As a gym girlie, I was super excited about this book and I can't say I've ever picked up a book that really focused on this gym and body building world! This book did such a great job of capturing the dynamics of fitness influencers and body builders. I was engaged in the overarching mystery of the fitness influencers getting killed one by one, and while some of the bad actors were obvious, the connections and motivations came as a surprise. I loved the writing style and narrative structure (including the macros and weight updates for each chapter). I think people who are in the fitness world will really enjoy this story.

Thank you Netgalley, Lori Brand and Blackstone Publishing for the audio Arc of Bodies to Die For.
Narrated by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel

I really enjoyed the premise of the psychological thriller. A combination of murder, the dieting industry, bodybuilding and fitness influencers make a great combination. We have Gemma, a popular fitness influencer who transformed herself from plump to washboard stomach. Secrets lurk under the perfect online presence. Especially after a death.

Software engineer, Ashley, who has years of failed diets behind her, a biased world viewing her, falls into a world of an activist group
Both are on a crash collision course at a Body building contest with devastating effects.

I loved the character building in this book, told in 3 POV. Both Gemma and Ashley have their own imperfect lives, with secrets galore. Both, I found likeable in so many ways and for different reasons. The 3 POV, is a young man who is following these online fitness influencers. One word.... creepy!!
The pacing of the book keeps the pages turning and before you know it, we are going through the twists, turns and the final pay off.

Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel narrated this book. Both Jennifer and Chelsea suited the women's POVs and Joe Hempel ( Ive listed to some of this other books he has narrated ) did a wonderful job of portraying the young man who is stalking.

4.25 stars for Storygraph.
4 stars for Netgalley, Amazon and Goodreads

I enjoyed this multi perspective view of the characters and how they handle diet culture. I listened to this one and appreciatedt he multiple narrators to gcoe voice to the characters.

This is like watching a high drama reality TV show, it goes down fast.

This is not an easy read though for anyone with body dysmorphia or disordered eating, so please take care in your decision to read.

“Bodies to die for” is a unique psychological thriller that is set in the realm of women’s bodybuilding and bikini physique. It gives an accurate insight on influencers, diet culture and prepping for these intense competitions. The Lori Brand does a great job at twisting your head left and right as you’re trying to figure out who is behind the falling of the competitors. Several twists in the book keep the reader engaged from start to finish. The ending had me completely raddled, not what I expected!

Thank you for allowing me early access to read and give my original thoughts and opinions.

Bodies to Die For- Lori Brand
Rating: 3/5
Pub Date: June 11, 2024

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for this advanced reader audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Bodies to Die For is centered around fitness influencer Gemma, a once morbidly obese woman who one day decided to turn her life around, who is competing in a body building competition and Ashley, an overweight software engineer who struggles with her body image and how others look at her. Ashley stumbles upon a Fat Activist group one day and gets wrapped up into the lives of fitness influencers and diet culture. Add in some murder and different POV and you've got yourself a cozy mystery!

My thoughts: I loved the writing style of this author and the narrator was also phenomenal. I found myself speeding through this audiobook, wanting to know how it ends. I will say that the ending was predictable with all the clues that the writer placed throughout, so not shocking for me or a big reveal, but still a great listen nevertheless. I also loved the underlying message embedded in terms of diet culture and how being a certain weight doesn't equal healthy. While I understand that the details are very important in storytelling, I felt that some parts of this book were also very repetitive and made some of the characters very irritating. Maybe that was the intent?

Book Review👙
*
Summary- Popular fitness influencer Gemma has transformed herself from a Before into an After, complete with washboard abs, thriving business, and gorgeous husband. But social media can be deceiving. Offline, the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding may just eat her alive. That’s if she’s not first devoured by the secret nemesis that lurks beneath her polished surface, waiting to destroy her.

