In Anna-Marie McLemore's The Influencers we have "Mother May I" Iverson who has spent the last twenty years building a massive empire as an influencer and featuring her five daughters. The girls have are all grown up now and a life spent in front of the cameras is catching up to them, especially when their new step-father is murdered and their mom's house is set on fire and they find themselves as the main suspects.

Growing up under a camera lens has got to be exhausting and this book shows us from each daughter's perspective how it effects you - each one handled the camera and subsequent fame differently and the author managed to give each person growing up the same such different viewpoints. I really enjoyed that.

It took me a few chapters to get engrossed in the story, but once I did, it was a fun and fast read. I really enjoyed the way this book didn't make everything sunny, it gave realistic relationships between the sisters and May - they love each other, but can get on each other's last nerve.

The novel had me hooked until the mysteries were solved (no spoilers here!) and made me glad that I lead a boring life. Go read this book, I think you'll enjoy it a lot!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

May Iverson is an influencer. The wife, and mother to five daughters is known as Mother May I in The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore. The month monikered young women January, March, April, June and July vie to solve the mystery: who killed (mother) May’s husband and burned down their mansion? When someone starts releasing unedited versions of their lives, the present to years ago when the girls were young, the perfect image May had curated begins to crack. Will the public stay on the Iverson’s side when the truth comes out?

If you can put aside the many cloyingly named characters (is a stepfather named August really necessary or is the month naming a central tenet of the plot?) you may enjoy this book, I, however, struggled with parts of it. The multiple points of view, and sometimes hard to distinguish characters was sometimes challenging.

I also disliked the extremely short chapters. I prefer to settle into a story rather than constantly having the flow of information interrupted and chopped up. I was struggling so much to find the flow with this book that I had to keep leaving it because I loved the plot. I finally switched to a different book (to see if it was me or the material) and I sailed through that one. I so badly wanted to like this more than I could for those reasons. It saddens me to have to dive it three stars. Great storyline, interesting cast, but overall, a stilted execution. It may just be a case of wrong reader, right book.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

This book will give you all the feels. Mother May I raised her daughters in the social media spot light as she chased her dream as an influencer. They were constantly under a microscope. Never able to just breathe in peace. Every action being scrutinized. Could one of them have killed their step father ? Was the pressure of being perfect just too much? Was there someone else who had the motive to kill their step father ? This book leaves you with so many questions as you try to figure out who the killer is. Then there is the plot twist. The one you never saw coming. Will the family survive the media spotlight ? I don’t want to give away any spoilers. But what starts out as a “who done it” story ends as a beautiful story that will have you feeling so many emotions for this family.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve never been much of a reality TV fan, but for some reason I will gobble up stories about reality TV stars and/or influencers. This is giving Kardashian vibes - mom’s new husband has just turned up dead, and also part of the giant house burned down, and the main suspects are her five daughters. May Iverson has styled herself as a mommy blogger named “Mother May I,” and all of her daughters are named after their birth month - April is the oldest (I guess that makes her Kim?), then twins June and July, and the two youngest January and March. June and July call themselves “The Summer Girls,” and they have their own channel. April does something businessy that may or may not involve fabrics? January works in theater tech, and when the book opens, March is MIA. She disappeared basically the instant she turned 18, and no one has seen or heard from her since. Stepfather August (yes, really) was trying to push some bogus fitness regime/supplement, and he was basically just an asshole burning through all of May’s money. So no one, not even May, is terribly sad that he’s dead.

And then someone starts releasing “unedited” footage from May’s old cameras. She wasn’t great about deleting old footage once she got a shiny new toy, and she was also so used to cameras being on her all the time, she didn’t notice when one of the kids was filming with an old cast-off. She’s also kind of a teflon warrior - every bad piece of publicity seemingly bounces off of her, and her band of loyal followers never abandons her. I wasn’t super clear on how she became so well known - was it a YouTube channel? It seems like the equivalent of a TikTok celebrity, but given that the twins, who were born during her early years of internet fame, are now 26…that doesn’t track. Unless it’s like 2040?

I think that’s the crux of the problem here - so much of this feels disjointed. We have chapters from the perspectives of the daughters - and I could not for the life of me tell June and July apart. I swear they switched personalities when it was plot convenient. There are also chapters from the perspective of the collective “we” who grew up watching May, or who followed June and July’s careers. I ended up almost preferring those chapters, because the chapters from the daughters started adding less and less that I cared about as the story went on. I also kept forgetting that August’s murder was the ostensible framing device - and by the time we learn what (probably) happened, I had kind of stopped caring about any of it.

This could have done with some additional editing - it’s seriously shaggy. If it were a quick 300 pages instead of a somewhat interminable 450 (yikes!), I think it would have been really sharp and insightful. McLemore makes some great points about these kids who were raised on camera, and what kind of havoc that can create for a person’s psyche. The problem is, that message gets muddled down in this weird sorta murder mystery (and sorta missing person case, because where is March?). If they’d excised some of the subplots and digressions and narrowed the focus, this could have been great.

this was certainly different from the books I usually read, but I loved it! It was a breath of fresh air, really had me thinking about our media/influencer culture, and gripped me from the very beginning. I would definitely recommend this one!

The cover is what caught my attention and when I got approved I was excited!

It took me awhile to remember who was who by the “month of the year names” but overall I liked this book! It was a great take on how social media effects us and how most people take social media so serious.

