Review of Do You Follow? By: J.C. Bidonde

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Whew. This was a fast paced, exciting thriller. I listened to it in one day with time to spare. I was very engrossed in the story. I definitely will read more from this author in the future.

Quick synopsis: Alexa has struggled with mental health concerns after a childhood accident and subsequently her mother’s death. She is doing better, though, and gets her dream job in New York City and leaves her dad to move there. Upon arrival her twin sister, Beth, appears in her doorstep needing a place to stay and she reluctantly agrees. Her job starts off well when she sees a familiar face who is her new client. His name is Curt and they met previously when he was employed by her psychiatric hospital. Now he has hired her company to help him get his YouTube persona up and running. They fall quickly into a real relationship but Beth disapproves. I won’t say more for spoiler sake!

Big thank you to @netgalley for the audio copy of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I will say I enjoyed the narrator on this one. I feel like the calming tone of her voice really led you down a path, it made the twists and turns in the story seem to come out of nowhere.

There were several times in the beginning of this book that I was sure I knew exactly what was going on, and I'll admit I was tempted to put it down, but I'm so glad I didn't. During the second half there were so many revelations that I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster. It's been a very long time since a book surprised me this many times.

Alexa and Beth are twins, those rare identical twins that no one can tell apart and while that makes them special, it also makes for a stressful situation that can bring out the worst in one or both of them.

Beth is the louder, more outspoken, stronger of the two, saying what she wants doing what she wants and not really caring about what the consequences might be. The one that feels like she can do it all on her own as long as she has Alexa on her side no one else matters.

Alexa spent her entire life trying to balance her world. She's the proverbial good twin, she follows the rules, is kind, and does her best to be a good person and try and fix the problems that she has, and she has a lot of them, the world, her mom, dad, and her sister. And even with those challenges she was doing well until she starts remembering, finding things she had done that she doesn't remember doing, finding horrible things that she blames on Beth but in the end has to take accountability for if only that journal had stayed hidden, or been destroyed.

These sisters were tied together in ways that most people will never understand, both in life and in death, Alexa knows she should say goodbye to Beth but how can she, it's easier to just go with the flow, she better than anyone knows you don't want to see Beth angry.

Even Dr Greer, the one person that tried to help both Alexa and Beth couldn't break the bond of these sisters, Alexa had to be the one to do that, but the good Doctor did everything he could to help in every way he could.

Their lives crash together with the force of a hurricane thanks in part to a man, a man that wanted to be famous, no matter the cost, who used what he knew about Alexa and Beth to not only get into their lives, and Alexas heart, but to get into their heads as well and that's a very dangerous place to be, no matter who you are.

I may have only read 3 books so far this year, but this is my first 5 star and I can't wait to read more by this author.

There are some trigger warnings I feel the need to address, mental illness, murder, and animal cruelty.

This is a debut psychological thriller with some pretty hefty twists that had me hooked from the beginning.

I listened to this on audio, the narration by Marnye Young was brilliant.

Told from the POV’s of twins Alexa and Beth Martin we delve into the minds of these characters. Tackling complicated family relationships, histories and secrets. I loved the plot, although I figured out one of the twists early on, the rest of the them were mind blowing and the ending was amazing!!

There are many references to the current Covid pandemic that I felt were a bit jarring and sometimes pulled me out of the story. (Maybe it’s also just me and a little too soon.)

The novel highlights and tackles mental health and social media issues that I found compelling and interesting, and I could not stop until I finished. It was a quick read/listen (depending on your listening speed 😉) at only 248 pages.

Overall a fabulous debut and great suspenseful thriller.

Thank you kindly to NetGalley, the author and Greenleaf Publishers for this advanced reading copy.

I will remember this book. I felt at times to not be very engaged and ready to put it down. I had it figured out and honestly thought well this is a let down. Same old book, same plot, what in the world is the hype? Then BANG….. the ending of sorts had about 4 different twists that I never saw coming. They just kept coming and my brain was like who, what, why, when.

On to the story…
Alexa lives with her father, who obviously loves her so much. She also has a therapist who cares for her and has treated her for years since a horrific tragedy. Alexa is finally on the edge of everything she’s always wanted, a great job, an apartment away from her dad’s watchful eye, and a wonderful boyfriend. Too much perfect? Yes, enter her estranged twin sister, Beth, fresh out of a mental hospital.

Beth and her share a very deep secret that caused Beth to be in long term care and Alexa to need a therapist like air. Will this secret destroy all of Alexia’s new found happiness or will it destroy her? The answer is as shocking as it is complex.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in return for a honest review.

Alexa has lived with her overprotective father ever since her mother died. She longs to be independent from both her father and her twin sister, Beth. She finally gets her break when she lands a job in the city and moves into her own apartment. Her life is finally playing out the way she’s always dreamed of until her sister shows up at her new apartment. Alexis hopes it is just a temporary situation because she’ also has a new boyfriend. She met Curt through her marketing firm who had been retained by them to boost his influencer status on YouTube. Beth does not want Alexis involved with him because some online sleuthing has revealed a sketchy past. How far will Curt go to prove himself?

This book was a thrilling listen! I couldn’t stop once I started. The first half set up the scene of what was to come in the second half and let me just say OMG!

This was a fast, short read (or should I say listen?) with some great twists. I found it very entertaining. Snag this “read now” on #Netgalley for your kindle or as an audiobook!

I received this book to review and will give my very honest review.
"Do You Follow?" is a book that gave me a moment of surprise. This book is about twins and their life. Alexa is the twin being arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. Her twin Beth did murder her boyfriend and not it is to prove her innocence. While reading the book and emphasizing with Alexa the one turn and surprise in the story comes. I don't want to enclose more however one thing is sure. I truly enjoyed this book. It is a really good story written in a very engaging way.

