I was so grumpy when this book finished and I realised it was part of a series AND THIS FIRST ONE ISN’T BEING PUBLISHED UNTIL NEXT YEAR *cries pitifully*

Anyway…

When I started this book I wasn’t 100% sold. There are some issues with it in terms of things that could be tightened up; world building that could have been a little stronger etc. We see a lot of the book from Emilee/Emery’s perspective, and she can be a little boring, more of a watcher than a participant in her own life. I understand that is her personality type, but I do think some harsher editing/rewriting wouldn’t go too far amiss here.

My other biggest issue (and it’s minor but it broke the flow EVERY time) was the pronunciation of Famoux. In my head, for the first chapter or two, it was Fame-oh - my own bastardised attempt at what I assumed was French in origin - or maybe Fame-OX, like the animal. However, just like She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named* gave us a lesson in how to pronounce Hermione vis Viktor Krum, the author does give us a lesson, and the word is pronounced Fame-Ecks. This… bugged me! I wonder if having the explanation at the beginning - like when it’s done as a dictionary entry to set the tone of the book - would have made it less jarring, as I wouldn’t have had to correct myself EVERY time I read it?

In terms of storyline, I loved it. It’s dystopian sci-fi meets Big Brother style reality TV. That’s basically where I would like to live. The plot was good; there were things I saw coming and things I didn’t. I think I wish there was more time getting to know the Famoux - it felt as though because the population of the world in-book knew everything, it was assumed we did too. I would have loved more scenes without our MC before her name change - maybe some past scenes in the Fishbowl, or even overheard discussions about the Famoux? The main storyline needs the full cast, but we get too much inside Emilee/Emery’s head, and it can be a little self absorbed.

Overall, the story was good. I wanted to read the next one, and I don’t want to have to wait! Loses a couple stars because of editing/world-building issues as above, but I would recommend it to others!

Content Warning: bullying, body-shaming (it’s been a little while, nothing too triggering is coming to mind. Correct me if I’m wrong please!)

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Before I begin my review for The Famoux (The Famoux book one) by Kassandra Tate, I would personally like to thank the author, the publishers and Netgalley the opportunity to read this ARC and I have reviewed it honestly.

A delicious cocktail of The Selection, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and a shot of Divergent, The Famoux brings a whole new level to dystopia. Beauty, secrets, fame and deception, this young adult tale is set to capture hearts across the globe.

The Famoux features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Dystopian
○ YA science fiction
○ Light romance
○ Beauty
○ Reality TV

My overall rating for The Famoux is…

5 Stars!

The complexity of this book is nothing short of outstanding. An unreal look at a dystopian future where beauty is coveted is not so unique a tale, but the thought and intricate detail that goes into this book is unbelievable and so powerful. Easter eggs you didn't know where there are artfully hidden throughout the story and flung together in an impossible crash of realisation and awe at the ending. The Famoux started as a Wattpad project and is no doubt going to continue to blow minds with Penguin Publishers behind it.

Everything is in the title. You want a story about fame, drama and secrets ? You've come to the right place ! Glitters, fame and influence will all be present here !

I am ALWAYS attracted to stories with a fame or stardom theme. I just love it. Maybe it's how you often get to see what happens behind the scenes, maybe it's just the show and glitter aspects, I don't know, but I never can get enough of it. Famoux was a perfect book for me in that aspect !

So Em is you regular girl, with a lot of problems (getting bullied, family issues,etc.) until she finds herself propelled among the Famoux, a group of talented and beautiful stars who each excel in their field. She doesn't really know what to do, or if she belongs, but she now has to play the game of fame and figure out how to survive her first month in the group, as a mysterious killer makes them compete with each other for survival.

I was a bit disappointed about the beginning of the book, and especially about the way Em becomes famous. This is basically child abduction, and the scene was really fast. There was no real thinking or logic in it and she went for nothing to all in just a few pages, which I found very disorienting and unlikely, even in such a fiction.

Still, after this, I can only say positive things ! Em's environment is fascinating and we get to explore and adjust to it at the same time she does, which kind of made up for the rushed change of life. The glitter, the riches, the mansion, etc. makes her dizzy and I loved drowning in that new world.

The plot is fairly classic, but as it's set in a theme that I love and there were still some plot twists I didn't find utterly obvious, I got completely captivated by the author's writing, which is never too simple or too snob-ish. I flew through the pages really quickly, and I think it made me come out of my little reading slump, because it was such a fast-paced interesting read ! It is written in that Wattpad style that I loved when I was reading as a teen, yet it is edited enough to make sure it's not too teeny or too vapid. Love it.

