Book Review: Followers

FOLLOWERS | Megan Angelo
01.14.2020 | Graydon House
Rating: 5/5 stars

2015: Orla Cadden dreams of becoming a well-known writer. She currently finds herself writing pieces for an online blog about celebrities. Her work ranges from covering events to what someone ate for dinner. Orla wants more for herself. Enter her new roommate, Floss, who is striving to be the next big name. She would love to be the star in one of Orla’s pieces and that’s exactly the plan that the roommates hatch: an accelerated plan to social media fame.

2050: Marlow lives in an exclusive California village strictly controlled by the government. Those who live here have been hand selected for fame. Every move they make is recorded and streamed to the general public. Every action they take has been carefully scripted. Marlow dreams of something more. She wants a life where she can feel real emotions instead of projecting the reactions she is told she should feel. As Marlow’s life is forced to adhere to a new script, she finds a massive family secret that could change everything for her.

FOLLOWERS is a debut release from Megan Angelo that feels like anything but a first book. Angelo has carefully written a story woven between timelines and narrators about the impact of social media on happiness. This book examines the fine lines between what is right and wrong and pushing that line to get the success you crave. In a world where social media is for some, their livelihood, nothing about this story in present or future feels forced or unrealistic. 

Megan Angelo has given the reader not only solid, fully-developed characters, but made sure that the spotlight of her story is on women who fit this bill. Orla, Floss, and Marlow are all female characters that a reader can get behind. They’re empowered to reach the heights that they aspire to hit, they’re willing to take chances for a big reward, and they’re determined to stop at nothing to achieve their goals. All of this isn’t to say that these characters aren’t without their faults and flaws, but it is those very elements which make them so relatable and easy to become invested in. I loved watching their journey, through all of the good and bad, until the very end of this book!

In addition to fully fleshed out characters, Angelo gives the reader two time periods to alternate between. They almost feel like two different worlds despite being only set thirty-five years apart. There’s a reason for this feeling, but to avoid spoilers I won’t reveal why. Each time period came to life as Angelo provided the reader a front row experience into the lives of her characters. I felt like I was watching a movie or a television show while I was reading this book with how solidly formed everything came across.

FOLLOWERS is timely, original, and downright addictive! This is the type of book that fits readers across genres and I cannot recommend it enough!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

A huge thank you to Harlequin Books for sending me a free copy of this book!

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.