Instamom by Chantel Guertin

In Instamom, by Chantel Guertin, influencer Kit has gotten a book, a brand, and a career out of her childfree stance. She’s living a full-time influencer life, which is slightly boring to her, but does involve loads of parties, free stuff, and workdays of taking photos of her clients’ stuff. for her wildly popular instagram account, @KitWithoutKids. She gives talks about women choosing the childfree life and deciding how to spend their lives. She’s careful to explain that not wanting her own kids isn’t the same as hating kids, and not wanting to be a mom isn’t the same as not wanting other women to be moms, it’s an uphill battle. Many of us without kids will recognize some of these conversations with coworkers and acquaintances, although Kit has to keep having them on a public scale as part of her brand.

Then, Kit meets a hot, sweet, and funny chef, Will, who’s just perfect for her in every way, except for one thing. Turns out he has an adorable daughter. It’s not exactly a massive surprise what comes next, this is a romance novel after all, but I enjoyed seeing how Kit and Will got there. And instead of the usual forced misunderstandings and reconciliations, there’s something huge at the heart of their conflicts: Kit know she doesn’t want to be a mother (and her career her career is built on a publicly childfree lifestyle) and Will already has a daughter and loves being a dad.

Throughout the book, I loved Kit’s reading and book-reviewing hobby. Whenever her work, love life or whatever else isn’t going so well, she retreats into her books and writes reviews on her bookstagram, and let’s be honest, same. I just loved this part of Kit’s life, which worked to make her feel more developed and relatable. 

The influencer life is already starting to wear on Kit at the beginning of the book, but I have to say that the parties and travel made for excellent pandemic reading. Kit meets with her friends, both true besties and online emoji-traders. Her child-free group and her girls-night pals are great communities for her, as well as being full of fun characters for readers to meet.

I enjoyed reading this one the whole time I was holding it, but when I set it down, I wasn’t wondering what what would happen next. This is how I felt with The Unhoneymooners, too. Both were such fun reads, full of familiar romance beats, so not exactly suspenseful. Both times, the fun was in how the story would get to the usual ending. The influencer twist adds complexity to the romance in Instamom, too.  What happens if your personality is also your income? And what does ‘real’ even mean on Instagram?  

I received a copy of this novel through Bookstagrammers. Thank you! Opinions are my own, as always.

Update March 2022: I released this book into the wild!