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Just Watch Me
Fleabag
meets Big Swiss in this bold debut about a charismatic misfit who livestreams her life for seven days and nights to raise money to save her comatose sister—a poignant and darkly funny exploration of grief, forgiveness, and redemption.
Dell Danvers is barely keeping it together. She’s behind on rent for her studio apartment (formerly a walk-in closet), she’s being plagued by perpetual stomach pain, and her younger sister, Daisy, is in a coma at a hospital that wants to pull the plug. Freshly unemployed and subsisting on selling plants to trust fund kids, Dell impulsively starts a 24-hour livestream under the username mademoiselle_dell to fundraise for private life support for Daisy.
Dell is her stream’s dungeon master, banishing those who don’t abide by her terms and steadily rising up the platform’s ranks with her sympathetic story and angry-funny screen presence. Once she discovers she has a talent for eating spicy food, her streaming fame explodes and her pepper consumption escalates from jalapeño to ghost to the hottest pepper on the Carolina Reaper. Dell is finally good at something—but as her behavior becomes riskier and a shadowy troll threatens to expose her dark past, Dell must reckon with what her digital life ignores, and what real redemption means.
Narrated in seven taut chapters, one for each day of Dell’s livestream, Just Watch Me careens through a week in the life of this charismatic misfit with a heart of gold. Voyeuristic and visceral, audacious and outrageous, Lior Torenberg’s debut is both a razor-sharp tragicomedy about the internet economy and a surreptitiously moving tale about the desire to be watched, and the terror of being seen.
Dell Danvers is barely keeping it together. She’s behind on rent for her studio apartment (formerly a walk-in closet), she’s being plagued by perpetual stomach pain, and her younger sister, Daisy, is in a coma at a hospital that wants to pull the plug. Freshly unemployed and subsisting on selling plants to trust fund kids, Dell impulsively starts a 24-hour livestream under the username mademoiselle_dell to fundraise for private life support for Daisy.
Dell is her stream’s dungeon master, banishing those who don’t abide by her terms and steadily rising up the platform’s ranks with her sympathetic story and angry-funny screen presence. Once she discovers she has a talent for eating spicy food, her streaming fame explodes and her pepper consumption escalates from jalapeño to ghost to the hottest pepper on the Carolina Reaper. Dell is finally good at something—but as her behavior becomes riskier and a shadowy troll threatens to expose her dark past, Dell must reckon with what her digital life ignores, and what real redemption means.
Narrated in seven taut chapters, one for each day of Dell’s livestream, Just Watch Me careens through a week in the life of this charismatic misfit with a heart of gold. Voyeuristic and visceral, audacious and outrageous, Lior Torenberg’s debut is both a razor-sharp tragicomedy about the internet economy and a surreptitiously moving tale about the desire to be watched, and the terror of being seen.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 2026
230 people are currently reading
31304 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 429 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
fleabag meets big swiss...i could not be more in
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
November 18, 2025
couldn’t put it down . made my whole body feel itchy
December 28, 2025
Just Watch Me is character centered work that’s a sort of tragi-comedy. The book is an exploration of loneliness in our modern world, how self-exploitation online has become a new norm, and the dangers of putting yourself (and your private life) online.
I really enjoyed the dark humor and learning about the live-streaming community( I knew nothing about the online live streaming world prior going into Just Watch Me). Dell was a fascinating main character. She’s quick witted, unhinged, and the fun type of weird that you can’t look away from.
I alternated between reading the book myself and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster who did a fantastic job. Readers of character centered stories, with an unhinged main character will love this one.
Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg will be available on January 20. Many thanks to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Avid Reader Press for the gifted copy!
I really enjoyed the dark humor and learning about the live-streaming community( I knew nothing about the online live streaming world prior going into Just Watch Me). Dell was a fascinating main character. She’s quick witted, unhinged, and the fun type of weird that you can’t look away from.
I alternated between reading the book myself and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster who did a fantastic job. Readers of character centered stories, with an unhinged main character will love this one.
Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg will be available on January 20. Many thanks to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Avid Reader Press for the gifted copy!
December 31, 2025
this made my skin crawl in the most addictive way possible.
January 26, 2026
4.25 / 5 Stars
I love weird girl lit. I love an antihero who is deeply flawed. I love books that are so strange, cringy, and weird that you can’t look away because they make you feel something. And this was a great addition to this genre. Dell is having a rough time. She was just fired from her job (for a good reason), she lives in a walk-in closet with no bathroom and is behind on rent, and her sister, Daisy, is in a coma in a hospital where they want to end her care. Dell’s logical next step? Start livecasting her life to raise money for Daisy’s care so they can move her to a private facility. And Dell will do pretty much anything for money including eating really hot peppers. But as a troll threatens to expose Dell’s secret, her behavior becomes riskier and riskier.
