Member Reviews

I love stories about sisterhood and this felt like a unique, darkly fun take on that. Thrillers in general have been hit or miss lately for me, but this one had so many elements that I really enjoyed!

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This book wasn't for me. I found the writing included too much telling and not enough character work. It also wasn't a thriller--more a social commentary.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. This book reminded me a great deal of the book Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard. I have to wonder if Elizabeth Rose Quinn was inspired by that book?? Coincidentally both books are narrated by Brittany Pressley. Overall this was a good thriller.

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Where do I even start? I wasn’t sold on this book from page one, and somehow, it just got worse from there.

The premise had potential—there’s so much to critique about mom influencers and the general weirdness of trad wives, clout-chasing parents, and the “my kids are my brand” internet culture. And to be fair, this book tries to take a jab at those things. But instead of a sharp, insightful critique, it feels more like "Ugh, look at these dumb women being dumb!" Which… okay, that’s not exactly the hard-hitting social commentary I was hoping for.

The Mom Squad—our main group of influencer moms—are cartoon characters, not people. One of them is a trad wife, of course, because no internet drama is complete without one. But instead of digging into why people buy into these toxic online personas, the book just dunks on them in the laziest way possible. Is it satire? Social commentary? A fever dream? I honestly could not tell.

Then there’s Adrienne, our main character, who voluntarily spends thousands of dollars to infiltrate an influencer retreat—only to spend the entire time complaining about being there. This is her idea! She chose this! And yet, she has zero plan, zero investigative skills, and mostly just walks around being mean and confused. Imagine Nancy Drew, but instead of solving mysteries, she just hates everyone and gets nothing done.

And the plot—oh boy. I finished this book and still don’t understand why any of it happened. The big mystery? Makes zero sense. The explanations? Absurd. It’s as if the book realized it was supposed to be a thriller halfway through and just threw in some random chaos for vibes.

And the ending? OH MY GOD. I can’t spoil it, but let’s just say that if this book were a movie, this is where the audience would start throwing popcorn at the screen. It tries to go full Scream with a wild tonal shift, except Scream is clever, and this just felt like a bizarre prank on the reader.

If this book had fully committed to being either a sharp satire OR a legit thriller, it might’ve worked. But instead, it halfheartedly attempts both and lands in a weird, frustrating in-between space.

Apparently, everyone else loves this book, so maybe it’s just me. But personally? I thought it was messy, underdeveloped, and as deep as an Instagram caption.

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A familiar plot- a woman searching for her sister (in this case a twin) - made topical with the addition of influencers. Chiara and Adrienne have drifted a bit apart from one another but Chiara mobilizes when it appears that Adrienne has disappeared into a sort of cult. This uses a lot of hash tags (the influencer thing) and satirizes the mommy-influencer. There aren't many surprises but there are a few chuckles. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

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Oh man I didn’t like this one at all unfortunately. I don’t usually enjoy the Momfluencer storylines, but this one was a little bit extra. It felt like weird satire I just didn’t enjoy it

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I really enjoyed this descent into mommy-fluencer-madness!

When Adrienne's estranged sister Chiara goes missing at a mommy-fluencer summit, Adrienne decides to go undercover to see if the organization had anything to do with her twin sister's disappearance. Once she's there, the manipulative, coercive and cut-throat world of mom-fluencers is harder to navigate than Adrienne planned for, and she must up her game to get answers AND get out alive.

I loved the snarky tone and the subtle build up to a truly explosive ending! Fans of social satire, mommy-grammer dynamics and thrillers that bleed into horror, this one is for you!

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Follow Me is an impressive debut novel! Elizabeth’s writing is brilliant, quick and funny. If you are a fan of campy horror movies this book will fill that need with the use of clever hashtags, unique plot with a relevant theme of influencers and social media. This book focuses on a group of mom influencers specifically but even if you are not a parent or interested in that culture this is still enjoyable for everyone! Elizabeth dives deep into influencer culture and how social media shapes the way we present ourselves to others, something that many of us understand and experience.

Adrienne’s character is deeply compelling, her dedication and what she was willing to do for her sister despite having a rocky relationship is truly touching. The cultish atmosphere that Elizabeth has created will draw you in immediately! This is a fresh and original take on the thriller genre. There is one twist in this book that made me want to throw my phone across the room. You won’t want to miss out on reading this, especially since it’s already picked up for a feature film!

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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. It seemed more light mystery than thriller. The premise is interesting and I love the idea of a momfluencing retreat related to a cult. The characters are interesting, I was just thinking it should be more thriller.

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Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

As always my review will not include too many details about the plot but more about my thoughts on the plot itself.

This book is a 2/5.

