A hater upends a debut author’s life in Robyn Harding’s latest twisted thriller.

Camryn Lane’s dreams are coming true—her first novel is published to acclaim from readers and the publishing industry alike. But her success is shattered by a scathing one-star review that quickly gains traction. Soon, daily accusations bombard her, fueled by a single, mysterious person. Who is this relentless reviewer, and why are they so determined to ruin Camryn?

As the bullying escalates, Camryn’s personal life starts to unravel. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands, but her well-intentioned actions backfire disastrously.

Harding crafts a razor-sharp narrative exploring the devastating impact of online bullying. Camryn’s story is a gripping cautionary tale, as terrifying as it is affecting. Her relatable, yet flawed decisions spiral her situation from bad to worse. Harding’s escalating tension and menacing atmosphere kept me riveted—I couldn’t look away.

With twists aplenty, this searing page-turner is not to be missed.

The Haters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Robyn Harding

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Camryn Lane is living her dream. After years of struggle and rejection, her first novel has finally been published. Her editor is happy; her teenage daughter is proud; and her boyfriend and friends are all excited for her. She’s on top of the world—until she receives a disturbing message from an unknown sender.

Rattled by the accusations she finds there, Camryn swallows the sick feeling in her stomach and resolves to put the missive out of her mind. But when she checks her ratings on a popular book site, she finds a scathing one-star review. The reviewer is so articulate and convincing that soon, Camryn’s book is flooded with bad reviews. Could the reviewer be the same person who sent the ugly email? And why do they want to ruin her?

As the online harassment creeps into Camryn’s personal life, she vows to find out who’s behind it. Is it really a disgruntled reader? Or could it be someone she knows? The troll’s actions are escalating, and when the abuse turns deadly, it will take everything Camryn has to unmask the enemy so intent on destroying her—and finally learn why she's being targeted.

My Thoughts: This is a book in a book story, which usually I am not a fan of, however, Hardy really did it well in this story. Lane’s new debut story, “Burnt Orchid,” has been labeled as a “brave new face in Fiction.” Lane’s novel was labeled as “chilling, heart wrenching and painfully authentic.” Lane is ecstatic with her family and friend’s excitement, and her editors and publisher’s approvals. She then gets an email from a reader that starts to change everything. Reader Wandry threw some heavy accusations towards her, then she sees a one star review on her book, which appears to be also Wandry. This one review escalates other readers into leaving similar reviews. The online harassment then bleeds into threats to Lane’s personal life. She does not know who she can trust and this crosses over into her personal relationships. Is the email and the reader the same person? Who would want to target and ruin her? Will getting to the bottom of this ruin her family?

The story is narrated in first person, in Camryn’s POV with parts of her book, “Burnt Orchid” sprinkled throughout the story. Camryn Lane is a debut author that carries some anxiety of being a new author and all of the nuances that come with it. Some of the choices that Camryn made were questionable as mashed up to her maturity level, but made for an interesting read. The reader was a bully in every sense of the word. The characters were developed with depth, mystery, suspicion, and were intriguing. The emotions of the characters came across as authentic and real. The author’s writing style was complex, poignant, twisty, suspenseful, unpredictable, well-crafted, and engaging, from cover to cover. The way the author tackled the sensitive subjects of online trolling and bullying combined with the victim’s mental health came across as relevant and very authentic. The characters were built up, some of the “book” was revealed throughout, the plot was developed in twisty layers, had plenty of heart gasping scenes, unsettling scenes, palpable suspense, and the ending was unpredictable and satisfying.

I was first introduced to Harding with “The Drowning Woman,” which was fantastic. Harding is a masterful storyteller that is able to weave twists in unexpected scenarios and springs the element of unpredictability when you think there are none. Hardy is an author to watch out for, as I know we will see good things from her. This story was chilling, gripping, compelling, unpredictable, dark, and disturbing, all elements for an amazing thriller ride. This was a fast-paced story’s, and it was hard to put this one down, it was one more chapter, just one more, and then all of the sudden it is 2am. I highly recommend picking this one up today!

Super interesting as a reader and online reviewer of books. Read The Followers by Bradeigh Godfrey if you liked this one!

Psychological thriller conveys the dark side of fame and social media.

