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Followers
You never know who is on the other side of the screen in this mystery thriller with a strong female protagonist.
Sidney, a single mother with a dull day job, has big dreams of becoming a full-time horror reviewer and risqué gore model. Between managing a cellphone store, honoring her soccer mom duties, and wrangling her hostile ex-husband, it seems building her following and interacting with her fans is the only authentic outlet she has—and the validation it gives her is proving to be a little addictive. She’ll overlook her responsibilities for it. She’ll neglect her real-life friendships for it. She’ll even pose nude in bathtubs of blood for it.
If her growing pool of online followers is any indication, her efforts are working, and things are looking good for her Elvira-esque aspirations. Her website is gaining traction, and every day it seems more and more people are sliding into her DMs to chat with her and tell her how amazing she is. In fact, Sidney has so many followers that chatting with them is getting to be a job in itself. More than a job, it might even be getting a little risky….
When Sidney travels to the mountains to attend a horror film festival, she is flattered to find that one of her followers has come to meet her . But he might not be the only one who has gone out of his way to get up close and personal with her. When Sidney is attacked on the way back to her hotel late one night, she learns that real-life horror is not a game, and being stalked isn’t flattering—it’s terrifying, and it could get her killed.
Believing the incident to be a fluke, Sidney decides to forget the attack and focus on her life again. Only this might not be so easy. Because Sidney—and her loved ones—are in serious danger. This stalker isn’t just your average stalker. He knows her every movement, and he knows each step of her routine. In fact, he’s right behind her…and when he gets close enough, he won’t take no for an answer.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths .
Sidney, a single mother with a dull day job, has big dreams of becoming a full-time horror reviewer and risqué gore model. Between managing a cellphone store, honoring her soccer mom duties, and wrangling her hostile ex-husband, it seems building her following and interacting with her fans is the only authentic outlet she has—and the validation it gives her is proving to be a little addictive. She’ll overlook her responsibilities for it. She’ll neglect her real-life friendships for it. She’ll even pose nude in bathtubs of blood for it.
If her growing pool of online followers is any indication, her efforts are working, and things are looking good for her Elvira-esque aspirations. Her website is gaining traction, and every day it seems more and more people are sliding into her DMs to chat with her and tell her how amazing she is. In fact, Sidney has so many followers that chatting with them is getting to be a job in itself. More than a job, it might even be getting a little risky….
When Sidney travels to the mountains to attend a horror film festival, she is flattered to find that one of her followers has come to meet her . But he might not be the only one who has gone out of his way to get up close and personal with her. When Sidney is attacked on the way back to her hotel late one night, she learns that real-life horror is not a game, and being stalked isn’t flattering—it’s terrifying, and it could get her killed.
Believing the incident to be a fluke, Sidney decides to forget the attack and focus on her life again. Only this might not be so easy. Because Sidney—and her loved ones—are in serious danger. This stalker isn’t just your average stalker. He knows her every movement, and he knows each step of her routine. In fact, he’s right behind her…and when he gets close enough, he won’t take no for an answer.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths .
- GenresHorror
446 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2021
3 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Christina Bergling
28 books91 followersDrawn to the monstrous and macabre, Christina Bergling has been weaving nightmares since childhood. Her horror tales slither from post-apocalyptic (Savages, Screechers) to monster (Red Walls) psychological (The Waning) to comedy (The Rest Will Come) to mystery (Followers) and anything in between (various anthologies and zines including The Horror Collection series, 96th of October, Graveyard Girls, Demonic Wildlife).
Bergling is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Denver Horror Collective, and Midnight Monster Club and a dedicated voice in the horror genre. She has been featured on panels at Colorado Festival of Horror. She devours horror in all its forms—movies, books, festivals, conventions, stores, haunted attractions.
By day, she navigates the shadows of the IT world. By night, she turns trauma into art. When she’s not writing, she hikes rugged Colorado trails, dances wildly, and sucks out all the marrow of life with her family.
Bergling is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Denver Horror Collective, and Midnight Monster Club and a dedicated voice in the horror genre. She has been featured on panels at Colorado Festival of Horror. She devours horror in all its forms—movies, books, festivals, conventions, stores, haunted attractions.