Software engineer Ashley is fat and frustrated. Frustrated with failed diets. With a world that wants her to shrink. With biased doctors, online trolls, and even her own mother. Until Ashley falls in with a mysterious and radical sect of Fat Activists who are fighting back … by any means necessary. She’s never felt so alive, so full of purpose. She’ll do whatever it takes to ride this high, destroy Diet Culture, and win the approval of her charismatic leader.

Gemma and Ashley are on a collision course headed for the Olympia, the bodybuilding competition where futures are made. And lost. When Gemma’s toughest rival turns up dead, and more fitness girls fall like dominoes, it’s beginning to look like the body image war has gone too far.
*
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*
My thoughts- thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for the advanced copy and audio book of this debut! This one tackles the body building and fitness industry. This one kept me on my toes and was a wild ride! It was a super fun mystery and led me into a world I’d never really thought about before. It was wholly unique and well written, I enjoyed it!
*
QOTD- what are you up to this weekend ?! We are headed to the beach later today and have a birthday party this weekend !
*
#bodiestodiefor #loribrand #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookobsessed #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bookish #booklover #booknerd #bookworm #bookwormsunite #readerlife #readersgonnaread #readmorebooks #readersofig #readersofinstagram

This felt more like a cozy thriller then a thriller to me and served as a great palate cleanser after a darker read. Truly enjoyable, and an easy listen.

I liked that this took place in the world of bikini/body competitions; this gave the book an original feel to it. Some of the POV weren't necessary, or at least, didn't seem necessary to me? But I liked the web of connections that was woven between the characters.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a fun read! You spend most of the time following Gemma’s point of view as she prepares for the Olympia swimsuit competition and navigates the drama of life as a fitness competitor and influencer. I loved the different POVs and the deeper themes of self-esteem, the fitness/diet industry, and body positivity. It was so ridiculous at times that humor was an undercurrent. I feel like psychological thriller is a bit of a stretch but there were definitely many twists along the way that kept me guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lori Brand, and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free audio version of this book and exchange for an honest review. This was a great debut and I’m looking forward to other books by this author!

I know I sound like a broken record, but we really are lucky to get a chance to preview so many great books at Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse! And this time, even better, we’ve got a debut to talk about today.

Gemma is a fitness influencer who is a true testament to “it works if you work it” with the before & after photos to prove it. Thousands of women look up to her and aspire to one day be their own version of an “After” and on paper Gemma’s life seems fantastic, despite the reality being less than stellar.

Ashley is still a “Before” and she’s frustrated. Diet after diet has failed, she’s bullied online due to her size, her own mother won’t stop pushing different methods of losing weight onto her and she’s finally had enough. She stumbles upon a group dedicated to taking down diet culture and taking up space - literally and figuratively. They decide to fight back against the toxic over-scrutinization of women’s bodies by protesting at a bodybuilding competition…the same one that Gemma will be at.

Amidst the preparation for the competition, fitness girls start turning up dead, including Gemma’s biggest threat. Now every girl is fearing for their safety as “fat” and “fit” go head to head and everyone has something to hide…and something to lose.

If you’re looking for a quick and mindless popcorn thriller (which I am not trashing, I absolutely LOVE those) then keep looking. If you’re looking for a thriller that can elicit some feelings that cause you to stop reading and really chew on what you’ve read, then we’ve got a winner for you.

Bodies to Die For is a thriller at heart - but it’s one with some deep social commentary that will resonate with plenty of readers. Whether you are thin or not, have had to work for a “good body” or not…you’ve encountered the fitness or diet industry in some way, shape, or form, even if it’s just commercials or sponsored ads on your feed.

Due to the nature of the book, there are also some really fun dramatic/reality tv reminiscent moments as well as some fun social media dialogue…and if you’ve read my posts in the past, y’all know I LIVE for social media being integrated into books, especially thrillers.

