Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley publishing for my gifted copy.

I inhaled this book! I loved reading about these pretentious influencers. The lengths in which they'd go for the attention and acceptance of strangers was absolutely wild and HIGHLY entertaining. Jesse Q. Sutanto wasn't afraid to be bold and shock readers. I love that the conclusion took a different direction than a lot of books would - and I'm here for a twisty ending!

I will be posting my full review on my Instagram closer to pub date.

I have to be especially careful how I review this book because I don't want to give anything away.... so I'll just say that sometimes I appreciate bravery and dedication to the endgame, even if I don't specifically like a character. The ending had me conflicted, but not necessarily in a bad way. Admittedly, I didn't particularly care for any of the characters- they was all pretty self serving and out of touch, but this is the rare book where that fact didn't cause me to dislike the actual book. Since it sounds as though I am speaking in riddles, I'll stop now.... but I'll definitely recommend this book. I couldn't put it down, and I don't think anyone else will be able to, either.

Hello, Toxic Friends!

Well, if you’re in the mood for toxic friends, diverse main characters, and over-the-top-holy-crap situations, this is the book for you!

This is pure popcorn from the very first page and it does not let up.

I was absolutely appalled by these people and friends I did not care! I wanted to read more and more and more. It’s just so deliciously vicious.

This is a blast of a book feature the WORST people living their WORST lives and I was so here for it!

• ARC via Publisher

Oh my god, You Will Never Be Me was such a fun/wild ride! I literally finished it in one sitting, unable to put it down. I was absolutely engrossed in Meredith and Aspen’s story and how everything was going to play out!

In the age of mommy influencers and family channels and just influencers in general it was so intriguing to see how things can take a dark turn all in the name of views and social media fame. this was so entertaining and dare I say I was rooting for the *bad guy* by the end possibly?

Y’all better not let this one flop!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

📜You Will Never Be Me
✍️Jesse Q. Sutanto
📠Berkley Publishing
📚Mystery/Thriller, Fiction
🗓️Pub date: August 20, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @berkleypub for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Also, thank you to @jesseqsutanto for always keeping me glued to the pages 🤩

✨Influencer Meredith Lee had it made, until she took a budding young woman, Aspen Palmer, under her wing, teaching her everything she knew, and made her into an overnight sensation. Then Aspen drops Meredith like a hot potato.

✨The only remedy to this situation is to start stalking Aspen. Meredith convinces herself it’s Stalking Lite—no duct tape, black clothing, chloroform, binoculars, or rope in tow. Joe Goldberg would be grossly disappointed.

✨Once Meredith gets her hands on Aspen’s daughter’s iPad, she has unlocked the vault to Aspen’s social media life—uncut videos and saved material that has yet to be posted.

✨What would it hurt to make a few changes to Aspen’s calendar and posts? What would happen if Meredith steals Aspen’s ideas? After all, Aspen owes her big time.

✨I love Jesse Q. Sutanto’s writing. She’s the queen of emphasizing the complexities of a female friendship (as dysfunctional as it can be for some). I read You Will Never Be Me on the heels of I’m Not Done With You Yet, and it was equally as sharp and amazing! Darkly amusing and keeping up with what society loves most in this day and age—social media and its influencers—this is not one to miss! Loved it!

#netgalley #youwillneverbeme #jesseqsutanto #berkleypub #summerreleases #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ivegotbooks #killmewithwords #idratherbereading #thrillerfiction #socialmediainfluencers #thiscovertho #readthis #now #amazingbook

Influencer Meredith taught up-and-coming influencer Aspen everything about gaining more followers. So, when Aspen surpasses Mer as a momfluencer, Mer gets very jealous. She ends up stealing Aspen's kid's iPad and then causing chaos in Aspen's life.
This was a decent friendship drama in the world of influencers. Not one character is likeable as all they care about are followers and making sure they look Instagram worthy all the time. Aspen's family is sick of always being filmed, but Aspen won't stop making TikToks about their "perfect" life.
I couldn't relate to any of the characters, and it really opened my eyes to what some influencers will do to get followers. I found the first half a little boring, but the main twist comes at the halfway point. I didn't see that coming!
I had to keep reading to find out how it would end. I liked the end, which was very clever.
Overall, a decent read.

