Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura is about Cleo, a woman whose only goal in life is fame.

I LOVED My Husband by this author and was so excited to read more from her! Make Me Famous is full of a lot of the same things I loved from My Husband (an unfiltered inner monologue of a questioningly evil woman, deep and comprehensive study into one main character, some suspense, etc.) I had a lot of fun reading about Cleo. She was diabolical and insane in ways that made it impossible to look away from her.

However, there were parts of this that made me like it a lot less than My Husband.
- The middle became very repetitive. The author does a great job making every aspect of Cleos life so detailed which creates a great immersive story, but it also caused the middle to drag a bit for me. Eventually I was feeling like ... I get it, Cleo only cares about herself and fame, she loves herself but hates herself, no one will leave her alone... ok lets move on!

- Oof the ending felt forced and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story for me. It felt like the author was trying to squeeze in an exciting twist or reveal that really wasn't as revolutionary as the buildup made it seem.

Overall I had fun with this!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Another delicious read by Maud Ventura ,her first translated novel Husband swept me away I couldn’t put it down..Her latest Make Me Famous following Cleo’s desire to be find fame .A character like one I’ve rarely read about her raw personality life path kept me turning the pages a wild unique read.#netgalley#harpervia

*Make Me Famous* by Maud Ventura is a sharp and darkly humorous exploration of ambition, obsession, and the price of fame. With razor-sharp prose and an irresistibly compelling protagonist, Ventura crafts a thrilling and unsettling tale that keeps readers captivated until the very last page.

This was more like a 3.5 for me, and enjoyable read but not as binge worthy as her last book. I think there will be a lot of people out there who enjoy this more than I did, but this book just has a few tropes that I tend to not enjoy such as the deserted island trope and really any fame related trope. I knew that the book would be about these things going in common but I overlooked them in hopes that the female rage element of the book would be the thing that kept me interested as a female rage is a topic that I adore reading about, particularly when it’s done well. But this read less like justified female rage and more like obsession, which might have been fine had I expected that going into it but I have a habit of disliking books whenever I am expecting one thing and then I get another. The writing here was still well above average and made it so that even as I was reading about things that I didn’t really care about I still somehow managed not to be bored because the author writes in such a way that makes for easy reading. I’d say this is for fans of people that do enjoy vacation trope And obsessive stalker trope.

Maud Ventura’s Make Me Famous offers an intriguing, if uneven, dive into the psyche of a woman so determined to attain fame that her behavior often veers into sociopathic territory. Unlike her previous book, *My Husband*, which I devoured in a day or two, this novel felt like a slog to get through. The narrative captures the raw ambition and vanity of its protagonist, yet it misses the signature humor I love in contemporary novels. Instead, it left me with cringeworthy feelings of annoyance at her self-obsessed antics, making it feel like a stark, and perhaps too realistic, look at the pitfalls of modern celebrity culture. While it may resonate with readers drawn to darker character studies, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

“My problem is that I’m too nice”, she said after murdering someone.

It’s not easy to write a book about sociopaths/mentally unwell women that doesn’t come off as glamorizing mental illness or trying to make content that fits in with annoying tiktok trends that center around being unwell or being a “manhater” or “bedrotting. In other words, it’s hard for authors to write insufferable characters well; but Maude Ventura did just that.

Cleo Leouvent is 100% absolutely batshit insane, but trust one thing she’s good for is a KI. This girl is an absolute comedian which may be an odd way to describe a murderous baby hating sociopath, but I guess that’s a testament to Ventura’s engaging writing style.

I was hooked by the depiction of fame in this book especially since the era Cleo lives in is the modern technology/Tiktok era. All of it felt so real… like it’s stuff your average celeb prob does (especially the faked Tiktok rant about mental illness). Ventura managed to depict fame as a wild drug and she was clearly able to show the physical and emotional effects of the drug through Cleo.

This was such a fun book, I devoured it in a day. The ending was hilarious as well. 10/10 recommend.

Ooooh, that ending! I loved Maud Ventura’s My Husband and I was really excited to get an early copy of her new one. As you might guess from the title, our main character Cléo had one goal: to become famous. She achieves her goal by becoming a world-famous pop superstar—think Taylor Swift, but one big difference: hiding under Cléo’s glossy exterior is a seriously sociopathic personality. While I did find some of Cléo’s musings on fame to be feel a bit repetitive, overall I loved this and can’t wait for Maud Ventura’s next one.

Thanks so much to HarperVia and NetGalley for my review copy! Make Me Famous launches May 13, 2025.

I requested this from NetGalley because Ventura's other book My Husband has been on my radar/TBR. My impression going into this, just based on what I've heard about My Husband, is that Ventura likes to write about delusional characters.

In this book, our main character Cléo is a headstrong, fame-obsessed, somewhat deluded person who is dead set on being a famous singer. This is very much a story about fame, power, celebrity culture, the music industry, and how far people are willing to go to make their dreams a reality. The main character is unlikeable and although it didn't get as strange or unhinged as I was hoping for, I did appreciate the larger commentary and seeing the main character's arc toward and through fame.

The blurb compares this to Daisy Jones & The Six, and I think they both touch on similar themes of fame, power, celebrity culture, etc., but tonally they feel quite different. I don't know if the audience for Daisy Jones is the audience for this book.

I would say if you liked Honey by Isabel Banta (or at least the tone and themes), then you might like this. If you do not like books about fame / famous people, I would not recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.
3.5, rounded up

4.25 Stars


Calling all my weird-girl-literary fiction / HBO’s “White Lotus” lovers- You will love this book!

