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The Famoux
Fame can be deadly.
Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes.
Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes.
Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
23 people are currently reading
2117 people want to read
About the author
Kassandra Tate
4 books87 followersKassandra Tate has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Her work on Wattpad has accumulated over five million reads and a Watty Award for Science Fiction. She was featured in the anthology Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You (Simon and Schuster), and worked alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun as curator for their New York Times Bestselling novel Gmorning, Gnight! (Penguin Random House). She graduated from Chapman University in 2020 with a BFA in screenwriting and currently lives in Los Angeles with her sisters and––most importantly––her cats, Purrsephone and [Good] Will Hunting. The Famoux is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
February 2, 2021
3.5 stars
I’m going to be honest; I’ve only ever poked around Wattpad out of curiosity, but until now I’d never read any stories from the site. It’s always reminded me a lot of Figment from the early 2010s, a site I used to love (RIP), and therefore I think it’s so cool that Wattpad works with their authors to publish their stories. Because of this, I decided it was finally time to give one a chance. As my first real experience with Wattpad, Kassandra Tate’s The Famoux left me pleasantly surprised and will encourage me to pick up other Wattpad books in the future.
I would best describe this dystopian YA sci-fi as Divergent meets reality TV. Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence longs to escape her miserable life. She already feels like a burden to her father and siblings, and since her mother disappeared two years ago it’s been even more difficult to face the bullies at school. When Emilee is offered the chance to join the Famoux (pronounced Fame-ecks, much to the dismay of my francophile brain), a glamorous group of the most high-profile celebrities in the world, she takes it without a second thought. She gives up her old life and body to become Emeray Essence, and she quickly learns that being a member of this elite clique is not as freeing as she’d hoped. As the book blurb perfectly puts it, becoming a Famoux means that “being popular really is a matter of life or death”.
The mystery/ ticking clock element of this book is by far it's strongest element and made it impossible to put down. It felt fast-paced and added a lot of intrigue, giving me a whodunnit vibe and making me eager to to see what would happen next. This raised the stakes around even the most mundane of tasks throughout the book, from what Emeray and the other Famoux wore or with whom they went to coffee. While some of the later twists seemed a bit contrived or unnecessary, others shocked me and made for a whirlwind of an ending.
I’m happy to say that I found the romance very sweet. It didn’t oversaturate the story and left room for the characters to grow in later books. I also liked Emeray’s friendship with Foster, and I hope we get to see her relationships with the other Famoux grow in the second book. It would be great to see them all team up rather than being pitted against each other! Plus who doesn’t love strong female friendships, and this series has the perfect opportunity to give them to us.
Another disclaimer: I almost DNF’d this book at the beginning. The first chapter consists mostly of heavy info dumps, as if Tate wanted to get all of the necessary info on Emilee’s life and world out of the way so she didn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the story. Fortunately, this changes about a chapter or two into the book, and from then on the exposition is better sprinkled into the action. The worldbuilding is pretty typical for a YA dystopia, with futuristic technology and genetic abnormalities caused by a past war, along with other details that don't really make sense if you think about them too hard, but as long as you go in expecting this it doesn’t detract from the book at all.
This book made me think about the implications of fame and what it would be like to have every aspect of your life scrutinized. The Famoux is a fun and easy to read page-turner that I would recommend for lovers of YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, I will definitely be on the lookout for book two!
Thank you to Wattpad Books via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I’m going to be honest; I’ve only ever poked around Wattpad out of curiosity, but until now I’d never read any stories from the site. It’s always reminded me a lot of Figment from the early 2010s, a site I used to love (RIP), and therefore I think it’s so cool that Wattpad works with their authors to publish their stories. Because of this, I decided it was finally time to give one a chance. As my first real experience with Wattpad, Kassandra Tate’s The Famoux left me pleasantly surprised and will encourage me to pick up other Wattpad books in the future.
I would best describe this dystopian YA sci-fi as Divergent meets reality TV. Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence longs to escape her miserable life. She already feels like a burden to her father and siblings, and since her mother disappeared two years ago it’s been even more difficult to face the bullies at school. When Emilee is offered the chance to join the Famoux (pronounced Fame-ecks, much to the dismay of my francophile brain), a glamorous group of the most high-profile celebrities in the world, she takes it without a second thought. She gives up her old life and body to become Emeray Essence, and she quickly learns that being a member of this elite clique is not as freeing as she’d hoped. As the book blurb perfectly puts it, becoming a Famoux means that “being popular really is a matter of life or death”.
The mystery/ ticking clock element of this book is by far it's strongest element and made it impossible to put down. It felt fast-paced and added a lot of intrigue, giving me a whodunnit vibe and making me eager to to see what would happen next. This raised the stakes around even the most mundane of tasks throughout the book, from what Emeray and the other Famoux wore or with whom they went to coffee. While some of the later twists seemed a bit contrived or unnecessary, others shocked me and made for a whirlwind of an ending.
I’m happy to say that I found the romance very sweet. It didn’t oversaturate the story and left room for the characters to grow in later books. I also liked Emeray’s friendship with Foster, and I hope we get to see her relationships with the other Famoux grow in the second book. It would be great to see them all team up rather than being pitted against each other! Plus who doesn’t love strong female friendships, and this series has the perfect opportunity to give them to us.
Another disclaimer: I almost DNF’d this book at the beginning. The first chapter consists mostly of heavy info dumps, as if Tate wanted to get all of the necessary info on Emilee’s life and world out of the way so she didn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the story. Fortunately, this changes about a chapter or two into the book, and from then on the exposition is better sprinkled into the action. The worldbuilding is pretty typical for a YA dystopia, with futuristic technology and genetic abnormalities caused by a past war, along with other details that don't really make sense if you think about them too hard, but as long as you go in expecting this it doesn’t detract from the book at all.
This book made me think about the implications of fame and what it would be like to have every aspect of your life scrutinized. The Famoux is a fun and easy to read page-turner that I would recommend for lovers of YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Since it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, I will definitely be on the lookout for book two!
Thank you to Wattpad Books via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 12, 2021
See this review and more at my blog, The Scribe Owl!
This was a buddy read with Sanskriti @ Portals Into Books!
3.5/5 stars
Technically, this book had a lot of things that I didn't like. But...I really enjoyed it. If I was rating The Famoux on technical components alone, this would probably be a 2.5- or 3-star read. But I just had so much fun! I know this book is sci-fi, but it made me think.
