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!

What is better, or worse, than a frienemy to keep you on your toes? Aspen and Meredith are momfluencers. We are all familiar with the type. Doing whatever it takes to get ahead. We love to hate these unlikeable women. The story is both twisty and fun. Meredith helped Aspen get going in the industry, but now Aspen is doing way better. That is until Meredith gets her hands on Aspen's family calendar and throws Aspen's life a curve ball. But now Meredith has gone missing and Aspen is getting threats. She has worked too hard to let it go now.

I loved the author's use of the shortcomings of influencers, such as presenting the perfect idealized images and the drive for views and recognition. Author Jesse Q. Sutanto has created an engaging story that I was invested in from the beginning. Despite the unlikability of the characters, I was mostly fascinated by their motivations and spectacle.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkely Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Two momfluencers can’t quite manage their jealousy in this highly entertaining story of warped friendship that has a whiff of All About Eve.

Eight years ago, Meredith scooped up Ryleebelle at an LA party, re-named her Aspen and mentored her in the ruthless profession of influencing. They were soulmates, inseparable, and each other's biggest fans until, somehow, #AllDayAspen surpassed #MerrilyMeredith in followers and sponsors. Now Meredith is stalking her best friend and bitterly regretting all the advice she gave out so freely when she was the one on top.

Switching between Meredith and Aspen’s points of view, this comically black novel pulls the curtain away from the glossy world of influencing. Sure, I know it isn’t all authentic, but, as described hilariously here, Aspen’s TikToks have barely a toehold on reality. And the work! Aspen is hugely successful financially, but she is perpetually thinking about and creating content. Her family, so gorgeous on video, is aggrieved and uncooperative, and her husband has not taken well to being a support player in her online world.

However, Meredith and all the Aspen fans have fallen for the lustrous lifestyle that Aspen seems to have. So Meredith both tries to copy it - she is a more than a little circumspect about why she had a baby, and is quite unhappy that he’s a boy instead of a cute dress-up-able girl - and sabotage it by messing with Aspen’s life. And the balance between the two besties swings again.

This was a fantastic read from the always reliable and endlessly prolific author. The novel takes the real joys and resentments of friendships and puts them into a wonderfully dark farce - if there isn’t a movie planned, there should be. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

You Will Never Be Me- Jesse Q. Sutanto
Rating: 3/5
336 Pages

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved Sutanto's book Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and her writing style, so expected great things from this one! The novel centers around two best friends, Aspen and Meredith who are both influencers on TikTok and Instagram. There is tons of drama, friendship, family issues, and of course murder in this book. The first half of this book, I couldn't put it down. Sutanto does a phenomenal job building out the story, the characters, and the conflict. Then suddenly right at the halfway mark, the entire plot happens and the mystery is....revealed? I looked down at my kindle and saw I still had halfway to go. I felt like the story was very rushed and kinda slapped together at the end. There's no big reveal, so that was disappointing. It had more potential, and fell short for me. Still a good read and very engaging especially for those who love the realms of social media.

Pub Day- August 20, 2024

How much power does social media have? You Will Never Be Me asks this question on a backdrop of a friendship turned rivalry between two women who both want to become Instagram Influencers. The two pov story builds to a climax of murder and betrayal. I liked the narrative tension but I think it was a little too long. The back and forth storyline was a repetitive in some chapters. I liked it overall and wanted to finish. I think the ending was a little predictable but enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC!

There is one big twist here that I did not see coming and it absolutely had my jaw dropped. There are also a couple of other turns and surprises that make this one a super fun, engrossing read. If you're looking for books that really dissect influencer culture/social media in a compelling way, there are other novels that have done that better BUT if you're specifically looking for a book that combines both the insanity of the behind-the-scenes of influencing AND batsh*t protagonists with a creepy/sinister undertone, this one should be on your radar.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Jesse Q Sutanto is uniquely talented at writing these sociopathic main characters that you just love to hate. Who could do more damage than your ex- best friend? Meredith takes ownership for Aspen's success and feels this intense jealousy when Aspen starts to dramatically outshine her. Been there, y'all. Where I haven't been is at the level where she starts to STALK her. And we're talking uber creepy, go to her daughters' school, break into their house and steal things, eeeeek. But man, it was super compelling to read.

I loved the influencer spin on it and how you never knew who you could trust until the absolute room-spinning, vertigo-inducing reveal at the end. (Though the twist about halfway through was pretty heart-pounding too.) Just SO freaking good, especially for readers who aren't into gore but want something to raise their blood pressure.

Again, Jesse Q. Sutanto is a genius. This book is a darkly funny commentary on the pitfalls of influencer culture. I really enjoyed this one. I

Wow, there were so many unexpected twists and turns in this book that I couldn’t put it down! Without spoiling too much, all I can say is that you need to expect the unexpected when picking up this book.

It's highly recommended if you’re in the mood for a book featuring female friendships, toxic relationships, diverse main characters, and fast-paced mystery reads.

I loved how Jesse Q. Sutanto perfectly captures the mentality of influencers and society’s behavior toward them.

This is my first time reading Jesse Q. Sutanto and I can guarantee that I will be checking out her other novels!!!