You will probably like this book if you like:
🌶️ Weird girl lit
🌶️ Exploration of grief and loneliness
🌶️ Exploration of parasocial relationships and internet culture
🌶️ Can’t look away reading
🌶️ Unhinged and chaotic but heartfelt and heartbreaking
I loved the format of the book. It is told in seven chapters - one for each day of her livecast – and is interspersed with the forum chats and her mom’s anxious voicemails (those hit close to home). It really built up the tension in the story and made it feel alive and kinetic.
And the themes that were explored were really thought provoking. Dell keeps saying “if anyone is going to exploit me, it’s going to be me” but you can see that she is not 100% fully in control. The money and attention are addicting. And she’s rewarded for being a menace so how in control is she and why does she tell herself that lie? And you get to see what it feels like to be a woman on the internet (which PS not always fun).
Dell is an interesting character. She can’t keep a job due to her own actions. She shoplifts. She avoids her mom. She is an asshole to her followers. And it is all for a reason. The tough gal, fuck-up act is hiding a lot of pain. My only qualm was that it took a while to peel back some of those layers but when she became slightly more self-aware and slightly more vulnerable with her inner thoughts, it was all so heartbreaking. And as she gets more vulnerable, her actions get more unhinged and I loved it that the book leaned into making you uncomfortable.
Thank you Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: January 20, 2026 (out now)
_______________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I am loving weird girl lit recently and this one feels so now. Chronically online. Tragicomedy. So cringy you can't look away.
I love weird girl lit. I love an antihero who is deeply flawed. I love books that are so strange, cringy, and weird that you can’t look away because they make you feel something. And this was a great addition to this genre. Dell is having a rough time. She was just fired from her job (for a good reason), she lives in a walk-in closet with no bathroom and is behind on rent, and her sister, Daisy, is in a coma in a hospital where they want to end her care. Dell’s logical next step? Start livecasting her life to raise money for Daisy’s care so they can move her to a private facility. And Dell will do pretty much anything for money including eating really hot peppers. But as a troll threatens to expose Dell’s secret, her behavior becomes riskier and riskier.
You will probably like this book if you like:
🌶️ Weird girl lit
🌶️ Exploration of grief and loneliness
🌶️ Exploration of parasocial relationships and internet culture
🌶️ Can’t look away reading
🌶️ Unhinged and chaotic but heartfelt and heartbreaking
I loved the format of the book. It is told in seven chapters - one for each day of her livecast – and is interspersed with the forum chats and her mom’s anxious voicemails (those hit close to home). It really built up the tension in the story and made it feel alive and kinetic.
And the themes that were explored were really thought provoking. Dell keeps saying “if anyone is going to exploit me, it’s going to be me” but you can see that she is not 100% fully in control. The money and attention are addicting. And she’s rewarded for being a menace so how in control is she and why does she tell herself that lie? And you get to see what it feels like to be a woman on the internet (which PS not always fun).
Dell is an interesting character. She can’t keep a job due to her own actions. She shoplifts. She avoids her mom. She is an asshole to her followers. And it is all for a reason. The tough gal, fuck-up act is hiding a lot of pain. My only qualm was that it took a while to peel back some of those layers but when she became slightly more self-aware and slightly more vulnerable with her inner thoughts, it was all so heartbreaking. And as she gets more vulnerable, her actions get more unhinged and I loved it that the book leaned into making you uncomfortable.
Thank you Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: January 20, 2026 (out now)
_______________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I am loving weird girl lit recently and this one feels so now. Chronically online. Tragicomedy. So cringy you can't look away.
January 1, 2026
4.5, rounded up. Dell is a fantastic MC- I didn’t always like her, or agree with her, but I couldn’t look away. Great debut!
August 21, 2025
Holy smokes! So I went into Just Watch Me with zero expectations and I’m glad I did, because it turned out to be compulsive, chaotic and wildly intense in the best way!
Our main character Dell is quite a hot mess. Shes edgy, reckless and totally unapologetic. With her sister in a coma and her own life unraveling, broke after losing her juice bar job thanks to a run in with a finance bro, she throws herself into full time streaming. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to dislike this book based on how insufferable the MC is alone but I really enjoyed the book as a whole. Reading it felt like biting into a hot pepper, fiery yet impossible to put down.
