Very unique story, it kept me entertained up until the last page. I would definitely read something else from the author.

I think I expected this book to be much different than what it was, and I ended up not finishing it.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book when it was on watt pad and i loved it now. This book is a hidden gem.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Emilee has spent her 16 years of life being bullied for being different due to her unique eye color. Her only escape is to watch The Famoux, the group of 6 gorgeous and extremely talented people who make up the most popular reality television group. When Em is rescued from a bullying encounter by the last person she ever expected to meet, her life takes a dramatic turn- but was it for the best?

I really love books about reality tv shows as well as all things dystopian so I was super excited to jump into The Famoux. Unfortunately, this was a hard read for me. The main character Emilee did not know herself at all and had almost no personality (except for being seen as naive and young, I guess that was her thing in general) so it was hard for me to know her and root for her. Some of the side characters had much more depth and were interesting to read about, but Em was super flat and I was bored by her. I was surprised that this was also a murder mystery and I was fully onboard for that aspect of the book, I liked the twists that took- but with no resolution in this title. I was surprised when I reached the end of the story and found that nothing was resolved, so I guess this is the first in a series ( I went into the story expecting a standalone, so that was also a surprise).

I know I am being ridiculous, but all the names in the book were over the top and drove me crazy- they all sounded like a kid made them up and I was never sure exactly how half of them were pronounced so I was totally hung up on them while reading- and I ended up making up nicknames based on characteristics to use instead (which were almost as ridiculous but easy for me to remember).

Overall I can see this being a good choice read for fans of YA science fiction stories with lots of drama and very detailed costuming and beauty details. I think the Famoux was a little too slow paced as well as not what I was hoping for in general, so this was not a good book for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Famoux by Kassandra Tate.

This is a YA dystopian novel with a young girl who alters her appearance and flees her life to join the Famoux, an elite group of celebrities' who livef in the public eye 24/7.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me, I made it about 30%. I just could not get myself interested. It moved slow, there wasn't a whole lot of character or plot development to keep me interested, and the names just threw me off. It's rated well though, so I have to assume that perhaps its just not my cup of tea.

I was so excited to get the opportunity to review Kassandra Tate's The Famous, especially as it has been a few years since I previously read it on Wattpad. The book is set in a dystopian like future where everyone is obsessed with The Famoux, especially around the period in which the Darkening occurs. Preceding the death of a castmember, Emilee Laurence has the chance to escape her bullies and be welcomed into the limelight. However, being a member of The Famoux isn't all it is made up to be.

While I originally liked the book on Wattpad, which was almost seven years ago since I highly enjoyed it and found it overall exciting to read. But reading it now, I just didn't feel as swept away with this novel as I previously did. Maybe it is the fact that years have past since I read Tate's work and maybe it's the fact that I have read a myriad of literary works since but it just wasn't for me as it, at points, felt over dramatic and some characters just needed to be fleshed out more. Don't get me wrong, the premise was alright and Kassandra Tate did a good job describing and explaining the entire Delicatum world, I just don't think I will be reading the rest of her series when I don't feel as invested in the storyline as I did previously. With that being said, if you feel like you might enjoy it then check out.


eARC was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay - let's talk about THE most important part of this. THE COVER. Is that not the most instagramable and gorgeous cover you've seen in a while? The neon pink really does it for me! Moving on, because I realize most people don't buy books for the cover like I do.

The Famoux had be hooked as soon as I read the synopsis. As much as I try to deny it, I love a good dystopian book and the Famoux brought about a fresh take that we haven't seen in the genre for a while. There's not much to hate about this book other than the pacing and it being a bit of a dull start, but otherwise I love the plot, concept, and characters. I need a sequel and I need it now - lol.

Highly recommend!

3.5 stars

As my first real experience with Wattpad, Kassandra Tate’s The Famoux left me pleasantly surprised and will encourage me to pick up other Wattpad books in the future.

I would best describe this dystopian YA sci-fi as Divergent meets reality TV. The mystery/ ticking clock element of this book made it impossible to put down. It felt fast-paced and added a lot of intrigue, giving me a whodunnit vibe and making me eager to to see what would happen next. This raised the stakes around even the most mundane of tasks throughout the book, from what Emeray and the other Famoux wore or with whom they went to coffee. While some of the later twists seemed a bit contrived or unnecessary, others shocked me and made for a whirlwind of an ending.

I’m happy to say that I found the romance very sweet. It didn’t oversaturate the story and left room for the characters to grow in later books. I also liked Emeray’s friendship with Foster, and I hope we get to see her relationships with the other Famoux grow in the second book. It would be great to see them all team up rather than being pitted against each other! Plus who doesn’t love strong female friendships, and this series has the perfect opportunity to give them to us.

Another disclaimer: I almost DNF’d this book at the beginning. The first chapter consists mostly of heavy info dumps, as if Tate wanted to get all of the necessary info on Emilee’s life and world out of the way so she didn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the story. Fortunately, this changes about a chapter or two into the book, and from then on the exposition is better sprinkled into the action. The worldbuilding is pretty typical for a YA dystopia, with futuristic technology and genetic abnormalities caused by a past war, but as long as you go in expecting this it doesn’t detract from the book at all.

This book made me think about the implications of fame and what it would be like to have every aspect of your life scrutinized. The Famoux is a fun and easy to read page-turner that I would recommend for lovers of YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, I will definitely be on the lookout for book two!

Thank you to Wattpad Books via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a super interesting concept, and I really enjoyed it, even though there were a few areas that could've been better.

Most of the twists caught me completely off guard, which I loved! I had some predictions from the beginning that I had guessed right, but the larger twists were complete surprises. Some of this was because they didn't make total sense, but for the most part, I enjoyed them. (view spoiler)

I do have to say that portions of this book really reminded me of Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I can't go too deeply into why without spoilers, and they weren't super similar, but that was there.

I am super happy that the romance didn't play a large part in this book! Even after all 400 pages of this, I still don't trust Chapter at all, and I don't ship him and Emilee. The romance would've bogged this down, and this book didn't need it.

The ending did feel a bit thrown-together, and I do feel like this could've been a standalone. When you reach the end, you're left wondering how this book filled 400 pages. Although I did have some complaints, this was a super promising debut and start!

Thanks to Netgalley and Kassandra Tate for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Book Review for The Famoux by Kassandra Tate
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

The Famoux (Wattpad Books, 2021) is the debut young adult dystopian novel from 23-year-old Wattpad sensation Kassandra Tate. The society created by a near-apocalypse includes the Famoux (pronounced Fame-X), a group of young, beautiful super-celebrities that is a cultural focus, especially during the Darkening, a time when the skies become temporarily impenetrable to light. As most activity halts during the Darkening, attention turns to the Fishbowl where the lives of the Famoux are broadcast world-wide. Everyone has opinions about the Famoux: Who is dating? Who should date? Did Emeray cause Bree’s death? Every little action or look sets off an explosion of media-fueled gossip controlled by those in charge of the Famoux.

Sixteen-year-old Emilee’s fascination with the Famoux is especially understandable because her own life is such a mess. She is constantly bullied at school. Her mother has disappeared, and her brother and sister blame her for their family’s calamities. When Emilee is drawn into the Famoux, she experiences the crushing pressures of celebrity and the eye-opening ways that lives of the famous are manipulated by “management.”.

The Famoux will appeal to fanboys and fangirls who follow celebrities and enjoy shows such as The Bachelor, Big Brother, TMZ, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The Hunger Games-like drama will keep these readers turning pages until the ending which is satisfying on its own but sets up multiple ways for Kassandra Tate to go forward with other stories involving this world and its characters.

My disclaimers include a thank-you to Netgalley for providing an advance look at The Famoux, and an acknowledgement that my daughters were such early supporters of The Famoux on Wattpad that a character in the book is named after one of them.

The Famoux was entirely gripping in the same way watching a celebrity downfall is entirely entertaining. You can't look away, and I couldn't stop reading. There were so many twists and turns, and I doubted absolutely everyone. This kept the story enticing. Emilee can feel a bit like a pick me girl at times, but this helps her feel like a pawn in this world. I wish her growth was a bit more profound. The timeline of the book feels a bit rushed, but it truly manages the ticking clock tension well.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Wattpad for allowing me to read this galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Famoux is yet another post-apocalyptic novel centered around a teenage girl. I'll be honest, I struggled to get through the first 25% (the minimum I read to give a book a chance) of this book. It has all the "2012 dystopian" vibes. The story takes place nineteen years after the "End", which was caused by nuclear war. They have rebuilt society and most importantly, celebrities.

The Famoux are a special group of celebrities who take part in a reality show, called 'The Fishbowl', for 2 days every month, in order to distract the people from 'The Darkening'. The story follows the main character Emilee as she gets plucked from her terrible life and given a new identity as one of The Famoux, after one of them dies in a tragic accident. Unfortunately, there's something sinister casting a shadow on The Famous. Pitting each member against the other, be exciting or be the next to die.

