‘An emotional rollercoaster of a story. Aimee writes so engagingly about heartbreak, friendship and the dangerous pursuit of Instaperfection - I was hooked as these characters' dramas unfolded’ - Sarah Turner (The Unmumsy Mum)
‘Made me laugh, made me cry, made me reflect on my own truth too. Aimee weaves compassion, honesty and wit into everything she writes. BAD INFLUENCE will pull you into its embrace, breaking and then truly warming your heart - I absolutely loved it’ - Caroline Smailes
‘Prepare for all the feels with this witty yet incredibly tender story that looks at the reality behind the Insta perfect lives we see online and asks whether the secret to true happiness is much more simple than we’ve ever realised. Hugely recommended’ - Claire Frost
‘Rich, heartwarming and hilarious with brilliantly relatable characters’ - Lynsey James 100% of pre-order royalties will go to Lincoln Hospital Chemo Ward.
Will Sarah’s determination to be the perfect Instamum mean she loses everything?
Sarah and Tom's baby daughter has died, and they're in danger of losing their Sarah wants another baby, and Tom is terrified of reliving the heartache. Unable to see how they can move on with their lives, in desperation Sarah reconnects with her old life online – and her obsession with the family life she longs for begins to threaten everything she's ever had or wanted.
Ellie and her daughter were happy before Paige's father, Steve, absent since her birth, comes back into their lives and sweeps them both off their feet – but is Ellie's desire for the ideal family blinding her to a darker truth? And how long will it take Steve to discover the secret that connects Ellie and Sarah to one another?
BAD INFLUENCE is about striving for perfection when you already have everything you need - and risking it all in the process, confronting issues of baby loss and emotional abuse that will be instantly recognisable to many readers.
‘Sometimes sad, often funny, always thought-provoking, this story will stay with me for a long time’ - Kerry Barrett
‘An emotional and heartwarming read, filled with warmth and characters I cared about deeply. I couldn’t put it down’ Darcie Boleyn
'A brilliant and emotional read that will wrench your heart before filling it with warmth and hope. Loved it!' - Jen Faulkner
** READERS REVIEWS ** 5 STARS - 'a beautifully written, clever book about influencers, parenting, love and loss. Bad Influence is intelligent, vulnerable and totally relatable'
5 STARS - 'The book takes you on an emotional journey from start to finish, it had me laughing and crying in equal measure. The hard hitting truth that is life with social media, leaves you with plenty to think about!'
5 STARS - 'The book sends you on an emotional journey which will make your head spin In the best way possible'
5 STARS - 'Written so engagingly and with such heart. One of those rare books where I was so happy with the ending!'
Aimee is from Lincoln, England, where she enjoys drinking gin and spending time with her family (and she won't tell you which of those she prefers doing). As a child, one of her favourite parts of the summer holidays was to devour all the books in a little book shop in Devon. She continued reading at lightning speed right up until having children. She now reads with eyes propped open by match sticks.
An innovative way to touch on abuse in a relationship!
Once I got into the characters, I enjoyed this book. I particularly liked the fact there was a lot of dialogue (sometimes the descriptive content of a novel when you just want it to move forward can be frustrating). I thought it was innovative that Aimee chose an Instagram addiction to mask the abuse, rather than focus on just the abuse itself. And an Instagram addiction is probably not that uncommon yet it’s not something I’d really thought about. There’s a whole new topic that could be discussed around why people feel they need to create a perfect self image, and Aimee’s take on that (abuse) was interesting. Loved the build up of tension, which peaked further still towards the end, and we all love a happy ending!