Follow Me Back

ADDICTIVE AS FUCK. I couldn't stop reading it. Could. Not. Stop. And I don't even like the celebrity/regular person trope usually.

It takes a special kind of book to come along that makes me read it straight through without stopping-- and that's exactly what Follow Me Back was. I started it Sunday evening and finished it that night.

I could not stop reading this book. It was so addictive. I wanted to know what made Tessa scared to leave her house, and I wanted to know what would happen when she found out that she was actually conversing with her celebrity obsession-- but mostly, I wanted to read about these 2 characters and their inner thoughts and fears and passions.

This book surprised me so much because I don't usually go for the whole show more "normal girl" and celebrity trope. I was super surprised that there even was a flirty/romantic relationship because I was expecting this to be dark, but there was and I liked it??? I think it's because Tessa was so relatable and I cared about what she had to say. I felt like I was just as excited to talk to Tessa as Eric was. I wanted to know how her therapy was going, and I wanted to be her friend.

It was also very interesting to read about the dark side of celebrity. I don't think I'd go as far as saying I feel bad for them-- but I do know it would be tough giving up so much of your privacy and never knowing if a mentally ill or psychotic fan is going to do something violent or go too far.

The ending: WHAT??? I loved that this got to that super dark place, and I even kind of loved that this ended with a big question mark. I have no idea where this series is going to go from here, but I'm dying to find out!!

OVERALL: I think this is my favorite book of the year so far because it was so addicting and entertaining. I loved both main characters, I loved that I had NO IDEA what was going to happen and I was on the edge of my seat, and I loved the perfect mix of lightness and darkness. I 100% RECOMMEND!!

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Tessa Hart suffers from agoraphobia after a traumatic experience during a summer program she was attending. She has even deferred her freshman year of college. She spends all her time in her room obsessing over pop star Eric Thorn on Twitter.

Eric Thorn is worried his fans will attack him. This fear started after another artist had been stalked and murdered by one of his fans. Eric is fed up with all the fangirls and the social media publicity and promoting he's forced to do, so he creates another account to anonymously bash himself and his fangirls. He decides to message one of his top followers, which happens to be Tessa, to tell her her life is meaningless and Eric Thorn will never like her. But what blossoms into a strong friendship show more may have deadly consequences.

I enjoyed this book. The ending was great! I'm a sucker for books like this - told through Twitter messages and police interrogations. I liked the suspense. It starts off with a police interrogation then we learn about Tessa and Eric and how the police became involved and in between we're given more interrogations. I liked both Tessa and Eric and found their problems real. It's relevant today with almost everyone in the world being connected through the internet. Hopefully this book is a reminder to some that we never know who we're talking to online and that it's better to be safe than sorry. show less

One and a half stars, and it looks like this was the first book of a series. I'm glad for the author! I read the acknowledgments section in the back when I was done, and she genuinely enjoys what she's doing and cares about her fans. I want that to continue for her.
I love female stalker stories and thought this would be one. The concept was fascinating! The execution was not. Tessa was unrealistic and I disliked her. Eric was surprisingly sympathetic (celebrity characters can be written differently than that). The villain shows up halfway through or so. I raised my eyebrows and thought, Really, Author? You're trying to pull -that- on a thriller-suspense fan? Is the rest of the book going to be this boring? It was as boring, but became show more more outlandish. I was so bored that I didn't feel the slightest let down, more insulted. show less

