As Anna waits for surgery to undo all her past cosmetic procedures, she reflects on her brief time as a social media influencer. At 35, she now works at a cosmetics store, but when she was 19, she moved to LA with dreams of fame. She didn’t anticipate the industry would chew her up and spit her out so quickly. The procedure she's awaiting, called Aesthetica, aims to reverse her Botox, fillers, and nose jobs in one high-risk operation. Disillusioned with the beauty world, Anna yearns to return to her true self and sees this surgery as the first step. The book is beautifully written, exploring the obsession with likes, followers, and brand deals during Instagram's peak. It delves into societal beauty standards, feminine rage, and the abuse of power. The author handles Anna’s character with sensitivity, avoiding harsh judgment. This debut is incredible, and I eagerly anticipate the author's next work. Many people I know are consumed by social media, starting their days with it and remaining glued to their screens. It’s a bit depressing, but we’re all addicted. The book delves into the mind of someone chasing the glamor of social media fame, willing to do anything for more followers or a collaboration. This compelling read kept me hooked, capturing my thoughts entirely. Anna is a relatable character, owning her mistakes and growing from them, making her someone you can easily connect with. "Aesthetica" is a powerhouse of a book that leaves a lasting impact.

Published in a rash of novels regarding social media culture, I think this one stands out for excellent writing. The main character is likable. Maybe we're not supposed to totally relate to someone who's so wrapped up in followers and plastic surgeries, but...she's relatable.

Goodreads Summary: "At 19, she was an Instagram celebrity. Now, at 35, she works behind the cosmetic counter at the “black and white store,” peddling anti-aging products to women seeking physical and spiritual transformation. She too is seeking rebirth. She’s about to undergo the high-risk, elective surgery Aesthetica™, a procedure will reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, returning her, she hopes, to a truer self. Provided she survives the knife.

But on the eve of the surgery, her traumatic past resurfaces when she is asked to participate in the public takedown of her former manager/boyfriend, who has rebranded himself as a paragon of “woke” masculinity in the post-#MeToo world. With the hours ticking down to her life-threatening surgery, she must confront the ugly truth about her experiences on and off the Instagram grid.

Propulsive, dark, and moving, Aesthetica is a Veronica for the age of “Instagram face,” delivering a fresh, nuanced examination of feminism, #metoo, and mother-daughter relationships, all while confronting our collective addiction to followers, filters, and faux realities."

This book was a WILD ride. I was very intrigued by the story because of how the pandemic has made everyone so obsessed with social media and wanting to keep up with the latest trends. This book will make you realize that you should put down your phone and enjoy your life.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom.

Uuuugh, I don't know how to feel about this one!

First off, if you want a bleeeeak picture of the life of a beauty/aesthetic influencer, here you go. It's brutal, it's relentless, and it will never feel young/thin/curvy/hot enough. However, if you want that lifestyle, you should do it! And you should get the plastic surgeries, it's your body, it's your life. But on your journey, be very careful and wary of anyone who might want to take advantage of your image/body/money/psyche/confidence/sense of power. They may be the cause of your downfall.

Is basically a lot of the message in this book. On top of that, the writing style lost me a lot, so I was never quite sure where in the timeline I was.

I appreciated a lot of the messaging in the story, and I won't lie when I say that I too have a sick fascination with this whole new world of making an honest living as an influencer, beauty of not. But this also left me feeling so hollow, which may have been what the author was trying to do, but not exactly how I want to feel when reading a book

This wasn’t for me, but I definitely see the appeal! I struggled to connect- but that may have been the point? i did think the social commentary of present was interesting!

Thank you so much @netgalley & @ HighBridge Audio!

This book was an interesting take on the influencer world and what happens when trying to be the perfect Instagram model goes too far. I thought the concept was unique and it drew me in, but the execution fell a bit flat. I wanted more exploration of the present day timeline to balance out the time we spent in the past, and I wanted to see the consequences/aftermath of the MC confronting her former manager. The audiobook narrator was good and I thought that besides the reading of social media comments, it was an enjoyable experience listening.

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom is a very of the moment novel about a social media influencer who gets sucked into trying to perfect herself with procedures and substances. I was immediately drawn to this novel by its bright cover. And as someone who spends a lot of time on social media I’m interested in this topic. I liked how this novel portrayed the darker side. It’s told in alternating timelines that could get confusing sometimes. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Chelsea Stephens and her voice complemented the main character very well. I would be interested to see what Rowbottom writes next.
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Thank you to HighBridge Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!