At last, Camryn Lane has realized her dream of becoming a published author. She's so happy and proud of her success when "Burnt Orchid" is out, and the glowing comments start coming in. But then, a scathing message and a deluge of one-star reviews start flooding social media. In short order, Camryn's life spirals out of control and she flounders both personally and professionally as she is pummeled by haters and doxed by someone intent on destroying her life. Who is it and who can Camryn trust when it becomes obvious that the tormenter is someone close to her.

This was an interesting book premise, and I liked it well enough though less as the story evolved. I had a couple of issues with it, but mostly it was that I actually did not care for Camryn despite my initial sympathy for her plight. I also couldn't stand her teenage daughter and the behaviors of her other near and dear friends and acquaintances. Wow, such good family and friends. And I was totally uninterested in the book within a book -- the story of Orchid. It became increasingly obvious that the cause of all of this drama was very close. Another issue I had was the lack of real consequences and suitable punishment for the perpetrator(s). There was real and serious damage done.

This whole concept of the horrible things that can and do happen with posts on social media demonstrates how many, especially the young, cannot handle the dangers. The idea and truth that someone can easily be ruined and destroyed by strangers is strongly conveyed. It is quite scary, really.

I listened to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator did a decent job, but this production could have benefited from additional voices.

Definitely a page turner! From the first chapter this book is engrossing and entertaining. I found myself suspecting everyone. I did find the ending to be a bit predictable but i definitely enjoyed the ride!

Camryn Lane is a debut author who is quickly introduced to the dark side of publishing. Doxxed and harassed by an anonymous troll, Camryn stands to lose everything.

The majority of the book was about Camryn living through and trying to recover from said abuse. However, the story contains excerpts from Camryn Lane's book Burnt Orchid. Definitely a fun vibe.

I looooved the drowning woman and this was almost unreadable for me. The plot was not catchy, the twists were not clever, and I just didn't care fore the story as a whole.

The reality of this book is scary - it is absolutely something that could play out. Keyboard warriors taking things to a real-life level. My heart felt the emotions Camryn experiences as she navigates poor book reviews and scary messages. It's hard to feel safe when things start becoming real.

I love Robyn Harding and the way she writes her characters. Piece by piece, I am drawn to them. Her thrillers are perfect for anyone

This new summer thriller from the author of The Drowning Woman is one you will binge in one sitting! A new read to add to my summer book recommendations- you won't want to miss it.

This book is a take on social media, cancel culture and faceless internet trolls who can make or break a person. It's also a tongue in cheek commentary on how authors handle scrutiny. Camryn has just published her first book when someone leaves her a one-star review with serious accusations. Suddenly this troll has permeated her life and as a result her job, credibility and relationships are at risk. Though shocking, I didn't love the ending, but overall this was a fun, twisty read. My rating is 4.5 stars upgraded to 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Book Group Canada for my copies!

The Haters was a fun beach, domestic thriller! Some twists I anticipated and some I did not. I liked the school counselor aspect and felt her job was represented well. All in all, a fun read for summer!

I feel like the "meta" books in which authors write about being authors are getting a little overdone, but I have to say I really enjoyed The Haters. Addictive and readable, it featured an author who was being relentlessly harassed by someone. But who, and why? A really fun summer read that I enjoyed a lot!

How badly I wanted to love this book after adoring THE DROWNING WOMAN last summer. But alas, my streak of disappointing highly anticipated thrillers continues. 🥲

You guys know I always, always strive to be honest in my reviews. So while Harding’s writing style is great and super approachable, I have to admit this story left me quite underwhelmed.

The MC was a dumb lil bitch a lot of the time 🫠, and there weren’t really any twists? The big reveal at the end was, again, underwhelming.

I wanted a LOT more out of THE HATERS given how hyped I was for it. Can’t win ‘em all. Sigh.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars! Cameron is a high school counseled and she just finished writing her first book and it was recently published. Her book is about a girl named, Orchid who has a troubled life.

Cameron receives a nasty review about her book where the reviewer was claiming that she used what the students tell her confidentially in her book. Cameron claims that it isn’t the case but she continues to receive negative reviews and at times threatening messages.

Cameron is on a search to figure out who is threatening her and is starting to realize that it might be personal.