By day, she navigates the shadows of the IT world. By night, she turns trauma into art. When she’s not writing, she hikes rugged Colorado trails, dances wildly, and sucks out all the marrow of life with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 8, 2022
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I really struggled to get through this one. Anyone that has followed me for any length of time knows that I love horror. However, there was just so much about this one that either didn't work for me or there were troubling tropes/ideas that were huge red flags.
The story is very slow to get going and nothing of real purpose happened until about 40% into the story. The protagonist is a single mother who loves horror and takes part in risky horror photoshoots. I lost all respect for the character when it was revealed that she cheated on her husband and that is the reason why her marriage broke down. So although she was the reason for it falling apart, the author paints a picture of how the ex-husband is a terrible individual and treats her badly. Maybe he is just reacting to what she put him through. I don't know it just seemed to have no necessary basis on whether the story went.
As stated before the protagonist got involved with these horror photoshoots and posts them online which brought her attention. She was also messaging several men online, this constituted a basis of just talking, sexting, and flirting. Many other individuals in her life warned her that she doesn't know who is on the other side of the screen - although this is strictly true, and we knew where and how this story was going to develop it just stunk of victim-blaming. So because she was modeling for those pictures and talking to men online she must just be opening herself up to these things happening.
I really struggled to get through this one. Anyone that has followed me for any length of time knows that I love horror. However, there was just so much about this one that either didn't work for me or there were troubling tropes/ideas that were huge red flags.
The story is very slow to get going and nothing of real purpose happened until about 40% into the story. The protagonist is a single mother who loves horror and takes part in risky horror photoshoots. I lost all respect for the character when it was revealed that she cheated on her husband and that is the reason why her marriage broke down. So although she was the reason for it falling apart, the author paints a picture of how the ex-husband is a terrible individual and treats her badly. Maybe he is just reacting to what she put him through. I don't know it just seemed to have no necessary basis on whether the story went.
As stated before the protagonist got involved with these horror photoshoots and posts them online which brought her attention. She was also messaging several men online, this constituted a basis of just talking, sexting, and flirting. Many other individuals in her life warned her that she doesn't know who is on the other side of the screen - although this is strictly true, and we knew where and how this story was going to develop it just stunk of victim-blaming. So because she was modeling for those pictures and talking to men online she must just be opening herself up to these things happening.
August 17, 2021
I like being the first to rate and review a book. Don't love having to create a listing for it. Which, considering that this is mid August and the book is coming out September 24th, you'd think something a publisher or the author would have sorted out by now. But anyway...there it is. You're welcome. Now let's get into the review...
For all the evils of social media, there’s something nice about having followers. I’ve accumulated 330some on GR in recent years and I like the general idea of having people display that sort of interest in my reviews. But that’s as far as I’m comfortable taking that.
Some people take the idea of internet fame much, much further and this is a story of one of them. Sidney, her character’s name an obvious homage to Sidney Prescott of Scream franchise, is a fame hungry person, obsessed with horror. In fact, it was the Scream movies that first got her started down this bloody and gory winding road. And now in her 30s it is her refuge from the world in which she has thus far failed to make a mark.
Sidney’s life leaves a lot to be desired. She had completely failed as a wife, she’s middling as a mother and she’s an available warm body of a cell phone store manager for a career. But she has good friends and optimism, the latter leading her to believe that she can parlay her passion for horror into a moneymaker. Because that’s the pervasive evils of social media, everyone thinks they can be the next (insert some Kardashian sort of waste of space here), everyone thinks they got what it takes.
Sidney knows words alone (her reviews and tweets) won’t take her there (our social media addled society is too vapid for that and if you don’t think so check out how many more likes reviews with memes and gifs get and that’s just GR) so she also models, nude and bathes in blood. In fact, that’s how we’re introduced to her. She’s flexing her body in a bathtub of congealing blood while her gay bff is snapping away photos.
And, because discretion and privacy are well and truly dead, on the world wide web it all goes. To be fair, Sidney actually think she is practicing some discretion, but alas she simply isn’t smart enough or cautious enough of a person, as frequently evidenced by her chattering her entire life away to a host of perfect strangers on the internet, for that and so soon enough she finds herself source of all sorts of unwanted attention.
And so, to paraphrase Nietzsche, this is a book about a woman who had gazes into horror for so long, the horror gazed back. Now Sidney is the star of her very own slasher and she is determined to remain standing like a proper final girl.