As for the characters, I thought Em a little dumb, but other than that, I really enjoyed seeing her interact with the other Famoux. Overall, the whole groupe had a great dynamics and the worked well with each other. Seeing the producers of the Famoux and the way the pull the strings backstage was also something that I was pleased to read. Producers need to be written about more ! They have a fascinating job !

Well, I'd conclude by saying this is a great easy-reading book. It has a lot of fast-paced action to keep you entertained, and you will enter a world of fame and treason which is perfectly seducing. I definitely recommend it !

This was a fun read! I don’t usually read Wattpad books but this was quite alright! I probably wouldn’t have read this had I seen it on Wattpad but I’m happy to be exploring my tastes when I comes to reading.

The Famoux is a unique and easy to read book, filled with characters who make you think.

I did struggle with the language used within the book, it made it hard to read. That being said, the writing style made up for the stuffiness of the language.

A twist on celebrity status. I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was a standalone book, but turns out there will at least be a sequel to it. Em is likable, and the assortment of other characters is just enough to keep you guessing on their motives. I can't say the big twist shocked me, but It was still very enjoyable to read. ready to see what the second book has in store.

I have mixed emotions about this book. I liked the premise of it but I felt it was a little rough in the execution. I sort of felt disconnected while reading it because of the writing as a whole and the main character. While I didn't mind our main character and was sympathetic to all she endured, especially in the beginning, I just didn't click with her. I did enjoy many of the other characters though and hope we get to explore more of their backgrounds in the future. They were the highlight of the book for me.

For the most part, I was entertained. There are a lot of secrets revealed. Some were predictable but there were certainly others I didn't see coming. Writing-wise, I think that there were things that could have been better explained (the whole existence of the Fissarex for example) but it's very possible that we will get more information about things in the next book. I also think the flow of the book could have been a little smoother. Some of the transitions between scenes were a little choppy. However, I do have an arc version so I imagine things will change in the final version. Overall, I thought the story being told here was interesting and it definitely left me curious about what might happen next.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book. It was definitely an interesting story and I think the description given here makes it more interesting than the one on Goodreads. I also think adding this cover will definitely give the book the hype.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Famoux in exchange for an honest review.

I try to be as unbiased as I possibly can going into a book but I've had so many bad experiences with Wattpad published dystopias that it was hard to go into The Famoux as excited as I might have were it released under a different publisher. It had an abnormally high goodreads rating for a wattpad story though and one of my favourite books of the year also came from Wattpad publishing, so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm really glad I did.

The Famoux takes place in kind of a dystopia world were Big Brother is basically mandatory viewing. Everyone is obsessed with the lives of The Famoux and follows their every move throughout the month both between and during the 2 day long live show of their lives in their shared mansion. After one of the Famoux tragically dies during one of these shows, bullied, outcast Em suddenly finds herself being thrown into the world of fame to become the next Famoux.

Plotwise, I really liked this. There were some things I wished were a bit more fleshed out (there's one member of the house I literally kept forgetting existed because she never does anything) and some bits I wish were toned down (the bullying scenes were very, very over the top dramatic to the point of it being hard to believe that they were real. This book is really good at subtle shows of powerplays so I don't know why it went 'throw her in a stream of ice!') but everything surround that honestly made up for it.

I normally don't have an issue with slight age gap relationships but this book really, really wants you to know that Em's younger than the rest of the Famoux (she's 16, they're mostly 18-20 from what I could tell) which kind of made me ultra-aware of the age gaps whenever relationship stuff was happening. Without the constant "she's the youngest Famoux!" speak it probably would have been a lot more palatable but as is... yikes.

Not going to lie, I'm pretty sure this book had quite a few plot holes in its logic but they all pretty much popped up after the 11th hour twist so I'm not sure if those will be addressed and explained in the sequel so I'm tentatively going to give them a pass for now.

I felt like it was missing an edge. Over all a great read however it just felt too familiar like I’ve read this before but I can’t quite place it. It is a good book it just wasn’t unfortunately my cup of tea

I really loved this book, I think this was a very interesting idea, this book is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the world, a bunch of natural disasters happened and then the countries started fighting and then it became a nuclear war, almost everything was destroyed but some people survived and they formed a single country named Delicatum and the contamination ha affected the planet, I loved the characters and the plot of this book kassandra is a very talented writer

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!!

I loved this book!!! No complaints from me. I thought I knew where it was going, but I was pleasantly surprised. I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy when it is released.

I always enjoy this type of plot in a book, I enjoy the mystery of this and the characters were good. I can see why this made it as a world wide book and didn't just stay as a wattpad story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Cover: Great.
Story: Good.
Characters: Good.

I loved it.