Instamom touches upon some of the issues, rather aspects (for want of a better word), that present day women face. Chantel Guertin has described the shallowness of the modern day social media well. The novel reflects an intensity on the subject of the choice of a woman for opting a child free living but the same intensity is not reflected in the the romance of the relationship for which the main character 'Kit Kidding' changes her opinion on the subject.

Instamom is another book focusing on an influencer. You’d think you might not be able to find anything else to say about influencers, this one keep it engaging. Kit wanted a childfree life, she meets Will, who isn’t childfree. The character development is delightful and refreshing. It’s a fun, light read just in time for summer.

Influencer Kit Kiddington has built her brand, and her life around being proudly #kidfree. When she meets hot chef Will MacGregor at an influencer event they have a steamy one night stand. The two are then forced to work on an Instagram campaign and their attraction grows, that is until Kit learns about the dealbreaker- Will is a single dad. As much as she keeps saying it will never work, Kit can’t stay away - leading her to question whether or not she believes what she’s been saying for years.

OKAY, I loved Instamom by Cantel Guertin so much that I read it twice! While it’s certainly a different take on a romantic comedy, it’s also quite thought provoking on the controversial subject of women making the conscious decision to not have children - and how people react to that decision. It was nice to see almost a role reversal in the relationship, as well as a man that can properly communicate. I loved Kit’s growth as an individual while still staying true to her beliefs,
*honourable mention to the inclusion of #bookstagram
**Thanks to NetGalley, Cantel Guertin and Kensington Publishing for e-ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#Loved it! Chantel Guertin has penned a lighthearted must read. I giggled and laughed throughout the entire book. Instamom hooked my interest from the first chapter and kept me engaged until the end. I even found myself reflecting on a variety of women’s issues. I loved that the story was set in Toronto.
Instamom will be at the top of everyone’s summer read list.
Many thanks to Chantel Guertin, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

Kit Kidding lives a single life, free from the complications and messiness that is child-rearing. She is an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers, with a point of difference being her "child-free" state and message. She is the anti-Mommy blogger, posting about the right to choose, being self-determining in your life choices, and being unapologetic for choosing this way of life. She's out of a long-term childless relationship but the separation from her ex still stings, his having decided he wanted children. Her life is the gram, events, contracts, scheduling.

When Kit attends the 20th promotional function in her week at a swanky hotel, she meets Will who has catered the event. He's swarthy, confident, and figuratively rubs her the wrong way. he doesn't even do insta! But there's something about their banter and repartee that appeals to Kit and they make a beeline for his hotel room.

Kit's intention is "one and done" but when she partners with a food box service and the service needs her to actually prepare the food she's in trouble because cooking? Not in her skill-set. But she needs grammable pics of her preparing the meals, so they send a chef (that would be Will) to work with her.

Kit envisages a "no strings attached" relationship with Will, but there's one small matter of an eight year old girl. That would be Addie, Will's daughter.

In Instamom we follow the ups and downs of Kit and Will as Kit grapples with maintaining her philosophical stance while opening her heart to Will and Addie. How can Kit be her genuine, true, authentic self to her followers while baking muffins to take to the bake sale? Instamom is a fun romcom, that gives a birds-eye view of "influencers" and the pressures associated with these lifestyle choices. It's an interesting look at mothering, societal views on what it is to be a mother, and what it is to choose not to be one. The growth of Kit was fun to watch and Will's struggle with to not wanting to dictate Kit's choice, and be clear in his own life choices and honesty added some depth to his character which at times seemed a bit controlling and overbearing.

I didn't let the fact that Will began cooking three years previous and and he seemed to have an absence of qualifications (taking him to be the anti-chef to her anti-Mommy blogger) - not letting the truth get in the way of what is a fun, enjoyable read.

Chantel Guertin sign me up for your next read, I'm all in.

Thanks to Kensington books and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.

Put a pin in this - it's out 29 June 2021.