What surprised me most about this story was how, beneath all the heat and chaos, the story also carried true tenderness. There were moments that had me tearing up as often as I was flipping pages in a frenzy.
This was such a fun, chaotic read, and one I’ll definitely be recommending. Big thanks to Avid Reader Press and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy. Just Watch Me hits shelves on January 20, 2026 and it’s one to keep an eye out for!
Our main character Dell is quite a hot mess. Shes edgy, reckless and totally unapologetic. With her sister in a coma and her own life unraveling, broke after losing her juice bar job thanks to a run in with a finance bro, she throws herself into full time streaming. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to dislike this book based on how insufferable the MC is alone but I really enjoyed the book as a whole. Reading it felt like biting into a hot pepper, fiery yet impossible to put down.
What surprised me most about this story was how, beneath all the heat and chaos, the story also carried true tenderness. There were moments that had me tearing up as often as I was flipping pages in a frenzy.
This was such a fun, chaotic read, and one I’ll definitely be recommending. Big thanks to Avid Reader Press and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy. Just Watch Me hits shelves on January 20, 2026 and it’s one to keep an eye out for!
August 12, 2025
ARC for review. To be published January 20, 2026.
3 stars
Dell Danvers is quite the mess. She’s barely scraping by in NYC in an illegal apartment, she’s just lost her job and her sister is in a coma at a fancy hospital that is ready to pull the plug. Dell needs money fast. She decides to fundraise/live stream for seven days to make rent and to raise enough to pay for one week of private care for her sister.
Dell’s followers mount as she gets into eating hot peppers for cash while her life continues to spiral. Will Dell find a way out?
The book skewed a bit young for me but I still enjoyed it. Dell seems to make a very wrong decision possible…but she makes it look a little too easy to make money online. Interesting book. 3.4 stars.
3 stars
Dell Danvers is quite the mess. She’s barely scraping by in NYC in an illegal apartment, she’s just lost her job and her sister is in a coma at a fancy hospital that is ready to pull the plug. Dell needs money fast. She decides to fundraise/live stream for seven days to make rent and to raise enough to pay for one week of private care for her sister.
Dell’s followers mount as she gets into eating hot peppers for cash while her life continues to spiral. Will Dell find a way out?
The book skewed a bit young for me but I still enjoyed it. Dell seems to make a very wrong decision possible…but she makes it look a little too easy to make money online. Interesting book. 3.4 stars.
July 28, 2025
wow this was so twisted and tense and moving i loved it
January 20, 2026
Incandescent. A new masterpiece of the modern internet age, Torenberg creates a dynamic, brutal slimeball of a protagonist you can't help but root for. Tackling the dystopian nature of streaming, attention, performance, fame, the voyeuristic clawing of strangers demanding things from you, and the horror of the modern hospital and insurance system.
This is a story of a desperate woman at her lowest crashing out and cashing out, showing how grief can transform a person and render them illegible and illogical. I loved this, and the writing is so easy to sink into while sticking with you. The last 25% is transformative.
This is a story of a desperate woman at her lowest crashing out and cashing out, showing how grief can transform a person and render them illegible and illogical. I loved this, and the writing is so easy to sink into while sticking with you. The last 25% is transformative.
![Profile Image for Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1746468325i%2F66224803._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
January 3, 2026
Streaming can bring you a lot of money, but also weird stalkers (not dark romance style!) that send you dickpicks.
Isn't that bizarre, how grief can devour? How it can make everything it touches just like itself?
Everything I ate, saw, said, heard, smelled was grief. I lost my coordination, in all senses of the word.
Grieving can look different in anyone, sometimes you take a break from university, move into an apartment that has no windows or bathroom, get fired dem several jobs and end up streaming and selling plants (that kinda want to take over your apartment).
Having someone watch you can be exciting, or frightening when there’s a possibility of a stalker.
But she’s mademoiselle_dell, not afraid of spicy chilli peppers or fire itself.
Really entertaining and weird.
Isn't that bizarre, how grief can devour? How it can make everything it touches just like itself?
Everything I ate, saw, said, heard, smelled was grief. I lost my coordination, in all senses of the word.
Grieving can look different in anyone, sometimes you take a break from university, move into an apartment that has no windows or bathroom, get fired dem several jobs and end up streaming and selling plants (that kinda want to take over your apartment).
Having someone watch you can be exciting, or frightening when there’s a possibility of a stalker.
But she’s mademoiselle_dell, not afraid of spicy chilli peppers or fire itself.
Really entertaining and weird.
November 21, 2025
I love a quirky book & this one is quirky for sure. When I saw the blurb referenced Fleabag...say less! Couldn't get my hands on it quick enough.