If this sounds like a dumb story about a dumb woman getting something like her just deserts and learning an important life lesson…it might have gone that way, but it didn’t. For one thing, the author, whoever she is, is too good of a writer for that. She writes dumb smartly and the book ends up being a much more engaging read than you might have anticipated.
Even with all the clichés in it. Of which there are many. And mostly they are straight out of chicklit field, like the supersupportive roomie who used Girl in every freaking sentence or the supersupportive wildly flamboyant gay bffs.
You probably have to be a horror fan to really appreciate this book and, by extent, Sidney. Thing is Sidney and I are very different genre fans, I prefer the psychological darkness, she leans toward the obvious, I enjoy literary horror, Sidney goes for gory B and C list movies. But still, there is enough mutual appreciation of a good scare that’s there and will probably resonate with most fans, despite their specific preferences.
In the end this was a fairly fun read, despite many, many things, even despite the lamentable predictability of the final plot twist. It had potential to be a lot more, like maybe almost an A level, but got stuck and C going on B territory. It’d probably be fun as a B movie, actually, if somewhat meta.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy for review purposes.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
For all the evils of social media, there’s something nice about having followers. I’ve accumulated 330some on GR in recent years and I like the general idea of having people display that sort of interest in my reviews. But that’s as far as I’m comfortable taking that.
Some people take the idea of internet fame much, much further and this is a story of one of them. Sidney, her character’s name an obvious homage to Sidney Prescott of Scream franchise, is a fame hungry person, obsessed with horror. In fact, it was the Scream movies that first got her started down this bloody and gory winding road. And now in her 30s it is her refuge from the world in which she has thus far failed to make a mark.
Sidney’s life leaves a lot to be desired. She had completely failed as a wife, she’s middling as a mother and she’s an available warm body of a cell phone store manager for a career. But she has good friends and optimism, the latter leading her to believe that she can parlay her passion for horror into a moneymaker. Because that’s the pervasive evils of social media, everyone thinks they can be the next (insert some Kardashian sort of waste of space here), everyone thinks they got what it takes.
Sidney knows words alone (her reviews and tweets) won’t take her there (our social media addled society is too vapid for that and if you don’t think so check out how many more likes reviews with memes and gifs get and that’s just GR) so she also models, nude and bathes in blood. In fact, that’s how we’re introduced to her. She’s flexing her body in a bathtub of congealing blood while her gay bff is snapping away photos.
And, because discretion and privacy are well and truly dead, on the world wide web it all goes. To be fair, Sidney actually think she is practicing some discretion, but alas she simply isn’t smart enough or cautious enough of a person, as frequently evidenced by her chattering her entire life away to a host of perfect strangers on the internet, for that and so soon enough she finds herself source of all sorts of unwanted attention.
And so, to paraphrase Nietzsche, this is a book about a woman who had gazes into horror for so long, the horror gazed back. Now Sidney is the star of her very own slasher and she is determined to remain standing like a proper final girl.
If this sounds like a dumb story about a dumb woman getting something like her just deserts and learning an important life lesson…it might have gone that way, but it didn’t. For one thing, the author, whoever she is, is too good of a writer for that. She writes dumb smartly and the book ends up being a much more engaging read than you might have anticipated.
Even with all the clichés in it. Of which there are many. And mostly they are straight out of chicklit field, like the supersupportive roomie who used Girl in every freaking sentence or the supersupportive wildly flamboyant gay bffs.
You probably have to be a horror fan to really appreciate this book and, by extent, Sidney. Thing is Sidney and I are very different genre fans, I prefer the psychological darkness, she leans toward the obvious, I enjoy literary horror, Sidney goes for gory B and C list movies. But still, there is enough mutual appreciation of a good scare that’s there and will probably resonate with most fans, despite their specific preferences.
In the end this was a fairly fun read, despite many, many things, even despite the lamentable predictability of the final plot twist. It had potential to be a lot more, like maybe almost an A level, but got stuck and C going on B territory. It’d probably be fun as a B movie, actually, if somewhat meta.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy for review purposes.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
November 12, 2025
I’m very picky when it comes to horror—I’m very picky when it comes to anything, but that’s neither here nor there—for one reason: horror doesn’t just mean blood and gore thrown around, at least on paper. It needs a subtler element too in order to creep readers out. Followers has that element.
