Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was a very much anticipated release for me. Described as a satire about an Inventing Anna-style con artist and the journalist trying to catch her, I thought for sure I was going to like it, and fully expecting it to be a 5-star read. Plus, the cover is STUNNING.

I think this story suffers from having been miscategorized. It's more a romance than a thriller.

Plus, I found all the characters insufferable. I have nothing against a messy, slightly annoying main character, but Rose is just MEAN and has seemingly no redeeming qualities. I've also never read the word "fuck" so much in a book, and I feel like the book would have benefited from a good editor slashing about half of these.

I also tend to love satire but cooooome ooooon now, this was just plain STUPID. The whole thing with Simon, who keeps showing up like "I'm a FBI agent, remember?". I just wanted to punch these two idiots in the face.

✨The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Hariri-Kia✨

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 384

📚Rose Aslani is mid-bikini wax when her phone lights up with a notification: Famed scam artist Poppy Hastings will be released from prison today.

It’s been two years since Rose—a first-generation Middle Eastern American, functional trainwreck, and reporter for online journal The Shred—wrote the investigative article that exposed Poppy as a socialite grifter. Normally, one of her articles going viral would be cause for celebration, but the highly publicized trial that followed turned Poppy into the internet’s favorite celebrity. And Rose has been reeling from the aftermath ever since. Although Poppy served her time for defrauding some of the richest, most powerful men in the world, Rose knows this is only the tip of the iceberg for Poppy’s crimes. She just can’t prove it yet… At least not without the help of a devilishly handsome FBI agent gone rogue.

As Poppy’s star rises as an influencer and pop-culture icon, Rose quickly descends into a downward spiral of guilt and obsession. Her article created Poppy’s fame, so Rose needs to right her wrong by exposing Poppy for the monster that she is. But it’s not going to be easy taking down the most famous girl in the world.

📝This was fun 😂 This was a satirical review of how our society elevates and idolizes the worst people sometimes. Rose becomes obsessed with proving Poppy has swindled those around her. Her obsessive stalking leads her to meeting Simon. Their interactions are hilarious and even though they fight at first, they come together to face Poppy.

If you want a fun and ridiculous rom-com thriller, this is for you

💫Thank you @bookmarked @netgalley for my egalley💫

Even after trying multiple times, I just couldn't get into this book. I made it 30%+ in - more than once - and something about this just isn't for me. As I've seen other reviewers say too, the beginning had me hopeful. Sadly once it started going downhill for me, it didn't stop. The sense of humor isn't what I look for in books and it ended up feeling too cheesy for me to be able to take seriously.

On the bright side, the cover gets a 700/5 from me.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Iman Hariri-Kia and Sourcebooks for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Since I didn't actually finish this (which I hate doing but sometimes I just can't make it through), I won't be posting my rating and review publicly as I don't feel that's fair to the book.

I liked this book...until the end. I'm not sure I entirely understood the end? And that can really dampen my spirits when it comes to recommending something to others. I also really, truly did not like the main character. So much of what she did and said were so out of line with her ultimate goal and mission. She was beyond self sabotaging, she was kind of a nasty idiot. So that did not help.

What a refreshing read! It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s unhinged, it’s got it all. What I like about these con artist stories is that it’s a full blown cat & mouse game the entire time we’re reading.

Rose Aslani is our MC & she’s a Middle Eastern American journalist who tried to take down Poppy Hastings for the scam artist that she is. However, instead of taking her down, the expose turned Poppy into an internet sensation.

Upon her release from prison, Poppy’s popularity only got worse which sent Rose into a spiral. Queue sexy FBI agent also on the hunt to take Poppy down and now we have a slow burn romance??? A little enemies to lovers & a will they wont they won’t they situation!!! I loved every second of their banter and chemistry & the ending left me 🤯

I also loved Rose’s commentary on being the daughter of immigrants and how their attempt of assimilating to a new country/community actually left her feeling quite isolated.

This book was different from what I was expecting. It starts as almost a fictionalized tale of the infamous Anna Delvey but veers into murder and espionage. I found the MC hard to connect to and almost wish that the story had been told from Simon's point of view. His backstory was more interesting to me.

