I’m almost afraid to write a review for this book 😅. Just kidding because I enjoyed it. This was a thrilling read centered but scary look at the realities of the internet and social media. Robyn Harding is definitely an auto read author for me.

This is a great intro book into thrillers. While I enjoyed it didn’t give me the wow factor like the drowning woman did. For me I wanted more thrill

In Robyn Harding’s novel, The Haters, high school counselor Camryn Lane has just had her first novel, Burnt Orchid, published. Camryn is divorced and shares custody of her daughter Liza with her X. Camryn also has a younger lover, Theo, and feels that she’s on top of the world…. until a nasty email from a woman who calls herself Ingrid Wandry accuses Camryn of exploiting the “psyches and crises of your vulnerable public school students to make a few bucks.” Yet Camryn insists (to her editor, agent, and basically anyone who will listen) that the book is fiction and is concerning homeless kids living on the mean streets of LA. Then a scathing review written by “I.W.” turns up, and things go downhill from there.

The story is told partially by Camryn but it includes excerpts of her novel. The “novel” is not exactly well written so perhaps the nasty reviews are spot on. But hey.. let’s go with the flow here: Camryn is a first time author. She has no fan base yet so readers and more importantly potential readers see the flood of nasty reviews and there goes Camryn’s new career. While her agent tells her that the reviews are no biggie and these things happen, Camryn decides to sleuth this on her own, and of course things go from bad to worse. Convinced that this is personal, Camryn gets advice from other writers and begins to distrust those around her.

Although Camryn is a victim here, I did not find her character appealing. She’s a little too smug and toyboy Theo is living proof of that. It’s obvious that she’s hiding something and that the review vendetta is personal. As a reader, I find it easy to sympathize with an author who feels defenseless against armchair critics/readers, and in these days of social media, where privacy no longer exists, Camryn finds that it’s just not her book that’s under attack–it’s her personal life too. But in spite of the high stakes for Camryn, I never engaged with her dilemma or felt much beyond mild interest. I seem to be in the minority here as most readers loved the book.

review copy

When I read Camryn Lane's first novel, I was immediately pulled in by the addictive and current plot, which highlights the overwhelming impact of social media. After the novel’s release, it was met with negative reviews and personal accusations, and I could feel the tension when the author was told by her publishing team to stay off social media. I wondered about the author’s motives and how she would navigate the situation.

The portrayal of the publishing industry felt spot on, and the social media scandal was very relevant to today’s world. While I found the chapters of the main characters engaging and well-placed throughout the book, the secondary characters didn’t have the same depth, and their side stories felt a bit underdeveloped.

I was disappointed by how the book built up to a significant plot twist I had already predicted. The reveal at the end fell flat because of that. Despite this, the novel kept me entertained and engaged from start to finish, and its timeliness made it a compelling read.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy for an honest review.

While not my favorite book by this author, I did enjoy the book reviewer stalker premise. It was fun! It’s a slow build thriller and some stuff really creeped me. I can’t imagine being an author dealing with that.

I got tricked and I liked that part too. Solid thriller here and I’ll always read this authors books. Keep them
Coming Robyn.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this one.
3.5✨

THE HATERS is a perfect popcorn thriller. Nothing too intense, but it keeps your attention throughout. There were so many times I wanted to yell at the main character for the decisions she was making, but all in good fun. Definitely a quick book to read when you’re looking for something fun.

Camryn Lane has just published her first novel. She is out celebrating when she receives an email on her authors account. The email is nasty and accusatory. Then a one star review appears on the popular READEM book site. Then more and more one star reviews appear. Then online harassment rears it's ugly head and soon everything is leaking into her personal life and Camryn can't trust anyone. She's always wanted to be an author but her dream might end before it even begins.


Camryn is a high school counselor and she is being accused of using her students personal life stories for her book. The accusations are false but this doesn't stop trolling which only makes Camryn spiral further. Her obsession to clear her name and fight against the accusations that she exploits the students might be her undoing.

The Haters starts off strong and everyone is suspect but then it dwindles. It's difficult to keep up a high level of pace and interest in a book so this isn't necessarily a bad thing but it pulls you out of the book for a while. Camryn isn't a likable character but that works for this book and makes her more real.

The Haters is interesting and has creepy moments. It's worth taking the time to read.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this book, but I was let down a little bit. I feel like it's on the mediocre side, with the middle being the most interesting part. It will still be a forgettable book for me. It was suspenseful in places, especially when "the haters" or, really, "hater" appears. However, when the main character, Camryn, starts to investigate who this could be, her paranoia and even hysteria led her to make stupid, immature, and overall bad decisions. She also just wasn't likable, so these decisions she made didn't help her any. The ending did nothing for me. I didn't expect it and it was a bit silly of a choice, honestly. Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had such high hopes based on the author’s previous book but this was underwhelming. I found the Mac character to be rather annoying and the plot wasn’t spectacular so the combo of the two left me feeling disappointed.

This was such a page-turner that delves deeply into the psychological struggle of an author dealing with online harassment. I was glued to the page as I followed Camryn, a debut novelist try to figure out who is review-bombing her on Goodreads, sending her creepy messages, and making what should be an exciting time (first novel out in the world!) into one filled with dread and paranoia. I really understood all of Camryn’s choices, good or bad and stayed up late trying to figure out who was behind it all. Also, it was set in Vancouver! And captured it so well.

The Haters by Robyn Harding is a psychological thriller that delves into the dark consequences of fame and the perils of social media. The story follows Camryn, a high school counsellor turned author, who faces relentless harassment as she starts promoting her newly published book. Camryn's rise to success is abruptly interrupted when she begins receiving vicious online abuse and one-star reviews that accuse her of exploiting her students' personal stories in her novel. As the harassment escalates, Camryn's personal and professional life begins to unravel, leading her to a desperate quest to uncover the identity of her tormentor.