July 3, 2022
Sidney loves all things scary so much that she has multiple social media accounts, a blog, and a website all devoted to thrillers. Part movie reviewer and part gore pin up girl, she is determined to build herself up even if it means connecting with her online followers sometimes meeting them at events. Sidney is a divorced mom who lives with her best friend Kendra who is also a divorced mom, and their children, working a mundane job while raising a son, avoiding stuffy sports moms, and negotiating the daily horror of a mom and ex husband who don’t exactly approve of her side hustle. Her real life and online friends provide both a support network and danger as the two worlds collide. As her friend said “Real life, digital life. Where is the line anymore?”
Sidney attends the Telluride Horror Show festival with her friend Wes and is attacked and almost killed while walking back to her room. Was it a random attack or was someone targeting her? Once she returns home and now everyone is in danger. Sidney’s only hope is to find out who it is before they succeed. Is it an online follower, someone she knows IRL, or was it a random attack? You'll have to read the book to find out.
The story does take some time to build up and in reading about Sidney’s everyday life you are lulled into feeling like things won’t be too awful and then it takes a left turn. There is a well-rounded cast of characters who are easily relatable making it difficult to determine who the killer may be. I mean this is a thriller and that means someone’s life is in danger. The book also puts you in the mind of someone who is trying to understand the new world they inhabit after an attack without being judgmental or overly done. I really love how the author takes an ancient fear and brings it into modern life. The scene descriptions capture everything, even the smell of lemon cleaner.
Sidney attends the Telluride Horror Show festival with her friend Wes and is attacked and almost killed while walking back to her room. Was it a random attack or was someone targeting her? Once she returns home and now everyone is in danger. Sidney’s only hope is to find out who it is before they succeed. Is it an online follower, someone she knows IRL, or was it a random attack? You'll have to read the book to find out.
The story does take some time to build up and in reading about Sidney’s everyday life you are lulled into feeling like things won’t be too awful and then it takes a left turn. There is a well-rounded cast of characters who are easily relatable making it difficult to determine who the killer may be. I mean this is a thriller and that means someone’s life is in danger. The book also puts you in the mind of someone who is trying to understand the new world they inhabit after an attack without being judgmental or overly done. I really love how the author takes an ancient fear and brings it into modern life. The scene descriptions capture everything, even the smell of lemon cleaner.
September 21, 2021
I am clueless about the life of an Internet "influencer"--online or Real Life--and I don't follow celebrities, but the core of this novel rings all too true for me, and I think it will for any contemporary woman, and some men too. Sidney is a lifelong aficionado of Horror, and Horror is her Internet brand. With an established website and a brand-new blog, Sidney critiques Horror films, and additionally with the help of her bestie, Gay photographer Brady, she models "Horror Art," including revealing and gory poses. Naturally she has a devoted online following, and a pair of ongoing online flirtations.
But suddenly a few of her "followers" are getting too personal, even threatening. Then at a film festival, Sidney is confronted irrevocably with her own vulnerability, and then trouble and danger follows her home.
I'm not victim-bashing here, but Sidney seems to have trouble setting boundaries, and she surely lacks sufficient self-respect. Much of the story involves her roller-coaster emotions and her impulsive behavior, coupled with anger, depression, and hopelessness. I won't say "she brought it on herself," but wiser decisions made in advance might have smoothed her path and avoided some disasters. The more I consider FOLLOWERS, the more it seems equivalent to a medieval cautionary tale; or maybe I am just cynically paranoid about modern life.
My suggestion: read it for yourself, and decide.
But suddenly a few of her "followers" are getting too personal, even threatening. Then at a film festival, Sidney is confronted irrevocably with her own vulnerability, and then trouble and danger follows her home.
I'm not victim-bashing here, but Sidney seems to have trouble setting boundaries, and she surely lacks sufficient self-respect. Much of the story involves her roller-coaster emotions and her impulsive behavior, coupled with anger, depression, and hopelessness. I won't say "she brought it on herself," but wiser decisions made in advance might have smoothed her path and avoided some disasters. The more I consider FOLLOWERS, the more it seems equivalent to a medieval cautionary tale; or maybe I am just cynically paranoid about modern life.
My suggestion: read it for yourself, and decide.
