I used to be obsessed with the Pretty Little Liars series, so I have been looking forward to Sara Shepard's new book with Lilia Buckingham for a while. Influence is a fast-paced, drama-filled, mystery set in the crazy world of influencers in California. The storylines were plotted well and it seemed to follow the Pretty Little Liars formula closely, including an almost "A" like character in Scarlet Leigh. It was an effective choice for this plot and these characters, if not entirely fresh. There were a lot of twists and red herrings that made it exciting and fun to read, and I never knew what was coming next. I really liked the characters, Jasmine and the mysterious Scarlet especially, and what I appreciated was that even though they were dealing with some pretty adult subject matter, they still seemed like teenagers. It has a little bit of everything with a great mix of drama, romance, family, sexuality, and coming of age, all while navigating the chaotic life of social media and fame. The world of influencers is a fascinating and wild subject in itself, and though I know it is very real, it almost feels hard to believe. This book is a solid standalone, but there is definitely enough of an open door to write another one, and I know I would like to see more of these characters.

This was a really interesting read! I love reading about social media and internet celebrities because it is such a fascinating world that I've grown up in. I was part of fangirl culture for so long (I had fanpages and all), and I'm also a creator to this day—though not in the same way I was when I was in middle school.

Therefore, this book was something I could really connect with, and it was cool to have an even deeper look into the lives of social media influencers.

I do think that some of the plot was a little too dramatic, and at times it was a bit difficult to follow. It was a really enjoyable read, though, and I would recommend it if it sounds intriguing to you!

DNF. This felt very childish and boring. I couldn’t get into it at all. I really couldn’t figure out where the book was going.

Tween readers will enjoy this more than teen readers. There needs to be more plot development and layering of the characters.

4.5 ⭐️

Meet Jasmine: Uber famous influencer who helped rescue her family from financial duress. Meet Delilah: New to LA, fairly new to social media influencing, insulin-dependent diabetic. Meet Fiona: Plagued with OCD, living with a secret from her past. Between keeping up with their image, their internet presence, what goes on behind the scenes gets warped into a mangled mess... involving a mean girl, master manipulator, another influencer, Scarlet. When she’s found dead, the girls are determined to find out who did it and why.

To break up all my holiday reads and contemporary romances, this modern YA thriller was a breath of fresh air! Shepard and Buckingham wove three stories about three girls into an overlapping one rather seamlessly. All the social media influencing references—from sponsors to engagement to influencer parties and personal assistants—were spot on. The deeper meaning of the need to hide true emotions to keep up an image, to grow your account were shown how they can spiral down. And, the mystery? I loved it. I really enjoyed trying to figure out who killed Scarlet. So many characters came into play, and the twists kept twisting toward the end.

Definitely perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and They Wish They Were Us, this sure is a bingeworthy YA to open up the new year with.

Thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the advance Kindle copy of this book. It’s out 1.5.21! All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Set in the world of teen social media influencers, the authors tackle bullying, maintaining a “perfect” online presence, and throw in a murder for good measure. They use three narrators - two established influencers and one teen who is new to the scene, during one summer in LA. The story is well crafted and will definitely appeal to teen readers. Some underage drinking and the mention of a potential pregnancy (no on-page action though) make this best for grades 8+, in my opinion.

This is one of those books that as I read it I kept thinking "I am so not the demographic for this book". As an adult reading this book I had a problem with the lack of character development, and that the mystery doesn't actually start until halfway through the book. However, I acknowledge younger teen readers who are the demographic may enjoy the inside look at the glamourous world of influencers, and to those readers, I say I hope you enjoy it but, for me, this book just didn't work.

This book was quite addicting but I didn't like it. Honestly, I'm baffled that this book was co-written by someone who is actually an influencer. I mean, this is definetly not the worst representation of the influencer world but it's also not good. The book uses the words 'YouTube vlog' and 'livestream' like they are the same thing. They're absolutely not and I was very confused a lot through this book because of that. They also mentioned Musical.ly and TikTok like they are completely seperate things. I mean the influencers coming from the two are very different so I could understand trying to make a difference between the two but it very much read like Musical.ly was still a thing, which it's not. I don't know if that's just because I was reading a galley and by the actual publication it will all change to TikTok but at the same time Musical.ly hasn't been a thing for years so I don't really get it. The comments shown in this book were also super cringey and didn't feel real. I also feel like this show was very shamey towards fangirls, ships and everything internet actually. The conclusion for all the characters was that they need to distance themselves from social media. I mean, of course you can do a great conversation around the dangers of social media and how some people get overly consumed by it but I just feel like this book portrayed social media as the root of all evil. I don't know that message sat a little wrong with me, especially because Lilia is an actual influencer. Besides that I just felt like the characters were very flat and their only developement was stepping back from social media. The mystery was also very bad and the resolution came completely out of nowhere. I love over the top drama but the drama in this book was very unbelievable. I guess that's because most of the time we don't actually get any motivations for the actions that cause the drama. I have one specific instance in mind but I can't mention it because of spoilers. Anyway, I didn't like this book. I was really hoping I would but I didn't at all.

I struggled with this one. I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters in beginning but once I kept them straight they each had their own quarks. I kept giggling at the drama surrounding being an influence because I think a lot of their feelings were pretty accurate. The thriller part is where I was lost.

Although this book pulled me in right away - what a great first chapter - it ultimately let me down. I was so excited to be offered the change to review this eGalley because I am a fan of Sara Shepard's PLL series. I realize now that I read the PLL series at a time where it felt applicable to my life, and "Influence" was just a little too young for at the moment. The characters, and the romance, were underdeveloped for my taste - once again, I think my age played a factor in my enjoyment of this book and this book would likely be devoured and enjoyed by anyone between the ages of 13-18.

I'm here for all the delicious drama that Sara Shepard brings with her books. I really enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for Netgalley and the publisher for a copy!

This story kind of felt like a spin off of Pretty Little Liars but set in california and more of a focus on social media. I wasn't really a fan of it and it kind of dragged.

This book was not my cup of tea, I couldn't get through the whole thing. I think this might be for a much younger audience. The writing and pacing are too juvenile for me and following all the characters didn't intrigue me. It also is very melodramatic in a way that did not interest me. Even though I understand Influencer controversy and lifestyle fairly well (from an outsider perspective) I think I am too old for this book's writing style and characters and it just couldn't hold my attention.

Everything Sara Shepard writes is gold in my eyes, and this was no different. Nothing like a good drama to suck you in!

I cannot give a full review of this book because I chose not to finish it. I actually didn’t get very far. Although I do find some young adult novels interesting, this one was much too juvenile for me. I started off by searching for Lilia on Instagram as I was not aware of who she was. I would assume that her followers and the true target audience of this book will enjoy it, it just was not for me.

Great quick read that’s witty and fun! I highly recommend if looking for something light and fun Thats quick paced.

This is an ARC of a book PLL's author Sara Shepard wrote with a 16 year-old influencer, and I have to say that the younger author's touch shows. While the story is good and reveals an interesting insider's view of the influencer industry, it's not quite as compelling as Shepard's books usually are, and there's something distinctly juvenile about the writing style. I'm not sure this one will appeal to Shepard's adult readers as much as her usual work does - this one's probably best for younger readers. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I DNF’Ed this. I loved pretty little liars but I just couldn’t get into this, maybe it was just the wrong book at the wrong time.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with this e-Arc. I am very grateful! Will definitely read more from this author in the near future.

A fun, quick read! I was drawn in from the very beginning. This was fast-paced, snarky (in a good way!) and just delightful. I wouldn’t expect anything less from this author!