t even the main character. There were 2 many pov’s and I didn’t really understand why.

The writing was good, just seemed a little jumpy to me.

Possible trigger warnings: adultery, sexual assault, alcoholism, infertility, death of a child

Based on the summary, I was excited to read this book. It's one of my favorite genres, as well. Sadly, it didn't meet my expectations.

There wasn't as much uniqueness to the story as I'd hoped, and there was a lot of predictability. I was actively engaged for part of the story, but I did see many of the twists coming. The writing is solid, and the characters are well-drawn, for the most part. I also liked the parts on how social media has pulled us in as a society, and how it has a way of inviting the good and bad into our lives. It was just an okay read overall.

Violet is a wife, mom and vlogger. Her life seems perfect as she is showing off her handsome husband, her beautiful children and their expensive toys, her brand clothes and shoes received for commercial purposes. Until one night, when she completely disappears from the online, deleting her blog and YouTube channel and everything.

The story is revealing itself from several POVs: among the many who watch Violet, there are two women obsessed with her that we get PoVs from, plus a PoV from Violet’s husband. Violet does not get a PoV until towards the end, so as to not ruin the mystery.

The characters are all quite crazy and obsessive, but the story flows easily and it makes you curious why the vlogger disappeared so brusquely, so it was an ok read overall.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Duckworth and Crooked Lane Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this novel! I was addicted right from the beginning and it was really interesting to see a novel that’s finally discussing fertility issues. Being a woman who has now had many miscarriages, it’s really nice to see it written down and see it normalized a little bit so that I didn’t feel so troubled. It was also nice that this book wasn’t totally centered around one person’s issues, but seeing a few different issues that are so opposite from one another. I was totally into this novel and I flew through it. It was super interesting and I loved every minute of it.

Out March 10th

I recently found myself enjoying thrillers broaching the subject of social media. Add an unreliable narrator and a fast paced story around a missing mummy blogger and I'm happy!

I think that the author illustrates how social media closes in on people’s lives. Not only does the blogger invite friendly fans but also dangerous ones. Just a spooky realization about technology today and how it can impact our world

Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth is a very interesting book that I really enjoyed. This is also my first book by Ms. Duckworth, but it won't be my last. Violet is a very popular blogger who has a million subscribers. One day Violet is no longer on the internet, and her fans are really upset. This book is like a roller coaster, that you cannot get off of. Twists and turns around ever corner. I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

this was compelling and I really enjoyed the social media aspect to it! it got a little bit repetitive in the end but overall I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed most of this psychological thriller, which was well written and has the interesting plot device of a "mummy blogger" who shuts all her accounts down and disappears. The book is told from a number of points of view: her husband, one of her very dedicated readers, her husbands ex-girlfriend and one or two might pop up later (no spoilers in this review).

The last little bit lets this book down - as I learnt more and more about the characters I liked them less and less, the reveal is soggy, and the epilogue seems unnecessary. It's all a bit neat.

Thanks NetGalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable book. It was very current with the use of social media and I found it kept my attention. I will be looking out for more by this author.

2 stars

The book dealt with the toxic trait of social media and its consequences over the life of a mom/influencer Violet. When one day Violet's blog/youtube/any social media was gone, he fans and not-so-called fans began wonder where did she went and what happened to her.

Many praise the book as unputdownable but I feel lack in emotions reading it. The writing was alright and the plot was fine. I just couldn't click with it and had to skim a few or more pages to get it somewhere.

This was a quick and easy, but highly entertaining book. There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me engaged throughout. It definitely highlighted just how scary the anonymous people online can really be. I would recommend this one for someone that is looking for good, quick read.

A very timely book about society's obsession with social media influencers. As a retired person I have become much more invested in watching YouTube videos and following Instagram and Twitter accounts by some of my favorite people, places and things. I can see easily how it becomes an obsession to check in daily and see what's new, I do it myself I hate to admit, so this book interested me a great deal.
It's a piece of fiction about just such an obsession, but I'm sure it's not far from the truth. Just imagine having a million people seeing every aspect of your lives played out daily. I can't imagine that so I'm wondering what motivates so many to do it. While this book is about the follower, it would be interesting to have a book from the point of the poster to see why they do it, is it money or notoriety.