Instamom had a lot of reasons to appeal to me - Female lead who was real in her portrayal of a social media celebrity , the hours and efforts it goes into any successful campaign on SM , a down to earth & fun chef as ML , an adorable kid and good supportive friends who also had their own stories. Even though Will's friends could have acted better, I was hooked to this story from very beginning. The flirting & banter was not over the top but just felt so right. The fights , the arguments , the reactions were never knee jerk. And then there were books. Just perfect for me. I finished this book in about a day :))

Thank you NETGALLEY for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest opinion on the book
As cliche as it was and you could see where the story would go I really enjoyed this book and resonated with Kit
If only I could meet my own Will😆
I thought the characters were portrayed well and I liked them all in this book.
The Instagram Iife vs reality is so relative right now more so than ever with the lies and no home truths on the grid squares.
I’m so glad they got a happy ending and smiles all round not that there was any doubt of how it would come together it warmed me

I loved this book and I feel like it’s so very relatable in our influencer filled society. The trials and problems the characters went through were the perfect mix of something anyone one of us could go through. I also appreciate the author touching on the subject of women who do not want kids. In my opinion, there is definitely still a stigma in our society about this topic and the author really made you think about this subject. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a light hearted but also a thought provoking romantic comedy.
Thanks to Net Galley, Chantel Guertin, & Kensington books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this story! First I was so intrigued to learn more about social media influencers and what it’s all about. I never really understood how it worked and honestly thought it was a little silly. (But I now have a better appreciation of it knowing it is much more than free packages) I also loved Kit’s character and seeing her change throughout the story! I will definitely be recommending this book to others.

"Instamom" capitalizes on a the "Swipe Up" culture, and follows the life of an influencer, Kit Kidding, whose persona is entirely based on her choice to be childfree. Her life is thrown into a tailspin when she starts to have feelings for a man who has a child.

Kit struggles with what she wants and what is on brand. The book is a glimpse at the not so glitzy life of an influencer while also highlighting the stigma many women deal with when they opt not to be mothers. Along the way, Kit learns that she is the only person selling an image that isn't necessarily her truth.

Cute book! I was sucked into Kit's story right away and the relationship with Will felt pretty authentic despite a lot of immature behavior from Kit. The scenes with Addie and Kit's fears about step-parenting and dating a single dad were right on. But the final scene at the women's seminar kind of lost me. And a garage book store would never be zoned in a residential neighborhood!

Instamom - Chantel Guertin

Kit Kidding is an Instagram influencer who has made a career out of being the voice for women who are fighting against the gender norm and expectations of being a woman. She has made it known that woman are made for much more than child bearing, if they so choose. She promotes a kid free life, and even goes as far as holding group meetings for women who have chosen to be kid free to have a chance to talk about their successes without feeling the pressure or judgment from societal norms. Everything Kit stands for is challenged when she meets Will and falls hard and fast for him only to learn that he is a single dad. Kit is torn between protecting her image and the brand she has created, or pushing past the restraints she has created for herself.
After my last few books being thrillers, I was ready for something fresh and light, and Instamom was definitely that. I couldn't seem to put this book down and flew through it in a day.
The issues that were tackled in this book is so relevant to the society we live in that it was easy to relate to. I feel every woman, whether childless or not have felt the pressures to be something that doesn't necessarily resonate with them, or afraid to change in fear of being judged for personal growth.
I loved Kit. I was entranced and even a bit motivated by the growth of her character. I recommend this book to anyone out there who is looking for something light-hearted and maybe a laugh or two. It is worth the read and I cannot wait to go read more of Chantel Guertin's books!

Thanks @netgalley and @doubledayCa for the ARC. Comes out June 29th!

