Make Me Famous is essentially just the recounting of her life by an extremely narcissistic and one track minded French woman named Cleo who has decided she will become a pop star, no matter the cost, and no matter how shallow it sounds and ends up being. The novel pivots from recounting her life from her perspective so far, but also small excerpts of her current moments on a mysterious lone island vacation. The majority of the novel is spent enlightening us of Cleo’s extremely self-concerning narrative and the cutthroat way she manages to secure a pop star career for herself, which, yes, she does manage to accomplish. Cleo is an absolutely vile selfish person the entire book, as is the norm for Maud’s books it seems, but aside from this obviously purposefully grating and corrupt hollywood narrative, there was not any further points grounding this book in any place of meaning or impact, and the book as a whole felt quite pointless, and a drawn out lead up to a unfulfilling end. It seems like Maud took the formula of her novel My Husband and simply shook up the character attributes and careers; a long monotonous lead up of narcissism and obsession, ending in a twist ending that wasn’t enough of a gotcha moment to make the whole book truly worth reading.

When I heard Maud Ventura was releasing another book, I was immediately excited. Her previous novel, My Husband, left a lasting impression on me when I read it last year—it was so good and genuinely unforgettable. I went into this one fully expecting another wildly unhinged and unreliable narrator, and I was not disappointed.

This book definitely delivered on the crazy main character front. The plot itself meanders a bit—it’s not really about the events or a big twist, but more about being immersed in the character’s obsessive, spiraling thoughts. You keep thinking it’s building to something concrete, like there’s going to be a big reveal or purpose, but really, the whole point is just to live inside this chaotic mind that ultimately goes... nowhere.

And weirdly enough, that kind of worked. The ending left me cackling and oddly satisfied.

In this story we follow an insufferable narcissist that believes she's the best, most beautiful, most talented, most accomplished, most cherished musician to have ever lived in all of history.

What she actually is: Most annoying, most self-inflated, most ridiculous, most awful, most vain, most annoying person to have to ever spend time with.

At the start I was really enjoying this but then for 200 pages I felt like I was stuck in a loop that I desperately wanted to end. I become completely exhausted with her.

I'm not a person that finds Hollywood, celebrities, fame and fortune fascinating at all so this was doomed from the start.

That being said, Ventura is such a talented writer who definitely knows how flesh out obsessive characters. I loved her debut, My Husband, but this subject matter just didn't appeal to me. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for my complimentary copy.

first of all, a huge thanks to netgalley for the arc of this book!! it will be out on may 13th.

let me just say this: this book was SO fun to read. this book is about a famous singer, cleo. it chronicles her rise to fame, riding the high of success, and her trying to maintain her spot at the top of the mountain. of course, it all goes downhill. as she gets some r&r on an island in the middle of the ocean, she reflects on her life thus far.

make me famous is deeply engrossing from start to finish. it's SO hard to put down!! cleo is hugely unlikeable. she’s definitely mean, unfeeling, and maybe a little sociopathic. but you just can't help but read about her. this book is like a combination of you and the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. very fun, darkly funny, and filled with all kinds of music references. i definitely recommend this book!

overall, if you're thinking about picking this book up, do it. you're in for a wild ride that ends in a very insane way!

I went into this book with high expectations after loving Ventura’s My Husband. And at first, I thought this would be another hit. The premise is promising: a character study of Cleo and her ascent to fame, along with the consequences of finally getting what she’s longed—and schemed—for.

But as the story unfolded, it lost its grip on me. Cleo, despite being the center of the novel, is frustratingly dull. Her narcissism is her only defining trait, and even that feels one-note. The supporting cast of celebrities is similarly flat, lacking the complexity or intrigue to make them feel real or memorable. I wonder if this is because all celebrities and their entourages are also dull and dull?

I kept turning the pages hoping for a sharp twist or unexpected payoff like the one in My Husband, but it never came. The ending was lackluster and the "twist" (can it be called that?) was underwhelming. Instead, the story drifted into more of the same: a surface-level narrative that ultimately left me bored, disappointed, and wishing that it would hurry up and end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura and translated by Gretchen Schmid is a French contemporary exploring narcissism and fame. Cléo has always known that she was meant to be famous, but hid it from her academic parents as a child. When the chance finally comes for her to be a singer, she not only takes it, but studies every reaction around her to make sure she puts herself in the best position possible.

I thought it was fascinating how Cléo took her parents’ academic leanings and used it to study the careers of pop singers, categorizing them, their rise to stardom, etc. and used this information to figure out how to position herself. It’s very smart and I’m sure there are stars who have done exactly that; I just never would have considered doing it myself to that degree. It's not good grades that drive her, but success to a high degree and it touches a lot of aspects of her life, including intimacy. This goes a step further in how academic she approaches her music career once she finally gets a foothold and the way she approaches interviews and the press.

