Member Reviews
Thank you to @netgalley for this e-book, the first book I’ve read on my kindle!
This novel follows the cast and crew of a new reality TV show. It alternates between three characters POV. Dahlia is a WAG determined to carve out an individual identity from her NFL husband. It’s not long before the show starts to cause more detriment to her real life than anything else. Sabrina has all the riches she could wish for but when her daughter took her dad’s side in a public and messy divorce Sabrina became determined to get her reputation and daughter back. Lastly, we follow Zoe on the production team who is willing to stop at nothing to make sure the women put on a good show.
It’s the opposite of a love letter to reality TV, it shines a light on the ugliness that can happen behind the scenes of these shows. Kara Alloway was in the Real Housewives of Toronto so it’s interesting to see what she has to say about an industry she knows well. It has actually changed the way I think when I watch reality TV.
It was the equivalent of watching a reality TV show, light entertainment with a fair bit of drama. The writing style was quite basic but it was acceptable given the nature of the book. I didn’t see where the story was going and towards the end I found myself eager to read on to find out what was happening.
An easy, juicy read if you fancy something not too taxing!
This book was super Meta, but that made way more sense once I realized that the author had been one of the Housewives (from the Toronto housewives which I never watched). I loved the multiple POVs, and how each one had its own voice. This book will keep you reading until the very end!
What in the….. 😳
I finished this book in 3 hours, I could not put it down because I had to know the absolute lengths that Zoe would go to for “the moment.”
I think there’s a lot to be said about the misogyny coming from inside the house but honestly I’m so blown away that I can’t think of any of it.
I do know that it made me question the validity of every reality star “ villain” that has been painted.
Thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC.
Definitely a recommended read!
3.5/5, rounded down | Thank you NetGalley and Rebooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you’re a sucker for Real Housewives or a Bravo Babe like myself, this book is for you!!! Juicy gossip, a behind the scenes look into reality tv & drama, drama, drama!
Pick this up and enjoy it poolside or on the beach with a cocktail of your choice… an easy, enjoyable, and entertaining read!
It was like watching the backstage footage of a reality show! Good and messy. I enjoy it. A cute beachy read. With drama and suspense. And everything in between
In 'Most Hated' by Kara Alloway, the glitz and glamour of reality TV collide with the harsh realities of life, providing readers with an intriguing glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of fame and its consequences. Reading this book reminded me of watching The Bachelor and Co. with my friends back when I could handle the sycophantic behaviour of the contestants. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I have grown up and away from watching this kind of television, however, I did enjoy the brief return to that world through this book. I felt like shaking the characters' shoulders due to their naivete, but I think that is a representation of the juicy, yet realistic, plot!
The premise of this was very interesting to me, but I didn’t think the execution lived up to it. As a person working on reality TV research, I was ready to be immersed, but this story wasn’t gripping enough to keep me engaged.
4 stars. This was addicting and finished it one sitting- truly my favorite types of books! Thanks netgalley for the oppty to read this one! All reviews are my own.
I love a good reality show, and have gobbled up multiple books about the behind-the-scenes drama on these reality sets (fiction and non-fiction) and this one was great!!
I wasn't aware until afterwards that the author was a part of the Real Housewives franchise as I haven't watched all of the cities -- but wow what a great fictionalized version of the show...it makes you wonder how much of this is the truth of what she's experienced on set.
Somehow you hate and yet feel empathy toward these characters, and while wishing something bad would happen to expose a character or two - I also found myself feeling protective of them too. All in a good reality show, right?
I would have loved more perspectives of the other show participants, but really enjoyed the perspectives we were given. As a reality TV fan, I knew there would be a lot of manipulation by production and it was fun to get to be in the mind of Zoe, the young PA on set.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Like most of America, I love watching trashy reality tv for the drama between people who are nothing like myself. And I think we all know that most of it probably isn't real, but Kara Alloway did a wonderful job at showing what goes on behind the cameras. The pacing was a little off in a few places, particularly at the end, but overall I really enjoyed the story. Ms, Alloway helped shine a spotlight on the lengths people will go to for fame or notoriety, and it's not always the people in front of the camera that are the ones creating drama.
I liked this book alot! Fun plot, engaging characters. It was a great and quick read - and a palate cleanser from the titles I was reading before! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this author's writing style.
I give this book 2.5 stars. The writing was good, but I do not think I am the right reader for this. I love reality TV but felt it was hard to follow at some points. Unfortunately, I DNFed the book. The blurb about the book seemed as if it would have been a book that was written for me, but it did fall flat. I can see how some people love this book, though, as it is filled with drama and is fast-paced.
