3.5/5, rounded up

Thank you Berkley Pub for the advanced reading copy!

I love a messy mommy-drama story, and this lived up to that! Throw in a missing person and you've got a fantastic, entertaining read. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Both MC's were absurd and so fun to read about. I think this one dragged a tiny bit throughout the middle, and there were a few things that felt frustrating/unrealistic, which kept me from rating this higher. I have really enjoyed the variety of Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing, and I will continue to dive into her back list for sure! She can do anything -- add dramatic mystery/suspense to the list!

SYNOPSIS -- Meredith Lee, successful momfluencer, was nice enough to take Aspen under her wing, only for Aspen to grow bigger online and ditch Meredith? No way. After Aspen drops Meredith, Mer can't help but do a little stalking... including stealing Aspen's daughter's iPad and keeping up to date with the family's plans. While Aspen feels her life is falling apart, Meredith is busy ruining everything Aspen has worked for. Soon, Meredith goes missing and the entire momfluencer world is about to be turned upside down.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto is a perfect mix of thriller and comedy. Yep, I said it. Crazy how this author is now striking the poker while it's hot with winning rom-com and thriller. This mom-fluencer podcaster was obsessed with Aspen, who rose to fame and is not usurping her ranks. She is out of control in her obsessive madness and it's like watching a train wreck. Fun and twisty. Recommend!

Links coming soon.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto was a highly addictive, engaging and twisty read about two former best friends and current momfluencers.

This book captivated my attention immediately as it told the story of Meredith and Aspen in their quest for internet fame and success. Initially, Meredith takes Aspen under her wing and teaches her everything she knows about being and influencer. But once Aspen becomes more successful, everything changes. It eventually leads to a falling out between the two, leaving Meredith feeling like she no longer has a place in Aspen’s life. Eventually Meredith learns Aspen’s secrets to success and applies them to her own life. Will these tricks bring the friends back together? Or will it just make everything worse?

Overall, I loved this book. I could not put it down. I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. There were some fun twists and the biggest one I certainly did not expect. As far as characters were concerned, I thought they were both terrible people who only cared about followers and being perfect for social media. However, their vanity and shallowness made for an interesting story. All in all this was fun and enjoyable to read and this is a book I would definitely recommend.

These folks are crazy! This book delves into the popular world of "mom-fluencer's". It follows duel points of view, between two former best friends who both exist in that side of social media. One has had major success and the other, not so much. There is plenty of jealousy and betrayal and drama! It gives a little look behind the scenes of the "perfect" family, and shows that not everything is as it seems. Granted, I think there are some really fun accounts out there to follow of mom's just unapologetically being themselves and raising their kids in this crazy world. This book just showed a not so healthy, and deadly, side of that. It was a good read. They are all the worst, but it is like a trainwreck that you can't look away from!

I love Jesse Sutanto’s writing—it’s accessible, fast paced and her characters are relentlessly honest. This novel was impossible to put down, albeit somewhat predictable. Neither lead character was likeable but both were entertaining, and this was a perfect reset book. Will definitely press into the hands of anyone about to go on vacation!

I received a complimentary copy and all.opinions expressed are mine.

How far does jealousy drive someone? How far will you go when the one you helped pretend you don't exist.

The book follows Meredith and Aspen two people that needed each other at one point until one made it big and left the other. Meredith swipes one of Aspens Kids iPad and begins to unravel Aspens perfect life. It is a wonderful read on revenge, trust and remembering where you came from.

I don’t know if anyone writing today delves quite as hard as Jesse Q Sutanto does into toxic, obsessive female friendships. She writes so unflinchingly of terrible thoughts and behavior, showing not only their aftermath but also their genesis, as her characters love and fight and some ultimately even kill over the course of their relationships. I thought her earlier novel I’m Not Done With You Yet was a masterpiece of the subgenre but this one outstrips even that.

Aspen is a social media influencer with millions of followers hungry for her wholesome Mom content. It’s taken years for her to grow her platform from her days as a struggling singer on YouTube, but meeting Ben, the man who would become her husband, finally helped her figure out her ultimately very lucrative niche. Now she posts regularly about her days as a wife and mother to six year-old twins (one of whom is diabetic) and an infant, showing off the ways in which she keeps their family running.

Her best friend Meredith is allegedly happy for her. Mer knows that if it wasn’t for her, Aspen would probably still be a nobody. After all, Mer was the seasoned beauty and lifestyle influencer who helped Aspen get her initial toehold on Instagram. But as Aspen’s career has taken off while Mer’s has stagnated, Mer can’t help but feel betrayed.

After one particularly vicious argument between the two, Mer blocks Aspen on all communication channels but still can’t help missing her. The two had been inseparable for so long, confiding in each other the things they would tell no one else, that their rupture affects both of them in an almost physical way. Unable to swallow her pride but unwilling to let go either, Mer breaks into Aspen’s electronics and discovers a startling truth about her bff’s posts:

QUOTE
I didn’t know the extent to which one could fake it for the camera. Seems obvious now, but I never thought of making beautiful food that I would later simply throw away and replace with less aesthetically pleasing ones to eat. And as I scroll through Aspen’s uncut videos, it becomes stunningly clear that this is what she’s been doing for years. Her Reels are…productions. They are not snippets of her life or glimpses behind the curtains. They are entire productions that she’s composed beforehand and then taken time out of her real life to act out and edit. A complete fabrication of what a life governed for aesthetics looks like.
END QUOTE

Armed with this knowledge, Mer is intent on getting Aspen back into her life, but on her own terms. First, she’s going to humble her friend a little, in order to make Aspen need her the way Aspen used to. But as Mer finds herself crossing various ethical lines, she begins to second guess herself. How far will she go to explode her best friend’s seemingly unbreachable facade? After all, Mer is doing all this out of love, isn’t she?

Aspen can’t figure out why her life has fallen apart so disastrously after her big fight with Mer. She keeps missing meetings with key sponsors, other influencers are treating her with disdain, and even her husband is being more hateful than usual. Aspen has worked so hard for so long to project an image of easy yet seemingly attainable perfection, as she’s one of the few people who understands that her lifestyle is a business. In this, she’s always been more clear-eyed than either Mer or Ben about what it takes to succeed in the 21st century, no matter the emotional toll:

QUOTE
Tears scald my cheeks. What am I crying over? My utter shambles of a marriage, or my ruined friendship? I can’t ignore the feeling that neither is salvageable. The problem with Mer and Ben is that they both loved me only when I was a naive girl with stars and sweet inexperience in my eyes, and a pure innocent willingness to drink their every word of advice like it was scripture. As soon as I outgrew them, their kindness and generosity sharpened into jealousy. Each time I dared to share any piece of advice I had learned along the way with them, I was quickly smacked down, reminded that my place isn’t above or even beside them. I entered their lives as a follower, and a follower I must stay.
END QUOTE

When Mer suddenly disappears, Aspen’s immaculately curated life implodes. Hounded by the press for information, Aspen will have to figure out how to protect what matters to her most, even as she becomes the recipient of mysterious threats. Will the strength of Aspen and Mer’s once firm friendship help them finally save one another?

There are plot twists aplenty in this absorbing and extremely internet-savvy thriller of two women navigating the business of social media in order to keep body and soul together. The monetization of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have made it so that people can make a living off of making short videos about their interests and lives. Some people might find this frivolous or easy, but Ms Sutanto underscores the fact that this is real and often difficult work.

She further draws parallels between social media and the lives of women struggling to be adequately compensated for their domestic contributions. Patriarchal capitalist systems insist that the running of a household and raising of children are so easy that women should be grateful to be given those tasks unpaid. This injury is further compounded by the insulting expectation for women to be attractive and nice to others no matter the circumstance. It’s hard not to be sympathetic to both Aspen and Mer as they work to survive in these systems, even when they’re driven to terrible lengths to get what they feel they each deserve.

Wow, what a wild ride! I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I couldn’t wait to find out how this story would play out. Meredith and Aspen are former besties who both aspire to be the most popular momfluencer. Dual POV is my favorite and I especially loved getting both perspectives in this one. Neither one are likable which sometimes I struggle with, but not in this case. You will love to hate them! Their story is filled with drama, and I loved the twisty, dark, sinister vibes. Jesse Q. Sutanto did a great job and made me contemplate how much of what I see on social media is truly authentic.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Pub for the ARC!

It's not many books that open up to the matter-of-fact admission that one character is stalking the other, even if she does try to play it off. Jesse Sutanto books are always entertaining, and this is a great read.

It took me a weirdly long time to write my review for this one. I kept going back to the book in my mind many times, and I kept thinking about it again and again.
It felt like the right words just wouldn’t come.
Are five stars even enough? I don’t think that’s enough for this particular book. There should be an option to add one more extra star for some extra EXTRA books. And this book deserves that extra one star.
The book was so well-told, yet it was wild. It was so realistic, yet it was insane. It was intense, yet it felt too real. It was filled with so much drama, yet it was a weirdly satisfying read – because the drama wasn’t mine.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Meredith and Aspen and social media “mominfluencers” and best friends. Meredith had thousands of followers and she mentored and helped Aspen grow her followers. Aspen eventually surpassed Meredith as far as followers and likes and Meredith started getting jealous, and they had a falling out because of it.

