(4.5 rated up) I absolutely ate up Maud Ventura’s “My Husband” & was extremely excited to read her next novel. Ventura sure can write a hell of an ending. This story follows Cléo, one of the biggest stars in the world, and splits into two narratives - one being her rise to stardom, a rise that only she could see coming and the other taking place in the present, with Cléo on an isolated vacation with a lot of time to think about her life. The author writes so, so well within the first-person perspective. Cléo is pretty awful - selfish and ruthless, but I really enjoyed being inside her head - unlikable, unreliable narrator at it’s finest (in my opinion). The book has a lot to say about fame and ambition and what it takes to make it in a cuthroat business, but my favorite part of the book was following the voice of Cléo.

This was a really good book! I liked the themes of obsession, dysfunction, fame, being in the spotlight, and love. It was a good read, I had a good pacing, and the characters were all really good. I did enjoy reading this book and it was a quick read for me because I wanted to get to the end

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Maud Ventura’s Make Me Famous (available in English 5/13/25) is a captivating, raw exploration of fame, self-destruction, and the price of artistic integrity. Following the success of her debut novel, Ventura proves once again that she has a remarkable ability to dive deep into the complexities of her characters, and Make Me Famous is no exception.

The novel alternates between two timelines: the present, where Cléo, a brash, narcissistic pop star, isolates herself on a desert island for three weeks to write her fourth album, and flashbacks to her rise to fame. Cléo is the daughter of two academics, but her singular ambition has always been to become famous. She is simultaneously hard-working, sociopathic, and fiercely dedicated to her craft, even if it means sacrificing her personal life and her authenticity in the process.

Cléo is an unlikable protagonist—cynical, self-absorbed, and unapologetically ruthless—but Ventura makes her fascinating. I found myself rooting for her despite her flaws, often agreeing with her brutally honest commentary. The novel reads like a documentary of a starlet’s journey, enhanced by Cléo’s internal monologue, where her self-awareness about her objectification as a celebrity both fuels and complicates her drive. Her pursuit of fame becomes not just about success, but about defining her identity in a world that demands she sell herself to stay relevant. This tension is further explored in the way the entertainment industry turns women into branded commodities, and Cléo’s insistence on maintaining artistic integrity while being a product for public consumption adds layers of complexity to her character. In her eyes, her fame sustains the people around her, and she wields that power without hesitation.

Just as My Husband, Make Me Famous has a very unexpected and abrupt ending. As this is an ARC, I’m left with a sense of unfinished business, and I cannot wait for this to release to the public so I can discuss my theories with others!

Make Me Famous is a fascinating dive into the psyche of a celebrity, and Ventura’s keen observations on the commodification of art and identity are both timely and thought-provoking. If you enjoyed her debut or are intrigued by complex, morally gray characters, this book is definitely worth the read.

Merci beaucoup NetGalley and HarperVia for the advance copy!

At first, I thought that because I had read “My Husband”, I knew how this was going to end. Then halfway through I realized I was wrong about how it was going to end, but I knew that my new guess was right. Because I’d read “My Husband”,

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC! This was an amazing novel. Very well written, engaging, charismatic, and entertaining. The storyline flowed well and successfully kept my interest. My only issue as the ending, which I felt needed more of a conclusion. I highly recommend this novel and I definitely will be reading more from this author.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

i wanted to love this sooo much. the first half was incredible, an unhinged, rich and famous celebrity details the insanity it took for her to become famous. but by the halfway point, i started to get bored, and it never picked back up again. ventura is so talented, but it was really hard for me to get through the latter half of the novel, as it felt redundant and as if the story lacked the substance of the first half. i kept waiting for something to happen - and when it did, it felt underwhelming, and not like the build up of ventura's other novel, my husband. so sad to not be giving this five stars. </3 i still love u maud ventura!

This read is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I did overall enjoy it. The translation is flawless, and the plot/pacing of the novel is great. I didn't enjoy the writing style as much, so that threw me off. Overall, would recommend.

Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura, translated by Gretchen Schmid, is a gripping, sharp character study of Cléo Louvent. The daughter of two academics living in Paris, Cléo knows from childhood that she is destined to be a famous singer. The novel follows two timelines, one of Cléo’s early life and rise to fame, and one years later, in which she has achieved soaring stardom and has escaped for a three-week solo vacation on an isolated Pacific island, an elite escape for the world’s biggest celebrities. We follow her transformation from a nameless young woman, obsessed with becoming famous, to a rising star obsessed with her image, to a world-famous celebrity who has reached a breaking point. Her rise to fame did not come without a price, and she finds that she must be ruthless in the competitive world of stardom, and that becoming a public figure is an isolating experience. The entire book, Cléo hurtles toward a breaking point, where she makes a potentially life-altering decision that could up-end her life.

Told from the first-person perspective, we spend this entire book inside of Cléo’s head. It is clear that she has sociopathic tendencies, which are expressed through her thoughts and actions throughout the book. Self-obsessed and lacking any ability to feel sympathy, she holds scathing opinions of every single person around her. Although she is objectively a bad person, readers can understand her thought process, because the author is so effective at portraying her as a real person. The character development in this novel is meticulous, and although we know Cléo is a horrible person, we can’t look away, and we can almost understand her cynical, selfish understanding of the world. Despite the character-forward focus of the book, there was no lack of plot, with a solid storyline propelling Cléo’s self-image, desires, and fame toward her breaking point. Maud Ventura has written an incredible, extremely hashed-out character study of an unlikeable, manipulative, selfish narrator, but I still fell in love.

This book touched heavily on how artists often compromise their art in favor of commercial success, and the commodification of the self (especially for women) in the entertainment industry. Cléo refuses to compromise her artistic process of self-writing her music, but she must constantly sell herself as a branded persona. Multiple times, she comments on how she is the reason anyone around her has a job (her manager, her assistant, etc.), seeing herself as a money-making business more than a person. What makes her perspective interesting is her self-awareness; she knows that she is commodifying herself and her art, but her obsession with becoming and staying famous is worth that to her.

My only complaint about this novel is the abruptness with the ending; the book reaches a tipping point, then immediately shifts to the epilogue. Although I feel satisfied with how Cléo’s character arc and plot line ends, I wish we could have seen more aftermath. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the awful, selfish mind of Cléo Louvent. This book sucked me in and did not let me go; the prose was propulsive and meticulous. Major props to Gretchen Schmid, the translator, for her work in bringing this story to English-language readers. Thank you to HarperCollins for providing an advanced copy of this book – I am so excited to share this recommendation!

Absolutely fascinating!

Cléo is a French-American child prodigy with an insatiable drive for fame, encapsulating everything required to climb the treacherous ladder to stardom. Every detail of her life is calculated: her movements, her songs, her outfits, and even her relationships. Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura is a captivating exploration of ambition and the cost of chasing celebrity, told with precision and dark undertones that linger long after the final page.

Written in an intimate first-person narrative, Ventura pulls readers into Cléo’s mind, giving us a front-row seat to her meteoric rise. From the innocent beginnings of a young girl with dreams to the razor-sharp focus of a woman willing to sacrifice everything, Cléo’s transformation is as thrilling as it is unsettling. Ventura masterfully unpacks the price of fame, laying bare the vulnerabilities, manipulations, and compromises required to stay in the spotlight.

What sets this book apart is Ventura’s ability to infuse the narrative with deeply personal and sometimes chilling moments. As Cléo’s journey unfolds, we see not only the public persona she carefully crafts but also the private toll of her decisions. Dark twists punctuate the story.

Make Me Famous is both a cautionary tale and a gripping character study. Ventura’s writing is sharp and unflinching, seamlessly blending the glitz of celebrity with the shadows that lurk behind the scenes. Cléo’s story is a comet trajectory—dazzling and destructive—and readers will find themselves unable to look away.

A must-read for fans of psychological depth, fame-centered dramas, and richly layered storytelling.
Translated by Gretchen Schmid
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