Thank you to @prhaudio for the #gifted audiobook #PRHAudioPartner and thank you for the free physical copy @BerkleyPub! #BerkleyPartner

Meredith Lee is a rising beauty influencer when she meets wannabe YouTuber Aspen, taking Aspen under her wing and forming a close friendship. Meredith teaches Aspen the tricks of the trade, and eventually Aspen finds her niche as a momfluencer, racking up millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok and far surpassing Meredith’s middling success. The women have a friendship-ending argument and Meredith engages in a little light stalking and sabotage as she wallows in her jealousy, and that’s when things start to go off the rails.

If you love books about social media influencer culture as much as I do, you won’t want to miss You Will Never Be Me! I absolutely loved this peek behind the curtain of the world of momfluencers, where it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s filtered, and the price of social media stardom is far too high. It must be said that all of the characters are awful people, but in that delicious love-to-hate-them, can’t-look-away way! I was hooked from the start and when the whopper of a midpoint twist dropped, I had to stay up the rest of the night to finish this timely, twisty, and clever book!

I both read and listened to this one, and you can’t go wrong either way. The audiobook is fantastic; narrators Eunice Wong (one of my favorites) and Risa Mei (who voiced the audiobooks for the author’s Aunties series) are pitch perfect as Meredith and Aspen!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
You Will Never Be Me is another twisty Jesse Q. Sutanto thriller, that also feels particularly timely with recent discussions around the impact of the spotlight on children both within traditional and online media, from the documentaries like Quiet on Set and Shiny Happy People to the more informal exposes into the dark side of “family vlogging,” not to mention interrogating “influencer” culture in general. Needless to say, I ate it up like I would a gossip rag, savoring more or less every bit.
While most of the characters are vastly unlikable, they’re also quite entertaining to follow, and the lead characters have characteristics that also make them resonate, even if it’s with some of the darker sides of ourselves. Meredith, who presents as the more “down-to-earth” character, ends up being consumed by jealousy and spite toward a former friend to try to sabotage her. Aspen, for all that she is self-absorbed, truly ends up in a cage of her own making, with a husband who hates her, all in pursuit of fortune and fame, and while she was much less sympathetic at first for her artifice, she evolved over the course of the narrative in a way that made me understand and sympathize with her, even if I didn’t condone all her actions.
Even some of the supporting characters are layered and compelling, especially the assistant, Liv, who will do anything for a bit of Aspen’s fame. But Ben, Aspen’s husband, is an awful person, and I’m glad he got his comeuppance for his actions.
The plot itself took some unexpected turns, especially when it pivoted part-way through, from a story focused solely on obsession and influencer culture to something even more devious. It was equally salacious and dark in nature throughout, growing more so with each new development.
This was an engaging read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a fast-paced thriller with morally gray characters, especially if you’re also into influencer culture.

5 Stars

I could not stop reading this book.

I always like to throw a caveat in for thrillers that I don't read them a ton, so when I do, I'm almost always blown away, so if you DO read a lot of thrillers, please take my review with a grain of salt. HOWEVER, this book was so twisty and good and I was constantly slack-jawed as I read it.

We have alternating POVs and a nonlinear timeline that help tell the story of two young women who are trying to make it in LA as influencers. As they both grow to fame, we get to see inside their lives and the behind the scenes of how diabolical and deceitful influencers have to be to maintain their livelihood. It's wild and cutthroat.

Without giving much away, this story is one of what happens when your BFF gets bigger than you and leaves you behind. How fame can really ruin relationships. And how not everything you see online is accurate. Parts Gone Girl, A Simple Favor and season 2 of You, this thriller is hard to put down and so diabolical that my head felt like it might actually explode.

Jesse Q. Sutanto has such a range in her writing and I feel like all of her strengths really shine through in this story and it is one you won't forget!

It’s all about the numbers… When social media influencer Meredith Lee took Ryleebelle under her wing as a mentee, little did she know that Ryleebelle’s transformation into Aspen would forever change Meredith’s own influencer landscape.

Obsessed with follower counts, likes, and views, Aspen became a fierce competitor to Meredith. So much so that Aspen eventually alientated Meredith, shunning her for fame, sponsorships, and endorsements. But in doing so, a cavernous rift began to form which would eventually lead to tragic circumstances.

Advertisements

REPORT THIS AD
I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy this novel, but the premise behind it seemed intriguing. Especially in this day and age of X, TikTok, and YouTube.

The story unfolds through dual points of view — Meredith and Aspen. It’s a slow build as the first plot twist doesn’t occur until a little past the 50% point. But once that twist occurs, the narrative begins to intensify.

I didn’t care for any of the characters. But in the cutthroat world of influencers, it’s perfectly understandable that the characters would be depicted as shallow and self-centered. Author Sutanto did a fine job of developing the characters’ personalities — especially in that of Meredith and Aspen.

I wasn’t pleased with the ending as it wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted it to be. However, You Will Never Be Me is still worth a read if you are a fan of suspense, thrillers, and social media. Four solid stars.