This book truly had it ALL! I laughed, I gasped, I swooned. No notes. The author absolutely smashed it again with her sophomore novel!

I would love to interview Iman for this book! This book is laugh out loud funny. Poppy is such an interesting character.

Iman Hariri-Kia gives us a hilariously funny look at THE MOST FAMOUS GIRL IN THE WORLD.

Two years ago, Rose Aslani wrote an article about con artist Poppy Hastings which led to her conviction and a sentence of 18 months in prison. Now she’s been released and Rose is convinced that what she exposed about Poppy before was merely the tip of the iceberg. She is obsessed with Poppy, along with the rest of the world. But Rose knows that a leopard can’t change his spots and that Poppy is undoubtedly up to her old tricks. Her boss at the Shred encourages her to give up on investigating Poppy any further. But Rose can’t seem to let it go when one of her sources for the original article dies under mysterious circumstances. As Rose continues to dig, she meets Simon, a rogue FBI agent. As the two of them join forces, more of the people from Poppy’s past end up dead. Will they get to the bottom of, Poppy’s current activities and/or cons? Will Rose get her job back after quitting/ being fired in protest over a cover for the Shred? Can they prove that Poopy is responsible for the murders? And what about this secret Society that protects its own? Will she ever learn to communicate with her non-English speaking roommate? What of the flagrant sexual tension between Simon and Rose?

Was it just me or did some elements in the story sound very familiar?

I really enjoyed this one. The banter between Rose and Simon was very funny and I hoped it would continue in series form as these two worked together to find the clues. The twist at the end, however makes me wonder if that is possible. The writing style was clear, concise and smooth, which led to an enjoyable read. This is an escapist book where you can only dive in and come up for air every few hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and source Books for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

A sharp, fun read with major Anna Delvey vibes. If you were as captivated by her story as I was, or if you enjoy a messy, unhinged narrator, pick this one up

This book was a very fun and steamy read with a phenomenal use of satire on many of the tropes that come with a mystery/thrillers. However the epilogue plagued the entire story for me enough to bring my overall rating down a star.

How can you categorize this book? Part spy thriller, part scammer novel, part feminine coming of age, part rom-com?! This book delivers on every level. I think this has something for everyone and brings a unique flavour to the tired category of Anna Delvey wanna-bes.

I’m not like you,” I repeat, mostly to myself. “Maybe I created you. But I can destroy you, too.”

i have mixed emotions about this book. firstly, it took me a month to finish it and it’s a long time. secondly, i’m confused about a lot of moment.

the storyline was impressive; i really liked how the book started and how the events were going. i enjoyed main character meeting fbi agent and the whole romance storyline, even though there were so many moments i skipped. what i mean is - book was loosing its interest by the end of the chapter. whole poppy thing was too long. i didn’t remember any moment from the beginning of the book.

end of the book was something i have never imagined could happen. i’m still confused about some characters and their role in the book. they were mentioned briefly at the beginning and then at the end. but as the whole, who are they? also, are there a second book? because definitely felt like it.

at the end, book is too long to keep my interest. it had great mystery and tension but not as good storytelling and plot development.

Iman Hariri-Kia's "The Most Famous Girl in the World" is a fun, fast-paced read with witty writing and unpredictable twists. Reporter Rose and FBI agent Simon team up to take down celebrity con artist Poppy Hastings, but the ending will leave you speechless! 10/10 recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Most Famous Girl in The World is a campy romcom thriller that aims to tackle the rot at the heart of internet stardom and parasocial relationships. The concept and set up was excellent but I unfortunately found the execution lacklustre. I’ll start by discussing the writing style then plot and praise for parts and ideas that showed real promise.

The writing style attempts to be snappy but falls short of that and sometimes trips into Buzzfeed-type witticisms which I found sort of grating. The humour is not really my taste and crude jokes are used for either shock value or to add some edge to the writing but they read as stilted. Some analogies fell flat and the dialogue was questionable. It tries to poke fun at the vapidness of quippy internet gossip sites but somehow reads just like it at times.