Like I said, I struggled to get through the first section of this book, the world building is very much an info dump before you've even gotten invested in the characters. However, once you get through that first section, the book just flies by, I didn't want to put it down. Emilee is an engaging character and it's easy to be in her head. Some things seemed slightly off, like the naming of the characters, it was like the author was following a checklist for a post apocalyptic dystopian world. "Teenage girl? Check! Quirky names? Check!", but that is what it is.

When you think "Wattpad Novel", The Famoux isn't it. This story was engaging, exciting and left me wanting more.

Overall I enjoyed the story and look forward to more from Kassandra Tate.

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

It's been a minute since I have picked up a YA dystopian novel. This really took me back, reminding me of the books I use to love so much like Delirium, and Divergent.

I find there is a formula with many dystopian books and this one definitely follows it... forbidden love, suspense, a scary authoritarian figure that makes you follow an unfair set of rules.

This book was a quick, entertaining read, and I did enjoy it! but I can't deny that my interest definitely came from a place of nostalgia. The downside to this book is it does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, so get ready to be frustrated!!

I have to admit... "The Famoux" summary really got me excited - it seemed like almost a dystopian world similar to Hunger Games with a touch of futuristic pop reality TV. I was so looking forward to this book.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this book. It was incredibly boring, cheesy, and cringe all mixed into one. The world building felt strong and thought out in some places, and incredibly weird in others.

This one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for sending me an ARC of this book for review.

3.5/5 stars

Technically, this book had a lot of things that I didn't like. But...I really enjoyed it. If I was rating The Famoux on technical components alone, this would probably be a 2.5- or 3-star read. But I just had so much fun! I know this book is sci-fi, but it made me think.

The country of Delicatum's most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes. Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.

Be warned--I'm going to try to get all of the things I didn't like out of the way first. I'm sorry in advance.

First of all, the worldbuilding is incredibly cheesy. Just take a moment to look at this quote:
Instead of breaking apart into separate nations like before, they formed a single country which they named Delicatum--a reminder of the delicate balance between us and this land.

This is my first Wattpad story, but I can already tell that this feels like a Wattpad book. The writing might not be the best, the story may be extremely cheesy, but it's fun and interesting and that's all that matters. That said, the worldbuilding still wasn't great. And the capital city was named Waltmar, which looks a lot like Walmart to me, just to put that out there.

Everything was melodramatic. I know that the whole point is that the Famoux are on what is basically a reality TV show and drama is a staple of each and every reality show out there, but even when they were out of the public eye it was crazy. Before Emilee joined the Famoux and she was being bullied, everything was way more extreme than it should have been. And the way the founder of the Famoux was taking digs at her? It was a lot.

Please excuse me to rant for a moment. The first time the word "maladroit" came up, I was intrigued. I had never heard of that word before. (By the way, it means awkward.) The sixth time it was said in that same section of the book, I was past done with it. The writing was repetitive and irritating to no end.

There is this organization named DEFED. But DEFED is short for the Disorder Evolution Federation. Where did that extra "e" and "d" come from? It confused me to no end. If someone has an answer, it would be greatly appreciated. 😅

When it came time for the grand reveal I was.. surprised. But not in a good way. When all the plans were explained, nothing made sense. There were absolutely zero threads leading from the rest of the story into the grand finale. It was just kind of tacked on there at the end. I can see this being an absolute problem for books written on Wattpad. You have to publish chapters on a regular, normally weekly, basis. If you don't know where you're going with your story yet, you can't lead up to it and you end up just sticking it on the end.

Now that that's over with, let's get on to the good parts, shall we?

The characters were so much fun! I actually enjoyed the main character for once, and the love interest was pretty good too. My favorite side character was definitely Foster, and I love his and Finley's relationship! I also liked Emilee's complex relationship with her families, both the one from her former life and the one she found among the Famoux. With her original family, they started down the path to reconciliation after everything they went through before she ran away. With the Famoux, they had to deal with getting along (or not) and still risking everything that DEFED was putting them through.

I love the concept of this novel. It's like reality TV but in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. Seeing all these celebrity lives and the ups and downs that come with them are so interesting! Also how little say they get in their own lives. It would be terrifying to me if I couldn't control my own life, so I completely understood everything Emilee was feeling.

It also makes you think a little: is it like this in real life? Not the dystopian elements obviously, but the lack of control celebrities have over their own lives. Emilee was tricked into contracts and shaped by her manager to be exactly how she needed to be for the sake of popularity. I hope it's not as extreme as it is in this book, but I know that that has to be going on at some level with some of the celebrities in our own world. It's a scary thought.

Unexpectedly, I had a fantastic time with this book. It might not be anything amazing in a technical sense, but I enjoyed it immensely!