The country of Delicatum's most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes. Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
Be warned--I'm going to try to get all of the things I didn't like out of the way first. I'm sorry in advance.
First of all, the worldbuilding is incredibly cheesy. Just take a moment to look at this quote:
This is my first Wattpad story, but I can already tell that this feels like a Wattpad book. The writing might not be the best, the story may be extremely cheesy, but it's fun and interesting and that's all that matters. That said, the worldbuilding still wasn't great. And the capital city was named Waltmar, which looks a lot like Walmart to me, just to put that out there.
Everything was melodramatic. I know that the whole point is that the Famoux are on what is basically a reality TV show and drama is a staple of each and every reality show out there, but even when they were out of the public eye it was crazy. Before Emilee joined the Famoux and she was being bullied, everything was way more extreme than it should have been. And the way the founder of the Famoux was taking digs at her? It was a lot.
Please excuse me to rant for a moment. The first time the word "maladroit" came up, I was intrigued. I had never heard of that word before. (By the way, it means awkward.) The sixth time it was said in that same section of the book, I was past done with it. The writing was repetitive and irritating to no end.
There is this organization named DEFED. But DEFED is short for the Disorder Evolution Federation. Where did that extra "e" and "d" come from? It confused me to no end. If someone has an answer, it would be greatly appreciated. 😅
When it came time for the grand reveal I was.. surprised. But not in a good way. When all the plans were explained, nothing made sense. There were absolutely zero threads leading from the rest of the story into the grand finale. It was just kind of tacked on there at the end. I can see this being an absolute problem for books written on Wattpad. You have to publish chapters on a regular, normally weekly, basis. If you don't know where you're going with your story yet, you can't lead up to it and you end up just sticking it on the end.
Now that that's over with, let's get on to the good parts, shall we?
The characters were so much fun! I actually enjoyed the main character for once, and the love interest was pretty good too. My favorite side character was definitely Foster, and I love his and Finley's relationship! I also liked Emilee's complex relationship with her families, both the one from her former life and the one she found among the Famoux. With her original family, they started down the path to reconciliation after everything they went through before she ran away. With the Famoux, they had to deal with getting along (or not) and still risking everything that DEFED was putting them through.
I love the concept of this novel. It's like reality TV but in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. Seeing all these celebrity lives and the ups and downs that come with them are so interesting! Also how little say they get in their own lives. It would be terrifying to me if I couldn't control my own life, so I completely understood everything Emilee was feeling.
It also makes you think a little: is it like this in real life? Not the dystopian elements obviously, but the lack of control celebrities have over their own lives. Emilee was tricked into contracts and shaped by her manager to be exactly how she needed to be for the sake of popularity. I hope it's not as extreme as it is in this book, but I know that that has to be going on at some level with some of the celebrities in our own world. It's a scary thought.
Unexpectedly, I had a fantastic time with this book. It might not be anything amazing in a technical sense, but I enjoyed it immensely!
This was a buddy read with Sanskriti @ Portals Into Books!
3.5/5 stars
Technically, this book had a lot of things that I didn't like. But...I really enjoyed it. If I was rating The Famoux on technical components alone, this would probably be a 2.5- or 3-star read. But I just had so much fun! I know this book is sci-fi, but it made me think.
The country of Delicatum's most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes. Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
Be warned--I'm going to try to get all of the things I didn't like out of the way first. I'm sorry in advance.
First of all, the worldbuilding is incredibly cheesy. Just take a moment to look at this quote:
Instead of breaking apart into separate nations like before, they formed a single country which they named Delicatum--a reminder of the delicate balance between us and this land.
This is my first Wattpad story, but I can already tell that this feels like a Wattpad book. The writing might not be the best, the story may be extremely cheesy, but it's fun and interesting and that's all that matters. That said, the worldbuilding still wasn't great. And the capital city was named Waltmar, which looks a lot like Walmart to me, just to put that out there.
Everything was melodramatic. I know that the whole point is that the Famoux are on what is basically a reality TV show and drama is a staple of each and every reality show out there, but even when they were out of the public eye it was crazy. Before Emilee joined the Famoux and she was being bullied, everything was way more extreme than it should have been. And the way the founder of the Famoux was taking digs at her? It was a lot.
Please excuse me to rant for a moment. The first time the word "maladroit" came up, I was intrigued. I had never heard of that word before. (By the way, it means awkward.) The sixth time it was said in that same section of the book, I was past done with it. The writing was repetitive and irritating to no end.
There is this organization named DEFED. But DEFED is short for the Disorder Evolution Federation. Where did that extra "e" and "d" come from? It confused me to no end. If someone has an answer, it would be greatly appreciated. 😅
When it came time for the grand reveal I was.. surprised. But not in a good way. When all the plans were explained, nothing made sense. There were absolutely zero threads leading from the rest of the story into the grand finale. It was just kind of tacked on there at the end. I can see this being an absolute problem for books written on Wattpad. You have to publish chapters on a regular, normally weekly, basis. If you don't know where you're going with your story yet, you can't lead up to it and you end up just sticking it on the end.
Now that that's over with, let's get on to the good parts, shall we?
The characters were so much fun! I actually enjoyed the main character for once, and the love interest was pretty good too. My favorite side character was definitely Foster, and I love his and Finley's relationship! I also liked Emilee's complex relationship with her families, both the one from her former life and the one she found among the Famoux. With her original family, they started down the path to reconciliation after everything they went through before she ran away. With the Famoux, they had to deal with getting along (or not) and still risking everything that DEFED was putting them through.
I love the concept of this novel. It's like reality TV but in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. Seeing all these celebrity lives and the ups and downs that come with them are so interesting! Also how little say they get in their own lives. It would be terrifying to me if I couldn't control my own life, so I completely understood everything Emilee was feeling.
It also makes you think a little: is it like this in real life? Not the dystopian elements obviously, but the lack of control celebrities have over their own lives. Emilee was tricked into contracts and shaped by her manager to be exactly how she needed to be for the sake of popularity. I hope it's not as extreme as it is in this book, but I know that that has to be going on at some level with some of the celebrities in our own world. It's a scary thought.
Unexpectedly, I had a fantastic time with this book. It might not be anything amazing in a technical sense, but I enjoyed it immensely!
January 20, 2021
I'm feeling very, very conflicted.