Dell lives in a tiny space that would only be considered livable in NYC. While she doesn't have modern conveniences like a bathroom and air conditioning she does have a ton of plants....including the one living inside of her ear?!
She finds herself unemployed and needing to quickly make money for rent as well as private care for her comatose sister, Daisy. Desperate times call for desperate measures and her jalapeño plant has sparked inspiration. Dell begins by live streaming herself eating a jalapeno and quickly ups the ante in hopes of making a buck. Shock value = $$$. Habaneros, ghost peppers, shoplifting. Pretty much nothing is off limits.
Told over the course of a couple weeks this book takes us on a crazy journey that at no point did I know where it was headed. Unlike Fleabag I didn't really connect with the characters so didn't feel super invested or emotional towards them. I did enjoy the ending and the uniqueness from start to finish. I'd love to see more from this author for sure!
•Debut
•Quirky
•Grief
•Mental health
•Complex family dynamics
•First person POV
•Unreliable narrator
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
Thank you to NetGalley & Avid Reader Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Publishing 1•20•26
Dell lives in a tiny space that would only be considered livable in NYC. While she doesn't have modern conveniences like a bathroom and air conditioning she does have a ton of plants....including the one living inside of her ear?!
She finds herself unemployed and needing to quickly make money for rent as well as private care for her comatose sister, Daisy. Desperate times call for desperate measures and her jalapeño plant has sparked inspiration. Dell begins by live streaming herself eating a jalapeno and quickly ups the ante in hopes of making a buck. Shock value = $$$. Habaneros, ghost peppers, shoplifting. Pretty much nothing is off limits.
Told over the course of a couple weeks this book takes us on a crazy journey that at no point did I know where it was headed. Unlike Fleabag I didn't really connect with the characters so didn't feel super invested or emotional towards them. I did enjoy the ending and the uniqueness from start to finish. I'd love to see more from this author for sure!
•Debut
•Quirky
•Grief
•Mental health
•Complex family dynamics
•First person POV
•Unreliable narrator
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
Thank you to NetGalley & Avid Reader Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Publishing 1•20•26
January 12, 2026
2.5 -- i wanted this to be so much better than it was 😭 the writing was kind of lazy and no character depth. ty to the publisher for the gifted copy.
January 1, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing an ARC of Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg in exchange for honest feedback.
This book was honestly crazy. I really enjoyed it, despite absolutely despising the main character. She was incredibly frustrating in her lack of accountability and insane behaviors...yet still wildly funny. Overall a bit unhinged. Reading this was like watching a train wreck in action that I just couldn't turn away from.
Definitely unique, and call me crazy but I felt like it almost had some thriller undertones. The MC was a bit devious and deceitful which created some buildup for a few interesting twists. Even though some felt a bit predictable, I still had fun uncovering them. Definitely recommend picking this up for a fun, modern, dark humor read.
Side note - pretty sure I will never look at habaneros the same way again.
This book was honestly crazy. I really enjoyed it, despite absolutely despising the main character. She was incredibly frustrating in her lack of accountability and insane behaviors...yet still wildly funny. Overall a bit unhinged. Reading this was like watching a train wreck in action that I just couldn't turn away from.
Definitely unique, and call me crazy but I felt like it almost had some thriller undertones. The MC was a bit devious and deceitful which created some buildup for a few interesting twists. Even though some felt a bit predictable, I still had fun uncovering them. Definitely recommend picking this up for a fun, modern, dark humor read.
Side note - pretty sure I will never look at habaneros the same way again.
February 1, 2026
I think this is the book I wanted Dandelion Is Dead to be.
Like that one, Just Watch Me follows a young woman making increasingly bad decisions online, driven by messy grief and complicated feelings about her sister. In this instance, Dell decides to start livestreaming herself 24/7 for a week in order to raise funds for her sister who is in a coma.
Dell's life is a wreck - she literally lives in an apartment that is a converted walk-in closet and has to use her neighbor's bathroom. She dropped out of NYU, has a terrible relationship with her mom, just walked out on another crummy job, and isn't going to be able to make rent. Plus she's incredibly depressed about her sister, so why not just broadcast everything she does as a means of avoiding her feelings and coming up with cash?
But where Dandelion Is Dead lost me with characters whose self-destruction was boring as fuck, this book had me completely hooked. Dell’s choices are terrible, but I could not look away. Despite having existing stomach issues, she realizes that she brings in the most cash when she eats hot peppers and decides to start upping the ante, destroying her digestive system with increasingly more - and hotter - peppers. Her behavior strains her relationship with her one friend, the neighbor whose bathroom she uses. She breaks the law and causes herself wild physical harm, but none of it fills the emotional void she’s trying so hard to ignore. She’s self-aware enough to know this is bad, but too numb to stop. I couldn’t look away, and I felt deeply for her even when I wanted to shake her.