Well written with a good plot, very enjoyable.

Unreliable narrators have been all the rage in the thriller market for the last decade and Charlotte Duckworth offers us a smorgasbord of instability in her new novel Unfollow Me. A cautionary tale about the dangers of social media and how interconnectedness can put us in touch with some people we definitely don’t want in our lives, this book takes us down a dark road with some unlikely villains.

Violet, the mother of three young children, turned her battle against Postnatal Depression into a million dollar industry through a series of vlogs, workshops, Instagram posts and a YouTube channel. Her subscribers tune in daily to catch glimpses of her beautiful life, the little pieces of her family she doles out in careful, attractively scripted portions with just the right touch of humility and charm.

When all her social media accounts suddenly disappear without a trace and without any kind of explanation, her devotees become concerned. Violet has been honest about her struggles with depression, about her lack of sleep and how she can feel overwhelmed by it all. Have these issues become too much for her? Or has her stalker, a troll who criticizes her every decision, forced her to delete all her accounts in order to protect her family? Many have never liked her seemingly perfect husband Henry, the kind of guy who seems more of a lady’s man than a dad. Does he have something to do with her disappearance? As all these theories are endlessly analyzed and talked over on mummy discussion boards, Violet’s silence is deafening.

If you’re someone who doesn’t want to read about kids and the struggles of parenting, this novel isn’t for you. The author does an excellent job of immersing the reader in the world of the young mothers and want-to-be mothers of the online mummy communities. The story mostly unfolds through three viewpoints: Lily, a young mother who follows Violet’s vlog religiously; Yvonne, a wannabe mummy; and Henry, Violet’s husband. Ms. Duckworth captures perfectly, through their eyes, the struggle of modern child rearing.

Yvonne and her husband Simon are desperately trying to have a baby. Her mother-in-law blames her for their difficulties with conceiving, and is harshly judgmental about Yvonne having waited so long to have a child. In fact, Yvonne feels all society looks down upon her for not having perfected the art of balancing a career, marriage and family at the proper age. Her desire for a baby is almost painful and her despair and longing leap off the page as we slowly learn just how far she is willing to go to make up for this deficit in her life. Watching Violet’s YouTube channel is a bit of torture for her but following the young woman who has everything in life Yvonne dreamt would be hers - gorgeous home, lovely children, doting, handsome husband - is a compulsion. And yet when Violet goes missing, Yvonne is sincerely worried about her, concerned that something awful has destroyed this seemingly perfect family.

Lily, a single mom with a young toddler, is another person who can’t stop thinking about the missing media sensation. Watching Violet’s videos while sipping (or chugging) a glass of wine (or more) is the highlight of her evening. Lily has had a hard last four years and feels like there is no way out of the pit she is in. She knows her interest in Violet can’t possibly be healthy but she can’t seem to keep herself from clinging to that obsession. She loves her son but she doesn’t love the many challenges he adds to her life. Lily’s clueless about how to fix her own world and realizes this is why she has attached herself to the artificially perfect family she sees on her computer screen. She misses the videos so much she begins to look for Violet in real life, digging up clues about where the family lives, where the children go to school, what parks they play at. She is certain that her genuine concern for the family means this isn’t stalking but researching.

Violet’s family life as depicted on her YouTube channel is fake, something with which her husband Henry is growing increasingly frustrated. The only time Violet is with the children is when she is filming them, otherwise she is endlessly working on her influencer career or busy staging scenes which give the appearance of familial and marital bliss that they just don’t have. He fears the trolls online may become problems in real life and given that they don’t need the money, he doesn’t understand why Violent won’t quit. Henry’s misery over his wife’s career has led him to want something good in his own life, to flash a smile that isn’t just for the cameras and he thinks he’s figured out just what how to do that. He knows it will come with costs, he just has no idea how high the price will be.

