Title: Follow Me Back
Author: A.V. Geiger
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publishing Date: June 6th, 2017
Pages: 368
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller
Series: Follow Me Back #1
Source: ARC
Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like his speaking directly to her…
Eric Thorn is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies.
When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast—like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn…
Told through tweets, direct messages, and police transcripts
This book barely made my radar. I saw it a couple of times and passed it up. After a couple more looks I decided to give it a try and grabbed at the ARC. I am so glad I did. This book was amazing. It had a bit of romance, mystery, thrills, and a bunch of crazy.
Tessa has a secret. Something horrible happened to her this last summer. This traumatic event has caused a crippling effect that leaves Tessa room bound in her own home. She is scared of being watched, leaving the home, and allowing anyone to come close to her. Her only solace is her obsession of singer Eric Thorn and the fandom that surrounds him.
Eric Thorn is famous but tired of where his good looks and publicist has taken his celebrity status. He feels more of an object expected to give half naked shows than a talented singer. He tries to bring his Twitter status to a halt with a fake persona... in turn, it brings him close to one of his biggest fans Tessa.
This is the story of Tessa and Eric. Their fears, their anger, their mistrust. It's the story of their friendship and relations and something terrible that brings them together... Unfortunately, there is a lot more to the story that brings one of them into terrible danger.
This book really did amaze me and surprise me. I knew it would be a thriller... what I didn't know was it held quite a bit of romance. A growing romance from strangers to friendship to more. The tender moments shared throughout the book kept me more interested in the story. There weren't many thrills to the end of the book but in between the tender moments and before the thrills began, there was much mystery that surrounded Tessa's past and the event that has Eric and Tessa in a police station being interrogated. So this book pretty much had all my favorite things.
I loved how this story was told. There were tweets and personal messages passed between Eric and Tessa, a police transcript of the interrogation, and good old storytelling. It kept me interested and invested from the very beginning of the story.
I didn't connect with Tessa at first, but she grew on me. It's hard to watch someone gone through something that immobilizes them but not know what caused such immobilization. Soon though, I forgot that something happened, or just didn't care as much as I got to know Tessa. I was able to see her try and face her fears as she made friends with Eric. I saw that she was a fighter.... even if she was afraid to step out of her own room. I could see she really wanted to get out of this fear induced life she had.
Eric didn't take long to grow on me. I felt for him. His story was real up front and even though he was going the wrong way about figuring out his own head and life.... I could undestand. I thought he was a real sweetheart and just didn't know how to stand up for himself. He was trapped in his life like Tessa was trapped in her room.
I loved how their relationship developed and found myself really concerned for the event that transpired to lead them to the police station. I didn't know what happened if Eric proved to be crazy or Tessa.... I just had to keep reading.....
The story had so many layers and I really enjoyed getting through each and every one. It was quite a ride. What I didn't enjoy was the ending. I mean I did but I didn't. Argh... I just need the next book to really know what the hell is going on. So yes it was a cliffhanger at the end. Be forwarned!!!
Loved it. So worth the read!
A.V. Geiger writes contemporary young adult fiction. Her debut novel, FOLLOW ME BACK, will be published by Sourcebooks Fire in 2017.
A.V. is a popular author on Wattpad, where her original fiction has frequently ranked #1 in the Mystery/Thriller genre. Her writing career began as a hobby, posting celebrity fanfiction online, and her work draws extensively on her own experiences with fan culture and social media.
She lives with her family in New Jersey.
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