The only thing keeping this from being a five-star read for me is the ending. Without getting into spoilers, Dell gets herself into several different kinds of trouble, but the resolution feels a little muted, almost like the story exhales instead of landing a final punch. That said, the emotional journey up to that point is compelling enough that I didn’t mind too much. Ultimately, this is a sharp, uncomfortable, and empathetic look at internet spectacle, self-harm, and grief. Dell is a mess, but she’s a fascinating one and following her felt painfully real.
Like that one, Just Watch Me follows a young woman making increasingly bad decisions online, driven by messy grief and complicated feelings about her sister. In this instance, Dell decides to start livestreaming herself 24/7 for a week in order to raise funds for her sister who is in a coma.
Dell's life is a wreck - she literally lives in an apartment that is a converted walk-in closet and has to use her neighbor's bathroom. She dropped out of NYU, has a terrible relationship with her mom, just walked out on another crummy job, and isn't going to be able to make rent. Plus she's incredibly depressed about her sister, so why not just broadcast everything she does as a means of avoiding her feelings and coming up with cash?
But where Dandelion Is Dead lost me with characters whose self-destruction was boring as fuck, this book had me completely hooked. Dell’s choices are terrible, but I could not look away. Despite having existing stomach issues, she realizes that she brings in the most cash when she eats hot peppers and decides to start upping the ante, destroying her digestive system with increasingly more - and hotter - peppers. Her behavior strains her relationship with her one friend, the neighbor whose bathroom she uses. She breaks the law and causes herself wild physical harm, but none of it fills the emotional void she’s trying so hard to ignore. She’s self-aware enough to know this is bad, but too numb to stop. I couldn’t look away, and I felt deeply for her even when I wanted to shake her.
The only thing keeping this from being a five-star read for me is the ending. Without getting into spoilers, Dell gets herself into several different kinds of trouble, but the resolution feels a little muted, almost like the story exhales instead of landing a final punch. That said, the emotional journey up to that point is compelling enough that I didn’t mind too much. Ultimately, this is a sharp, uncomfortable, and empathetic look at internet spectacle, self-harm, and grief. Dell is a mess, but she’s a fascinating one and following her felt painfully real.
August 1, 2025
Wow wow wow wow WOW! Just Watch Me is a book that I could not log off from. Dell, a NYU dropout and disgraced ex-employee at Juice Body, finds herself $14,000 short of paying her rent and keeping her younger sister on life support. Seeming to lack any other options, she begins to livestream her life 24/7, increasingly getting more and more desperate to earn anonymous donations from her viewers. This book spirals out of control, unforgiving towards its main character and unafraid to show the sadistic side of humanity.
Lior Torenberg’s writing is snappy and clever, but she also knows when to linger and stick a knife into you (especially with plant-like analogies). I was especially impressed by how accurately internet chatroom language and personalities were captured, complete with the one person who can’t stop shouting out the country their from and another person randomly revealing that they are a high school student a la “I have a math test to study for tomorrow :(“
At its heart, Just Watch Me asks its readers to reckon with redemption and who has the power to forgive. It’s one long crash out that is impossible to look away from. This is an amazing debut novel and one that people will be lucky to read in January. Thank you Avid Reader Press for the ARC, you little dungeon crawlers >:)
Lior Torenberg’s writing is snappy and clever, but she also knows when to linger and stick a knife into you (especially with plant-like analogies). I was especially impressed by how accurately internet chatroom language and personalities were captured, complete with the one person who can’t stop shouting out the country their from and another person randomly revealing that they are a high school student a la “I have a math test to study for tomorrow :(“
At its heart, Just Watch Me asks its readers to reckon with redemption and who has the power to forgive. It’s one long crash out that is impossible to look away from. This is an amazing debut novel and one that people will be lucky to read in January. Thank you Avid Reader Press for the ARC, you little dungeon crawlers >:)
November 3, 2025
Dell Danvers streams her life for seven days, escalating dares and attention‑grabbing stunts as she scrambles to save her comatose sister (and herself). The premise is sharp, a fresh twist on a familiar trope: a meditation on visibility, grief, and the intoxicating spectacle of being watched, of earning reward merely for existing. Torenberg’s ambition is unmistakable: dark humor, digital fame, fresh fruit, and raw vulnerability all collide into a bittersweet moral.