I read this book in the span of the afternoon and evening because I wanted to see how it came together. The original story is one of my favorite books, and so I wanted so desperately to love this published version. I was expecting a polished version of a beloved book, maybe a little shorter. Instead, I got a version reminiscent of every other dystopian YA novel I've ever read. To be completely frank, it feels like most of these plot points came from Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. The original Famoux is romantic, fast-paced, and (borderline) a high society thriller. This Famoux is... not what I wanted.
The characters have gone from being tight knit and full of love to being cruel and conniving. Chapter was barely a person, having lost all of the things that made him interesting. Everyone else was unbearably cruel, and we missed out on all of Em's friendships and their developments.
The new twists, while excellent and well executed, didn't contribute to the story in a way that made me like it any more or less. All the things I loved about the original book weren't there, and I'm really sad. It feels like someone wrote a bad fan fiction of The Famoux and published it. Give me the 800 page version please. Publishing did this one a disservice.
If I had to rate this version, it would be 2/5 stars. But because I love the other story and know what version of Famoux I'll think of as canon, I'll leave it as 5.
So. Many. Feels. (Spoiler review)
Original review:
So this is how I read it: I got through the beginning (which tbh was kind of slow) and devoured the rest. You know when you're trying a food for the first time and have no idea you're gonna love it? Yeah, reading The Famoux was like that. I was up until 2-3 am reading, and every time Chemeray had a moment, I stifled my screams. When I was angry at the characters, I commented my death threats (Marlon, Norax, and Cartney). Cried several times, like when Cartney and Emeray had to date and she couldn't be with Chapter, and when a certain character died, and so on. I then proceeded to start the second book and am now waiting for an update.
First, let's talk about the beginning. High sci-fi/fantasy novels are hard to get into. With their complex worlds and societal rules and different names for things, I have to adjust. But when Emilee became Emeray, I couldn't put it down.
Remember "haters make you famoux."
I read this book in the span of the afternoon and evening because I wanted to see how it came together. The original story is one of my favorite books, and so I wanted so desperately to love this published version. I was expecting a polished version of a beloved book, maybe a little shorter. Instead, I got a version reminiscent of every other dystopian YA novel I've ever read. To be completely frank, it feels like most of these plot points came from Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. The original Famoux is romantic, fast-paced, and (borderline) a high society thriller. This Famoux is... not what I wanted.
The characters have gone from being tight knit and full of love to being cruel and conniving. Chapter was barely a person, having lost all of the things that made him interesting. Everyone else was unbearably cruel, and we missed out on all of Em's friendships and their developments.
The new twists, while excellent and well executed, didn't contribute to the story in a way that made me like it any more or less. All the things I loved about the original book weren't there, and I'm really sad. It feels like someone wrote a bad fan fiction of The Famoux and published it. Give me the 800 page version please. Publishing did this one a disservice.
If I had to rate this version, it would be 2/5 stars. But because I love the other story and know what version of Famoux I'll think of as canon, I'll leave it as 5.
So. Many. Feels. (Spoiler review)
Original review:
So this is how I read it: I got through the beginning (which tbh was kind of slow) and devoured the rest. You know when you're trying a food for the first time and have no idea you're gonna love it? Yeah, reading The Famoux was like that. I was up until 2-3 am reading, and every time Chemeray had a moment, I stifled my screams. When I was angry at the characters, I commented my death threats (Marlon, Norax, and Cartney). Cried several times, like when Cartney and Emeray had to date and she couldn't be with Chapter, and when a certain character died, and so on. I then proceeded to start the second book and am now waiting for an update.
First, let's talk about the beginning. High sci-fi/fantasy novels are hard to get into. With their complex worlds and societal rules and different names for things, I have to adjust. But when Emilee became Emeray, I couldn't put it down.
Remember "haters make you famoux."
March 1, 2021
I have to say, this was definitely an intriguing book. I really like dystopian novels and the reality show setting of this grabbed me. It was fun seeing Em leave her old life where she was bullied and unloved behind to set out for something new and exciting. The pacing was a bit off though and this ends on a cliffhanger when I think it could have easily been a standalone.
Em is an interesting character. She's bullied and ostracized by her classmates for having unique colored eyes, something well beyond her control. Her father is mentally checked out and her siblings pay her little attention. When she gets the opportunity to move on to something else, of course she grabs it it I didn't blame her. She's thrust into a celebrity world and is very naive about other's intentions which was frustrating at times but not sur8since Em was so sheltered.
I liked seeing Em try to be herself and her relationships with the other Famoux members were pretty interesting. There's also a sinister subplot that added a darker element to the story. I did think some of the extra drama could have been eliminated to make this a standalone, adding in some action. I do wonder what will happen in the sequel, so I guess I'll check it out when it releases.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Em is an interesting character. She's bullied and ostracized by her classmates for having unique colored eyes, something well beyond her control. Her father is mentally checked out and her siblings pay her little attention. When she gets the opportunity to move on to something else, of course she grabs it it I didn't blame her. She's thrust into a celebrity world and is very naive about other's intentions which was frustrating at times but not sur8since Em was so sheltered.
I liked seeing Em try to be herself and her relationships with the other Famoux members were pretty interesting. There's also a sinister subplot that added a darker element to the story. I did think some of the extra drama could have been eliminated to make this a standalone, adding in some action. I do wonder what will happen in the sequel, so I guess I'll check it out when it releases.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 18, 2020
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Famoux in exchange for an honest review.
I try to be as unbiased as I possibly can going into a book but I've had so many bad experiences with Wattpad published dystopias that it was hard to go into The Famoux as excited as I might have were it released under a different publisher. It had an abnormally high goodreads rating for a wattpad story though and one of my favourite books of the year also came from Wattpad publishing, so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm really glad I did.
The Famoux takes place in kind of a dystopia world were Big Brother is basically mandatory viewing. Everyone is obsessed with the lives of The Famoux and follows their every move throughout the month both between and during the 2 day long live show of their lives in their shared mansion. After one of the Famoux tragically dies during one of these shows, bullied, outcast Em suddenly finds herself being thrown into the world of fame to become the next Famoux.
Plotwise, I really liked this. There were some things I wished were a bit more fleshed out (there's one member of the house I literally kept forgetting existed because she never does anything) and some bits I wish were toned down (the bullying scenes were very, very over the top dramatic to the point of it being hard to believe that they were real. This book is really good at subtle shows of powerplays so I don't know why it went 'throw her in a stream of ice!') but everything surround that honestly made up for it.