If you like friendship drama then does Satanto have one for you! I have read a handful of influencer trope thrillers and man did this one really dive into the delusions of these characters. Okay, NONE of the characters are likable. Not. One. They are selfish, petty, self centered, backstabbing…you get the idea. You find yourself having to root for one of them though. Do you want jealous Meredith or fake Aspen?

When one of them goes missing and the other becomes a suspect you get pure choreographed chaos!

The ending felt a bit rushed but overall I would recommend this book to those who like friendships gone wrong.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC!

Influencer Meredith Lee taught BFF Aspen Palmer everything she knew about the subject. Then Aspen became bigger than her and now Meredith is the one looking on, plus their friendship is over after a big fight. Then Meredith finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and gets access to all of Aspen’s information and she uses it to try to gain followers and to steal Aspen’s thunder. Aspen doesn’t understand why her world is falling apart, and then things take a darker turn.

This book is by the author of VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS. There were parts that were fun, but in the end it came down to reading about two terrible people and why that can be enjoyable, it wasn’t always here. It’s was OK.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

If you want an exciting thriller centered around social media then You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto is for you. I just gobbled this one down as it’s an easy read that’s very entertaining. First of all, I’ve read only the Aunties series by this author and wouldn’t have known that series and this book were penned by the same author had I not thought the author’s name was familiar. Whereas the series is full of humor this book was tense and twisty.

Mer and Aspen were best friends, with Mer being a more popular influencer who took Aspen under her wing when they first met. After Aspen surpasses Mer she gets increasingly more desperate and calculating in her quest to be back on top. What follows is tragic but fascinating. I’ve wondered in the past what happens amongst these influencer friendships when peers have their dynamics change through viewers - when one finds their niche and another can’t seem to grow with their original viewers. I got to see one perspective of this at play in this book and I couldn’t get enough. This was written with the right balance of capturing how focused on what a non-influencer sees as the mundane but which could signify a paycheck to an influencer. It was highly believable to imagine the jealousy and deception at play to be feasible in the real world.

If you love thrillers and are similarly intrigued by the influencer world then I would highly recommend this. I’d also recommend it for those who are fans of the genre but would like a change to domestic thrillers. This offers elements that may be similar to well loved thrillers but the spin on them keeps the genre fresh.

𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.

We all know the terms Mean Girl and frenemy, but the crackling tension and barely concealed rage going on between influencers Meredith Lee and Aspen Palmer doesn't even scratch the surface of those terms. The jealousy and hostility was tangible enough to be a third character in the story. Meredith taught Aspen how to be an influencer, but when Aspen surpassed her in followers and views with her carefully curated videos of "mom life," Meredith's bitterness reaches a boiling point as she remembers every passive-aggressive comment, every dig, every slight, and the two have a huge falling out. Screaming, name-calling, blocked numbers, done.

But then the Universe hands Meredith a gift. While she's doing recon around Aspen's house,(because what's a little stalking among ex-best friends?) she finds Aspen's iPad with her calendar. Even better, she has access to her social media that's filled with complete drafts of videos and captions. It begins innocently enough, switching dates on meetings and showing up to meet with a sponsor instead of Aspen, who can't understand why her perfectly scheduled life is falling apart. Cracks are beginning to show in her family as her girls rebel against being used for likes and views, and right when she is falling apart, Meredith mysteriously goes missing. What better way to win back her followers than to film herself, raw and unedited, pleading to whomever took her "best friend" to please return her. And guess what, you guys? It works.

What happens after that was one of the most crafty, shrewd twists I've read in any thriller over the past few years. This book was a stark reminder of just how deadly jealousy can be, the need to constantly be validated, and how social media is so fake, that it often divides us rather than unites us. An absolutely stunning read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Pub for this early copy. This book will publish August 20, 2024.

You know how you love that one pop song that, if asked, you will ardently deny listening to? Okay, so, without ever delving into the realm of the ridiculous, the improbable, or the just gross, Sutano has written a thriller that leaves you with that same sense of "this is so delicious I should feel bad about how much I enjoyed it."