“Make Me Famous” follows Cléo Louvent’s (delusional?) and obsessive climb through the ranks of fame. Her relationships with her parents,
roommates, and eventually her fans(?) are all darkly tinted through the lens of Cléo’s unhinged and ruthless ambition.

Even though the plot is fairly one-dimensional, the complexity of Cléo’s narcissism, relationships, and the societal commentary
associated with spending time with this character is endlessly entertaining and thought-provoking.
(Why is a confident woman with larger-than-life ambition so inherently unlikable anyway?)

I wouldn’t recommend this to thriller lovers who need an action/twist-heavy plot. Still, if you are interested in unlikable
characters with psychological twists (such as HBO’s "White Lotus" or Moshfegh’s "My Year of Rest and Relaxation” ) I think you’ll love this
one as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for an advance E-copy in exchange
for an honest review.

Maud Ventura’s Make Me Famous is an intoxicating, razor-sharp look at the price of stardom, told through the perspective of Cléo, a rising French-American singer who will do whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight. Ventura crafts an unflinching portrait of ambition, vanity, and the dark underbelly of celebrity culture, making this book both compulsively readable and deeply unsettling.

This book has great psychological depth and the characters had great character development and were overall very interesting. The book is not without its flaws, though. The story felt a little repetitive at times and it covered the same theme over and over. The ending felt a little satisfying, as well.

Great concept, and I loved the writing style. Unfortunately, the story kind of went off the rails. The storyline was hard to follow at points, but it had a lot of promise and I look forward to reading more by this author.

With My Husband being one of my favorite books of all time, I tried to go into this without comparing the two. It’s almost impossible because they’re similar in many ways buttttttt

Oops she did it again! Thanks netgalley for the advanced copy - what a trip. 4 stars.

Wow. After being enthralled with “My Husband” I didn’t know if anything could top it. I was pleasantly surprised. The level of detail and careful consideration was everywhere in this book. It feels like a modern depiction of classic writing, seamlessly intertwining modern literary, musical, and cinematic references with word choices and writing style you would find in a classic novel. I truly felt as though I was in the mind of the main character, I felt connected and close to her while I was reading. At the same time though, it made me question not only her but also myself and my understanding of who she was. This has been my top read of the year so far and it honestly just leaves me anxiously waiting Ventura’s next release. This book goes by so fast yet leaves a lingering of deeper thought, self reflection and curiosity.

Gorgeous cover! Ever since I fread MY HUSBAND by Ventura I was hoping for another novel but her and this was much different but very good - thank you for the advance reading. I didn't like the main character but found her story intriguing - overall a satisfying read. Maybe more wordy than hoped but well done.

Was just notified that I'll be receiving a print copy of this ARC (yes, I cried. don't judge me) so I'm submitting this in the meantime as I don't think it's fair my NG ratio is dependent on the speed of the USPS haha

Thank you times a million to Harper Via, I am no joke HONORED to be able to read early without having to fight my son for my kindle the entire time.

Will of course update w review and links accordingly ASAP :)

Thanks for the ARC to review! I've been so excited to read this one.

In general, I think the comps are off. I would compare this more to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, not Daisy Jones and the Six. While both explore fame, this is more in line with the introspective look back in Evelyn Hugo and slower paced than Daisy Jones. I really enjoyed the book toward the end, but found it very slow in the beginning.

Review will go up on my instagram account @stressiereads, as well as Goodreads this week. Thank you again!

What would you do to achieve your wildest dreams?
For Cléo, she will stop at nothing to become a famous singer, and anyone or anything in her way is getting bulldozed.

I love Maud Ventura's writing. The stories are always so detailed and intricate and I can always get into the head of the character (quite alarming with this one!). I get to the end and feel pleased with it, but then the EPILOGUE HAPPENS and I second guess everything I read?!

I give Make Me Famous 4 stars for a fantastic story and wonderful writing. All the secondary characters were relevant and had great development. I only took a star off because the book was a bit longer than I felt it could've been, and Cléo was truly insufferable (which was the point, but still).

Make Me Famous tackles morality in the depths of the spotlight and what it means to be motivated by self-image alone.

When a world really does revolve around you, can you make a misstep without your whole world crumbling? Or must you deny deny deny and play the role of the likable person you have never been and will never be?

Cleo is spelled U N LI K A B L E. Making this book an extremely gripping tale of mind games and manipulation. Manifesting the worst sides of devotion and determination. Passion becomes poison. Lies become life.

Highly recommend for those who enjoy character studies. This one will not let you down.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an eARC of Make Me Famous in exchange for my honest opinions.

Maud’s mind is such a glorious place to visit. I loved My Husband and although seemingly quite different, I did love Make Me Famous as well. Cleo was insufferable from the very first page (which I love). We follow her on her quest to find fame and onward. I have always said it takes a certain kind of mental illness to desire to be in the spotlight and this was the perfect manifestation of those thoughts. I loved the tiny tidbits we got into her relationship with her parents. Very fitting.
The ending??? I have so many questions but in the same breath I adored it.

i loved Ventura’s first book, so I was disappointed that this one didn’t resonate with me as much. the story felt repetitive, and the main character’s personality made it difficult to stay engaged. since I’m not particularly drawn to celebrity culture or the pursuit of fame, the themes didn’t fully hold my attention. that said, Ventura’s writing remains intense and immersive, just like in her debut, and she continues to depict obsession with remarkable precision, the subject matter just wasn’t as compelling for me this time.