I received a DRC from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! It's kind of a behind-the-scenes peek at the inner workings of influencer life. Meredith is a middling influencer when she meets Aspen, a newbie in the world. Several years later, Aspen is a very successful momfluencer and Meredith is lagging behind. The two have a blow-up that effectively ends their friendship. Meredith is jealous of Aspen's success and starts lite-stalking her to sabotage her career. At about this point, the twists and turns start coming fast and furious and you're not really sure how it's going to end. This is a great beach read; it goes fast and captures your interest from the beginning. I'm excited to read more of Jesse Q. Sutanto's books. Thank you to NetGalley.com for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this novel fell a little flat.
Most of my trouble in connecting with the story was in the characters. The two main characters are social media influencers, and that is all we really saw of them as characters. Everything presented to the reader is based on their social media image and their quests to maintain that image. The result was characters that felt underdeveloped to me. I am curious if readers who are really into social media and influencers would experience these characters, and thus the story, differently.

Synopsis in a sentence (or two):
Two influencers become best friends. When one rises to fame and the other stays stagnant, the friendship quickly turns toxic.

Overall thoughts:
Someone recently asked me to name the most unique story I’d read this summer. You Will Never Be Me immediately came to mind. This one is on my list of summer favorites because I just couldn’t put it down. Where it differed from other suspense reads for me were the characters and the way Sutanto transitioned this one from a drama to a thriller.

It’s important to know that the characters have little to no redeeming qualities. I despised most of them and yet ….

I just couldn’t stop reading. I was fascinated by the friendship of these two women and the way they used the people who surrounded them. The twists were plentiful, and the conniving was popcorn worthy. For me, the sign of a good suspense read is when I can’t help but tell my husband (a non-reader) about the plot because it’s just that good. The sign of an even better suspense read is when he follows up to see how it ended (he did).

I picked this one up because I’m a Dial A for Aunties fan. This story could not be more different than that cozy mystery series, and well worth the read.

Recommended to readers who love:
📚 social media plot lines
📚 Paula Hawkins, Lisa Jewell, Mary Kubica
📚 unreliable narrators

Rating: 5.0

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing
for the Digital Review Copy of You Will Never Be Me. All opinions are my own.

Review will be posted on the blog, X, & IG stories

This book was insane and so amazing. I had to stay up late to finish it because it was so wild. Jesse Q Sutanto is becoming one of my favorite authors! I couldn't believe the Twisted things these characters did to each other.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Soo Cutanto, The story is about two wanna be Instagrammers Aspen and Meredith, they meet at a party in Meredith helps Aspen find her niche in becoming an influencer but when Aspen gets married has twins in her fame outshines her best friend Meredith, Meredith feels slighted and push to the side this causes a rift between the two Women and they stop talking to each other. While aspens life slowly starts to fall apart Meredith is mentally spiraling. She steals one of Aspen‘s daughters iPads and uses it to make little changes to aspens life in slowly but surely the trickles become a torrent and everything gets out of control. Aspen starts having problems not only in her business life but her personal life as well while at the same time Meredith‘s followers seem to be growing in her content is only getting better right when you think oh that’s what the story is about… No hold on press the brakes because OMG there’s a twist and a whole other story after that. This book delivers and then delivers again. This really is the book you need to schedule time to read it because you will not want to put it down. It not only shows you inside the world of influencers, but the drama and twist are top notch and you will not be able to look away it was so good! At first I felt so bad for Aspen but then I was like OK lady I see you… I mean she is definitely a force to be reckoned with. When they said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned they were probably talking about Aspen her self. I think this is a book every thriller fan will be obsessed with it is so good and awesome awesome read a definite five star contribution to thrillers.#BerkeleyPublishing, #NetGalley, #JesseSooCuteTanto, #YouWillNeverBeMe,

As a mom of two young kids living in LA, and as someone whose feed is flooded with nonstop "mom-influencer" content, this book was super appealing to me. A riveting suspense novel with extremely unlikeable characters...which really drew me in. I really enjoyed this book, especially when it delved into "Instagram-stalking," a topic that I think needs to be talked about much more. Another topic that deserves more coverage is does "faking it for the gram" and getting an inside look at content creators - and the lives of their kids and spouses. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for the copy of You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I wasn’t prepared for how great this book was and how I would be so immersed in the story that I never wanted to stop reading. I have a fondness for books about Influencers and this was one of the best. I loved Aspen and Meredeth, and learning the dark secrets of their social media posts. Their relationship was written well, and it was difficult to determine who was the most dysfunctional.
I was surprised by the unexpected turn the story took and made me race through the pages to see what would happen next. I'm not sure I loved the ending because it felt like a bit of a letdown after how amazing the rest of the book was, but I can see where other readers will really like it. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.

Meredith taught Aspen how to be an influencer. So when Aspen grows larger than her and ditches her, their incredibly close friendship explodes. When Meredith finds Aspens daughter’s iPad however, she sees how fake all of Aspens content is. Meredith thought Aspen had somehow figured out how to live the perfect life, but it was all a front. Now Mer can use this tricks to put herself back in the game…and maybe take out Aspen at the same time.