Since they were not speaking, Meredith started stalking Aspen and doing some other crazy things to her. We follow their stories and see how both of them are affected by the insane world of social media. This story is told in different timelines and dual POV’s, and is fun and dark at times. The ending was insane and you get to see how far people will go to be on top in the social media world. Definitely recommend!

𝘵𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴
▪️𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦
▪️𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝
▪️𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴

5 toxic little stars for a new all time fave🎉
it’s giving “is this fucking play about us” mixed with social media war mixed with who actually is the villain?
i loved this book so much, and it was such an addicting read. i loved how much i hated every character. for a truly dramatic show - highly recommend this one!
thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for the eARC🩷

3.5 maybe? This was solid, kept me engaged the whole time for sure.

I did feel like the pacing went a little slack towards the end. I was expecting one final twist, but it just kind of panned out exactly how I thought it would which was less than satisfying. I also found a lot of the central conflicts to just not feel realistic (people being shocked and upset that an influencer stages their photos/videos?? In this day and age?)

But, this was really fun and there was a huge twist around the 50% mark that really caught me by surprise. It really changed the time of the story completely. I found all the behind the scenes drama & commentary on social media fame super interesting and all the main characters hilariously unlikeable. I definitely think I'd pick up more from this author! I'm especially curious about her other genres as well now.

Thank you Berkly Publishing Group and NetGalley for an e-ARC.

I didn’t pay much attention to what this was about before reading it—lesson learned. The title and cover were intriguing, so I figured, why not? That’s where the excitement ended. I love psychological thrillers, but reading about influencers, especially mom influencers, is not for me. Honestly, I didn’t like any of the characters. Meredith and Aspen/Riley, the main characters, are mom influencers, and their mentor-mentee relationship turned into a best friendship then a fight, but it wasn’t convincing or engaging. Riley’s husband and the bratty kids were equally unlikable (kids are not for me).
The fake, carefully curated perfect influencer life is real, I’m sure, and that’s depicted well in the book, along with one of the kids' health issues (not accurately depicted). If the point of the book was to make everyone unlikeable, then great job—it worked. If that wasn’t the point, then yikes on bikes. Two stars because I finished it.

Thank you Net Galley! This was so fun and the ending was perfection. Super fun read! Would def read more by this author

You Will Never Be Me ☾𖤓
by Jesse Q Sutanto
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn’t put this book down! It’s a wild ride from start to finish, with characters that are so well-developed, you just have to know what happens next. The plot is fast-paced and keeps you hooked, just like Jesse Q. Sutanto’s other books. If you’re into thrilling stories with engaging characters and a bit of drama, this one’s a winner. Totally recommend!

Well, You Will Never Be Me is the ultimate psychological thriller about influencer culture and the lengths that influencers go through to stay relevant and keep gaining followers. It is the story of two friends who had a falling out when one of them became more famous than the other and what that did to them. I was so into this book. Maybe because I find myself getting sucked into certain influencers on TikTok but also because it gave such a fun look at behind the scenes in the social media world, especially for momfluencers. And reiterated my mantra that it isn’t real and you cannot compare yourself to them. This book was clever, intense, dark and twisted and so entertaining. I could not put it down. I loved it

You Will Never Be Me started slow and then hooked me! I wasn’t sure I would enjoy reading about two somewhat vapid mommy/lifestyle influencers but I was wrong! I found myself surprised by the events that happened and the ending left my mouth open. Well played Jesse W. Sutanto. 4⭐️

This was a good one! Addictive and fast-paced! When you know the book is about momfluencers set in LA, you know it’s going to be a good time! I mean, what could go wrong?!

Full of toxic relationships, greed, and jealousy, YOU WILL NEVER BE ME takes you on a wild ride! 4⭐️

Thank you so much, @berkleypub, for the #gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!💕

This is such a fun twisty influencer thriller with lots of surprises. I love dual points of view and unreliable narrators and you get both in this story. Aspen and Meredith were once friends and Meredith taught Aspen everything she knows about social media. Aspen took it a step further and made a successful career out of it. There's jealousy, lies, cheating, revenge, and so much food for social media's thought. A delicious novel that you can't put down until you turn the very last page. I listened to the audiobook and the narration is fantastic. The perfect way to enjoy this suspenseful book.