The Hemsworth Effect

I loved that this was set in Australia and there were many pop culture references. I do have mixed feelings on this book and it was a bit too slow paced for me.

The story follows Aimee who is a cranky Byron Bay local. She hates the influencers that have plagued her town. She calls it the Hemsworth effect where celebrities and, in this instance, Chris Hemsworth has boasted about this coastal town causing and influx of tourists taking over a once quaint locality. Her fiancé Tim has asked to take a break to see if they should really get married and that they should see other people. Aimee's landlord just passed away and the daughter wants to sell the building in which her bookstore is situated. It's tough as she has no savings to save it. She's protesting about a reality show the Brats of Byron Bay being filmed, only to find out her niece Fleur is going to feature on it. Aimee gets turned into a meme "Byron Karen" which goes viral and is then the produces see this as a golden opportunity to have her on the reality show too. With money tight, she goes against her own values to star on this show with the type of influencers she hates, only to find out one of them is dating her fiancé. With the support of her friends, she can survive, but will anything go right?

Is it bad that I loved the side characters more than the MC. I especially loved Rob as she was so funny and witty. If the best friends of Charlie and Rob weren't there and Aimee was soloing this story, I probably would have DNF. I wanted so hard to relate to Aimee, though I felt like she was making poor choices and didn't really accept responsibility in making good changes in her life. From her situation with Tim, then her bookstore's building being sold, to making money on the reality TV show with the type of people she hated, not letting people in when they were trying to help... yes, it was one thing after another in her life, but was I meant to be frustrated with her the whole time? Was that the point? Also felt like the ending left some parts unresolved... especially with Tim - I wanted a deep and meaningful conversation. Should Aimee have fixed her trauma over her sister's death? Could she have confronted Rozzie? I wanted more of a conversation with Heath.

What I did enjoy was how over the top Brooke was. She made me laugh with all the cringe worthy moments she created and it was like how I imagine some influencers to be - creating drama for the sake of the camera. I thought what happened on the reality show was funny and Addie and Luna with their outgoing personalities, especially on the podcast was hilarious. I thought the relationship with her niece Fleur was sweet and how she had to mum her because she loved her. The moments with Tim and his fedora made me cringe a lot but in a funny way. The time spent with Jules and Heath really did spark some change in Aimee and it definitely opened her up to trying new things.

Overall, I am 50/50 and if the book was shorter without repeated dialogue and description, I think I would have liked it more.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for having this available as an ARC. This will be available 30th November.