A teenage Instagram celebrity grows up to become a washed-up middle-aged woman working a retail job selling beauty products to other women her age. Heavily focused on societal norms and expectations of beauty, this pretty much sums up the novel. Throw in some #metoo introspection and plastic-surgery regrets, and you have a decent setup for what could be an exciting plot.

Unfortunately for me, this story didn’t go where I wanted it or thought it would go. It was pretty vague throughout, only giving snippets of her past life and current life, which made me want more of the specifics of her once bountiful celebrity status.

I also was a bit underwhelmed with the Aesthetica procedure as it should have been more of the focus and one of the reasons this novel intrigued me in the first place.

Otherwise, an ok read. Not one I would pick up again or buy for a friend, though.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Anna is 35 & reflecting on her life as an Instagram influencer. A life that has left her empty, altered by plastic surgery, and longing for the relationships she jeopardized along the way. Looking for rebirth & new beginnings, Anna turns to a new & high-risk surgery, Aesthetica, which reverses past plastic surgery procedures & returns the patient to their pre-work self. On the night before her surgery Anna receives a message urging her to speak up against her ex-boyfriend/manager/abuser. This message sends her into a spiral of past memories & trauma forcing her to rethink all past decisions.

This was such a new & unique read for me. I have never explored the life of an Instagram model/influencer & the lengths people are willing to go for that blue check mark floored me. Massive parties, addictions, & ruined relationships became Anna’s life when she became involved with known Instagram influencer, Jake. It was sad to watch what Anna felt she had to do to maintain the love of Jake & her followers.

Motherhood & friendship was also an important aspect of the novel. Anna & her mother were in a constant battle of what feminism means to them, which was an interesting dichotomy. Anna’s mother was also demonized by Anna & the people around her for being concerned for her daughter, which shows the toxic life that Instagram culture can sometimes come with. However, Anna’s relationship with her childhood best friend Leah felt useless at times. I was unsure why this relationship was included at times besides showing how isolating this lifestyle can be. & to be a look into the life Anna could have had.

I wanted to reach through the book & shake Anna to realize her worth & the relationships she was giving up due to the very real addiction to social media. Anna became so obsessed with how people perceived her online, that she lost sight of the opinions & relationships that really mattered. This book successfully showed how consuming & stripping social media can be.

Overall, I very much enjoyed her writing & found the premise to be executed well. Important topics such as illness, sexual assault, eating disorders, abuse, addiction, feminism, social media, relationships, & so much more are explored in this novel. What a wonderful fiction debut! Can’t wait to read more from her.

Thank you to Netgalley, Soho Press, & Allie Rowbottom for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I am left absolutely floored by this novel. It was so much more than I expected on every level (and so much smarter than the flap copy might suggest!). An insightful look into influencer culture, and the lengths one will go to become somebody. Rowbottom's prose is brilliant; at a sentence-level, this novel is sharp, each sentence carrying incredible heft. Though the novel is often funny, the heartbreak and grief greatly outweigh the humor. It is a #mettoo story as well, though that particular thread takes the backseat as Rowbottom is more interested in tackling first and foremost the many other threads to celebrity and beauty culture (she smartly also defies the standard #metoo novel conventions in many ways). The novel reminded me of Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk, though the prose is far more reminiscent of T Kira Madden's memoir.

Anyway, thanks so much for the e-galley!

Wow. The fact I choose this book and couldn't stop reading it (finished in a day/night), is what make NetGalley work for authors (as well as readers/book industry). The ability to "try" books that we wouldn't normally seek out.
Aesthetica is beautifully written. Artful.
It's the story of status, "influencers," addictions to social media, status, surgery.
A few sex scenes (which I tend to shy away from in books) - however, tastefully done, and a needed "character" if you will, in the story.
Our girl Ann grows by the end of the story, but how much?
It's a warning, a heeding, a tragic tale, but also, a beautiful written book.

Prediction: Upon it’s release in November Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom is going to become (somewhat ironically) an instant classic in the Hot Girl Fiction genre I keep seeing everyone talk about and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. It feels funny - strange as well as the lol kind of funny - to be sharing my review of this on Instagram but here we are. I loved everything about it and couldn't put it down. I felt like the author went into my brain and pulled out all of the most specific social media morsels and references and put them on the page. You are with our narrator (@annawrey) in every room, in every situation, during every experience, conversation and moment from her rise to near-viral social media status, through her journey of surgical self "improvement", then back down the other side of the hill, coping with loss, reckoning with the life and people she left behind and trying to get herself (her mind, her life and body) back together. You guys, I do not envy influencers who have to fully share themselves - their bodies, their entire lives - online, it seems phony as hell. For anyone who's wondered what even is the deal with these tummy tea endorsements or what goes on in the actual minds of the women paid to surround Dan Bilzerian on his IG feed, this is for you.

This was a step-outside my comfort zone book for me but boy, was it well written. Brutal, honest, emotional and real. I’ve never read anything before like this. The expectations of Instagram influencers laid bare and a stark reminder to remember what’s right and what what we have.
Allies writing is exquisite. You’re in her world, smelling the smells and experiencing what is written on the pages. Thank you for this.