There isn’t a great deal of action here since this is very much a character-driven story. The author does an amazing job of slowly unravelling the truth about our three sympathetic narrators until we realize that in fact, these people are not at all who we thought they were. Almost everything I thought I knew about them had to be discarded, and I loved the process of discovering the truth behind the numerous masks Lilly, Henry and Yvonne wear.

One of the highlights of the book is that there aren’t any super creepy, psychotic villains. Many of the things the characters do aren’t that atypical, it’s just when you add them all together that a picture of dysfunction slowly starts to emerge. And they are unethical and immoral rather than criminal, reminding us that harmful actions don’t have to be illegal to be impactful.

The book does contain some elements that might be triggering for some readers. A sexual assault is described, not in detail but definitely with enough clarity so that we know how traumatizing it was for the victim, and several bad/dangerous things happen to children. I’m pretty squeamish when it comes to the latter and I wasn’t triggered but I wanted to warn people up front.

The story’s flow isn’t perfect, with some stops and starts that can cause it to drag at points but these moments are mercifully brief and the pace always picked back up before I grew bored.

Unfollow Me is the first novel I’ve read by Ms. Duckworth but it definitely won’t be the last.  Anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers should definitely give this book a try.

Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
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5/5 stars for writing a book that focuses on a relevant social topic while writing an interesting mystery/suspense thriller.
An overall 3/5 starts though because I both really enjoyed and didn't like this book.

"Unfollow Me" largely follows two main female characters POV after the disappearance of their favorite online vlogger, Violet. Violet is a vlogger that showcases her family while highlighting her problems with PPD (post partum depression)- she keeps an active youtube and instagram account, along with other social media outlets. When she deletes all of her accounts one day, speculation and stalking intensify in order to find out what happened to Violet. Enter the two female leads: Lily is 27 years old and a single mother that loves watching Violet's perfect life and imagines herself living that same "perfect" life. Yvonne is 40 and watches Violet out of jealousy- she and her husband have done an IVF treatment and desperately want a baby.

I am part of the main demographic intended for this book. I am between the two main female characters ages and I have small children. Even though I fit the age demographic for this book, the chatroom style conversations that these women partake in are all a bit too over-the-top for me (the chat format only took a few pages between chapters and wasn't the main form of storytelling). I understand that chatroom conversations are petty and celebrity gossip can be juvenile, but as someone who doesn't follow celebrity gossip, it wasn't appealing to see people portrayed this way.

I didn't like either of the female leads. In fact, I doubt most people will. I don't think anyone really wants to see themselves as the super fan that gets carried away on internet forums and ends up stalking someone else's life at the expense of their own family. That's what this book is about. Over and over. Unfortunately, the minor characters were dull. I was especially frustrated at the lack of characterization of Yvonne's husband, who seemed overly meek and boring.

There is something to learn here about sharing your information online though- whether in the form of video, pictures, or even comments. Strangers can so easily find out quite about about people based on what we post- and I think seeing this extreme, albeit fictional representation, is great insight for people today. This book has a lot of potential for conversation starters!

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This was a fast read, and I recommend it to people who like modern mystery/suspense storytelling.

A very contemporary book on the pitfalls of living your life through social media.
The book is told through Lily, a single mum who is dependent on a 'social media influencer' called Violet. Lily is shocked when Violet suddenly shuts down all of her social media with no explanation. Lily makes it her mission despite her own precarious position with her 3 year old to find out what happened to Violet.
Yvonne is forty and desperate to fall pregnant with her younger husband Simon. But how honest is she being with everyone around her and how far will she go to get what she wants? What is her connection to Violet that she constantly feels the need to monitor her through social media?
Henry is the husband of Violet and has to endure all the speculation of his wife's welfare. Outwardly he and violet appear to have the perfect family, home and life, but how much of this is filtered to make it so,
I was truly hooked with this story and all of its twists and turns had me guessing right to the end.
A great book that I can recommend. Thank you Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A very well written book on social media addiction, a different storyline.The story is told in the POV of three people, two are followers of a vlog and the third is the husband of the vlogger. The characters are well developed with their flaws natural, it is easy to connect with them. The narrative is seamless and maintains the interest of the reader. The conclusion gives every character its due for which I would like to give an additional star. Highly recommended.