Could not do picked up and put down multiple times but no I don't know what it was going for a Martha Stewart × Kardashians vibe or what but it was confusing and a mess and I could not get into it maybe someday I'll try again but 5 or 6 times was enough for me - sorry if you loved it
Thanks net galley for the arc

I really enjoyed this book. The chapters alternated between characters, including the followers which kept it interesting and made it move fast. This book was also so not what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a silly (in a good way) murder mystery with absurd influencers but this was full of social narrative, reflection on the influencer space and conversations about perceptions about race.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me this arc! This review is already uploaded onto my Goodreads account.

This book is so Kardashian coded it’s crazy. If you like following their insane life, you might want to try this one out. This book follows this family full of girls led by May, the mother and founder of their influencer life, and the aftermath after May’s husband was found dead. May started her empire with family vlogging that included her oldest daughter/copy April, the twins June and July, January, and the one who mysteriously left, March.

This book did a great job of showing the odd parasocial relationships between influencers and their fans. As well as touching on exploiting children from a young age. These factors boosted this rating by a lot. However, the fact that this book felt slow overall and the ending lowered it. Not to mention that the husband wasn’t one that we had a lot of details on, he was someone not worth caring about. Maybe had he had some redeeming factors or just had more information about him, the story would’ve flowed better.

"Mother May I" began as a social media page to for mothers trying to get by and featured May Iverson and featured her five daughters but after 25 years turned into a huge influencer empire. May's daughters (April, June, July, January, and March) are now grown up and living with the consequences of having their entire childhood documented and viewed by millions. The Iverson family is thrust into the spotlight even more when May's husband is murdered and a fire was set in their mansion to try and cover up the crime. The public thinks that they know the Iverson family because they watched them for decades and strong opinions are made on who from this family could have possibly committed these terrible crimes. Then there's also the mystery of March- at age 18 she disappeared from the family and the public hasn't seen her since. What's going on in the Iverson family and who of them is capable of murder?

I thought I would love this book because I thought it was a new idea surrounding a murder mystery. However, I realized that the murder mystery was probably the most boring part of this entire story. I really enjoyed the narrative of seeing how being forced into the spotlight as a child shaped each of the Iverson sisters. I wish it explored deeper how April and January sued their mother to take down the videos because that idea to me was fascinating. The scene when April explains to her mother that the videos of them as kids eating popsicles was shared wildly in pedophilia groups was such a scary look into reality and how May didn't even care, it was wild. When they confronted their dad and asked why he didn't fight was heartbreaking since he did want to fight and he loved his kids, but he knew that the courts would never take his side. Hopefully some of these influencer moms take a look at this story and make some changes to their content because that should be eye opening to any parent. I almost wish the murder wasn't a part of this story at all since it didn't really add much to me and made the book too long and instead focused on the ramifications of airing "everything" on social media.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Influencers is my first from Anna-Marie McLemore. An intriguing premise, with unique POVs. Currently timely in my opinion as an examination of influencer culture. The book does drag on a bit too long, as the "twist" is on the easy side to guess if you are paying attention.

“Mother May I” Iverson has created a very lucrative social influencer realm, often on the backs of and to the detriment of her daughters, January, March, April, June, and July. When her second husband, August, is found murdered and part of her mansion burned, her audience (and the police) carefully follow the family to try to discover the culprit. Soon the family’s true dysfunction becomes fodder for all.

This book is a great idea. Written from different POVS, including May’s audience, it is very contemporary with some clever actions and Iines…a good satire with harsh truths about our social media driven world. However, it just went on too long. The story dragged. It could have been so much more entertaining if it just hadn’t been so bogged down in length.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseBooks for the DRC.

I wanted to like this, and I loved the premise of it, but somehow it fell flat. I found that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get invested in the murder mystery. And, the conclusion was kind of a let down. I did enjoy seeing some of the behind the scenes of what it's like to be an influencer, however.

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Reading about influencers' lives falling apart is one of the few things I enjoy under capitalism and I will die for that guilty pleasure. This had echos of Delphine de Vigan's SUPERB 'Kids Run the Show,' which rocked France with its take on the perils of shoving your kids in front of a camera all the time.
I was excited to read an American take on the issue, and there's a lot that McLemore succeeds at: the POV of account followers, the PTSD that lingers in your bones when you see someone whip out a camera, and the uniquely American crossroads of fame, class, and ethnicity.
On the other hand, what could have been a propelling mystery gets bogged down by too many POVs and plot distractions. Frankly there were too many kids to follow, plus the various audience POVs, and it made the ending seem less earned.

