In an era dominated by tweets, posts, and viral videos, our lives have become increasingly intertwined with the virtual personas of social media influencers. These individuals wield immense power in shaping trends, promoting products, and even shaping public opinion.
But what happens when the world of social media collides with the pages of a book? In the realm of fiction, authors are exploring this dynamic shift in our culture by introducing characters who are not just protagonists but also podcasters, vloggers, and Instagram sensations.
These literary influencers bring a fresh perspective to storytelling, blurring the lines between fiction and reality, and allowing readers to immerse themselves in the lives of characters who navigate the digital landscape just as we do. Join us on a journey through the pages of books that seamlessly weave social media stardom into their narratives, showcasing the diverse ways in which authors are capturing the essence of our modern world.
RomComs featuring Social Media Stars
The first books in this genre are actually a part of "The Influencer" collection from Amy Lea. She's taken several different examples of social media stars and incorporated them into some pretty steamy rom coms:
Set On You by Amy Lea is a light reading rom com that also features the Enemies-to-Lovers trope.
Crystal spends a lot of time at the gym. She's a personal trainer and an influencer … but she's not the typical super lean representation that many people think of in this industry. She has natural curves and she's out to let people know that they should embrace their natural beauty.
Exes and O's is the second in the series by Amy Lea, but the story is completely independent of the first. The main character is also a social media influencer (this time a Romance book influencer).
Tara loves romance novels and all of the tropes that come along with them. On her channel, she talks openly about her love life and how she's been in 10 relationships and all of them have broke her heart.
She decides to go back through the list and try her own chance at Second Chance Romance trope with her exes.
Helping her pave the way is her new hunky firefighter roommate. They weren't supposed to see much of each other with their schedules but the first time she saw him ... well, she SAW him. All of him. Talk about awkward!
But they become friends and he helps her tone down her needy texts while she tries to get him to be more open to relationships and love instead of his meaningless flings.
Amy Lea's third book - The Catch - is expected to be published in 2024 and will be about a fashion influencer.
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy is a perfect summer read! Mackenzie (Mac) is not even 21 years old, but she's already established herself as a successful entrepreneur with her online business that she started in high school. Her family and long time boyfriend aren't as impressed with it (nor do they understand how truly successful it is). After having traveled abroad for a gap year, she's now committed to college to appease her family and boyfriend - because that's the "right thing to do" in their eyes.
The college is located in a small beachside town and there is a noticeable difference between the locals and the "clones" (the rich people attending the college or visiting on vacation) and the two groups don't mesh very well.
Until Mac meets Cooper. Completely the opposite of her, they have an immediate connection. Mac keeps it platonic, but finds her mind racing with thoughts of Cooper frequently. He challenges her more than the people in her world who want her to just follow in their path. The two click with similar stories of lack of support from family, strengthening their bond.
The only issue is the secret as to why they met …
Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez is the third book in a trilogy, but this book can easily be read as a stand alone book as the primary characters become fully developed in this book, so it's not critical to have read the prior ones.
Vanessa has lost her mom and sister to ALS, and there is a high likelihood that she carries this particular strain which has early onset symptoms much younger in life than typically seen with ALS. But she's a fighter in her own way. She wants to live life to it's fullest and does so while documenting much of it on YouTube. Her online popularity allows her to raise money to donate to ALS research.
There is a lot more in this book including her issue heavy family, a hunky neighbor next door, and a baby that she raises of her sister's. I loved her sarcasm and honesty and her approach to life! She embraced it all!
Thrillers featuring Social Media Stars
A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell is about a stay at home mommy blogger (Stephanie) that finds herself in odd situation after saying yes to a simple request to help out by picking up a friends child at school. Stephanie was already picking up her son, and since their boys are friends, there was no hesitation.
Minutes turned to hours and Stephanie still hadn't heard from her friend, Emily. She turns to Emily's husband and her vlogging followers when the police aren't taking her missing seriously.
After you read the book, be sure to check out the movie - it's AMAZING and perfect for date night! Let me know if you like the book or movie version better. Be sure to check out other books that have been made into movies here.
Want to Know a Secret by Freida McFadden is a great psychological thriller that takes place in a suburban town with lots of secrets being kept the neighborhood wives.
April is a stunner with an online cooking show and a wandering eye watching Maria's husband. Julie has walked away from her success in law to be a stay at home over achieving mom - leading the PTA, neighborhood activities, and local book club. Maria is new to the group, having just moved in.
Now April's son is missing and April is receiving strange texts alerting her to the fact that someone is watching her and knows all about her secrets.
(Note: If you like this book, check out my Freida McFadden blog post!)
Young Adult Novels featuring Social Media Stars
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy by Holly Jackson is all about Pippa solving crimes on her podcast during her senior year in high school. Check out more details on my blog From Fantasy to Romance: Young Adult Books Worth Reading.
Conclusion
As social media continues to gain popularity, it will gain a secondary audience in the literary world as more authors incorporate the influencer lifestyle into the storylines. We are then exposed to the positives and negatives of the social media star's life and not just the highlight reel that is typically portrayed in the real world. Fiction is showing us both sides of the coin to this recently created job occupation that more and more are trying to break into.
Happy reading! Please let me know if you've read any of these or if you have a book recommendation for me :)
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Need more recommendations?
Please check out my other blogs - sortable by genre! Here are some recent blogs
General post: Powerful Benefits of Reading for Pleasure
Thriller post: Psychological Thrillers - Professional Twist
General post: What's all the Buzz??? Books about Bees
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I hadn’t heard of any of these but they all sounds like such fun/interesting reads! The thrillers especially look very intriguing! Thank you for sharing! ~Christine
This is interesting, some of these suggestions are new to me and would love to check them more out.
Ohh thank you, great list. Will have to check these books out. Have you read or heard of The Night Swim and Dark Corners? I heard good things so I have bought book 1 of 2. Megan Golden is the author. - Angie @ hergrandlife.com
I like how social media is captured in these books. I think I'll need to upload one for my next vacation when I'll have time to read! :)