September 24, 2021
I read this a few months back on behalf of the publisher. It’s a terrifically written, dark inside look at stalkers. Visceral, visual and creepy, it’s a must read for horror and thriller fans.
September 24, 2021
Followers, by Christina Bergling is a good read, but to be honest, for a little more than a third of the way in, I read about Sidney, a horror blogger/reviewer and her daily life at her dead end job, her bloody photo shoots (for her blog), her family/personal problems and of course, her online presence working toward her goal of becoming an internet sensation, which was the cursor to get the story going, but nothing had really happened yet.
I'm a horror move fan, so it held my interest, and the writing was good. I enjoyed the trip to the Telluride Horror Film Festival, the discussion of Rocky Horror among other favorite horror movies, and that would have been fine if this wasn't a book in the horror/dark fiction genre. I'm all for setting up the story plot and characters, but it could have been condensed so the core of the story could begin sooner.
When the action did start, however, I was drawn right in. The creep factor was good, especially as Sidney's online conversations got darker, more personal and her online fans wanted more and more of her and from her, causing the suspense to build up nicely. In the end it became quite a chilling game of cat and mouse between Sidney and her 'followers', that I absolutely enjoyed despite it taking a while to get there.
I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
I'm a horror move fan, so it held my interest, and the writing was good. I enjoyed the trip to the Telluride Horror Film Festival, the discussion of Rocky Horror among other favorite horror movies, and that would have been fine if this wasn't a book in the horror/dark fiction genre. I'm all for setting up the story plot and characters, but it could have been condensed so the core of the story could begin sooner.
When the action did start, however, I was drawn right in. The creep factor was good, especially as Sidney's online conversations got darker, more personal and her online fans wanted more and more of her and from her, causing the suspense to build up nicely. In the end it became quite a chilling game of cat and mouse between Sidney and her 'followers', that I absolutely enjoyed despite it taking a while to get there.
I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
September 25, 2021
Like being followed on a trail in the middle of the night, sometimes being followed on social media can lead to non-ideal scenarios.
Christina Bergling’s newest book, Follows, is about Sidney, a single mother who has found a way to make decent money in an arena she loves: horror. Sidney has become a social media celebrity through staging photos of gored out death scenes. She poses nude, drenched in blood, and her community of followers is rabid for it.
It’s flattering at first, and not without its perks, but some of the folks she chats with online begin getting a little too drooling-at-the-mouth-y for her comfort. She begins to suspect that some of them mean the things they say about fantasy’s of co-starring in a slasher with her. And not as the understanding boyfriend.
Turns out, a plan may be further along, and much closer than she knows. And before long, the bogeyman comes knocking at her front door.
It’s a great book, with a cast of well-written and believable characters. I loved the dialogue, although I will say, at times the characters tended be a bit long winded for my taste. Still, I loved them all and kinda started thinking of some of them as peripheral acquaintances by the end of the book.
This book’s hot off the press at @crystallakepublishing
Hurry and get one before Sydney’s legion buy them out!
Christina Bergling’s newest book, Follows, is about Sidney, a single mother who has found a way to make decent money in an arena she loves: horror. Sidney has become a social media celebrity through staging photos of gored out death scenes. She poses nude, drenched in blood, and her community of followers is rabid for it.
It’s flattering at first, and not without its perks, but some of the folks she chats with online begin getting a little too drooling-at-the-mouth-y for her comfort. She begins to suspect that some of them mean the things they say about fantasy’s of co-starring in a slasher with her. And not as the understanding boyfriend.
Turns out, a plan may be further along, and much closer than she knows. And before long, the bogeyman comes knocking at her front door.
It’s a great book, with a cast of well-written and believable characters. I loved the dialogue, although I will say, at times the characters tended be a bit long winded for my taste. Still, I loved them all and kinda started thinking of some of them as peripheral acquaintances by the end of the book.
This book’s hot off the press at @crystallakepublishing
Hurry and get one before Sydney’s legion buy them out!
December 15, 2021
Sydney is a horror blogger and gore model, spending her days taking sexy nude photos covered in blood, while spending her nights online posting articles and checking in with her social media accounts.
A divorced mom with a young son, she lives with her best friend, Kendra, also divorced with a daughter at home. The two women deal with their lives in typical fashion, day jobs, weekend dads, and dating issues all while Sydney hopes to go viral with her horror blog.