Ya’ll know I love a book with unlikable characters. Well...this book brings unlikeable characters to the NEXT LEVEL. I seriously disliked every single person in this book besides the kids. It certainly made me happy that while I may be considered somewhat of an “influencer,” I am so glad it is in this little book space and not the momfluencer world. These people were cut throat and it was crazy to me to even imagine adults acting this way. This book will for sure leave you wondering about your favorite online influencers! Jesse Q Sutanto can seriously do nothing wrong in my book, and this new novel is no different! I loved every second and finished it in a single day!

Thank you to @berkleypub for my gifted copy of this book!

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

A budding influencer gets ditch as her career begins to plummet. She ends up stalking her past client and stumbles across one of the kids lost Ipad. This leads her to discover to know what on her calendar as she ends up showing up at the same events.

Soon the star’s life start to crumble and she has no idea why it is happening. Then the stalker suddenly disappears and she is prime suspect. It becomes a case of being clueless as she tries to regain her past glory. It becomes a game of the price of fame.

Everyone in this book is horrible and I LOVED it. It can be a difficult maneuver to pull off but Sutanto pulls it off perfectly in YOU WILL NEVER BE ME, giving us characters we can’t help but love to hate embroiled in a story that while dramatic could one hundred percent happen in the banana pants world of social media influencing. And as to that end bit, well, to quote one of my favorite musicals, “He had it coming.” Disturbing but excellent read. Will recommend.

Very different look than "Dial A for Aunties" series which was my first introduction to this author! This title focuses more on the deep thriller genre instead of infusing the story with lots of silliness and humor thus changing from a light beach read to that book you will not be able to put down, so save it for a binge read on a weekend.

Meredith created Aspen- even changing her name to be more relevant, likable and most importantly - clickable. Meredith showed Aspen all the tricks to being an influencer, but then found herself struggling to keep up with her as Aspen moves from party girl to new wife and then new mama and changing her focus on social media accordingly. As Meredith feels more and more left behind, she stalks Aspen a little, and then begins to mischievously mess with her schedule in order to turn influencer attention back to Meredith. What Meredith didn't count on was Aspen was a good student in more ways than learning to manipulate social media for personal gain - she also learned how to stay on top once she got there.

Tricky and suspenseful to the end, this book would be ideal for those who like Colleen Hoover or Sally Hepworth.

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a thrilling and unpredictable novel that delves into the dark side of influencer culture. Prepare to be shocked and entertained by this gripping and addictive thriller. Sutanto's talent shines through in this ultra twisty and devilishly fun ride.

Another amazing novel from Jesse Q. Sutanto, who is absolutely a must-read author for me! I love how she writes in different genres, and always appreciate her sense of humour!

This novel highlights the fakeness of influencer culture and the carefully-curated "authenticity" of social media through the competitive relationship between Aspen (formerly cringey Ryleebelle) and Meredith, who made Aspen a star and then became jealous when Aspen's fame surpassed Meredith's. I don't think any of the main characters are very likable, but I think the contrast between who they really are and who they project that they are is entirely the point.

It's fast paced and page turney, and I read the whole thing in one day! There are twists and turns, and it was an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable read.

I loved the dark humour and commentary on social media and the people who live for the 'gram! This hit all the right notes for me!

Meredith Lee, aspiring/moderately successful mom-fluencer, feels like she has done her good deed by taking fledgling influencer Aspen Palmer under her wing. But when Aspen hits it big and ditches Meredith, she feels betrayed. She, after all, is the one who built Aspen into who she is today. So can you really blame her for wanting to mess with Aspen's perfect life, when the opportunity presents itself? (And okay, if Meredith created that opportunity by stealing Aspen's iPad and gaining access to all her calendars and accounts, well, sometimes that's just how it goes.) Aspen doesn't understand why her perfect life is suddenly in shambles, but she will do anything it takes to stay at the top of the cutthroat world of influencers.

I tore through this book--I couldn't put it down. The chapters are pretty short and the action is fast-paced. It felt like reality TV in that it felt indulgent but I somehow couldn't look away from the toxic personalities, the bad marriages, the DRAMA behind the scenes of major social media players. I can't say I liked any of the characters necessarily, but they were all very compelling and well-written. Sutanto has another hit on her hands here.

You Will Never Be Me will make you truly think about the influencer life and the curated feeds. The book follows two mom influencers, Meredith and Aspen, who had met eight years prior at a party where Meredith first befriended Aspen (at the time name Ryleebelle.) As the years went on, Aspen grew to be the much more popular influencer and Meredith resented that fact. This is for sure a dark look at the world of influencers.

I thought the book was a page turner and kept me engaged. There were a couple points where the story jumped ahead, and I had to read back to understand what was happening. Other than that, I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading other books by Jesse Sutanto.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely LOVED Jesse Sutanto's last thriller and was so excited to get my hands on You Will Never Be Me. Taking us on a deep dive into mommy influencer culture, You Will Never Be Me was a great read from start to finish. More of a why-dunnit than a who-dunnit, with a unique ending, I definitely recommend this one!