This was a fascinating read -- a gaggle of children growing up under the spotlight of a crazy mommy blogger start to rebel against her after their house goes up in flames. Who did it? Why did they do it? Where is the missing sister?

The book felt real, like this could happen one day which was scary. The book was suspenseful, interesting, dark and an excellent read. There were twists, turns and shocking endings. I loved every moment of it.

A social media mom influencer's young husband is murdered, and her five daughters are under suspicion.

I thought this one started out good, but then it didn't really progress in a captivating way. I think there were too many of the chapters that were not from a sister's perspective. It kind of just took away from the flow.

A timely and thought-provoking premise—what happens when influencer kids grow up and rebel against the “perfect” image their parent built—makes this whodunnit both unsettling and relevant. I loved the idea and the family drama at its core, but the endless POV shifts and gimmicky character names (May Iverson of “Mother-May-I” with kids named April, March, June, July, and January) pulled me out of the story. The mystery is only sort of solved, leaving this one just okay overall despite its strong concept.

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore is a sharp and satirical exploration of influencer culture, family dynamics, and the blurred lines between public personas and private lives. The novel centers on May Iverson, a successful social media influencer known as "Mother May I," whose empire unravels after her husband's murder and the subsequent fire that destroys her mansion. Told from multiple perspectives—including those of May's five daughters, each named after months, and the collective voice of her followers—the narrative delves into themes of identity, exploitation, and the consequences of commodifying personal lives. McLemore's writing is both witty and poignant, offering a critical yet empathetic look at the complexities of fame and family in the digital age. The Influencers is a compelling read for those interested in contemporary fiction that examines the intersection of media, identity, and personal relationships.

Unfortunately, I did not make it to the end of this book and thus, won't be posting my review on the broader internet.

My review as it is thus far is that this concept is a fun one! I was really very intrigued by a fictionalized version of what we have seen IRL of influencers personal lives involving crime, abuse, etc while maintain the social media picture of chic, calm, creative glamour. Sadly, I found the layout of the book and the cast of characters to be very confusing. There was something about the numerous month names that made it extremely hard for me to keep track of who was who. The plot felt like it was moving so slowly, so while I would definitely not label this book "bad" it did not capture or hold my attention in a way that felt fun or compelling.

May Iverson, lifestyle influencer of Mother May I, has made millions of her daughters all named after months: April, the oldest and the real mother to the littles, June and July, the twins who are as different as two siblings can be and influencers in their own right, January, the silent one, and March, the one who disappeared. Living in her lifestyle trendsetting world, May's is blind to the detrimental effects her career has had on her children, insisting she offered them more than they could ever want. When her second husband, August, is found dead in their family when emergency personnel respond to the mansion on fire, suspicion bounces from Iverson to Iverson.

Told between family members, and supporters and viewer of each Iverson family member and member of a true crime "documentarian," the perspectives keep the reader guessing to the end. It did get a bit confusing at times, and the voices between the supporters groups weren't quite different enough (which may have been the point.). This book will likely find readers in those who like YA thrillers, and this book would be appropriate for high school libraries and even most middle schools with neutrally-stanced collection development policies, though it will likely only appeal to the upper grade levels of those buildings.

✩2.5

Mother May I

✦What to Expect✦
•Influencer family
•”The Kardashians meets Knives Out”
•Juicy drama
•Murder mystery
•Who done it

✦Characters✦
•May Iverson
•July Iverson
•June Iverson
•April Iverson
•January Iverson

✦Fav Quotes✦
NA

✦Thoughts✦
I was very intrigued by this one bc of the ”The Kardashians meets Knives Out” vibes.

I started the ebook of this and end put it on pause and ended up finishing it on audio.

This one started off strong and had me curious. I wanted to know who was responsible for the fire. Then what happened to March?!

There def were some twists and turns & surprises at the end! Also the family drama of it all!

This was okay in my opinion, just a tad too long/dragged out.

•ARC & Gifted/Free Copy•

really enjoyed this book and the journey of the main character and all that they went through. It kept me on my toes and what would happen in the story.

The Influencers completely blew me away—vibrant, clever, and utterly captivating. I loved how the story blended social media culture with sharp wit and emotional depth, making the characters feel real and relatable in a modern, exciting way. The plot kept me hooked from start to finish, and the themes of identity, influence, and connection resonated with me deeply. It’s imaginative, fresh, and thoroughly entertaining—definitely one of my favorite reads.

Anyone who has been on the internet knows who May Iverson is. As an influencer, “Mother May I” has millions of followers who watched as she raised her five daughters and showed off her luxurious lifestyle in video after video. Now the Iverson girls are grown up and living their best lives. Oldest daughter April is running her own company. The twins, June and July, known to their followers as The Summer Girls, are following in their mother’s footsteps as influencers. January works as a lighting designer in the theater, spending her time in the dark, and youngest March has disappeared altogether.