I also had the audiobook received through NetGalley and enjoyed the narrator and how the story was read,

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

• quick read/listen
• alternating POVs
• compelling plot

A book whose main character shares my name! That's a first. ☺️ I really enjoyed the first half of the book. But around when the trial came around, it sort of dragged for me. Thriller readers, definitely give this one a try! This is a debut, and I look forward to reading more from her.

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @greenleafbookgr for the opportunity to read and review this book via audiobook. All opinions are honest and my own.

A shocking event that traumatized twin sisters Alexa and Beth led them to spend time at a psychiatric facility as children. While Alexa has been able to heal and acclimate to everyday life now as a young woman in her 20’s, Beth has had more difficulty adjusting. Just as Beth finishes another stint at the psychiatric center and reunites with her sister, Alexa–in contrast–has flourished and gained more independence through a new job and apartment in the city. The sister’s bond grows strained and secrets come to light about the terrible night that has haunted them since they were nine years old.

Holy moly what a tale. I started listening to the audiobook without checking the synopsis to help kill time while doing chores, and I ended up really enjoying this story. My gripe with a lot of thrillers recently is that they can take too long to progress the plot and reveal interesting twists, but I thought this one was the perfect length. The pacing moved at a brisk speed and every passage had a purpose in moving the storyline along.

In terms of characterization, Alexa and Beth had distinct personalities that set them apart. Beth is direct, quick to anger, and has no problem speaking her mind, whereas Alexa is reserved and the more level-headed half of the duo. There is an influencer-type boyfriend who comes into the picture early on and serves as a buffer between the two sisters’ sometimes clashing personalities. There’s also a few chapters involving the doctor assigned to care for the sisters at the psychiatric facility. I found him particularly interesting and well-written because he had his moments of being sympathetic to Alexa and Beth’s situation but also his moments of pure focus on the medical aspect of their case as a scientific professional. But truthfully I was definitely a lot more invested in the interactions between Alexa and Beth.

The twist in the story obviously is what caused the sisters to end up at a psychiatric center at nine years old. It’s quite interesting so I won’t mention anymore and save any potential spoilers. What I do wanna mention is how the story goes beyond that night. I’m so used to thrillers unveiling a final twist to shock readers, and then fading to black, that it caught me off guard when I was reunited with the main characters and the story continued. Because this book leans on the shorter side, it didn’t feel like the author was dragging the story out. It rather felt like the full story had yet to be unveiled and there were more pieces of the puzzle to be discovered, which definitely excited me and kept me reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was satisfied where it ended. I haven’t read a lot of thrillers so I can’t say if the curveballs were predictable, but I personally enjoyed where the plot went and how each character reacted as the story went on. I thought the narrator of the audiobook did a wonderful job with highlighting the mounting tension between the sisters, and giving Alexa and Beth distinct voices. It’s a short read so if you’re looking for something quick to occupy some time definitely consider giving this one a try!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group Press for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Narrator rating: 3.5 stars
Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Oh boy was this one bananas… it’s a thriller full of uncertainty, paranoia and intensity. this is the story of two sisters, twins… who have had quite a traumatic childhood. They are adults now and trying to make it on their own. I think it’s better not to know details going in… but suffice it to say, you will have a few theories about what is going on… and you will probably be wrong.

Listening to it on audio it was important to try and listen to each chapter completely before stopping, otherwise it was hard to keep straight which sister was talking. They both have similar personalities so it is quite challenging to keep them apart when you were first getting to know them. About halfway you were starting to be suspicious but you’re not sure of him until that big reveal. When the twist happens, it is both surprising and not… But there is quite a bit of book to go after that happens. I do like the way things wrapped up nicely in the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to an advanced copy. All opinions above are my own.

You know, this might strike some readers as way to Byzantine, but I thought it was clever and well done.

Review copy provided by publisher.

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I’ll be honest, I requested this book based on just the cover and title. I’ve always been a fan of the “dark side of social media” trope, so I figured I’d enjoy it. The story ended up being more about Alexa and Beth’s relationship and dark past than about social media, but I enjoyed it just as much. The reader doesn’t really know what happened to Alexa and Beth as children, just that it was traumatic enough to send them both to a psychiatric facility. Alexa is finally out on her own and determined to live her life as a normal adult.

There isn’t a lot I can say without spoilers (beware, the Goodreads reviews are full of them!), but trust me that this is definitely a book you’ll want to pick up.

I enjoyed reading both Beth and Alexa’s perspectives. It was fun to try to piece together their history from the hints they both dropped. Unfortunately I guessed the main twist immediately, but there were multiple other twists that kept me on my toes. This is a quick, well-paced read that could easily be finished in a day.

I think Do You Follow? will really hit its stride a few years down the road. There were a few pandemic references along the lines of “back in 2020 when people wore masks and my hands were dry all the time from so much washing”. These were worded in a way that made it seem like the reader is past the pandemic, when obviously we aren’t. I think phrases like that will feel more comfortable a few years down the road–obviously it’s impossible to predict when it will end, and I understand the author’s wishful thinking that we’d be done with masks by 2022!

I liked the narrator, but it would've been easier to keep Alexa and Beth apart if she varied their voices more. They sounded pretty much the same to me in tone, and at times I forgot whose chapter I was listening to. Dr. Greer's chapters did sound different, but not the two sisters where it was more important.

There are some trigger warnings in this book, but they also serve as spoilers. Feel free to DM me if you want to know what they are!