Yet the escalating stunts— pepper after pepper, a metaphorical scorched‑earth of attention and pain— often overwhelm the emotional core. I respected the heat, but couldn’t swallow the fire without flinching. The novel wants to make you squirm and clap at once, and it succeeds in concept, even if I found many parts simply indigestible.
A bold debut, uneven but deliberate, bright and loud: a livestream of grief and desperation where the Carolina‑Reaper of fame burns real pain. Admirable, incendiary, but impossible to fully inhabit without wincing.
Yet the escalating stunts— pepper after pepper, a metaphorical scorched‑earth of attention and pain— often overwhelm the emotional core. I respected the heat, but couldn’t swallow the fire without flinching. The novel wants to make you squirm and clap at once, and it succeeds in concept, even if I found many parts simply indigestible.
A bold debut, uneven but deliberate, bright and loud: a livestream of grief and desperation where the Carolina‑Reaper of fame burns real pain. Admirable, incendiary, but impossible to fully inhabit without wincing.
Want to read
February 11, 2026Everyone has been raving about this, so apparently I need to bump it up my priority list xx
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January 26, 2026
how was her phone battery able to handle this
(thank you to the publisher for giving me the eARC via Edelweiss+)
(thank you to the publisher for giving me the eARC via Edelweiss+)
January 17, 2026
@avidreaderpress | #gifted It’s looking like 2026 is shaping up to be a great year for books. I’ve already read a few and thought I’d do an early review of one of those, 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗘, a debut by Lior Torenberg. The publisher describes this as 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘨 meets 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘴 and I definitely see that, but I’d also throw 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘰’𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 into the mix!
Dell is an NYU dropout living in a shoe box of an apartment, barely getting by, and she’s just been fired from yet another job. Add to all that, Dell’s in a deep depression because her younger sister, Daisy, is in an end-of-life coma. In an effort to raise money for her sister’s ongoing care, Dell decides to livestream her life for a full seven days. This is NOT an Only Fans situation, but instead simply the ins and outs of her daily life with a little spice🌶️ thrown in. As Dell’s daring increases in her livestream, more money pours in boosting her spirits. But, for how long, and how much of her life does she really want to share?
I loved that 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘔𝘦 went so much deeper than I thought it would. Dell turned out to be a complex character who my heart went out to. Torenberg’s vehicle to bring her to the reader was so unique and unexpected that I found myself more and more pleased with the story the further I read. Don’t let the premise fool you, this is an intense story of love, regret, and grief told in large part through quirky comic interludes. A terrific debut! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Dell is an NYU dropout living in a shoe box of an apartment, barely getting by, and she’s just been fired from yet another job. Add to all that, Dell’s in a deep depression because her younger sister, Daisy, is in an end-of-life coma. In an effort to raise money for her sister’s ongoing care, Dell decides to livestream her life for a full seven days. This is NOT an Only Fans situation, but instead simply the ins and outs of her daily life with a little spice🌶️ thrown in. As Dell’s daring increases in her livestream, more money pours in boosting her spirits. But, for how long, and how much of her life does she really want to share?
I loved that 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘔𝘦 went so much deeper than I thought it would. Dell turned out to be a complex character who my heart went out to. Torenberg’s vehicle to bring her to the reader was so unique and unexpected that I found myself more and more pleased with the story the further I read. Don’t let the premise fool you, this is an intense story of love, regret, and grief told in large part through quirky comic interludes. A terrific debut! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
January 3, 2026
Life is a funny thing. Life is messy and beautiful and tragic and challenging and chaotic and a clusterfuck of emotions. And that’s exactly what this novel is. A sensational, hilarious & reflective debut from author Lior Torenberg.
One of my favorite genres of stories is being locked into the deeply flawed point of view of a narcissist hot mess 20-something who is trying to figure out why life isn’t going the way they want. Love it. Can never put it down. But there is SO much heart behind the humor at its core (diving in topics of grief and loneliness) that it makes it a stellar stand out.
And that’s what you get with Ms Odelia Danvers. Fresh out of losing her job at a smoothie store (for throwing a jar of almond butter at a customer’s head), Del creates a LiveCam fundraiser and streams her life 24/7 for a week trying to raise money for her sister, who is in a coma. It’s chaotic. She is chaotic. But ultimately, she just wants to be something to someone.
This book is one of those experiences that will sit with you for a long time. I was mesmerized from the first to last pages. The characters are so chaotic, problematic but lovable, and flawed at their very core that it makes you remember what it means to be human. Humanity isn’t linear. People aren’t inherently good. Inherently bad. Everyone is going through something. And sometimes we all just need someone to lean on.
Disclaimer: please do not choose to lean on ghost peppers.
I genuinely could not put this down and I am looking forward to reading more work from this author! Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader & Simon & Schuster for this eARC.
One of my favorite genres of stories is being locked into the deeply flawed point of view of a narcissist hot mess 20-something who is trying to figure out why life isn’t going the way they want. Love it. Can never put it down. But there is SO much heart behind the humor at its core (diving in topics of grief and loneliness) that it makes it a stellar stand out.
And that’s what you get with Ms Odelia Danvers. Fresh out of losing her job at a smoothie store (for throwing a jar of almond butter at a customer’s head), Del creates a LiveCam fundraiser and streams her life 24/7 for a week trying to raise money for her sister, who is in a coma. It’s chaotic. She is chaotic. But ultimately, she just wants to be something to someone.
This book is one of those experiences that will sit with you for a long time. I was mesmerized from the first to last pages. The characters are so chaotic, problematic but lovable, and flawed at their very core that it makes you remember what it means to be human. Humanity isn’t linear. People aren’t inherently good. Inherently bad. Everyone is going through something. And sometimes we all just need someone to lean on.
Disclaimer: please do not choose to lean on ghost peppers.
I genuinely could not put this down and I am looking forward to reading more work from this author! Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader & Simon & Schuster for this eARC.
January 23, 2026
A bit overly quirky, but I absolutely could not look away.
February 11, 2026
I laughed, I cried...she's my first 5 star of the year. :)
November 13, 2025
This book is such a wild ride and I was 100% here for it! I thought Dell was such an interesting character that I couldn't help rooting for. The concept of this book for one is completely wild. Dell starts 24/7 live streaming so she can raise money for her sister who's been in coma so she can put her on private life support. Things progress and just get crazier from there.
The writing style is super compelling and it was a super fun read that I highly recommend. I can't wait for this book to come out so I can get a finished copy!
thank you so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The writing style is super compelling and it was a super fun read that I highly recommend. I can't wait for this book to come out so I can get a finished copy!
thank you so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 22, 2025
My friend wrote a book and I could NOT put it down. So many killer lines. It felt fun to read even though the subject matter was gruesome? That’s the balance right there.
November 10, 2025
God, this chick sucks. I love her!
Fired from her latest job, drowning in debt, and trying to move her comatose sister into private care, Dell starts streaming her life. Every minute of it. As her following grows, Dell performs increasingly humiliating and dangerous stunts in order to drill money out of her sadistic viewers.
Full transparency: I read this book (and wrote this review) on day three of the first cold I've had in like four years, so give me some grace (and some nyquil). And you know what? Maybe that's the ideal state to read this book in because I thought it was a good time! I love a weird, character-focused novel with a fmc who is kind of a terrible person–and let it be known that Dell does some rancid stuff in this book, but it all makes sense for her circumstances so I'm on board. I like the pacing a lot and it didn't really drag at points which is always nice to see in a debut. I like the streaming element and how genuinely scary the story gets in regards to some of the viewers and what Dell is willing to do. I'm a little mixed on the ending. Largely it was satisfying but there was like two major threads that we never really got an explanation for or any follow up on as far as I can tell. Honestly, if anything I would have liked this to be weirder and more disturbing because it's a hell of a situation to find yourself in.
If you support women's rights and wrongs, this book is for you! Expect spice...but not that kind of spice.
Thank you to Lior Torenberg and Avid Reader Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
Fired from her latest job, drowning in debt, and trying to move her comatose sister into private care, Dell starts streaming her life. Every minute of it. As her following grows, Dell performs increasingly humiliating and dangerous stunts in order to drill money out of her sadistic viewers.
Full transparency: I read this book (and wrote this review) on day three of the first cold I've had in like four years, so give me some grace (and some nyquil). And you know what? Maybe that's the ideal state to read this book in because I thought it was a good time! I love a weird, character-focused novel with a fmc who is kind of a terrible person–and let it be known that Dell does some rancid stuff in this book, but it all makes sense for her circumstances so I'm on board. I like the pacing a lot and it didn't really drag at points which is always nice to see in a debut. I like the streaming element and how genuinely scary the story gets in regards to some of the viewers and what Dell is willing to do. I'm a little mixed on the ending. Largely it was satisfying but there was like two major threads that we never really got an explanation for or any follow up on as far as I can tell. Honestly, if anything I would have liked this to be weirder and more disturbing because it's a hell of a situation to find yourself in.