In all honesty, this book just did not work for me. The 2 is just because I thought the story had promise (thematically brilliant and more authors should explore the theme of "the facade that is social media") and I liked the protagonist. She was broken and her journey to finding closure through the bizarre plot was the only thing that kept me from DNF-ing the book.

The overt details about the colours and outfits were unnecessary and took me away from why I was actually reading the book. It was emotionless. It took me away from caring about the characters. I had to skim past all the unnecessary prose of the first couple of chapters so that I could get to the protagonist's reason for ending up where she was.

The non linear story telling just pulls you into a portal of the past and because it's so detailed, you forget where you were in the 'present" of the story.

I know that this book is already optioned for a movie. But man do I hope they stay clear from the book. If they don't, it's just going to be multiple jump cuts to scenes of the past taking you away from the story. And it'll end up being just another one of those final girl trope movies. Sure they leave you with a sense of fulfillment of vengeance.

But just like at the end of the book, it'll be a story that you'll forget in a day or two.

This story should've been made into a screenplay directly. The book was just a waste of time.

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Follow Me by Elizabeth Rose Quinn is a thriller that'll definitely keep you glued to the pages. Chiara goes missing after attending a mom influencer weekend retreat, and it seems like everyone has just given up on finding her. Except her twin sister, Adrienne, who will stop at nothing to find her. She knows her sister to her core, and things aren't lining up!

This was such a fun, unhinged thriller with a little bit of humor, which I enjoyed. It definitely gives the "I don't belong here" kind of scaries, and the "girl, why haven't you left yet" vibes! I felt for Adrienne so hard because I would for sure act exactly how she did to do what I could to find my sister. The rest of the characters were so untrustworthy and unlikeable, seriously, f*ck them all! But it made the story soooo damn good!

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I am a huge fan of the influencer or social media trope. So, this book really got my attention. I also loved the cover, it definitely drew me in as well. The mommy influencer retreat was so interesting to me and even more interesting when she doesn’t return. Her twin sister, who has problems of her own, decides she needs to find out what happened to her sister. I thought this book was really good. I have a hard time with longer chapters because I have ADHD, but the book was really good, so I was able to get through them (that’s saying a lot). I would definitely recommend this book!

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I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Follow Me by Elizabeth Rose Quinn is a third person multi-POV suspense novel about a group of Momfluencers. Chiara is invited to a weekend getaway to hang out with other mothers who are on social media. But when Chiara goes missing, her twin sister Adrienne is the only one who is convinced there was foul play. Adrienne fakes her way into the next getaway and will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her sister and make whoever hurt her pay.

The biggest theme is toxic femininity and how women uphold it. The opening chapters in Chiara’s POV have a lot of dialogue that is shaming mothers for any decision that isn’t centered around traditional values and keeping a perfect body post-pregnancy. Chiara, and later Adrienne, are very disturbed by all this and call it out but more privately as it doesn’t benefit them to call this behavior out. Reading dialogue where a woman not only confessions that she had a C-section but she acts as if it’s a mark of shame is both wild and a natural conclusion to how some of these circles do operate, shaming women for anything that isn’t 100% perfect, keeping women trapped in the same cycles we’ve been trapped in for centuries but in a shiny new hat.

Of all three POVs, I think Chiara was my favorite. Chiara, Adrienne, and Bautista (a police officer who is looking into Chiara’s case) all have very different voices and experiences, but Chiara’s use of hashtags and the slightly jaded but also eager tone was engaging and fit the modern social media-obsessed generation of moms that Chiara is and isn’t part of. Chiara’s loneliness jumped off the page as did her struggle to connect to the people who only care about an algorithm or a squeaky clean appearance. Chiara has her own messy past of drug use and taking a few too many risks and I loved having a mom POV who owns her past and is trying to do her best for her kids.

The entire book is centered around social media and the Momfluencer phenomenon but doesn’t discuss the impact that this industry has on children as it’s a lot more focused on it’s impact on motherhood. The obsession with the algorithm and branding and doing everything yourself was surreal even if I know that all of that is true and have known that it’s true. It’s the MLM, borderline cultish aspects that make it veer towards absurdism or parody but anyone who has spent any time watching drama channels on YouTube knows that so much of this discourse is very real and happening right now. I was already skeptical of the concept of Momfluencers because of how it can harm children, but now I’m more deeply considering how it could affect mothers, especially those who are postpartum and struggling to accept that their lives are not the fake glossy photos that Instagram is known for. Adrienne even calls out the lack of moms of color and Queer mothers at the retreat, drawing attention to a very glaring issue in the Momfluencer community: colorism and anti-Queerness are still problems we have to deal with even when we’re focusing on crafts and setting tables for holidays.

I would recommend this to fans of books with messy female leads and readers looking for a book centered on issues plaguing the Momfluencer community

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2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas& Mercer for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Intriguing premise, but there were certain aspects of the plot, and I am trying to figure out what the big takeaway should be.

