elise128 's review for:

Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger
3.0
I was learning toward 3.5 stars until the last couple of pages.

This book was a lot of fun to read. Not only does it use one of my favorite tropes (famous person + normal person), but it went a step further and made that normal person a fangirl. Not just a fan, but a fangirl. It also explored the darker side of fandom. Maybe it went to the extreme by including the murder of another popstar, but everything else you can find online at any time. Weird, borderline inappropriate photoshopping? Check. Rampant exclamation points, caps lock, and confessions of eternal love? Check. Forgetting that famous people are actual real people? Double, triple quadruple check.

This was also a page-turner. I was so curious about what happened to Tessa in New Orleans. The reveal wasn't what I expected, and oh my goodness, it was chilling.
Just imagine waking up in an unknown room, next to an unknown person, switching on the light and finding hundreds of photographs of yourself. It sounds horrifying! Tessa's subsequent mental illness & triggers makes total sense.


I know some people think Eric Thorn was a dickhead, and I totally agree, but I think that helped make him more of a real character. He's a spoiled popstar living in a bubble. He's definitely got real issues that help him relate to Tessa, but still. It'd be more surprising if he wasn't a little full of himself.

So I really enjoyed this. A lot of fun. Great payoff in the last chunk of the book.
Nice work with the bait and switch. I definitely thought Blair was MET.


Then, the final few pages.
I didn't like it. I'm assuming Tessa and Eric faked his death? There's nothing in Tessa's chapters that point to her nearing a psychotic break or being dangerously obsessed with Eric. Also, blood in the bedroom? She said she wouldn't sleep with him. I doubt she murdered him. Doesn't fit. Although the alternative is rather surprising. If they faked his death, of course she's going to be pinned for his murdered. Is she okay with that? I mean, okay, they're riding off into the sunset in Mexico, but still. I would have much preferred an update on their relationship in the last two pages, not some gigantic twist. (All I could think was this agoraphobic girl who can't stand having her picture taken is now dating a hugely famous popstar. Good luck bringing those two worlds together.) But okay, the author had a different plot in mind, and to be fair, it's not like this was the end. There's going to be another one. I just didn't go into this thinking the story would be stretching into another book. Also, how did she end up driving off at the end? Agoraphobia magically cured? She even told Eric she was still scared even though Blair was locked up. It didn't seem like she was faking it during the book.


I'll read the next one. I definitely need to know what really happened. Hopefully, the next one will be just as fun.