If you support women's rights and wrongs, this book is for you! Expect spice...but not that kind of spice.
Thank you to Lior Torenberg and Avid Reader Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
January 31, 2026
What a spicy (not in a sexy way) ride. I’m a sucker for a self sabotaging ho but damn she fucked up BAD.
February 4, 2026
(4.5/5, rounded up)
I flew thru a handful of books at the end of December that absolutely blew me away—this is one of them. Since finishing, I've been so in my head about making sure my review did it enough justice that you all would wanna pick it up that I screwed myself into waiting til pub day to even post about it. Bravo 🙄
Lior has such a knack for writing about the ugly side of ✨️influencing✨️. The addicting nature of seeing your follow count climb, the spikes of dopamine that accompany spikes in viewership, the ease of losing your innate sense of self worth & the weird accountability that grows in that invisible network between screens.
But the social media angle is only part of what brought power to 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙈𝙚. Social & political commentary, inter- and intrapersonal struggles & the mechanisms within a family that make them unique all hold their own here, as well. This is SUCH a strong debut.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. More than once my husband asked me what I was chuckling at while I was inhaling this one. Lior's sense of humor is 🤌🏻🤌🏻 I can't wait to read whatever she puts out next!
Shameless plug time: Make sure to check out the most recent ep of On the Serendipitous Side pod on Youtube, where Em & I had the pleasure of chatting w Lior about her debut (which has taken booksta by storm)!
Thank you bunches to Lior Torenberg & Avid Reader Press for the #gifted advanced copy <3
I flew thru a handful of books at the end of December that absolutely blew me away—this is one of them. Since finishing, I've been so in my head about making sure my review did it enough justice that you all would wanna pick it up that I screwed myself into waiting til pub day to even post about it. Bravo 🙄
Lior has such a knack for writing about the ugly side of ✨️influencing✨️. The addicting nature of seeing your follow count climb, the spikes of dopamine that accompany spikes in viewership, the ease of losing your innate sense of self worth & the weird accountability that grows in that invisible network between screens.
But the social media angle is only part of what brought power to 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙈𝙚. Social & political commentary, inter- and intrapersonal struggles & the mechanisms within a family that make them unique all hold their own here, as well. This is SUCH a strong debut.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. More than once my husband asked me what I was chuckling at while I was inhaling this one. Lior's sense of humor is 🤌🏻🤌🏻 I can't wait to read whatever she puts out next!
Shameless plug time: Make sure to check out the most recent ep of On the Serendipitous Side pod on Youtube, where Em & I had the pleasure of chatting w Lior about her debut (which has taken booksta by storm)!
Thank you bunches to Lior Torenberg & Avid Reader Press for the #gifted advanced copy <3
November 4, 2025
GOT DAMN.
Unhinged girlies unite!
Another five star read for me! I am so thankful to Avid Reader Press, NetGalley, and Lior Torenberg for granting me advanced access to this title before January 20, 2026.
Dell is going through it. Her sister is in a coma. She’s broke and the debt is piling up, and oh yeah she doesn’t have a bathroom in her rinky-dink apartment, and she may or may not have a raging stomach ulcer.
After burning bridges at her juice shop job, she’s hit rock bottom and needs a way to make rent/bills/not starve.
So she turns to live-streaming her daily goings-on, and while it’s a slow trickle at first, her engagement hikes up as she begins to take on more dangerous tasks, such as inserting habaneros into herself, shoplifting, and even competing in spicy contests! With the intent of raising money for her sister, in hopes of putting her on a private life support health plan.
Her viewers LOVE HER, but there’s one who sees through the BS and aims to expose her lies.
I couldn’t put this one down and loved the mixed media formatting.
Unhinged girlies unite!
Another five star read for me! I am so thankful to Avid Reader Press, NetGalley, and Lior Torenberg for granting me advanced access to this title before January 20, 2026.
Dell is going through it. Her sister is in a coma. She’s broke and the debt is piling up, and oh yeah she doesn’t have a bathroom in her rinky-dink apartment, and she may or may not have a raging stomach ulcer.
After burning bridges at her juice shop job, she’s hit rock bottom and needs a way to make rent/bills/not starve.
So she turns to live-streaming her daily goings-on, and while it’s a slow trickle at first, her engagement hikes up as she begins to take on more dangerous tasks, such as inserting habaneros into herself, shoplifting, and even competing in spicy contests! With the intent of raising money for her sister, in hopes of putting her on a private life support health plan.
Her viewers LOVE HER, but there’s one who sees through the BS and aims to expose her lies.
I couldn’t put this one down and loved the mixed media formatting.
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