In her debut novel, Elizabeth Rose Quinn tackles the world of "mommy influencers" as a woman tries to find out what happened to her twin sister who disappeared a year ago.

I see that this book has been labelled as a mystery/thriller and while there is a mystery attached, I would say that there is also some of a social commentary with a mix of something else that I don't know quite what to name. Although there are occasionally chapters from the police detective charged with the investigation, most of the story is told from grown sisters Chiara and Adrienne's point of view.

A cast of really unlikeable characters, I must say. That alone doesn't deter me from my reading experience. I like people who have their share of problems. Adrienne, she has issues. However, what was cleverly sardonic in the beginning, soon began to wear on me as the narrative progressed. Adrienne didn't understand her sister and didn't respect that her sister was now a wife and a mother. She came across as a Holden Caulfield-esque character and for me as a reader, I was soon of the mind "Girl, I don't have much empathy for you. You're a bitch!" Then there was the big climax when all the action started, that soon became weird. Almost laughable?

Hitting bookstores in April.








#FollowMe #NetGalley.
Expected Publication 01/04/25
Goodreads Review 13/03/25

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60/100 or 3.0 stars

This was a fun thriller. I liked what the author was doing with the social commentary and motherhood/parent culture.
There are some parts that as a reader you would have to suspend disbelief in a way that was a little too much for me. It was predictable, but it was still a solid thriller for readers who haven't read a lot of thrillers yet, but still want some humor/satire mixed in!

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Twin sisters Chiara and Adrienne Shaw grew up as two wild party girls. They tried every drink, smoked anything that would burn, and slept with anything with two legs. As they got older, Chiara wanted something more, so she cleaned up, got married, and then had twins boys. As so many others, she made a post on Instagram, showing her 'not so ideal' life and used a 'funny' hashtag. This post went viral and soon Chiara is being offered brand deals and free products. When she learns about and then wins entry to a coMOMunity weekend retreat, she goes in hopes of finding some solutions to her depression and overwhelming days.

Adrianne is still drinking, drugging, and everything else. When Chiara goes away for her mom-influencer weekend and never returns, Adrianne is determined to find out what happened and where her sister is. She models herself after a mom-influencer image and pays her way into the weekend retreat.

Not everything is tablescapes and perfect seasonal family portraits; some mean girls will push someone else to get ahead. There are the sycophants, and there's an inner circle. No matter what Adrianne does, she's never entirely included. When she sees the cracks in the shiny veneer, she starts to find out what happened to her sister, and it's not all rainbows and sunshine.
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Books that 'spoof' or joke about influencer culture are all a little dangerous. Some try earnestly to make the careers sound perfect. The freedom of making your own money and the clothing for every family member are being cleaned and ironed. Then there are books like Follow Me. Elizabeth Rose Quinn is able to cut behind the glossy hair and shiny lips and show the debt, the plastic surgery, the drug use. It's also an excellent look at greed and ambition.

Did I think this was a "laugh riot"? No. Adrianne was kind of a bitch. But, being that bitch is what helps her dig her claws into the group and find out what she needs to know.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Adrienne's twin sister has gone missing after attending a mommy influencer style summit and she will stop at nothing to find out what happened to her.
A unique premise, filled with sharp social commentary Follow Me is a darkly funny story that feels incredibly timely.
While it took me a little while to get into the story, once I did I was fully invested.
For a more indepth, spoiler free review you can check out my youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyB_9YcwfOA&t=307s

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What a fun, quick read! As Adrienne searches for her twin sister, the reader is taken on a suspenseful and often hilarious ride. There were lots of “I didn’t see that coming!” moments. I can’t wait for my book club to read it! Thanks so much for the opportunity to read early!

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2 stars for this read that I felt focused too heavily on satirizing the mommy influencer culture/industry and not enough on the mystery/thriller aspect of the story. Parts of the plot also dragged a bit, but I was interested enough in finding out what happened to Chiara to keep reading, only to be pulled out of the story again by the over the top, campy bloodbath at the end. Overall, this read just didn't quite work for me, despite its intriguing premise.

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I had high hopes for this book, and at first, it completely drew me in. The writing was strong, the characters were compelling, and the story had an emotional depth that made it easy to connect with. I was fully invested, eager to see where it would go.

As the story progressed, it took a much heavier turn, and while I usually appreciate books that evoke strong emotions, this one left me feeling more unsettled than I expected. It was powerful and impactful, but also deeply devastating. I can see how that was likely the intention, and for many readers, that will make it all the more meaningful.

Even though it didn’t fully work for me in the end, I can’t deny the skill behind it. The story lingers long after the last page, and I think those who enjoy emotionally intense reads will find a lot to appreciate here.

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