Sydney maintains a causal relationship with one man, only when her son isn’t home and two online friendships with two other men, who befriended her over two years ago, online.
While away at a horror fest, she is attacked by a stranger but escapes. Once she goes home, strange events begin to plague her, both in real life and online. More mysterious men begin to friend her, threats begin to roll in and her house is broken into.
As her friends rally around her, warning her to be careful online, her life continues to rapidly spiral out of control. This story takes the more disturbing side of social media and cuts it open to its core, displaying the terrifying reality behind it.
Four stars for the chilling account of the Followers, in this shocking and hard-hitting story of online stalking.
A divorced mom with a young son, she lives with her best friend, Kendra, also divorced with a daughter at home. The two women deal with their lives in typical fashion, day jobs, weekend dads, and dating issues all while Sydney hopes to go viral with her horror blog.
Sydney maintains a causal relationship with one man, only when her son isn’t home and two online friendships with two other men, who befriended her over two years ago, online.
While away at a horror fest, she is attacked by a stranger but escapes. Once she goes home, strange events begin to plague her, both in real life and online. More mysterious men begin to friend her, threats begin to roll in and her house is broken into.
As her friends rally around her, warning her to be careful online, her life continues to rapidly spiral out of control. This story takes the more disturbing side of social media and cuts it open to its core, displaying the terrifying reality behind it.
Four stars for the chilling account of the Followers, in this shocking and hard-hitting story of online stalking.
September 24, 2021
Got this as an ARC for an honest review.
Sidney is trying to make it big as a Horror blogger but at the same time she's juggling being a single parent to her son Cameron
Since the real world is so chaotic she has immersed herself in the online universe to escape the harshness of reality.
But how much information should one give out online? She loves the attention she's getting from a lot of her online "boyfriends" but does she really know who they are?
Then everything changes when her online life and her real life converge thus causing her to reevaluate her online persona.
Her life is becoming more and more like the horror movies she reviews.
Then people start to die and anyone and everyone could be a stone cold killer. But who is it? And are they close to her? Will she be next?
This book really causes one to explore the horror that can come simply from your friends list on social media. Think of Scream intermixed with the ID Channel.
I also found myself trying to figure out who the killer was throughout the entire book.
Very good read and if you like the above examples then this is for you.
Sidney is trying to make it big as a Horror blogger but at the same time she's juggling being a single parent to her son Cameron
Since the real world is so chaotic she has immersed herself in the online universe to escape the harshness of reality.
But how much information should one give out online? She loves the attention she's getting from a lot of her online "boyfriends" but does she really know who they are?
Then everything changes when her online life and her real life converge thus causing her to reevaluate her online persona.
Her life is becoming more and more like the horror movies she reviews.
Then people start to die and anyone and everyone could be a stone cold killer. But who is it? And are they close to her? Will she be next?
This book really causes one to explore the horror that can come simply from your friends list on social media. Think of Scream intermixed with the ID Channel.
I also found myself trying to figure out who the killer was throughout the entire book.
Very good read and if you like the above examples then this is for you.
October 18, 2021
‘Sidney, a single mother with a dull day job, has big dreams of becoming a full-time horror [movie] reviewer and risqué gore model. Between managing a cellphone store, honoring her soccer mom duties, and wrangling her hostile ex-husband, it seems building her following and interacting with her fans is the only authentic outlet she has—and the validation it gives her is proving to be a little addictive.’
‘Her website is gaining traction, and every day it seems more and more people are sliding into her DMs to chat with her and tell her how amazing she is. In fact, Sidney has so many followers that chatting with them is getting to be a job in itself. More than a job, it might even be getting a little risky….’
FOLLOWERS – by Christina Bergling Published by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from The Darkest Depths
I’m a Uberfan of the SCREAM movies, which FOLLOWERS seem to pay tribute to, from the names of two of the main characters, Wes and Sidney, to the horror movie tropes—does and don’ts, the dialogue comparison, and lastly—sans spoilers—the well-known scream of ‘Sidney!’ a time or two.
Is the above depiction of the book a bad thing, in this reader's opinion?
No, not at all.