I recommend this to people who want a fast-paced reality TV summer read and can simultaneously keep track of many different characters.
A fun read and and insight into reality TV and how it really screws over the women that go in it. The characters were great - especially Budgie. I’m not a reality TV watcher but this worked really well. Will look out for this author too.
Recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and the author for the ARC.
Most Hated seems to be an appropriate title for this book. I hated them all. I know that was probably the point, but I had a hard time staying invested or caring about the characters because they were all awful people.
I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
This book was a mixture between Real Housewives and Unreal tv shows. The story was told through the perspective of a producer on a reality show and a couple of the contestants on the show. The first half of the book I found really difficult to get through. It was slow and I didn't connect with any of the characters. The Producer was the villian and the contestants were all various stereotypes from women on reality tv shows. At the halfway point it got interesting and there were times where I identified with a couple of the ladies on the show and if not, at least was rooting for them. Before that I didn't care much for any of the characters and wasn't sure I wanted to continue with the book.
I had predicted the ending so it wasn't a big shock to me. As someone who is well versed in the world of reality tv it only made sense to flip the script the way the author did. I was rooting for this ending otherwise I would have really not liked this book.
If you are a reality tv show fan this could be a fun, beach read if you want to get your fix while lounging by a body of water.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rebooks for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and re:books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
2.5 stars.
I think I was the wrong audience for this book. From the blurb on NG, it sounded very intriguing to me, but as I was reading, I remembered that I don’t like reality TV. Don’t know how I forgot about that. It was a struggle to get through this book because I didn’t emotionally connect with any of the characters or the plot points. It seemed like a really really bad, boring soap opera—and I actually like soap operas—and I was just never able to care for these characters. Maybe that was the point. Again, I don’t believe I was the right person to read this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who actually like reality TV shows like the one Alloway presents.
Okay, this was a really interesting, super meta read for me. I knew I had to read this book when I read the description, and I lapped it up in a few days (even if there was some post-traumatic stress involved). Let me explain!
I was on a reality show years ago, and I was the villain. Boy did I get a bad edit! I remember several moments during filming thinking, "Are producers working against me here? My castmates?" The cast members talked about how they were being prompted to do things, we felt like we were being filmed constantly, etc. And then I got off the show and watched "Unreal" and I knew when learning about the behind-the-scenes and production, that I was royally screwed for when the show came out.
And boy was I right - not sure what I did to production, specifically to my producer, but they went in on me.
Anywho, this book surrounds a group of women that look similar to the Real Housewives of New York. You're hearing specifically from three women who are trying to change up their lives, reinvent themselves if you will, through reality television. And they end up way over their heads with overzealous producer Zoe, who reminded me SO MUCH of my own producer, phew. Take it from someone who went on reality television - obviously there has to be some hyperbole here, but I felt like I was right back on the set of "The Bachelor."
And as I read Zoe's character, I immediately had the same thought as I did all those years ago when I thought about my experience with production - how do they sleep at night? I really resonated with this quote at the end, when one of the women tried to make peace with what Zoe did to the women: "I yearned to find a way to pity her but found that the empathy would not come."
Reality television lovers - grab this one off the shelves!
Thank you to NetGalley and Rebooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s no secret that in reality television, the magic ingredient is almost *always* woman vs woman conflict. We learned all about the psychological warfare women are willing to use against one another in an attempt to get ahead in the book Queen Bees and Wannabees, which later turned into the film Mean Girls. And like ancient Romans at the Colosseum, we continue to show up and watch women devour each other with a sickening delight. Most Hated not only examines the ways in which women are pitted against each other for television ratings, but examines how women are viewed by society in general.
Quick summary: A group of wealthy women are cast in a new reality tv show. They’re at the mercy of a ruthless producer who will stop at nothing from getting ratings. What are they willing to risk in exchange for screen time? A marriage? A loved one? Self-dignity? Kara Alloway, of Real Housewives of Toronto, delivers a dramatic and soapy read sure to please!
This one goes out to all of my reality TV fans! Whether you choose to indulge in Bravo, The Bachelor, Big Brother, The Kardashians, or any of the other reality shows out there, fans of reality television will love this book.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC.
This book was 100% meant for the reality TV super-fan. I am not one of those.
It’s an easy, beachy read (the amount I finished, anyway), but I just wasn’t captivated by it. I think if I was a big Real Housewives fan or something like that I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I just couldn’t get into it.
Not a bad book but just not meant for me. DNF @ 30%.
A fun beach read that’s perfect for fans of reality tv. This book is full of twists and turns, interesting characters ( many you love to hate) and a surprise ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Kara Alloway for the ARC.