Wow. I wasn't expecting this novel to be ... so ... bad. In the beginning, I was intrigued because the first chapter opens up with a police transcript. Immediately, the reader knows that things get serious. However, as the story continues, it becomes apparent that this is nothing more than just some fanfiction romance. This novel reads like fanfiction. And it's not even GOOD fanfiction! We have a whiny, condescending pop star with an irrational fear of his fans. We have a PR team with no empathy, or conscience whatsoever. And we have an insipid fandom that apparently consists only of shallow girls. Oh, except for our one unique fan, Tessa, our snowflake. This bothered me so much because fandoms are really not like that at all. I'm not show more very involved with any fandom but I know that there are a lot of fans who take the time to get to know the celebrities they love, who analyze their work, and who really appreciate the celebrity for their art and for their personality. It's not just "about the abs" as Eric depicts it in the book. This novel suggests that it is going to be a thriller but is really just a romance. At the 80% mark, we finally see the thriller that we are promised but it is really badly executed. We have the introduction of a random character with their random plan that was not properly incorporated at any point in the story. It was just such a mess, and it was so confusing to read. And then there is another cringe-worthy romance scene, followed by another twist. And the story ends as a cliffhanger, with the promise of a sequel. It was just too much for me to handle. My concluding thoughts? This is just some really bad fanfiction that is full of cringe-worthy and hard-to-believe romance (seriously, these characters DO NOT understand what love is) and a last minute thriller thrown in as an attempt to satisfy readers. I will not be reading the sequel and I will not be recommending this novel to anyone. 1/5 stars from me.

I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is one of the best Young Adult novels that I've read in the past year. I could not put the book down and read it all in one sitting! The more I read, the more I came to identify with both Tessa and Eric. Both characters were dealing with extreme anxiety and we able to comfort each other through a medium that you would not expect. The story shows the real about stalking and the online fandom and how things can escalate and become dangerous. And that ending! OMG! I thought I knew how the book was going to end but nope...the ending throws you into a loop...but in a good way! I'm looking forward to reading more from A.V. Geiger.

CW: agoraphobia, anxiety, depression, violence, catfishing, stalking.

Well that was a nice surprise!

This isn't a complex story but there is enough suspense and mystery to make it enjoyable for its target audience. The author did a good job of building a sense of underlying menace as the story progressed. I liked both the main characters and thought their voices were quite believable. I don't know if this is a good portrayal of agoraphobia but I think Eric's anxiety in public was done well. After that cliffhanger ending, I will definitely read the second book and think this will be popular in the high school library I work in.

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I’ve read this book in two days time (that’s because I have to sleep) and I have 6 highlights inside. I don’t normally highlights on ebook but this time I did. That clearly tells that I’ve loved the book a lot! This gem has a second book called Tell Me No Lies whose blog tour post will be posted on June 7.

Let’s start by judging the book cover. Ah-huh, intriguing way of blurring the girl’s face. Tessa actually suffers from agoraphobia, she fears an actual or anticipated situation, such as using public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in line, or being in a crowd. That’s according to MayoClinic and the book cover truly depicted Tessas state of mind.

The other main character named Eric show more Thorn @EricThorn is a celebrity and Tessa Hart is one of his fangirls @TessaHeartsEric. But recent events that includes another celebrity being killed by his fan has made Eric aloof from his fanbase. Then again there’s this whole #EricThornObsessed going around recently that put the biggest spotlight on him. There comes another account to destroy the Eric Thorn Obsessions with the username @EricThornSucks, to turn the spotlight off.

The story is told in three different ways. I know, unique! The first one is like investigation dialogues. It is very formal and truths are told in a manner. The next telling is called twitter conversations such as DMs and tweets. Very techy and millennial? And the last is the usual novel story telling in chapters. JUST Imagine these three ways in one book a.k.a. amazing writing style.

I just hate the fact that the interviews come first before the novel-story-telling so its like these are spoiling me. The book’s a lot of fun, so it’s funny and mysterious, thrilling and also swoon-worthy. If we are talking about a rollercoaster of emotions then this book perfectly fits! I love Eric Thorn and all his mystery.

“Please, just this once. Let me be the guy that takes you home.” -Eric Thorn

So right I am officially part of the #EricThornObsessed craze! I am so recommending this book. It is perfect for a boring day for all its twist and turns. Go read it and have the “I can’t wait to start the second book” like me. show less