Now that the March siblings have all moved out, May has remarried. Her new husband is August, which would seem to make him the ideal addition to the family, but instead he is selfish. He spends his time working out and trying to sell his protein powder. He argues with the Iversons, and May’s daughters can’t understand what she sees in him. And then he is killed. And all the Iverson followers on the internet want to know who did it.

When August was killed, someone also poured out all of May’s colorful bottles of alcohol and set the place on fire. The house wasn’t destroyed, but much of May’s closet was. It wasn’t too difficult to replace her clothes and accessories, as brands immediately started sending her packages with their merchandise for her to post about. But after a week or two, new videos start popping up online. Or, not so much new videos as old videos.

The videos are from when the Iverson siblings were young. They aren’t the edited videos that were posted. They were taken on a different phone or a home security camera, but they show what really happened at that moment in time. The videos show the reality behind the perfect veneer May always showed. But where are the videos coming from? And do they have anything to do with August’s death?

The story is told in chapters alternating between May and her daughters, the followers of Mother May I, the followers of The Summer Girls, and a mysterious guy who is seen hanging around the sisters that the internet has named Luke Sweatshirt. There are internet trolls and former friends coming for May and lots and lots of speculation about what happened. But in order for the internet and the police to see the whole picture of what happened that day, and what lead up to it, the Iversons all have to give up their secrets. And they have a lot of secrets.

The Influencers is a fascinating look at influencer culture. The idea of a family whose perfect seeming lives take up such a large space in popular culture feels very prescient, and it makes for a powerful story. I really enjoyed watching this family deal with the struggles in front of them, see how they came together and how they came apart. The story seemed at first to be light and bubbly, but as the chapters went by, it had a lot more to say about how the curated reality that so many present and so many others consume affects us all. This is an entertaining read rolled around an important message, and I loved it so much.

Egalleys for The Influencers were provided by The Dial Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I liked it so much, I bought a copy on Kindle.

May Iverson was one of the OG mommy bloggers, and her now-grown daughters were among the first to grow up in the spotlight. Each has coped—or failed to—in their own way. April has hustled to build her own success, publicizing her successful textiles line while keeping her personal life private. June and July have leaned into the influencer life. January lives a low-key life as a theatre technician, while March has cut contact with her family and disappeared. When May’s supplement-shilling second husband is found dead and their mega-mansion set ablaze, each of the girls is a suspect. They all had the means and the motive—but did one of them actually take the ultimate revenge?

This was a fun read. It felt a bit like Pretty Little Liars for adults, in that each of the glamorous characters was hiding a secret. I do think that it was longer than it ultimately needed to be, and the story dragged on a bit in the third act. But overall, this was a fun read full of twists, turns and red herrings, and it skewered influences culture in a delightful and satisfying way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I tried to read this book as an eARC and tried to listen to the audiobook, but I just could not get into it from the beginning. I'm not sure if it's me or if the book is just not it for me, but I'll try reading it again another time.. Soft DNFing for now..

Holy molyyyy! This book was really unique and a page turner. I am not normally a true crime podcast, reality TV, influencer type but I was very sucked in. It’s not really a cozy or a thriller or a procedural. There’s no detective, just the viewers and the viewed. It’s kind of a social commentary, but it’s not too preachy. The chapters are very short, the characters were engaging, it was gayer than I expected. There’s some child star tell-all vibes, some Kardashian-esque content, some of it was a little Only Murders In the Building. GREAT!

CWs - Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism, Body shaming, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Sexual content

This was giving Kardashians but make it a mystery. While I agreed with some of the social commentary, it could have been done more effectively. I found myself missing the mystery aspect of the book.

The Influencers is a tale of a mysterious death of the husband of a popular Mommy Blogger and influencer. The Iversons, mom and daughters are all social media famous. Growing up in the spotlight has warped the daughters’ sense of normalcy.

I liked this one as I am fascinated with people who put themselves out there without any real thought about the effect of unasked for fame on their kids. I don’t think this will stop them, but I do feel sorry for the kids who had no choice.

I really liked a previous book I'd read by the author so was excited for this. I didn't enjoy it but I think I am also just so annoyed by the entire concept of influencers.

I believe this book has it's audience, it just isn't me. I tried to get to half of the book but I couldn't make it. I think I may be a little removed from that over the top influencer age range.

Following the mysterious fire and death at the home of a wealthy influencer, who raised her daughters as social media content, the most interesting part of this book is the POV: that of the audience watching it unfold on social media and in the news.

The book is critical of those moms who post their kids for likes and comments without concern for how much their kid likes it. Because she has so many daughters we see the variety of ways this plays out for different kids.
The book is a satire, so it’s over the top and a little hyper realistic, in a way I liked.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This was such a fascinating look at an influencer empire and the crafted narratives of social media. I loved that so much of the book was narrated by unreliable social media followers and how it captured the warped truth of today’s media landscape. It’s a lot of escapist fun, but also manages to dissect sister dynamics, class, race, privacy, gender, etc. A good summer read!

I really wanted to like this but it wasnt what I expected. There were way to many point of views to keep track up and the description of the characters got repetitive. There were multiple times I had to stop and make sure it wasnt something I already read. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC