Review: The Haters by Robyn Harding

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Release date: July 2, 2024

Publisher: Grand Central

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Synopsis:

Camryn Lane is living her dream. After years of struggle and rejection, her first novel has finally been published. Her editor is happy; her teenage daughter is proud; and her boyfriend and friends are all excited for her. She’s on top of the world—until she receives a disturbing message from an unknown sender.

Rattled by the accusations she finds there, Camryn swallows the sick feeling in her stomach and resolves to put the missive out of her mind. But when she checks her ratings on a popular book site, she finds a scathing one-star review. The reviewer is so articulate and convincing that soon, Camryn’s book is flooded with bad reviews. Could the reviewer be the same person who sent the ugly email? And why do they want to ruin her?

As the online harassment creeps into Camryn’s personal life, she vows to find out who’s behind it. Is it really a disgruntled reader? Or could it be someone she knows? The troll’s actions are escalating, and when the abuse turns deadly, it will take everything Camryn has to unmask the enemy so intent on destroying her—and finally learn why she’s being targeted. 

Review:

As soon as I saw this was about an author receiving a one star review I was in. If you’re all involved in the bookish community you’ve seen authors get review bombed before and it’s craziness so naturally I was curious how the author would use this as a plot point. She put her own unique spin on it, this was less thriller and more character driven domestic suspense but I liked it. Just don’t expect super exciting and tense pacing, more of a steady build up with lots of sly reveals and secrets. I actually felt sorry for Camryn throughout most of the book, all of the events taking place made her rightfully distrusting of everyone in her life and her loneliness was apparent. The author included sections from Camryn’s book, Burnt Orchid and I’m always down for a book within a book bit of cleverness. The ending did get a little over the top but it was fun so I didn’t truly mind. Overall a fun read and a great option for poolside reading this summer!

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

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