I think it is safe to say the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover to The Famoux and then when I read the synopsis I was sold. The Famoux was a fresh taste to the dystopian genre, that we haven't seen in so long. My only complaint is that I feel as if the pacing was off in some points and that the climax of the story sort of stemmed from something that could have been introduced earlier in the book. But other then that I did really enjoy The Famoux and I am eager to see what is next.

What a fantastic debut! Congrats to Kassandra Tate on being so young and yet so accomplished! I really enjoyed this book. I found the storyline unique and exciting, I found the style of writing perfect for what the book entails, and I loved the overall feel of "can't put it down" that it gave me!

The book is written from the perspective of Emilee Laurence/Emeray Essence. As a character herself, I find her quite likeable with time. At the beginning, she is a bit helpless (almost annoyingly so) but she definitely grows as a person throughout the book and becomes a bit more assertive by the end. I have a feeling that she will become a much stronger character in the next addition to the series and I am looking forward to seeing her flourish!

I liked some of the characters as well... Chapter for being so nice and navigating the life of fame so well (and for being so sexy.. seriously I love him), Norax for being so surprising and unexpected, and Cartney for being so frustrating and unlikeable lol! Yes... I liked him for being unlikeable. It added some frustration that made me want to see more. I went back and forth with my opinion on Kaytee.. some of her actions were maddening but not without reason so I suppose I can see her point of view. As for the rest of the Famoux... Till, Race, Foster I didn't really form opinions about them because I felt like I didn't really get to know them. Perhaps that will change in the next book! The only other thing in terms of the characters is that when the Volx list shows up, it uses the Famoux members' former names. After coming to know them by their Famoux names, with little to no mention of their former names, I found it very difficult to remember who was who when reading the list. A minor inconvenience, but worth noting!

The story itself was fantastic. While the first little bit was slow, I will admit, it did end up picking up quite a bit. I loved reading about the lives of the rich and famous, and getting a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes (albeit, the fictional scenes lol). I loved all of the plot twists scattered throughout, and loved that I didn't have the whole thing figured out until the very end! Usually when I read books with a bit of a mystery to them, I know what's going to happen or who's behind everything pretty early on... but I wasn't sure with this one! And what was interesting is that the writing was so well done and the plot moved so quickly that I actually didn't have time to sit and wonder who was behind everything that was happening! It's hard to explain what I mean by this - you'll have to read it yourself to see!

Overall, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air in what can sometimes be a very repetitive, monotonous genre. There is still much I am excited to learn about and lots of loose ends that I can't wait to see tied. Looking forward to the next installment in this series!

The Famoux by Kassandra Tate was such an interesting concept! This book is set in the future, where the world had been through nuclear war. There were only parts of the USA and Europe that were livable, so they decided to be one united country. They realized all the war and division happened because they had different leaders, so being one would solve that.

Due to the radiation, there are two days every month that the world is in complete darkness. This is what they refer to as the "Darkening". During the Darkening, the whole country of Delicatum is enraptured by The Famoux. These are beautiful and talented teens/young adults who are stars of the reality TV show "The Fishbowl."

Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux, just like everyone else her age. She uses it to escape the bullying she endures daily. That is, until Emilee is wisked away and offered a place among the Famoux. This seems like a dream come true; until it isn't. The members of the Famoux are getting death threats and are asked to comply with every request.

This book has a great premise and I was so excited to read it. While Tate did a great job of explaining the world of Delicatum, everything felt so far fetched. This truly did feel like I was reading a Wattpad book, rather than one of my favorite dystopian novels. If you love drama and want a easy read, this is definitely for you! The drama is what kept me going.

The ending was a whirlwind of information and didn't make a lot of sense to me. Although I am giving this book only 2.5 out of 5 stars, I would still read the second one. I am so excited to see what happens between Chapter and Emeray!

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

"The Famoux" is a young adult thriller that takes place in a world called Delicatum, where the town celebrities make up an elite group called the Famoux that star in their own reality show, titled Fishbowl. The main character, Emilee Laurence, absolutely loves the Famoux and this show, as it provides her a positive distraction from the chaos in her personal life, so when she gets an opportunity to join the Famoux and be apart of Fishbowl, she says yes.

The reality of this reality show becomes even harsher when she learns about a seemingly anonymous organization called DEFED that controls how members of the Famoux live, forcing them to compete against one another and put their lives at stake.

I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy this book, but it exceeded my expectations. I absolutely loved it, and it's already one of my favorites of 2021 so far. If you're looking for a thrilling YA read, look no further and give this book a chance.

Rating: 4.5/5