One thing that I especially loved is that Lori Brand is deeply involved in the fitness industry, so not only is she writing what she knows (and loves) but she’s writing it honestly. However, my favorite takeaway, whether intended or not, was that this book shows that no matter what side of any fight you might be on, becoming obsessed and too involved to see clearly is toxic, no matter how pure the intentions. There were so many characters that we met who had lost their way and had to own the path they ended up on, making all of them pretty unlikeable but still engrossing you in their story and leaving you needing to know what happens.

I really think that Bodies to Die for was an innovative book. Like I said, I do enjoy those quick and mindless thrillers a lot being a multi-tasker, but I also love these thrillers that are not only entertainment but can also serve as a sort of thinkpiece as well. I’ll be interested to see what Lori comes up with next!

As someone who has fat and isn’t “standard size,” but is extremely active, this book resonated with me. I really enjoyed the commentary from both sides: fit girls and fat activists. It was a good thriller with depth and thought provoking conversations, and in the end, I really enjoyed the moral of the story.

I really did not enjoy this book as much as I thought that I would. The one felt crass and disrespectful, and I did not enjoy the narration.

Gemma is a bikini bodybuilder and fitness influencer who seems to have it all, and is proud of her before and after transformation. But the world of fitness influencing has higher stakes than you’d imagine - especially when Gemma’s friends start turning up dead. Ashley is an introverted software engineer who is tired for being made to feel bad for being overweight. She teams up with some other “fat activists” to try to take down the fitfluencers and diet culture fanatics. But she quickly realizes she is in over her head with her new friends - is it too late to turn things around?

This was definitely less of a thriller/suspense book and more of a drama. It reminded me a lot of One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose a if you enjoyed that book, you’ll most likely like this one. For me, none of the characters were really likeable, and I always enjoy having someone to root for. I appreciated that the author showed both sides of the spectrum (the fit and the unfit, as it were). I do have to wonder how accurate the fitfluencer side was, because I definitely can’t relate to it (🤣). Overall this was a quick read - great for summer!

Narrated by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Story by Lori Brand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story is full of backstabbing, untrustworthy characters, and I loved every minute of it!

I could totally see this as a hilarious dark comedy miniseries on some streaming service.

Goodreads says this is Lori Brand's debut novel, and if that's true, I'll be eagerly waiting for her next book.

*for publisher, this is such a good book and this cover is not good enough for it.*

Bodies To Die For was a nice, suspenseful storyline. There were definitely some unexpected endings that I wasn't expecting. The topic of diet culture was very well written and seemed on brand with today's culture. I liked it!

This was a twisty psychological thriller by a new to me author perfect for fans of books like Fit to die by Daniel Kalla. Good on audio and a fun read for this summer! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I’m always so hesitant when I read anything that focuses on body types. However, this was so well done. The different narrators that allow the different thoughts on body types to be heard was wonderful. And the negative thoughts over any and all body images makes it relatable due to the realistic writing of it all. I highly recommend this book, unless you have major triggers around your body and/or around fat shaming.

As someone who has struggled with my weight for most of my life and has fallen victim to the body shaming diet culture and tried every single weight loss program ever created, only to stumble and fall and fail over and over and over again, this book really resonated with me. I really appreciated the hypocrisy and deceit behind the fitness and diet industry, including online influencers, with their misleading and sleazy sales gimmick. I enjoyed the super fast-paced, short chapters and alternating POVs. The narrators were well cast and did a phenomenal job bringing these characters to life. Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing, NetGalley and Lori Brand for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Bodies to Die For is a captivating mystery/thriller that translates exceptionally well into an audiobook format, providing a gripping experience for listeners .The narrative maintains a good pace, balancing intense moments with well-placed clues and red herrings. The audiobook format enhances the experience, making it a must-listen for fans of the genre.

This is a psychological thriller in the world of fitness, fitness influencers and diet culture. It mentions different aspects of the pressure we feel regarding our bodies. It's a theme I haven't read in a thriller so far and I really enjoyed it! The book was so fast-paced, I was never bored. I thought I guessed what happens in the end but turns out I was not totally correct, and I love that in a thriller.