As a character, Cléo is interesting, abhorrent, frustrating, a spectacle, a narcissist, and a representation of the self-centered, fame-seeking person that many of us know. She’s manipulative and calculating, hiding her actual feelings so that she seems like a pleasure to work with before she ‘earns’ being a diva. I think we do need to have more conversations about who seeks fame and why and if we still need to be doing the same song and dance around fame we’ve been doing (such as paparazzi). Cléo takes this a step further and is obsessed with having a perfect body for being a pop star and displays a decent amount of fatphobia towards others, including other singers.

This was one of the most honest looks at people seeking fame that I have read in recent memory (the other being The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner). There are times where I feel that books centered on social media or fame shy away from actually diving into this topic in depth and really getting into the head of someone who doesn’t just want fame, but is going to do whatever they can to get it. It is a risk for a writer to depict a young woman who is that messy and that unapologetic about what she wants because, as a society, we still expect so much of young women and are unwilling to forgive that mess. I respect Maud Ventura for going there and taking an unflinching look at the kind of person who could be attracted to fame and believes she’s better than everyone else, warts and all, and that she never asks us to forgive Cléo. We don’t need to forgive her, we just need to understand how she thinks.

Content warning for fatphobia, death of a parent, and mentions of sexual assault

I would recommend this to fans of works centered on the darker side of fame and the music world and readers of contemporary fiction with messy female leads

DNF at 30%. I understand the concept of an unreliable narrator, and I get the idea of characters that people are meant to hate. I have read and enjoyed many books with these characteristics. But this narrator was so off-putting that it made the reading experience really unenjoyable. Maybe my mind would have been changed later in the book, but I hated Cleo's character so much that I felt like it wasn't worth my time on this earth to continue reading a book that left such a bad taste in my mouth. She has zero redeeming qualities. Then I got to one specific part that I thought was so ridiculous, I just said "I'm done." I gave the book two stars because I was initially drawn in by the story, and it did hold my attention.

Make Me Famous is a contemporary fiction following a narcissistic main character, Cleo. Cleo is entitled and knows it. Her one goal is to become famous. She is willing to step on toes and play dirty but still willing to work hard. She is a liar, fake, but clever and honest in her internal narration.

I liked reading this because I enjoy character studies and non-likable characters, particularly female. I found Cleo's thoughts and actions to be funny, audacious, and intriguing. I did not like that Cleo didn't have much character development. She starts off bad and then gets slightly worse and then something abrupt happens at the end and that's the end of the book. It didn't feel quite satisfying enough for me.

This book does offer commentary on fame and for the most part I think it was well done. However, after a certain point in the book, it felt like there wasn't much left to say. Also, this book has fictional celebrities that are straight up copies of real celebrities just with a slight name change, I thought it was silly and a bit unnecessary.

Overall I liked this and it was easy to read but it didn't really go very deep like I hoped. 3.75/5

Content warning: open door sex, fatphobia, self harm

Thank you to HarperVia for the eARC

Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura is one of those books that creeps up on you. I went into it expecting a sharp satire of influencer culture, and while it is that, it’s also much darker, more unsettling, and—somehow—uncomfortably relatable.

The narrator is this wildly self-obsessed, enigmatic woman whose entire identity revolves around her popularity online. At first, I thought I’d be rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of her priorities, but Ventura does something clever: she pulls you inside the narrator’s head so completely that, before you realize it, you’re trapped in her spiraling logic. It’s obsessive, paranoid, and oddly mesmerizing. I kept flipping pages because I needed to know where her obsession with attention and validation would take her.

What struck me most is how this book manages to be both funny and chilling. The narrator’s internal monologue is filled with delusions of grandeur, little humiliations, and this constant need for admiration that borders on mania. And yet, she’s not totally unlikable. In fact, part of what makes this novel so effective is how it captures the little voice we all sometimes hear—the craving for approval, the need to be seen, liked, remembered. It just turns that voice up to 100.

By the end, I felt a little breathless. Not because it was a twisty thriller (though it definitely goes to a disturbing place), but because it was such an intense psychological portrait. It holds up a mirror to how we live online and dares us to look. Not everyone will love it—it’s uncomfortable by design—but I think that’s what makes it powerful.

WOW.

Make Me Famous is Maud Ventura sophomore novel. After her debut novel My Husband, I knew going into this one I would not be disappointed.

In Make Me Famous we follow Cleo, a 33 year old famous singer. She is taking a vacation on a deserted island to take a break her pop star world. We reflect back on her life starting from her childhood, and recall her journey to stardom. Cleo is morally grey. She is a narcissist. She is completely unhinged. She is mean but she’s okay with that because why? She’s famous!