First book finished in 2023! What we see online is often not reality. This book was an interesting look at social media influencers and the perils of this glamorous yet superficial lifestyle.

Anna is now 35 years old and is working at a cosmetic counter at a department store. She is scheduled to undergo a procedure to reverse all of her cosmetic surgery she's had since 19 years old when she was a famous influencer with thousands of followers. However on the eve of this risky surgery, she is asked to help take down her former boyfriend/manager Jake. This brings up a traumatic past that involved the darker side of on and off Instagram.

The publisher likens this story to Rebecca and I would agree with this comparison. It was a dark and uncomfortable read that illustrated how young women can be manipulated by men for online fame and fortune. It also explored the fine line between influencing and prostitution.

Definitely a unique book and one that I'm glad I read although I wasn't blown away by the way it was executed. It jumped around too much, making the flow a bit clunky.

Thank you to Netgalley and HighBridge Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that give a peek behind the curtain, and Aesthetica does exactly that. Anna is an influencer, making her way up the ranks of Instagram stardom with the help of her boyfriend and manager, Jake. Told by Anna at 19 and then Anna in her thirties, Aesthetica examines mother-daughter relationships, the #metoo movement at it's beginning, and the cost of influencer fame.

This book gave me what I wanted and didn't get from Florence Given's book, released earlier this year. It was raw and real, and I will be honest and say I was big baby boo-hooing near the end. I really appreciated seeing the contrast of the dynamic between Anna and her loved ones (namely, her mother) and Anna and her industry relationships.

If you liked NSFW by Isabel Kaplan or Followers by Megan Angelo, this is where you need to go next!

Thanks so much to @highbridgeaudio, @sohopress, @netgalley and @allierowbottom for an ALC of Aesthetica in exchange for my honest thoughts

“Procedures are not the only measure of transformation, nor is instagram.”

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting out of this book but I was pleasantly surprised! I feel like this is an important read especially with todays society and social media. It really sheds a light on Instagram influencers and what can go on behind the scenes. Always remember things aren’t always as they seem!

With a dual timeline it goes back and forth between past and present. The present being the former influencer about to undergo surgery to reserve previous procedures she’s done to her body, and the past when she was becoming a instagram celebrity and the trials she went through to get to where she is today.

A good read, with good underlying messages!

What a wonderful, thoughtful, ORIGINAL, little book. Plus with a gorgeous cover like that, you know I’m picking it up! .

When Anna was 19, she became a super popular Instagram influenced and became caught up in everything that went with it, including the “look.” After going under the knife and having tons of procedures done in her youth, she’s now 35 and having a new treatment done called Aesthetica that erases all the cosmetic work you’ve ever had done. Right before the surgery she’s asked to help take down her abusive ex-boyfriend who was her manager and “made her” who she was.

Needless to say, Anna is working on some DEMONS as she prepares to find herself by seeing her face as it would have been and hopefully in turn, seeing herself spiritually and mentally as she would have been before the trauma of her young adulthood.

Oooh, this book still has me thinking - about obsession with youth, who is Anna’s truest self, would I ever have cosmetic work, why is influencer culture so enticing to us as a society, is getting work done feminist or anti-feminist or does it depend on your attitude about it?

One of my favorite things about this book is how well our author portrayed the seductive nature of social media - dopamine high of refreshing and getting likes, the uptick in followers, the careful caption consideration, the filters, the formulaic influencer approach. I’m still in awe of how raw and cringe-y those parts were.

Like, I’m ready to have a full-on book club discussion about this read. This is Rowbottom’s debut book and man, did she hit it out of the park with this one.

Aesthetica is a novel I was not expecting. I was mentally prepared for more satire or speculative fiction, and instead found a frank, brutal look at influencer culture, drug use, sexual abuse, and maternal loss. It is timely and hard to read.
That doesn’t make it bad, but difficult. It is a mirror to instagram, set not in the future, but the very present. The speculative nature exists in the future where all the plastic surgery and botox can be reversed. It is that promise of return, the promise of an aged face our main character holds onto.
It is a bit Edible Woman, and a bit Fresh, where women are just bodies to be used, by themselves or those gatekeepers to fame and fortune. The all too familiar buzz of the phone, the buzz of likes, and the buzz from the drugs is all blended together to paint a portrait of Dorian Gray in reverse.