There are moments, however, throughout the book, wherein viewing the world via Sidney's perspective; as the reader, you swirl around her every thought that at times becomes too much repetition and bulk that I found myself skimming through certain parts.
There are points in this book where I want to grab the fallible (aren’t we all) Sidney, shaking her while screaming, ‘Don’t You Watch Web Of Lies?!?!’ ‘WAKE UP!’
*Deep Breath*
I digress…
Overall, this book didn’t tick off all the boxes for me, but I will say it was a (fun—because, hello, I’m a Horror Fan) and creepy ride I recommend.
Thank You, Crystal Lake Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of FOLLOWERS at the request of an honest review.
‘Her website is gaining traction, and every day it seems more and more people are sliding into her DMs to chat with her and tell her how amazing she is. In fact, Sidney has so many followers that chatting with them is getting to be a job in itself. More than a job, it might even be getting a little risky….’
FOLLOWERS – by Christina Bergling Published by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from The Darkest Depths
I’m a Uberfan of the SCREAM movies, which FOLLOWERS seem to pay tribute to, from the names of two of the main characters, Wes and Sidney, to the horror movie tropes—does and don’ts, the dialogue comparison, and lastly—sans spoilers—the well-known scream of ‘Sidney!’ a time or two.
Is the above depiction of the book a bad thing, in this reader's opinion?
No, not at all.
There are moments, however, throughout the book, wherein viewing the world via Sidney's perspective; as the reader, you swirl around her every thought that at times becomes too much repetition and bulk that I found myself skimming through certain parts.
There are points in this book where I want to grab the fallible (aren’t we all) Sidney, shaking her while screaming, ‘Don’t You Watch Web Of Lies?!?!’ ‘WAKE UP!’
*Deep Breath*
I digress…
Overall, this book didn’t tick off all the boxes for me, but I will say it was a (fun—because, hello, I’m a Horror Fan) and creepy ride I recommend.
Thank You, Crystal Lake Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of FOLLOWERS at the request of an honest review.
October 7, 2021
I liked this one a lot! I found the main character very relatable (not sure what this might say about me lol), there were some good twists and turns, and I enjoyed the occasional nod to common horror tropes without going over-the-top. The author reminds me a lot of Ania Ahlborn, another favorite horror author of mine. I'm always excited to see some kickass female representation in the horror community! Will have to check out the rest of her books.
December 29, 2021
I am not one to stay up all night reading a book, but I did with this one. It was so good and you get sucked in from the start. The main character is relatable in that she has insecurities and flaws but don’t we all. And in this age of meeting people on the internet it’s really a good exploration of how we don’t really know people like we think we do
November 28, 2021
Engaging
Engaging horror story, highlighting the dangers relating to online interactions. Hits the right pace through most of the book to hold your attention. Recommended!
Engaging horror story, highlighting the dangers relating to online interactions. Hits the right pace through most of the book to hold your attention. Recommended!
Read
April 13, 2022This book was a treat to read! Being a horror fan myself, the main character was super relatable and her story intriguing. As the plot progressed, I enjoyed the author's buildup of the creepiest vibes--super well written and easy to picture in my mind! All the characters were interesting, action scenes exciting, and the ending--perfect! I'd highly recommend anyone into horror, thrillers, mystery, or simply the crazy virtual world to read this one!
March 10, 2023
I rated this very, very good. It took me a while to get into it, but the slow build expertly lured me to being completely riveted. The author gave an impressive depiction of the character(s), their life, and relationships. There was excellent perspective and feels given in the interplay of classic horror and virtual reality morphing into the truly terrifying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2021
My full review of "Followers" is now available at https://scifiandscary.com/
March 13, 2022
Received this book as a gift from author.
I gave it a try but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I didn’t think it was very well written and the story was mediocre. I basically ended up skimming the second half of the book just to get through it.
I gave it a try but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I didn’t think it was very well written and the story was mediocre. I basically ended up skimming the second half of the book just to get through it.
March 20, 2022
A mediocre book about social media and stalking. The main character, Sidney, was not likable. The writing style was average and the plot was basic.
My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.
My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.
November 6, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It was a little different than what i'm use to but the book is really good from start to finish. It has good pace and is easy to follow with interesting details. This one will be added to my collection soon.
November 10, 2023
Followers is one of those special novels that will eat its way under your skin. Anyone who has any social media interaction should most definitely read this.
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