I normally don't have an issue with slight age gap relationships but this book really, really wants you to know that Em's younger than the rest of the Famoux (she's 16, they're mostly 18-20 from what I could tell) which kind of made me ultra-aware of the age gaps whenever relationship stuff was happening. Without the constant "she's the youngest Famoux!" speak it probably would have been a lot more palatable but as is... yikes.
Not going to lie, I'm pretty sure this book had quite a few plot holes in its logic but they all pretty much popped up after the 11th hour twist so I'm not sure if those will be addressed and explained in the sequel so I'm tentatively going to give them a pass for now.
I try to be as unbiased as I possibly can going into a book but I've had so many bad experiences with Wattpad published dystopias that it was hard to go into The Famoux as excited as I might have were it released under a different publisher. It had an abnormally high goodreads rating for a wattpad story though and one of my favourite books of the year also came from Wattpad publishing, so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm really glad I did.
The Famoux takes place in kind of a dystopia world were Big Brother is basically mandatory viewing. Everyone is obsessed with the lives of The Famoux and follows their every move throughout the month both between and during the 2 day long live show of their lives in their shared mansion. After one of the Famoux tragically dies during one of these shows, bullied, outcast Em suddenly finds herself being thrown into the world of fame to become the next Famoux.
Plotwise, I really liked this. There were some things I wished were a bit more fleshed out (there's one member of the house I literally kept forgetting existed because she never does anything) and some bits I wish were toned down (the bullying scenes were very, very over the top dramatic to the point of it being hard to believe that they were real. This book is really good at subtle shows of powerplays so I don't know why it went 'throw her in a stream of ice!') but everything surround that honestly made up for it.
I normally don't have an issue with slight age gap relationships but this book really, really wants you to know that Em's younger than the rest of the Famoux (she's 16, they're mostly 18-20 from what I could tell) which kind of made me ultra-aware of the age gaps whenever relationship stuff was happening. Without the constant "she's the youngest Famoux!" speak it probably would have been a lot more palatable but as is... yikes.
Not going to lie, I'm pretty sure this book had quite a few plot holes in its logic but they all pretty much popped up after the 11th hour twist so I'm not sure if those will be addressed and explained in the sequel so I'm tentatively going to give them a pass for now.
April 25, 2023
I was so excited to get the opportunity to review Kassandra Tate's The Famous, especially as it has been a few years since I previously read it on Wattpad. The book is set in a dystopian like future where everyone is obsessed with The Famoux, especially around the period in which the Darkening occurs. Preceding the death of a castmember, Emilee Laurence has the chance to escape her bullies and be welcomed into the limelight. However, being a member of The Famoux isn't all it is made up to be.
While I originally liked the book on Wattpad, which was almost seven years ago since I highly enjoyed it and found it overall exciting to read. But reading it now, I just didn't feel as swept away with this novel as I previously did. Maybe it is the fact that years have past since I read Tate's work and maybe it's the fact that I have read a myriad of literary works since but it just wasn't for me as it, at points, felt over dramatic and some characters just needed to be fleshed out more. Don't get me wrong, the premise was alright and Kassandra Tate did a good job describing and explaining the entire Delicatum world, I just don't think I will be reading the rest of her series when I don't feel as invested in the storyline as I did previously. With that being said, if you feel like you might enjoy it then check out.
eARC was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and more, check out:
Blog | Instagram | Wattpad
While I originally liked the book on Wattpad, which was almost seven years ago since I highly enjoyed it and found it overall exciting to read. But reading it now, I just didn't feel as swept away with this novel as I previously did. Maybe it is the fact that years have past since I read Tate's work and maybe it's the fact that I have read a myriad of literary works since but it just wasn't for me as it, at points, felt over dramatic and some characters just needed to be fleshed out more. Don't get me wrong, the premise was alright and Kassandra Tate did a good job describing and explaining the entire Delicatum world, I just don't think I will be reading the rest of her series when I don't feel as invested in the storyline as I did previously. With that being said, if you feel like you might enjoy it then check out.
eARC was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and more, check out:
Blog | Instagram | Wattpad
Want to read
April 18, 2021
February 22, 2021
*4.5* Eeek this book was so good! I’ve never read anything quite like it before. The world building, plot and characters were amazing. I definitely would recommend this book if you like forbidden romance, dystopia/sci-fi, plot twists and secrets.
September 29, 2021
2.5 of 5 stars
** I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own**
The Famoux by Kassandra Tate was such an interesting concept! This book is set in the future, where the world had been through nuclear war. There were only parts of the USA and Europe that were livable, so they decided to be one united country. They realized all the war and division happened because they had different leaders, so being one would solve that. Due to the radiation, there are two days every month that the world is in complete darkness. This is what they refer to as the "Darkening". During the Darkening, the whole country of Delicatum is enraptured by The Famoux. These are beautiful and talented teens/young adults who are stars of the reality TV show "The Fishbowl".
Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux, just like everyone else her age. She uses it to escape the bullying she endures daily. That is, until Emilee is wisked away and offered a place among the Famoux. This seems like a dream come true; until it isn't. The members of the Famoux are getting death threats and are asked to comply with every request.
This book has a great premise and I was so excited to read it. While Tate did a great job of explaining the world of Delicatum, everything felt so far fetched. This truly did feel like I was reading a Wattpad book, rather than one of my favorite dystopian novels. If you love drama and want a easy read, this is definitely for you! The drama is what kept me going.
The ending was a whirlwind of information and didn't make a lot of sense to me. Although I am giving this book only 2.5 out of 5 stars, I would still read the second one. I am so excited to see what happens between Chapter and Emeray!
** I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own**
The Famoux by Kassandra Tate was such an interesting concept! This book is set in the future, where the world had been through nuclear war. There were only parts of the USA and Europe that were livable, so they decided to be one united country. They realized all the war and division happened because they had different leaders, so being one would solve that. Due to the radiation, there are two days every month that the world is in complete darkness. This is what they refer to as the "Darkening". During the Darkening, the whole country of Delicatum is enraptured by The Famoux. These are beautiful and talented teens/young adults who are stars of the reality TV show "The Fishbowl".
Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux, just like everyone else her age. She uses it to escape the bullying she endures daily. That is, until Emilee is wisked away and offered a place among the Famoux. This seems like a dream come true; until it isn't. The members of the Famoux are getting death threats and are asked to comply with every request.
This book has a great premise and I was so excited to read it. While Tate did a great job of explaining the world of Delicatum, everything felt so far fetched. This truly did feel like I was reading a Wattpad book, rather than one of my favorite dystopian novels. If you love drama and want a easy read, this is definitely for you! The drama is what kept me going.
The ending was a whirlwind of information and didn't make a lot of sense to me. Although I am giving this book only 2.5 out of 5 stars, I would still read the second one. I am so excited to see what happens between Chapter and Emeray!
January 12, 2021
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
I think it is safe to say the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover to The Famoux and then when I read the synopsis I was sold. The Famoux was a fresh taste to the dystopian genre, that we haven't seen in so long. My only complaint is that I feel as if the pacing was off in some points and that the climax of the story sort of stemmed from something that could have been introduced earlier in the book. But other then that I did really enjoy The Famoux and I am eager to see what is next.
I think it is safe to say the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover to The Famoux and then when I read the synopsis I was sold. The Famoux was a fresh taste to the dystopian genre, that we haven't seen in so long. My only complaint is that I feel as if the pacing was off in some points and that the climax of the story sort of stemmed from something that could have been introduced earlier in the book. But other then that I did really enjoy The Famoux and I am eager to see what is next.
Read
January 27, 2021The Famoux (Wattpad Books, 2021) is the debut young adult dystopian novel from 23-year-old Wattpad sensation Kassandra Tate. The society created by a near-apocalypse includes the Famoux (pronounced Fame-X), a group of young, beautiful super-celebrities that is a cultural focus, especially during the Darkening, a time when the skies become temporarily impenetrable to light. As most activity halts during the Darkening, attention turns to the Fishbowl where the lives of the Famoux are broadcast world-wide. Everyone has opinions about the Famoux: Who is dating? Who should date? Did Emeray cause Bree’s death? Every little action or look sets off an explosion of media-fueled gossip controlled by those in charge of the Famoux.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee’s fascination with the Famoux is especially understandable because her own life is such a mess. She is constantly bullied at school. Her mother has disappeared, and her brother and sister blame her for their family’s calamities. When Emilee is drawn into the Famoux, she experiences the crushing pressures of celebrity and the eye-opening ways that lives of the famous are manipulated by “management.”.
The Famoux will appeal to fanboys and fangirls who follow celebrities and enjoy shows such as The Bachelor, Big Brother, TMZ, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The Hunger Games-like drama will keep these readers turning pages until the ending which is satisfying on its own but sets up multiple ways for Kassandra Tate to go forward with other stories involving this world and its characters.
My disclaimers include a thank-you to Netgalley for providing an advance look at The Famoux, and an acknowledgement that my daughters were such early supporters of The Famoux on Wattpad that a character in the book is named after one of them.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee’s fascination with the Famoux is especially understandable because her own life is such a mess. She is constantly bullied at school. Her mother has disappeared, and her brother and sister blame her for their family’s calamities. When Emilee is drawn into the Famoux, she experiences the crushing pressures of celebrity and the eye-opening ways that lives of the famous are manipulated by “management.”.
The Famoux will appeal to fanboys and fangirls who follow celebrities and enjoy shows such as The Bachelor, Big Brother, TMZ, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The Hunger Games-like drama will keep these readers turning pages until the ending which is satisfying on its own but sets up multiple ways for Kassandra Tate to go forward with other stories involving this world and its characters.
My disclaimers include a thank-you to Netgalley for providing an advance look at The Famoux, and an acknowledgement that my daughters were such early supporters of The Famoux on Wattpad that a character in the book is named after one of them.
January 31, 2021
This was a super interesting concept, and I really enjoyed it, even though there were a few areas that could've been better.
Most of the twists caught me completely off guard, which I loved! I had some predictions from the beginning that I had guessed right, but the larger twists were complete surprises. Some of this was because they didn't make total sense, but for the most part, I enjoyed them.
I do have to say that portions of this book really reminded me of Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I can't go too deeply into why without spoilers, and they weren't super similar, but that was there.
I am super happy that the romance didn't play a large part in this book! Even after all 400 pages of this, I still don't trust Chapter at all, and I don't ship him and Emilee. The romance would've bogged this down, and this book didn't need it.
The ending did feel a bit thrown-together, and I do feel like this could've been a standalone. When you reach the end, you're left wondering how this book filled 400 pages. Although I did have some complaints, this was a super promising debut and start!
Thanks to Netgalley and Kassandra Tate for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Most of the twists caught me completely off guard, which I loved! I had some predictions from the beginning that I had guessed right, but the larger twists were complete surprises. Some of this was because they didn't make total sense, but for the most part, I enjoyed them.
I do have to say that portions of this book really reminded me of Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I can't go too deeply into why without spoilers, and they weren't super similar, but that was there.
I am super happy that the romance didn't play a large part in this book! Even after all 400 pages of this, I still don't trust Chapter at all, and I don't ship him and Emilee. The romance would've bogged this down, and this book didn't need it.
The ending did feel a bit thrown-together, and I do feel like this could've been a standalone. When you reach the end, you're left wondering how this book filled 400 pages. Although I did have some complaints, this was a super promising debut and start!
Thanks to Netgalley and Kassandra Tate for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
March 15, 2021
From the moment I saw this cover and read the synopsis, I knew that The Famoux was going to be on my 2021 reading list. I am so excited to be crossing it off my list and giving it such a high rating. I feel so accomplished and proud, as well as desperate for the sequel.
Kassandra Tate knew what she was doing, how to do it, and what type of impact she wanted the story to have. Aside from the fact that it was a little wordy, this book was almost perfection. The first chapters were so dense that I got close to putting it down and ignoring it. Info-dumpy, 'off key', and dry, they didn't capture my attention. Then things changed. Suddenly, the story came to life and I was completely gripped, reading as much as I could around all of my other activities. I have to say I'm impressed with what this book did. Very impressed. I would pitch this as The Hunger Games meets Uglies, pulling in the dystopian reality TV show and mixing it with the perfection and a desperate want of attention. The sequel and anything that Kassandra Tate writes are going to be immediately on my radar. She is a writing force to be reckoned with and I am looking forward to watching her take on the reading world by storm.