Instamom is a light and breezy rom-com that takes a closer look at the lives of social-media influencers. Kit is a thirty-something singleton living in Toronto, who knows exactly what she wants...and that is not to have children. She has based her popularity and earned her Instagram followers abiding to this principle, one that she has written a book about and regularly speaks about at women's events and gatherings. All of this may change, however, when she meets and crushes hard on Will, a fun-loving chef and single dad to Addie. The book develops when Kit is introduced to Addie, and sooner-rather-than-later is forced to spend time with her. Will the crush she has on Will be enough to make this new life, a life that Kit never wanted, more important to her than her social-media empire that she has worked so hard to build? Instamom is an easy-to-read and enjoyable book about a life that many of us have dreamt of. It's a sneak peak into real-life vs. insta-life with fun characters who feel like old friends. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look forward to its release. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced ecopy.

This was a fun read and would be perfect for a light summer beach read. This book is about a social media influencer who has built her brand reputation and mass amount of followers on the basis of having no kids! All of this starts to fall apart once she meets a man who has a little girl. Now Kit has to decide what is more important....a romance with Will or her social media influencing! This was a feel-good rom-com with so much more. I really enjoyed Kit's character development and it was interesting to get an inside look at what social media influencers have to do in order to build and maintain their brand. I recommend this book to anybody looking for a charming, well-written insta-hit! InstaMom is out on June 29. Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was insanely intrigued by this book due to the main character, Kit being a spokesperson for women who do not feel like having a child is necessary, and shouldn’t be judged on their choices. Considering kids aren’t for me, I wanted to dive into this story. Unfortunately this was almost a DNF. I found the main character Kit annoying most of the time and not relatable. The first 25% was very slow, almost like Kit was trying to preach and oversell her points. The rest of the book I found more entertaining.

I did really enjoy the moments with her main love interest Will, and his daughter Addie. The relationship between the 3 of them were the highlights of this book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Charming.
Relevant.
Relatable.
Romantic.
Inspiring.
Thoughtful.
Emotional.
These are the words i would use to describe Instamom. A fun read with lots of emotion and likeable characters . Well written. Flows along at a good pace. Easy to read. Captured my heart.
This will be a hit, i think! A great summer read for the beach, cottage or weekend.
I recommend it!

I typically read thrillers and mysteries but every few books I want a feel-good, rom-com as a bit of an escape and a lighter read. I figured Instamom would be a cute, fun read- so I was super excited to receive this ARC. What I wasn’t expecting was it to have more heart and substance to the story. Instead of the traditional “rom com” and perhaps superficial “woman and man meet and fall in love, the end” Instamom has a lot more going for it, and brings a really different story to the genre. Kit’s story is one that I haven’t seen done before, and I think this novel will touch a lot of people- while still being a fun, quick and good read.
I absolutely loved all the Toronto references (the Centreville jingle was stuck in my head for 3+ days) and the inside look into the Influencer/ Social Media world which I always enjoy.
I’m so glad this book was what I wanted it to be, I would definitely recommend.
Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Books and Chantel Guertin for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC!

I’m not really into social media and Instagram influencer type things so was not sure how much I would enjoy this. It was actually pretty interesting. Loved Will and he and Kit had good chemistry. Also some good character growth in this. Worth a read.

I was craving a good rom-com, and this was just perfect! Influencer Kit Kidding has built her brand on her choice to be #childfree. Her Instagram captures her independent, successful, child-free life, and she has a huge following. Everything changes when she meets Will, a sexy chef with a daughter. Stuck between her connection with Will and who she thought she was, we follow Kit's journey to self-discovery. Not only do I love the romance, the relationship Kit builds with Will's daughter, but I also love the theme of change. So many characters in this book learn and grow from one another—such a great read. I would definitely recommend this!

This book delves into the superficiality of Instagram and how what the posts portray versus the reality of true life can significantly differ. In creating her life accordingly to these posts to the point of making a living from it, Kit realizes that true happiness does not come from it and in fact, she begins to question the reality of what she thought especially when it comes to her relationships. She actually walks away from her true love given her message of Kid Free. However, she states that it is a choice and decides to follow her heart instead and becomes a better person because of it.