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore is a captivating novel that explores the complexities of identity, fame, and the power of social media. The story follows a diverse cast of characters, each grappling with their own challenges and aspirations as they navigate the pressures of online influence. McLemore’s lyrical writing style and vivid imagery bring the characters' struggles to life, making their journeys feel both authentic and relatable. I loved how the book delves into themes of self-acceptance and the impact of societal expectations, making it a thought-provoking read. This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of modern life and personal identity!

The way I wanted to love this one so much. The premise had such good potential. So much could have been explored and done, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. It was slow, dragging and a little lackluster. I felt like the story was a little all over the place and it was hard for me to keep interest. Also, I felt like there was so much filler and that is something I don't enjoy, I like stories to be straight to the point.

First, excellent cover. It’s what caught my attention and pulled me in.

Synopsis: Secrets come to light as Lily May “Mother May I” Iverson’s second husband, August, is murdered and their house is burned. Her five mixed-race children — January, March April, and twins June and July — are grown adults now after having had their entire childhoods uploaded online for the world to see — and judge. And they are the top suspects.

Like the book’s description says, it’s an “exploration of race, gender, sexuality and class.” I would describe this as a contemporary thriller with a splash of satire. It pokes fun at the mom-fluencer lifestyle but also notes its real hazards and consequences. It includes commentary on the consumers of this content, the online forum commenters who post anonymously and the true crime vloggers who think they can solve any case from the other side of the country.

The first half was stronger than the second half, which felt redundant, disorganized and at times confusing. Great writing (!!!) but needs another round of editing for cohesiveness. Still, this was a solid page-turner.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Random House and The Dial Press for an advanced reader copy of #TheInfluencers. To be published April 15, 2025.

An excellent take on influencers, the culture of voyurism we all live with, and the effects of living in front of a camera on all the kids of momfluencers. Picture the kids of your favorite mommy-blogger, all grown up, some continuing the family business and some running as far away as possible. Picture their new stepfather, dead in the house their mother's work (and their stolen childhoods) bought. The Inverson daughters, all whimsically named for months of the year, are the prime suspects in his murder, though the police investigation is less troubling to them than the leaks of old videos, outtakes and moments thought private now spilled across the Internet. A brilliant book, with a central mystery that builds tension but takes a backseat to the complicated family dynamics and tragedies that come from a live lived without privacy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for an ARC, and here is my honest review.

I loved the title and cover design for this book, as well as the premise — it really drew me in! While I enjoyed the story, I felt that it drug on a bit to the point that the reader isn’t really interested in figuring out who the killer might be. I did enjoy that the story gave light to the pros and cons of growing up in the social media spotlight and how it can alter family dimensions.

The way the chapters were set up and the way the story was written was great! I liked how each chapter was from different perspectives, especially the with outside looking in and speculating. I felt that this would be a great read and hold attention better if it were possibly 100 pages shorter, but I do understand that the mass amount of attention to detail is a big part of this book which is why I feel it was as long as it was.

I was hoping for more of a suspenseful feel for this book based on the summary, but I felt it was more of a story following the realities of growing up as influencers with a *splash* of murder-mystery. I did love the feeling that this could be real events, even with the murder on the side. It didn’t seem too far-fetched and dug into the minds not only of those who follow influencers, but the influencers themselves.

The Influencers was a very fun take on the conceit of social media and the influencer lifestyle. While a touch too slow for me; took me a little bit to get all of the characters and perspectives straight, but once I did, I enjoyed this.

I really love books, especially thrillers, about vlogger families, and The Influencers was a very fun take on this theme. It took me a little bit to get all of the characters and perspectives straight, but once I did, I really enjoyed reading this.

Cute story that feels especially relevant as kids of early influencers are growing up. I didn’t love the characters, but it was a quick read and fun escape into this wild world of Internet fame.

Definitely a book for our current time. Relevant, well done and well written. I truly enjoyed reading it and found it an easy pace to get through. Simple and light read. Don't expect a lit fiction Dickens novel or a documentary on the affects of social media. Parenting and social media and the effects of it are unfortunately our current world in pretty much every country where minors have internet access and parents can make a buck making videos especially with their kids.

I'm not sure if it was a formatting issue for the ARC on Kindle but it looked kinda funky when I started reading it & I couldn't get past that. I felt it was too light & rom com for me. May also have had something to do with attempting to read/concentrate after breaking 4 fingers on my right hand so you probably don't want to take this particular review too serious.

I love this influencer parody story time books. I found this comical and relatable since social media is such a huge influence in our modern day society.

Wow, such an interesting book to read in these weird times we live in where people use their children for social media content and show their entire lives. Can really open up some important discussions.

Nope. While I feel as though the premise was good - the lasting affect of social media in the lives of children that have been essentially forced to be their parents content - I feel like it missed the mark!
Not the worst book I ever read, but a solid 2.5 stars (rounded up for the rating). Would not recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the E-Arc.

The premise is fantastic and the book opens with an exciting mystery. When a successful influencer’s husband is murdered, it seems like there are no lack of suspects, including the influencer’s five children who grew up in the spotlight and resent having their upbringing online for anyone to see…

The structure of the book worked for the most part, with short and dynamic chapters that denoted how much time has passed since the killing of August. What didn’t work for me so well were the flashbacks within the chapters - I wasn’t sure what was going on at times and it doesn’t help that I couldn’t always keep track of which Mother May I child was which. There are a lot of topics brought up including parasocial relationships, gender, race, class, exploitation, the ethics of influencing, etc. Because there are so many characters and so many topics, I’m not sure any of them were explored all that deeply. Still, I enjoyed the read and unusual plot (and I would definitely watch a series based on the book!). 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.