Kassandra Tate knew what she was doing, how to do it, and what type of impact she wanted the story to have. Aside from the fact that it was a little wordy, this book was almost perfection. The first chapters were so dense that I got close to putting it down and ignoring it. Info-dumpy, 'off key', and dry, they didn't capture my attention. Then things changed. Suddenly, the story came to life and I was completely gripped, reading as much as I could around all of my other activities. I have to say I'm impressed with what this book did. Very impressed. I would pitch this as The Hunger Games meets Uglies, pulling in the dystopian reality TV show and mixing it with the perfection and a desperate want of attention. The sequel and anything that Kassandra Tate writes are going to be immediately on my radar. She is a writing force to be reckoned with and I am looking forward to watching her take on the reading world by storm.
January 1, 2021
i honesty really tried to get into this book. and i’m not sure if i just confused this book with a completely different book, since i thought this was gonna be like big brother but in a fantastical world, which it wasn’t. there was so much petty drama and so much relationship issues that made me honestly skim read some pages. and i really thought the whole DEFED thing was stupid, and just so much drama. but, i did like that the mom came back into the book.
March 3, 2021
Okay, this book had crazy The Hunger Games vibes for me. Not exactly sure what it was, whether it was the apocalyptic world with the dystopia running things from a far away land, the weird leaders of the Famoux group that pick and prod at everything they can and rage when things aren't perfect, or just the overall way the story was told, but let me tell you I loved every minute of it. Is this going to be a series? I can't get enough! I need more, like, immediately. And I think you would too, if you liked books like that.
Check out my full review here!
https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
Check out my full review here!
https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
August 8, 2025
The initial premise was interesting, but there were too many plot threads without a why. Things just happen because they need to happen for the plot. For one, the mutations and glitches exist, but why? For control? There’s no reasoning given. The ending then just became so contrived with Emilee’s now family connections to Norax that it just felt like everything was being shoved in for a reason. Finished it, but I wouldn’t pick it up again
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2022
I wouldn’t normally choose a novel about a dystopian future, but this one has all the right elements to grab my attention and keep hold of it. I thought it was perfectly executed & I enjoyed it from start to finish. Most of the elements in the novel were really quite plausible, excluding the Fissarex.
July 11, 2024
I actually really liked this book. Im quite surprised because i was going into this book backward and ready to dnf it as soon as i could. That didn't happend.
The story was original and the world building was really good.
Im not putting 5 starts because the ending was not finishing the story in my opinion. I would have definitely read a book two of these famoux.
The story was original and the world building was really good.
Im not putting 5 starts because the ending was not finishing the story in my opinion. I would have definitely read a book two of these famoux.
March 27, 2021
Someone please tell me there’s a sequel because I want it sooooo badly! Oh my gosh, the world building, the themes on reality television (especially in the future), the plot twists, Chapter 😍, oh my gosh, excuse me I have to go cry for a bit.
December 16, 2021
This was definitely not mind-blowing or anything, but at least it was entertaining! It wasn't necessarily what I would call great literature, but it was an easy read. The ending definitely felt like it was setting up for a sequel.
January 20, 2021
Review to come.
April 13, 2022
I mean, the blurb seemed kind of interesting and the cover of the book was epic.
But the story... not so much... it just fell flat for me.
But the story... not so much... it just fell flat for me.
April 29, 2025
what happened to the ending? i need more
December 26, 2020
I feel awful because I always support my fellow Wattpad authors, especially those who have been successfully published but this book just didn’t work for me. Fifteen year old me would have loved this but I guess this book was a mixture of not the right time & trying not to cringe.
I love a good dystopian and this book was honestly a throwback to some years ago when this genre was the only thing I read. I can appreciate Kassandra’s world building and the way she developed the world was creatively done. I admired the obvious time she put into the plot of the book and I liked her writing.
Which is why I am sorry to say that it was a mixture of the poorly done pacing (slowest book I have ever read and obscenely long for what it is), and the characters. I didn’t like any of them. Emilee/Emeray was a boring protagonist without a backbone and the rest of the Famoux house just drove me up the wall. I didn’t have any time for the characters and with a book that was led by the characters this just sucked for me.
I found the concept interesting but the execution of this plot just didn’t work for me and I found myself cringing at some of the chapters.
I’m finding it hard to sum up my feelings for this book but I will say I wish Kassandra all the luck and well done for being published!
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love a good dystopian and this book was honestly a throwback to some years ago when this genre was the only thing I read. I can appreciate Kassandra’s world building and the way she developed the world was creatively done. I admired the obvious time she put into the plot of the book and I liked her writing.
Which is why I am sorry to say that it was a mixture of the poorly done pacing (slowest book I have ever read and obscenely long for what it is), and the characters. I didn’t like any of them. Emilee/Emeray was a boring protagonist without a backbone and the rest of the Famoux house just drove me up the wall. I didn’t have any time for the characters and with a book that was led by the characters this just sucked for me.
I found the concept interesting but the execution of this plot just didn’t work for me and I found myself cringing at some of the chapters.
I’m finding it hard to sum up my feelings for this book but I will say I wish Kassandra all the luck and well done for being published!
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 3, 2021
To be honest, I prefer the wattpad version a lot.
In the printed version, all the characters lost their unique characteristic. They don't have much of interaction with each other, more of narration of what's going on with Em.
I find that every one of them are becoming more selfish and I cannot really see the friendship in here.
In the printed version, all the characters lost their unique characteristic. They don't have much of interaction with each other, more of narration of what's going on with Em.
I find that every one of them are becoming more selfish and I cannot really see the friendship in here.
October 19, 2025
Let me just start off by saying this: This book is not good. If I found this on Wattpad I would have been blown away. But this is not good enough to be a real published book.
Or maybe it is. There are some awful books lately.
Let me organize it into a couple points:
1. The names are stupid. Exceptionally stupid. The Famoux is a stupid name. Not even the characters in the book know how it’s supposed to be pronounced. All of the place-names are stupid. Betnedoor, Notness, Eldae, Waltmar. All the names sound so dumb and formulated especially to sound like a YA sci fi novel name. Also worldbuilding side note: the entire world went from having unique cultures and heritages to becoming one big nation that calls itself Delicatum? That's... hilariously idiotic. Also all the branding - Norax, Emeray Essence, Chapter, Till, etc. It's really dumb and annoying.
