Name: Killer Content
Rating: 2.416666666666667 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9780593427491

Kiley Roache

Killer Content

“I’ve only ever been loved like a Top 40 song—the latest hit, the hot new thing. Something fleeting, bubbly and fun; nothing serious. But just once, I’d like to be loved like a poignant, timeless ballad.”

out of this entire book this was the one quote that stood out to me the most. it was one of those quotes that i instantly needed to highlight because it made me feel something. i think everyone has had a thought similar to this at least once in their lives.

the overall book left me kind of disappointed because i had such high hopes for it. the idea of having a murder mystery in a content house really intrigued me and excited me to read but the characters seemed quite flat to me and one dimensional.

it also felt unrealistic at times where i was expecting more realism due to its more modern feel. however, i did enjoy reading it and there were moments of the book that had me feeling that same initial excitement when i first marked this as a to be read

Rachel Evans

(2.5/5) Audiobook - 3 hours 36 minutes - I think this had a lot of potential but didn't quite live up to it. The characters felt one-dimensional, especially Kat and Beau (unimportant aside: since I listened to this as an audiobook, I spent the whole time thinking they were called Cat and Bo and it was pretty jarring to see the correct spellings). The concept was interesting - I like the idea of books that centre around social media - and if I'm honest this was the aspect of the book I enjoyed most, seeing how the petty social media rivalries become misconstrued when analysed by the police. However, the main twist of the book was at least half-predictable. I l knew which character was involved in the mystery from the very moment they were introduced, even if they were involved in a different way than I thought. Another issue I did have, was that twist seemed very unrealistic and cliche - I am almost 100% certain this could never happen in real life. However, looking past its flaws, I can appreciate that it was enjoyable enough if you don't think too hard.

This definitely is one of the more accurate portrayals of teens and TikTok that I've come across. I enjoyed seeing someone who ~got it~ and the mystery was intriguing.

One small complaint: the way the teens talked vacillated between very grown and very immature, (which as teens, immaturity is a given) but the inconsistency was a bit jarring. I also found the replacement for curse words a bit out of place (I'm not sure if there were restrictions because this is YA) but if there can be themes of underage drinking and weed, I feel like they should be allowed to use adult curse words. Most teens do--it was a bit out of place for there to be a sudden heck or crap.

Entertaining and kept me invested throughout. Plus the nods to social media (namely TikTok) were pretty spot on. Although idk why Drake was brought into this. That part was awkward lol

Holly

This definitely is one of the more accurate portrayals of teens and TikTok that I've come across. I enjoyed seeing someone who ~got it~ and the mystery was intriguing.
One small complaint: the way the teens talked vacillated between very grown and very immature, (which as teens, immaturity is a given) but the inconsistency was a bit jarring. I also found the replacement for curse words a bit out of place (I'm not sure if there were restrictions because this is YA) but if there can be themes of underage drinking and weed, I feel like they should be allowed to use adult curse words. Most teens do--it was a bit out of place for there to be a sudden heck or crap.

Entertaining and kept me invested throughout. Plus the nods to social media (namely TikTok) were pretty spot on. Although idk why Drake was brought into this. That part was awkward lol

Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying! In this paperback original thriller a group of famous TikTokers begin turning on each other when one member of the group is found dead at their beachfront Malibu mansion. 35 million followers. One dead body. The six teenagers who make up the Lit Lair seem to have it all. A beach front Malibu mansion, millions of TikTok followers, model good looks, and sponsorship deals up to $30,000 per post. Everything's pretty much a Gen-Z paradise. Except that one member of the house has just turned up dead in the infinity pool. And the rest of them are suspects. When the group TikTok account starts posting cryptic messages about the murder, the police limit their investigation to the members of the house. Now old joke videos are filed as evidence and past rivalries start to look like motives. As investigators dig into these influencers' lives beyond their glossy internet personalities, they discover all five had reasons their lives would've been easier with Sydney Reynolds dead. But only one of them killed her. Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-book and finished book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Killer Content

Author: Kiley Roache

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Lesbian character, Bisexual character, F/f romance at the end

Recommended For...: young adult readers, mystery, murder mystery, thriller, tiktok, LGBT+

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Genre: YA Mystery

Recommended Age: 15+ (Romance, Underage consumption of alcohol, Murder/Death, Gore, Sexual content, Language, Disordered eating, Suicide shown)

Explanation of CWs: There is some romance and sexual content mentioned and slightly shown. There is a lot of underaged drinking. The book revolves around a murder and death and there is gore shown. There are some curse words and some mentions of disordered eating. There is also a suicide shown in the book.

Publisher: Underlined

Pages: 317

Synopsis: Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying! In this paperback original thriller a group of famous TikTokers find themselves turning on each other when one member of the group turns up dead at their beachfront Malibu mansion.

35 million followers. One dead body.

The six teenagers who make up the Hype House seem to have it all. A beach front Malibu mansion, millions of TikTok followers, model good looks, and sponsorship deals up to $30,000 per post. Everything's pretty much a Gen-Z paradise. Except that one member of the house has just turned up dead in the infinity pool. And the rest of them are suspects.

When the group TikTok account starts posting cryptic messages about the murder, the police limit their investigation to the members of the house. Now old joke videos are filed as evidence and past rivalries start to look like motives.

As investigators dig into these influencers' lives beyond their glossy internet personalities, they discover all five had reasons their lives would've been easier with Sydney Reynolds dead. But only one of them killed her.

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Review: I didn’t think I’d love this book as much as I did but I was so so wrong! This was a fun murder mystery, but set in the modern world of TikTok and cell phones and influencers! I thought the book did so well with the multiple POVs and time skips. The book flowed so well and the characters were well developed. The world building was well done as well and the plot kept me going. I also failed to guess the killer… soooooo IT”S GOOD!

However, I did think that some of the events of the book were a bit exaggerated. The police investigation was severely botched, but that does happen. There is also a lack of truecrimetiktok in the book, which, if you were on TikTok during the Gabby Petito, you know that truecrimetiktok would have been all over that FYP.

Verdict: It was great!


Jawahir M

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to read a murder mystery about TikTokers but here we are.

I think this book felt too "teeny" to me (is that a word?), in a sense that younger readers who read the YA genre would enjoy this more. Everything about this was theatrical and dramatical, kind of like a reality tv show.

I do appreciate the switch up it gave me from other genres, and I think this book has opened a sub genre about the internet scene within the YA Thriller-Mystery categories. The element of characterization was spot on, they acted exactly what I imagine of high profile TikTokers.

Killer Content

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