I love how Maud Ventura writes Cleo to be a villain but in such a realistic way. Her thoughts and actions literally come from the little devil on everyone’s shoulder that people choose to ignore. Everyone except Cleo of course! Even though I’m not famous I found myself relating to so many of her thoughts. I feel like many people have a dark side but are afraid to show it but not Cleo. She is unapologetically herself .

I found Make Me Famous to be extremely entertaining. It’s fast paced and I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting and will be recommending to everyone.

Wow, that was unhinged AF—in the best way possible. Cleo, the main character, is completely unlikable, borderline delusional, and honestly kind of exhausting… but I couldn’t stop reading. There’s something so gripping about the way the story unravels. It’s messy, chaotic, and addictive. I found myself constantly wondering where it was all going, and needing to know how it would end. The ending wasn’t what I expected at all, but it totally fit the unhinged vibe of the book.

This book is a captivating and immersive read from start to finish. The writing is engaging, the pacing well-balanced, and the characters are richly developed with relatable emotions and motivations. The story unfolds in a way that keeps the reader hooked, offering just the right mix of tension, heart, and thought-provoking themes. Whether you're looking for an emotional journey, a thrilling plot, or simply beautiful prose, this book delivers. It's a standout example of great storytelling and leaves a lasting impression long after the final page.

As long as Maud Ventura wants to write utterly unhinged and insane women, I will be tuned in.

It takes a special rhythm and skill to write about a character so abhorrent and unlikable that still tugs at your need to keep reading on. Cleo is self absorbed, impulsive, and the image of what celebrity can (and has done) to people's minds. Reading this is like watching a feral animal slowly falling down a tree it climbed up, branches snapping on its descent down, anxious about the moment that last limb finally snaps.

The ending was jaw dropping not once, but twice.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! What an unhinged story about an unhinged woman who will do absolutely anything to be famous! This story follows Cleo who from a young age knows that she wants to be famous. We follow Cleo as she writes her first song and moves to New York and how she uses people around her to get what she wants. We also follow Cleo in the future, who is on this private island that only the richest of the richest go to, to be secluded from everything and everyone as she writes her next album. Cleo is so unhinged in her pursuit of fame that she doesn't think about how her life will be ruined but in the same breath she can't stop trying to be on top. This book had me screaming but also the ending had me shook. This book is definitely for my cool, hot, weird girls. If you know, you know.

3 stars for the whining, 5 for the second half. If you liked my husband you’ll love this! And never see peeps the same again.

I ATE THIS UP!!!!!!!! I also read My Husband by Maud Ventura and I absolutely love this author. If 'Good for her' is a genre you enjoy then this is exactly the book for you. It follows a 33 year old fame driven superstar named Cleo and all the craziness that comes with fame but also all the wild stuff she did to get there. Highly recommend if any of that, or this author sounds interesting to you!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Maud Ventura and HarperVia Publishing for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and thought that for the most part it was well written. I think it just went on for too long, and did not need quite so many details of Cleo’s determination to become famous, and then of her dissatisfaction with her life. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Truly no one writes unhinged women quite like Maud Ventura. Her other book, My Husband, is one of my favorite books I’ve read in the past few years.

In Make Me Famous, we follow Cleo on her way to fame. She knows she’s destined to be famous and will do anything to fulfill her destiny. Ventura’s writing is amazing as always, and while her characters are deeply unlikable, she somehow gets you to fall for them. This book is the definition of “I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs.” Grab this book if you are looking for a slightly darker, in a good way, Daisy Jones and the Six.

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC!!

"Daisy Jones and the Six meets Patricia Highsmith in this addictive, intense novel about the brutal and ferocious road to glory, from the award-winning author of My Husband.

Ever since she was a child, Cléo, the French-American daughter of two academics, has had only one obsession: becoming a famous singer. Over the years, to everyone's surprise but her own, she overcomes every obstacle and becomes a global superstar with millions of dollars, countless awards, and several Los Angeles villas to her name. But as any celebrity will tell you, getting to the top is one thing; staying there is another.

Now thirty-three years old, Cléo is taking her first real vacation in years, on a remote island with no one else in sight. With the never-ending spin cycle of her life finally on pause and no paparazzi peeking out from behind the coconut palms, she can work on her fourth album in peace. Except that with so much time to think, she can't help but ruminate on her past - including how, just six months earlier, things started to go very, very wrong...

Taking place between New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and the South Pacific, Make Me Famous is a brilliant sophomore novel from Maud Ventura that dives intoxicatingly deep into the machinations of one woman's complicated mind, and her relentless pursuit of fame."

I'm here for the Patricia Highsmith of it all!

Well, this was a delightfully entertaining novel that grew more and more deranged as it reached its surprising conclusion.