Robyn Harding's The Haters is a chilling, incisive look at the perils of fame and the destructive power of social media. With its compelling characters, timely themes, and suspenseful narrative, the novel is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. Harding's adept storytelling and keen insights into human behaviour make The Haters a thought-provoking and engaging read that will resonate with readers long after they've turned the last page.

What a bingeable read! I always find this to be true of Robyn's books. Fast paced, exciting and exactly what my mood wanted. It was such a good page turner. I loved the way she fused the world of books, writing and publishing with social media.

In this story, a new debut author finally got her dreams realized when her book was published. But it was short lived as she quickly started getting random, creepy messages and a particularly horrible one star review of her book brought on a slew of other ugly reviews and hate messages. This online harassment quickly infiltrated her personal life and no matter where she turned, she didn't feel safe.

This was the kind of book that made you think and I had a bunch of theories in my head while reading. I was on the right track, but ultimately I didn't guess the ending completely right. It was the perfect pace for me and I kept wanting to know more.

If you're a fan of Robyn's other books and if you like a good thriller, this will definitely be right up your alley. Check it out!

This story stressed me out often as Camryn's life was ripped apart after the publication of her first novel by vigilante "reviewers." While the story isn't directly taken from the headlines and social media, it's got enough truth in it that it might make any author pause. I still have some questions, and these are characters that get under your skin.

What A Wild Ride!!

Camryn Lane has just published her debut novel “ Burnt Orchid” which is a huge accomplishment and has been a lifelong dream! She’s a forty four divorcée with a teenage daughter, she works as a high school counselor as a day job and even her love life is looking up since she started dating a much younger handsome man!
She soon finds her joy is short-lived when she receives a hateful email from an unknown sender, which is then followed by a harshly worded one-start review on a popular book review site. Then a disturbing chain of events happens, non stop negative reviews, online trolling and harassment.
The situation escalates, her close relationships begin to suffer, people begin to cast down onto her professional ethics and integrity and it begins to look like she stands to lose everything she worked so hard to achieve. The story follows Camryn as she searches for the person targeting her, while she lives in fear on what is going to happen next. Could it be someone she knows or is there a stranger that could possible hate her this much? This book makes you stop and think about how your online actions have consequences. Like the saying goes.. “if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all!”

✨️Review: The Haters by Robyn Harding✨️

Rating: 4.25 🌙's

Overview: Camryn Lane finally has the career she's always dreamed of. She landed a publishing deal and her book is finally published. The only problem is she's got a lot of Haters on the internet right out of the gate. Could this be the end of her dream?

Opinions/Thoughts: This book hooked me from the beginning. We are all aware of the power of the internet and what it can do. It can make or break a career. It can rip your life apart.

I loved that there were unreliable characters all over the place. The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat and everyone seemed like a suspect to me. Those books are always the best to read because you fly through the pages begging to find out who is causing so much chaos.

I would most definitely recommend this: to any reader who loves unreliable main character’s. Also anyone who is afraid of the internets power and how real online attacks can become. Even if they aren't true they can destroy everything.

Thank you for hatchet books and netgalley for my ARC of this lovely book in exchange of an honest review.

This was eerily good. It was such an eye opener for how things can go so up and down from one moment to the next. I trusted no one and was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Such a good twisty thriller you won’t want to miss.

3.5 Stars rounded up

Ah, what a fun idea, an author, a bad review, and the hell-bent reviewer that takes the chance to take the author down. We hear about one star reviews, we hear about reviewers who won't read an authors work and who pull people to their side, but in the case of The Haters, Robyn Harding gives us a tale of one individual with a personal vendetta. It doesn't stop at negative reviews, soon Camryn Lane is compulsively refreshing, trying to hunt down the reviewer, and letting her life fall to shambles.

Camryn Lane should be celebrating her first release, she's worked hard on a gripping, fresh tale of youth in difficult situations, but it's underscored by a reviewer who shares Carmyn's position as a school counselor with the public and argues that the tale is that of her own students. It's a horrifying thought, especially as Robyn Harding weaves the book's chapters inbetween Camryn's own perspective. The reveal impacts Camryn's daughter, her work, her relationship with her former husband and his new wife. As she becomes increasingly obsessed with the one stars, Camryn becomes unreliable to those around her. While I followed her, I spent a lot of time shaking my head, for her position as a counselor, she isn't smart with her emotions and her actions. She makes poor decisions and creates more teen like drama than I was prepared for.

The concept is great for this novel, it's written in an incredible tense tone, but it feels like it misses some major holes. I didn't like Camryn, which didn't help, and the storyline turned to trivial odd drama rather than having a heavy impact twist. It was good, but not my favorite.

Good, quick thriller! Kept me guessing the whole way through- I suspected almost every single character and still didn’t guess the end.

So so good. A fast paced socially charged thriller that dives into the life of a new author, a bad review and the spiral into internet trolling. When the abuse begins to bleed into her real life, affecting family and friends the author begins a journey to find out the truth. Another best seller by Robyn Harding.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

What a crazy ride! You never know how much your opinions mean to someone else until it’s destroying their lives.

Camryn Lane finally did it. She wrote her first book and got it published. But the high of stardom is soon diminished by one bad review. But the reviewer isn’t just bad talking her book, she could handle that, the reviewer is calling her out on her ethics of being a school counselor as well. Camryn will go to any lengths to find this person as the reviews and attacks keep getting more and more personal. It’s not until she destroys all she holds dear trying to find this anonymous reviewer that she realizes the error in her ways.