When the first twist dropped, I literally picked my face up off the floor.
Meredith and Aspen were best friends. But their bond falls apart when Aspen becomes more successful than Meredith. The life of a social media influencer isn’t easy, that’s for sure. If you don’t believe me, just ask Aspen or Meredith. Once their friendship is irreparably broken, well you will just have to read this book to see what each of them do.
I didn’t love the ending. No spoilers, but I thought one person should’ve paid for his or her actions( no spoilers). It did make sense though, and I can see why the author chose to end it this way. I just flew through this book because I had to know how it was all going to end.

I think I might need a break from psychological thrillers. Or I need to stick to more age appropriate storylines. As someone in their upper 60s, I have no interest in TikTok or Instagram and am obviously not the intended audience. I don’t take pictures of my food before eating it. I don’t follow a single “influencer”. I didn’t know that momfluencer is a word. But I’ve liked Sutanto’s other books, so wanted to give this one a chance. But I think this may be a case of I’m just the wrong reader for this book.
The story alternates between Meredith and Aspen’s POV. When Meredith first met Aspen, she was happy to take her under her wing and help her grow her fan base. But she didn’t expect Aspen to become more popular, posting clips of her picture perfect life. And now jealousy has reared its ugly head.
As I’ve said before, I don’t need to like main characters, but I do need to find them interesting. Meredith at one point compares herself to Joe Goldberg, from Caroline Keppnes’ You series. Joe was beyond creepy, but he was interesting. Meredith was just whiny, once even bemoaning that she didn’t have a little girl because they’re easier to dress in cute outfits. I found it impossible to believe that she was shocked that Aspen’s Reels are fake. Really? Aspen, on the other hand, was just an ugly person. Her brand of look at my happy family was all at the expense of her family. But as the book went on, I could at least get into her survival at all costs attitude.
The book moved at a brisk pace and I was able to read the entire thing in one day. It definitely has a sort of can’t look away from the accident feel to it. At times, it felt like an adult version of high school mean girls. And here, every single woman was a mean girl.
This is another case of the blurb telling half the story. Why do publishers do this? It didn’t leave many surprises for the reader. Although there was one surprise at the end, but it was just plain unbelievable.
Again, this book is getting lots of positive reviews. I think I am just not the target audience.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.

I’m a big fan of the Aunties series, so I was excited to read a new Sutanto book. The beginning definitely felt like juicy gossip that I just couldn’t stop reading. If you spend anytime on social media, you’ll enjoy the inside look at influencer life. The characters are absolutely unlikeable and cringey, but really in the best way! I actually gasped out loud at the turn of events about halfway through and swiftly read through the rest of the book in an afternoon. While some of the timing was difficult to follow at times, it didn’t matter because I had to keep reading to find out how it would end!

****6/17/24**** I read ALL the Auntie and Vera Wang books, so was excited to get this NetGalley ARC to review. This is a 336-page friendship-gone-wrong that reveals itself as a mystery/thriller VERY ABRUPTLY at the 50% mark. It was so abrupt that I thought maybe my kindle jumped ahead somehow by mistake!? But no, just a super aggressive segue into thriller land for the second half of the book. I also felt like I missed some content related to Aspen's husband's extra-curricular activities that Aspen knew all about???

To enjoy this novel, you have to be a fairly big fan of the 'gram and the world of influencers. I'm unfortunately not (beyond my *extremely* tiny following for my book reviews and little free library content lol - @susantalksbooks if anyone cares), so I tired of reading about the constant "mom-life" curating of videos and lifestyle content, which takes up a LOT of this book. As for a thriller, it wasn't bad, as I didn't preview the book and it came as a big surprise for me as a reader.

I'm only giving this 3-stars because I found it darker than her other books that I rated 4-stars, and the plot wasn't of interest to me. YMMV.

****6/6/24**** Just downloaded new NetGalley ARC of this upcoming August 20 release! Looking forward to what early reviews indicate will be a great read.

A bit of a slow start but I found the second half riveting and much stronger. It was an okay read but generally not one of Jesse Q. Sutanto's better works. The characters felt shallow which made the twists sort of shocking but because they didn't feel fully earned.

3.5 stars- this book hooked me from the beginning. I really loved this authors other book, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and the way she writes is so easy to read.

I don’t really know how I felt about this book. This book stressed me out a bit with the sabotage angle and the characters were unlikeable. I also felt bored yet fascinated by the behind the scenes influencer parts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6343839633

Loved the twists in this book. You Will Never Be Me follows two "momfluencers", Aspen and Meredith. They were best friends and then once Aspen got more followers and fame than Meredith they have a falling out.
These two then go through some long drawn out and staged processes to stay relevant and keep their followers happy. As the story moves there minor characters become more promising as the book goes in terms of being likeable and important. However don't expect to like any of the characters because you won't
This is my 1st book from Jesse Sutanto, I really like her writing and how she formatted this story - I am interested in reading more from her

Thank you, Berkley, and NetGalley, for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Meredith has perfected her brand and is a rising influencer. She extends a helping hand to her new bestie Aspen, to show her the ropes and increase her following.

But what happens when the fledgling student surpasses the teacher?

Now, with over a million followers on her Instagram and TikTok accounts. Aspen is a powerhouse of her own and no longer in need of Meredith’s help.

Can Meredith accept this shift of balance? Survey says… the gloves are coming off!

This was a fun thriller with extremely unlikeable characters (that I thoroughly enjoyed!) I found myself questioning the authenticity of every popular influencer on line. I know… shocking! Right!?😱

This author is wildly popular in both the rom-com and thriller genres. This was the first I’ve picked up, (not sure why I waited so long.) But I’ll definitely be checking out her other books!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley