Blog Tour: Follow Me, Like Me by Charlotte Seager | Book Review & Extract

I'm so excited to be part of the blog tour for Charlotte Seager's new book, Follow Me, Like Me.

In the summer of 2018, I got to interview Charlotte Seager with the release of her debut, My [Secret] YouTube Life. You can read that interview and my review of her first book here.

Also, before I get into my review and sharing the extract that the publishers have kindly allowed me to share it.

I want to start by saying that just like with all of my reviews, they are all my own thoughts and opinions. I am never influenced by the fact that I have been sent a book by the publishers or another company in exchange for a review.

So, let's get on with my review, starting with the synopsis...

What do you do when your Instagram romance starts following you IRL? When sixteen-year-old Chloe replies to a DM from a gorgeous stranger, she has no idea what she's inviting into her life. Soon Chloe realises she needs to find a way to stop him before things spiral out of control. Amber's online obsession with an older guy is taking over her life. When she hears a terrible rumour about him, she drops everything to try and prove his innocence - even if it means compromising her own. As the difference between their online lives and their real lives start to blue, Amber and Chloe will discover that some truths will do anything to stay hidden.

The story focuses on the lives of Amber and Chloe, alternating chapters between the two girls to get a look at what is going on with them. Chloe is a popular girl with a group of friends around her and a boy that she has recently broken up with but clearly still has feelings for. She also gets a lot of attention on Instagram, which she enjoys. She then has a boy called Sven who starts commenting on her photos, which then turns into constant messaging. At first she enjoys that attention but it soon starts to take a turn.

Then you have Amber, who feels competely invisible and is infatuated with a new, slightly older guy called Ren, who works in the gym. She has soon found gym boy Ren online and she starts to save photos of him on her laptop and checking on where he is, with the hope of possibly bumping into him. But then Ren loses his position at the gym and Amber goes on a mission to find out why, wanting to help prove his innocence.

The lives of the two girls are very different yet similar as they become more and more involved in the online world.

The characters are really interesting and its scary to see just what kind of role the world of Instagram plays in the lives of these young girls. It's something we hear a lot about, how Instagram paints this picture of how life "should" be with these perfect posed, filtered photos and the constant checking for the number of likes. It is worrying that so many people - especially young people - can be influenced by this and feel things should be a certain way, or when it comes down to counting followers and likes rather than just being yourself and sharing what you want to share without that concern. Instagram is a fantastic app, brilliant for sharing simple photos or getting creative or artsy, but this story highlights the potentially dangerous side.

Thinking about the writing, Charlotte Seager has such an effortless style. It is so easy to read and hard to put down. Plus, she really gets a message across about social media (it's hard to write this part without giving some spoilers away) and she writes both of the main characters really well. It's a great balance of both Chloe and Amber and you get a good sense of what both girls are like and what their lives are like in terms of friendships, family and what social media is to them.

Now, before I give my overall thoughts, here is the extract that I can share with you today, taken from the beginning of Amber's first chapter as she has a moment with Ren in the gym:

Overall, I really liked this book. It was an easy read but it also covered a really relevant, important topic when it comes to young people today. It brings awareness to these issues yet doesn't make it too dark and informative, it's still a simplistic, fun read that I enjoyed reading. I have already recommended this book to a couple of book-loving friends and I know it is one that I will be dropping into conversation in the future, especially when it comes to the subject of social media.

Follow Me, Like Me by Charlotte Seager is out now!

Order your copy here!