I was not expecting this book to turn into the Da Vinci Code for zillennials but it happened. I love cleverly written campy stories and I could tell that that’s what it was going for but the plot lines felt half-baked. It didn’t quite hit as a thriller because it lacked suspense and had bizarre pacing. This made the reading experience incredibly clunky, things would be tepid one second then mayhem the next with no good build-up. I wanted it to really delve deep into the psychology of Rose and Poppy. Yet, for a book that purports to dive deep into parasocial interaction Rose and Poppy’s actual relationship is sort of pushed into the periphery a lot in favour of zany conspiracy theory side plots and a one-dimensional romance. The book scratches the surface of issues it’s marketed as tackling but doesn’t fully sink its teeth into any of them.

However, I loved when Rose briefly meditated on the eroticisation of women’s suffering but it wasn't explored enough. Other fascinating, emotionally evocative topics like her disgust with turning her immigrant experience into ‘trauma porn’ writing, her relationship with her parents, the line between obsession and desire, her imposter syndrome as a writer and her status as a ‘silent observer’ also felt mostly marginal. Exploring the idea of her work environment being a yassified millennial surveillance state also had potential without the conspiracy theory subplot. I really enjoyed Chapter 25 and the Chapter 20 dream sequence because they discussed things that made me actually feel something and were excellently written. Yet for the most part, in this book, sincerity is just out of reach. Because it tries to do so much it veers into being convoluted and ends up too unfocused to really pack a punch. It would’ve worked infinitely better as a character study/ psychological thriller with the conspiracy subplot and romance cut out.

Stop. This book is wild. I loved the absolute mess of this novel. Poppy is Anna Delvey incarnate, can we get a fictional Dancing with the Stars?!? There are twists and there are turns, do we suspend reality sometimes...sure, but this not non-fiction so suspend it. Rose, my darling unlikeable and crazy narrator, thank god Poppy's intrigues and manipulations gave you a life. Would recommend just because this was fun to read.

I have mixed feelings about this one. My rating fluctuated as I read the book, but this ended up being a 3.5.

The Most Famous Girl in the World follows Rose, a pop culture journalist, who becomes obsessed with investigating Poppy Hastings, an Anna Delvey-like socialite who has just been released from prison. Rose’s exposé on Poppy led to the arrest, but Poppy’s return sent Rose into a cat-and-mouse chase frenzy.

The book is paced really well — I had no idea what Rose’s (or Poppy’s) next step was as the book progressed, and the premise is what kept me hooked till the end. I also enjoyed and thought the commentary about how society turns con artists into celebrities was the book's strongest aspect. It felt true to what we’ve seen in past years, and coincidentally lined up with Anna Delvey’s DWTS season.

I might be being picky about this, but I didn’t enjoy the author’s writing style. Some of the dialogue felt cringey, and the protagonist spends the majority of the book telling the reader repeatedly how she feels instead of showing. Besides wanting to prove to everyone that she’s right about Poppy, Rose has an internal struggle with molding into the image her parents have of her, which wasn’t as strong as it needed to be for me to sympathize with her. Rose’s best friends also felt very two-dimensional and kind of just there for the ride, but they’re supposed to be the only people she likes.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

If Anna Delvey’s story had been told by a hilarious journalist with a deep understanding of social media and millennial culture, this book would absolutely be it! I found myself laughing out loud regularly and, while it wasn’t impactful, it was definitely enjoyable!

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Harris-Kia is about Rose, a reporter, who teams up with Simon, and FBI agent, to track down and finally put away Poppy Hastings, a famous celebrity con-artist.

This one was a FUN and fast-paced read. The writing was really well done, in a sarcastic and funny way that kept me giggling as I turned the pages. I felt like at no point did I really know where this book was going to go, and that made it really fun to read.

Also, that ending?????!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

*The Most Famous Girl in the World* is an interesting exploration of parasocial relationships, infamy, and secret societies that rule the world? The premise is intriguing, and the story raises important questions about identity and the impact of social media on personal lives.

However, while the characters are relatable, I found that some of the plot points felt predictable and the pacing uneven at times. The writing is engaging, but it sometimes lacked the depth I was hoping for. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read that offers some thoughtful insights, but it didn't fully live up to its potential. A solid three stars!