I listened to this during some car rides back and forth from Cleveland recently, and this was a perfect mind-numbing escape. This is the kind of story that I see being the future of this genre, ripe with social commentary that challenges beauty standards, societal pressures on women and their bodies, and social media in general. I felt like the premise was wild but somehow Allie Rowbottom pulled it off in a way that many other likely could not have.

This was a perfect blend of thrilling medical science fiction and literary social commentary. I enjoyed every second of the audiobook and found the narrator engaging and precise. Totally recommend.

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom is a dual timeline novel that follows the burgeoning career of a 19 year old influencer and her fifteen years later, when she is about to undergo a procedure that is purported to reverse all her prior plastic surgeries. It's a fascinating deep dive into the Instagram influencer lifestyle. Influencers are supposed to look perfect and have enviable lifestyles that seem effortless. Though the narrator seems self-assured and views herself as mature and gaming the system, she falls prey to ways to "enhance" her looks to become more marketable. It was a disturbing look into a world of money and influence that preys on girls with little to no repercussions. It was hard for me to connect with the main character, but the story moves swiftly and kept my attention. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly narrated by Chelsea Stephens.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The topic of this book was really interesting. Most of the book did feel like ranting about becoming an instagram influencer. But the book definitely has layers and a look at society as mother-daughter relationship. While I thought the narration was good, it took me longer than usual to get into it. Some parts I wanted more depth, some parts I wanted less.
Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge for the ALC

4 or 4.5 stars, I can’t decide. I feel like this book was made for me to be honest. I am obsessed with how social media is creating our downfall and the complicated mother/daughter relationship, plus incredible writing by Allie Rowbottom that makes you want to read and finish it ASAP because it’s that good! The only reason this isn’t 5 stars because I had a tough time realizing when the main character was in the past or present, but once I figured that out, it was such a great reading experience. Definitely recommend if you are interested in hating evil men, the bad side of social media, crazy influencer parties, the negative side of plastic surgery, and complicated mother/daughter relationships.

Honestly, I truly just did not enjoy this audiobook. 50% of the way through the book and nothing has happened. There's no true plot line. I feel like it was just a rambling monologue on becoming an instagram influencer.

Influencer @ AnnaRay is desperate for likes, comments, and all the fire emoljis. She meets Jake, her “manager” and embarks on her Instagram journey full of plastic surgery procedures, fillers, Botox, and drugs. Years later she is undergoing a new procedure, Aesthetica TM to undo everything she has done. But is that just the new trend?

A sad story about society, social media culture and how far people will go to be “Liked”, but this book was just kinda all over the place and went nowhere for me. I didn’t like the protagonist much and there’s some sidebar mom story as well that I wasn’t invested in. There’s some great reviews for this one if you want to give it a try, but it didn’t work for me.

"Aesthetic" by Allie Rowbottom is a powerful debut novel!

Social media does crazy things to people in their drive to gain followers. Nineteen-year-old Anna's insatiable drive to be an influencer takes her from her mother's home in Houston to the unknown of L.A. and directly into the clutches of sex, drugs, and addiction.

Anna refers to herself as a model, but is it really modeling or something else? Is her boyfriend really her manager or is he something else? There's Botox, breast implants, and multiple cosmetic surgeries. "It'll make you look younger and more salable" they tell her!

She's obsessed with everything about the life she's enters. It's like the air she needs to breathe. As she shares her life on social media her followers continue to increase exponentially. Tick, tick, tick... Then something happens that rattles her world...

This story is told in two timelines in the first-person voice of Anna:
- Nineteen-year-old Anna as the social media influencer
- Thirty-five-year-old Anna remembering her past

This is a powerful debut novel. It's raw and ugly, honest and frightening, and you have a good sense that the author does not want to hold anything back. Her writing is beautifully descriptive and the topics are dark and edgy.

The audiobook narrated by Chelsea Stephens is an enlightening listening experience where you hear what feels like an authentic voice of Anna telling her story. The narrator does an amazing job!

A memorable story and listen that, perhaps, everyone should read or listen to as a reflection of the times we live in. I know I will definitely be looking forward to what this talented author comes up with next and I highly recommend this audiobook to one and all! 4.25 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, HighBridge Audio and Allie Rowbottom for an ALC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Florence Given should read this. Obviously it does not touch on all of the same issues, but I feel this accomplished what Given did not. This found a way to create similar types of characters without making it feel like a promotion or a public shaming. It was a realistic observation of the cycles of social and aesthetic trends and the possible dangers. Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for the ARC.