Overall it was a fun and quick read. If you’re trying to get out a reading slump, this would be good to read.

This was a fun ride!! Sad to see how powerful social media can be and how it can ruin someone’s life. I didn’t see the twist and flew thru the last half of the book. I loved the shorter chapters and chapter titles!

This book was a wild ride and I really enjoyed this book. A new author is stalked by someone who didn't like her book. If you were in this situation what would you do? I had alot of opinions of who the hater could be and didn't not guess at all
Who it did end up being. I love Robyn's writing style and can't wait to see what she has next.
Thanks to the publisher for my net galley copy for my honest review

I don’t care what Robyn Harding writes, I’m going to read it. The Haters is getting fantastic reviews and they are well-deserved. This book is so timely, centering on online harassment, particularly for a writer receiving horrible book reviews and comments online.

As a writer, it's the worst when someone writes a scathing review, but what happens when it's taken even further?

Camryn Lane is living her dream. After years of struggle and rejection, her first novel has finally been published. Her editor is happy; her teenage daughter is proud; and her boyfriend and friends are all excited for her. She’s on top of the world — until she receives a disturbing message from an unknown sender.

Rattled by the accusations she finds there, Camryn swallows the sick feeling in her stomach and resolves to put the missive out of her mind. But when she checks her ratings on a popular book site, she finds a scathing one-star review. The reviewer is so articulate and convincing that soon, Camryn’s book is flooded with bad reviews. Could the reviewer be the same person who sent the ugly email? And why do they want to ruin her?

As the online harassment creeps into Camryn’s personal life, she vows to find out who’s behind it. Is it really a disgruntled reader? Or could it be someone she knows? The troll’s actions are escalating, and when the abuse turns deadly, it will take everything Camryn has to unmask the enemy so intent on destroying her — and finally learn why she’s being targeted.

It took awhile to get going, but towards the end I was sucked in and couldn't wait to find out who the troll was. It wasn't who I thought, although I did predict a major twist. I loved the chapters of Camryn's book/Orchid's story that intertwined with the narrative.

A gripping suspense about a school guidance counselor and published author being harassed and stalked after her debut release where she was accused of sinister intentions like exploiting the confidences of children she works with at her day job. She goes to great lengths to figure out who is responsible for the attacks while the attacks get more brazen and personal and she fears for the safety of her and those close to her.

The plot is told interwoven between Cameron (FMC)’s present POV and passages from her book - which I thought was pretty neat and creative. I breezed right through this book in TWO days. Didn’t even guess the ending!

Thank you so much to Robyn, GCP, and NetGalley for the e-galley.

Unputdownable and Unpredictable!
Camryn Lane has finally done it! After years of struggle and rejection her first novel has finally been published. Camryn is thrilled and her family and friends are overjoyed for her. Or are they?
A disturbing message appears, from an unknown sender, bad reviews begin appearing and the online harassment seems to snowball.
Camryn vows to find whoever is behind trying to destroy her when things take a deadly turn.
A dark, twisted, excellent page-turner!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

After devouring The Drowning Woman, there was no way I would let this get past me. My review may sound a little odd - and honestly that’s ok this time …

Have you ever read a book that was so intense that made you so anxious because you were empathethic for the MC that the story basically crawled in behind your right eye and started creeping so that you could not stop reading or you would lose your ship? If not this one will get you. At 80% through I decided I would take a guess as to the outcome. At 95% I went to the bathroom and hid because I had to get finished.

Holy smokes this was so good. Like hold your breath who is doing this- good grief it could be anyone - I can’t take it - poor. Camryn.

Amazing. Just wow.

Thank you novel suspects for my gifted ARC of The Haters! After The Drowning Woman was one of my top thrillers of last year, I had to see what Robyn had in store for us this time! The Haters delivers what we have come to expect from Harding! Full of unexpected twists and high suspense, it’s a page turner that will keep you guessing until the end! As a bookstagrammer, I enjoyed the plot and concept of the book. It is a nice reminder to those who need it, that these authors work so hard on these books and take to heart some of the reviews. The bashing of books is so unnecessary in my opinion, if you don’t like a book that’s fine, but others may love it. That’s the beauty of a book! I have to say the highlight of this one was seeing my name in the acknowledgments! It never gets old!