2. The prose is bad. It just falls short in every way. It does feel like a Wattpad fic, so I guess that's realistic. There are so many weird things - like, the school bullies carry notebooks with a list of ways to bully the main character. What the fuck lmao. The prose was so unimaginably bland that it took me a long time to realize that the main character was female, and even longer for me to realize that her name was Emilee. I could go through this book with a fine-tooth comb and point out everything, but the prose is below average. It does not meet the standard of prose that should be in a published novel.
Here's a quote that I thought illustrated how bad the prose is:
For context their friend just died. Hey, if your friend just died you don't go "omg! don't say death" that's not how human beings act. What the fuck lmao
- Live reaction from me when I read about
It's... memorable.
Or maybe it is. There are some awful books lately.
Let me organize it into a couple points:
1. The names are stupid. Exceptionally stupid. The Famoux is a stupid name. Not even the characters in the book know how it’s supposed to be pronounced. All of the place-names are stupid. Betnedoor, Notness, Eldae, Waltmar. All the names sound so dumb and formulated especially to sound like a YA sci fi novel name. Also worldbuilding side note: the entire world went from having unique cultures and heritages to becoming one big nation that calls itself Delicatum? That's... hilariously idiotic. Also all the branding - Norax, Emeray Essence, Chapter, Till, etc. It's really dumb and annoying.
2. The prose is bad. It just falls short in every way. It does feel like a Wattpad fic, so I guess that's realistic. There are so many weird things - like, the school bullies carry notebooks with a list of ways to bully the main character. What the fuck lmao. The prose was so unimaginably bland that it took me a long time to realize that the main character was female, and even longer for me to realize that her name was Emilee. I could go through this book with a fine-tooth comb and point out everything, but the prose is below average. It does not meet the standard of prose that should be in a published novel.
Here's a quote that I thought illustrated how bad the prose is:
“You know, Till, this really doesn’t need to be the hill you die on.”
She gasps. “How can you talk about death so flippantly?
After everything that just happened?”
His face puckers up, realizing it.
For context their friend just died. Hey, if your friend just died you don't go "omg! don't say death" that's not how human beings act. What the fuck lmao
- Live reaction from me when I read about
It's... memorable.
November 24, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, but there was absolutely nothing redeeming about it. The book opens with an info dump that didn't actually explain much of anything. Why did the mother disappear for no reason? Why was the format of the Famoux suddenly changed for no reason? Info dumps unfortunately become a common theme throughout the book, churning out pages of information about the world the author is creating, rather than insert only the relevant details in a more organic way. These info dumps only highlight the purposeless nature of the book. The author doesn't know what story they are writing: a mystery thriller, exploration of celebrity, or a dystopian warning of the dangers of climate change. Any one would be enough on its own, but together the mismashing of themes just leaves me confused.
I was constantly thrown off by the stilted writing style, like the author is trying to imitate her conception of an experienced writer, rather than using her own natural style. And for that matter, what's with the word "Famoux"? It's trying to sound more glamorous and interesting, but just comes across as being pretentious, like someone who adopts an accent to seem more sophisticated. The characters' names all sound like the author smashed names together to try to sound interesting and fresh. I mean, Calsifer? Kaytee? Cartney? Chapter? Norax? The names are so ridiculous that I can't take anything they do seriously. Is this supposed to be a satire of celebrity? If so, then why create a new dystopian world; just because it's a popular genre and will sell the book?
The book is also poorly edited, with inconsistent spellings of the same word (gray and grey, in the same paragraph), strings of words that don't make any sense ("a slip of thick paper spits slowly from the camera"), and things happening for no reason. Emilee is bullied for no reason, her mother leaves for no reason, she's the only one in her birth year with eyes a different color than she should have (due to some unexplained genetic mystery, everyone born in the same year has te same color eyes, but Emilee doesn't. How can genetic quirks change every year in January like clockwork? The author certainly never explains...). Emilee is magically found in a crowd by the producer and instantly put into the Famoux, and of course it's because no one in a world obsessed with beauty has ever told her that's she's beautiful beyond belief. A sixteen year old is allowed to get cosmetic surgery to completely change the way she looks (so then why did she need to be beautiful to start with...?) and join a reality tv show all within ten minutes of meeting the producer, and all without parent consent or an explanation of what the surgeries will entail, what her job description is, what the pay is, what her family will be told? There are "special magnets and minerals embedded in the walls that allow you to hear what anyone in the world is saying about you? That is not how magnets and minerals work! Unreal. Just...unreal.
This book is a mess, like a child is telling it and keeps veering off and changing the direction. Save yourself the time and read something else.
I was constantly thrown off by the stilted writing style, like the author is trying to imitate her conception of an experienced writer, rather than using her own natural style. And for that matter, what's with the word "Famoux"? It's trying to sound more glamorous and interesting, but just comes across as being pretentious, like someone who adopts an accent to seem more sophisticated. The characters' names all sound like the author smashed names together to try to sound interesting and fresh. I mean, Calsifer? Kaytee? Cartney? Chapter? Norax? The names are so ridiculous that I can't take anything they do seriously. Is this supposed to be a satire of celebrity? If so, then why create a new dystopian world; just because it's a popular genre and will sell the book?
The book is also poorly edited, with inconsistent spellings of the same word (gray and grey, in the same paragraph), strings of words that don't make any sense ("a slip of thick paper spits slowly from the camera"), and things happening for no reason. Emilee is bullied for no reason, her mother leaves for no reason, she's the only one in her birth year with eyes a different color than she should have (due to some unexplained genetic mystery, everyone born in the same year has te same color eyes, but Emilee doesn't. How can genetic quirks change every year in January like clockwork? The author certainly never explains...). Emilee is magically found in a crowd by the producer and instantly put into the Famoux, and of course it's because no one in a world obsessed with beauty has ever told her that's she's beautiful beyond belief. A sixteen year old is allowed to get cosmetic surgery to completely change the way she looks (so then why did she need to be beautiful to start with...?) and join a reality tv show all within ten minutes of meeting the producer, and all without parent consent or an explanation of what the surgeries will entail, what her job description is, what the pay is, what her family will be told? There are "special magnets and minerals embedded in the walls that allow you to hear what anyone in the world is saying about you? That is not how magnets and minerals work! Unreal. Just...unreal.
This book is a mess, like a child is telling it and keeps veering off and changing the direction. Save yourself the time and read something else.
June 25, 2021
I absolutely adored this book! I didn’t expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did, but it kept me hooked from page 1. And I do wish it were longer. Almost 400 pages isn’t nearly enough.
November 16, 2020
Everything is in the title. You want a story about fame, drama and secrets ? You've come to the right place ! Glitters, fame and influence will all be present here !
I am ALWAYS attracted to stories with a fame or stardom theme. I just love it. Maybe it's how you often get to see what happens behind the scenes, maybe it's just the show and glitter aspects, I don't know, but I never can get enough of it. Famoux was a perfect book for me in that aspect !
So Em is you regular girl, with a lot of problems (getting bullied, family issues,etc.) until she finds herself propelled among the Famoux, a group of talented and beautiful stars who each excel in their field. She doesn't really know what to do, or if she belongs, but she now has to play the game of fame and figure out how to survive her first month in the group, as a mysterious killer makes them compete with each other for survival.
I was a bit disappointed about the beginning of the book, and especially about the way Em becomes famous. This is basically child abduction, and the scene was really fast. There was no real thinking or logic in it and she went for nothing to all in just a few pages, which I found very disorienting and unlikely, even in such a fiction.
Still, after this, I can only say positive things ! Em's environment is fascinating and we get to explore and adjust to it at the same time she does, which kind of made up for the rushed change of life. The glitter, the riches, the mansion, etc. makes her dizzy and I loved drowning in that new world.
The plot is fairly classic, but as it's set in a theme that I love and there were still some plot twists I didn't find utterly obvious, I got completely captivated by the author's writing, which is never too simple or too snob-ish. I flew through the pages really quickly, and I think it made me come out of my little reading slump, because it was such a fast-paced interesting read ! It is written in that Wattpad style that I loved when I was reading as a teen, yet it is edited enough to make sure it's not too teeny or too vapid. Love it.
As for the characters, I thought Em a little dumb, but other than that, I really enjoyed seeing her interact with the other Famoux. Overall, the whole groupe had a great dynamics and the worked well with each other. Seeing the producers of the Famoux and the way the pull the strings backstage was also something that I was pleased to read. Producers need to be written about more ! They have a fascinating job !
Well, I'd conclude by saying this is a great easy-reading book. It has a lot of fast-paced action to keep you entertained, and you will enter a world of fame and treason which is perfectly seducing. I definitely recommend it !
I am ALWAYS attracted to stories with a fame or stardom theme. I just love it. Maybe it's how you often get to see what happens behind the scenes, maybe it's just the show and glitter aspects, I don't know, but I never can get enough of it. Famoux was a perfect book for me in that aspect !
So Em is you regular girl, with a lot of problems (getting bullied, family issues,etc.) until she finds herself propelled among the Famoux, a group of talented and beautiful stars who each excel in their field. She doesn't really know what to do, or if she belongs, but she now has to play the game of fame and figure out how to survive her first month in the group, as a mysterious killer makes them compete with each other for survival.
I was a bit disappointed about the beginning of the book, and especially about the way Em becomes famous. This is basically child abduction, and the scene was really fast. There was no real thinking or logic in it and she went for nothing to all in just a few pages, which I found very disorienting and unlikely, even in such a fiction.
Still, after this, I can only say positive things ! Em's environment is fascinating and we get to explore and adjust to it at the same time she does, which kind of made up for the rushed change of life. The glitter, the riches, the mansion, etc. makes her dizzy and I loved drowning in that new world.
The plot is fairly classic, but as it's set in a theme that I love and there were still some plot twists I didn't find utterly obvious, I got completely captivated by the author's writing, which is never too simple or too snob-ish. I flew through the pages really quickly, and I think it made me come out of my little reading slump, because it was such a fast-paced interesting read ! It is written in that Wattpad style that I loved when I was reading as a teen, yet it is edited enough to make sure it's not too teeny or too vapid. Love it.
As for the characters, I thought Em a little dumb, but other than that, I really enjoyed seeing her interact with the other Famoux. Overall, the whole groupe had a great dynamics and the worked well with each other. Seeing the producers of the Famoux and the way the pull the strings backstage was also something that I was pleased to read. Producers need to be written about more ! They have a fascinating job !
Well, I'd conclude by saying this is a great easy-reading book. It has a lot of fast-paced action to keep you entertained, and you will enter a world of fame and treason which is perfectly seducing. I definitely recommend it !
December 9, 2020
I am not a big fan of Wattpad. Never have, never will be.
I tried my best to be influenced by that while reading the book but I fear I failed. Sadly, this book once again proved what I already know about Wattpad - ir's full of cliches and cliches and honestly... There are sides with better niveau than Wattpad.
I did not like the book at all. Like I said, it was cliche after cliche and I felt like I read this book already when I started it. It wasn't for me. The characters were as fake as a plastic wrapper and I can't muster any sympathy for any of them. The only interesting thing about the book were the circles, introducing some new genetic feature each year. Otherwise, I sadly can't say anything good about that book. The cover is pretty too, but that's really all for me. I struggled so much reading this book because it bored me. Not to mention that the formation was very off which bothered me in reading it.
Maybe I am just not into YA-novels anymore, which is the reason why I was not fond of this book. Maybe I am just too biased by my pervious experiences with Wattpad (and its users) to truefully judge the book. Or maybe this book was just way out if my comfort zone and I did not quite know what to make of it
I received a free copy my Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I tried my best to be influenced by that while reading the book but I fear I failed. Sadly, this book once again proved what I already know about Wattpad - ir's full of cliches and cliches and honestly... There are sides with better niveau than Wattpad.
I did not like the book at all. Like I said, it was cliche after cliche and I felt like I read this book already when I started it. It wasn't for me. The characters were as fake as a plastic wrapper and I can't muster any sympathy for any of them. The only interesting thing about the book were the circles, introducing some new genetic feature each year. Otherwise, I sadly can't say anything good about that book. The cover is pretty too, but that's really all for me. I struggled so much reading this book because it bored me. Not to mention that the formation was very off which bothered me in reading it.
Maybe I am just not into YA-novels anymore, which is the reason why I was not fond of this book. Maybe I am just too biased by my pervious experiences with Wattpad (and its users) to truefully judge the book. Or maybe this book was just way out if my comfort zone and I did not quite know what to make of it
I received a free copy my Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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