I'm quite shocked at how much I enjoyed this. I'm as far from a social media person as you can get, but the author was successful in drawing me into the story. The folksy, inclusive narrator (using "we" to include the reader in the tale) was quite creative, and helped to draw us inside. After I was able to differentiate among the siblings, I was able to appreciate the humor and insight into the way of today's pop culture. The tale meandered a bit, but all in all I think this was a very successful venture, and perhaps a future Netflix limited series? Hmmmmm.

Would I read more from the author? Absolutely.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I wanted to love this so much more than I did. I loved the mystery paired with the illusive influencers whose lives don't match up to their social media. I found myself not at all invested in our murder victim, nothing really pulling me to want this huge mystery solved. I thought the dialogue fell flat and honestly when the twists came about I didn't find myself invested enough to really care.

This was an interesting take on the influence and momfluencer trends that we've been forced to live with for the past two-ish decades. It's definitely a pointed look at certain celebrity families without naming them, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading despite that.

Thank you NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'The Influencers' by Anna-Marie McLemore, in exchange for an honest review - expected release date 04/15/2025

This book sounded interesting - kinda Kardashian-esque, but it was extremely slow paced, and the characters were flat and boring. I also hated all their names, so much. I don't like to DNF my books but I didn't want to waste any more time on this one. I made it 25% in, and all it did was continuously explain why the killer couldn't be any of the Iversons. Move on, geez. Something about the writing really bothered me too, the sentences seemed choppy - they didn't flow well. Not my cup of tea...

May Iverson, known as Mother May I, has built an empire as a mother and family influencer. However, when her house burns down and her husband is found dead, her daughters—who helped make her famous—become the primary suspects. Beyond uncovering the culprit, the story delves into the darker side of family influencers, highlighting the dangers of exploiting children for content creation.

I thought the premise of this book was excellent. It effectively captured the complexities of parasocial relationships between fans and influencers, as well as the consequences of exploiting children for views. While the opening chapters were engaging, the pacing slowed considerably as the story progressed. Although it is positioned as a murder mystery, I felt that the central mystery became somewhat overshadowed by the exploration of other themes. That said, the story has significant potential, and with less filler, it could be a truly compelling read.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

In as many days as the murder investigation lasted, I tried to like this book. I gave up about 3 weeks in (both for the investigation and my actual reading time) and decided not to finish. I couldn't find a likeable character - well maybe for the missing March Iverson girl. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and it really made me sad because I loved the premise of this book! The execution...not so much.

Actually closer to 3.5 Stars*

This book explores fame, social media, reality stars' lives, and the harm it can do to the children involved. I felt like there were clear parallels to the Kardashians, the LaBrant Fam, and other family vloggers, the story dives into the impact of living under the public eye and the toll it takes on personal identity.

I thought the book had such an amazing premise and was so excited about where it could go! However, I found myself less drawn to the central mystery. The plot, while engaging at times, felt secondary to the exploration of the characters' relationships with fame, making it hard to fully invest in the unraveling mystery itself.

What I did appreciate was McLemore's choice to narrate the story from the perspective of the followers – fans who are both fascinated by and critical of their idols. How fans can both crave drama and also turn their cheek as soon as their "fav" does something they don't agree with. This format added a layer of complexity, offering a fresh take on the way a story can be told.

Overall, "The Influencers" delivers a needed message about the dangers of having children grow up as influencers on social media, but the mystery didn’t quite grab me like I thought it would.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This storyline had an intriguing concept, however it fell short of keeping my interest. There were many characters that seemed hard to follow, the mystery took a long tome to get to, and it lost my interest.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I really wanted to like this book! I tried rereading this book multiple times and just couldn’t get into it. I found that there were too many characters which made the story line hard to follow. The storyline seemed scattered and a bit all over the place. I did enjoy the ending, but it took way too long to get through this book. I give the book 2 out of 5 stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read.

How can a story of murder and two-faced influencer life be boring? Somehow this was a slog.

It took too long for the month sisters to separate into different people. The sections from the perspective of the viewers really felt like having a friend tell me all the details and fan theories about a show I didn't watch, I felt like I was nodding politely and skimming. There were heavy hints for ages about Luke, to where I didn't care for any more WHO COULD HE BE?!?!?! dramatics. Cool concept, but ultimately this wasn't for me.

The naming convention of the main characters was so distracting I could barely finish the book. Also, are we not growing tired of hearing about Influencers and their phony behavior. It is terrible, Next subject, please!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book had such a fun and fresh concept that it immediately caught my eye! Who wouldn’t love a whodunnit starring a seemingly picture-perfect influencer family? Unfortunately, the story itself fell short of expectations and felt more like a flaunt of wealth-related knowledge than a true murder mystery.