Welcome to the Bodies to Die For by Lori Brand Book Tour hosted by Suzy Approved Book Tours. 

Do you have any idea how many diets you’ve been on? I gave up counting years ago. You might just appreciate this book that pairs current-day weight issues with social media and fictional murder. 

About the Book

Popular fitness influencer Gemma has transformed herself from a Before into an After, complete with washboard abs, a thriving business, and a gorgeous husband. But social media can be deceiving. Offline, the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding may just eat her alive. That’s if she’s not first devoured by the secret nemesis that lurks beneath her polished surface, waiting to destroy her.

Software engineer Ashley is fat and frustrated with failed diets. With a world that wants her to shrink. With biased doctors, online trolls, and even her mother. Until Ashley falls in with a mysterious and radical sect of Fat Activists who are fighting back – by any means necessary. She’s never felt so alive, so full of purpose. She’ll do whatever it takes to ride this high, destroy Diet Culture, and win the approval of her charismatic leader.

Gemma and Ashley are on a collision course headed for the Olympia, the bodybuilding competition where futures are made. And lost. But when Gemma’s toughest rival turns up dead, and more fitness girls fall like dominoes, it’s beginning to look like the body image war has gone too far.

With breakneck pace and keen insights, Bodies to Die For takes a hard look at social media, the $70 billion diet industry, and the war on women’s bodies – the war we wage with each other, and with ourselves.

About The Author

Lori Brand is a lifting enthusiast, group fitness instructor, yoga teacher, and software quality engineer. In past lives, she’s been a gymnast, dancer, Playboy model, and bodybuilder. Her time in the body wars trenches led to her realization that getting strong, rather than shrinking, is the way out. In an effort to spread the word, she’s had articles published in STRONG Fitness Magazine, T-Nation, Inside Fitness Magazine, D’FYNE Fitness Magazine, and more. Bodies to Die For is her first novel. 

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Praise for Bodies to Die For

“The most physically–and emotionally–healthy thriller I’ve read in some time.”– “CrimeReads”

“In short, punchy chapters that alternate perspectives, Brand–herself a former bodybuilder–sets the two women on a deliriously entertaining collision course. The mix of top-notch suspense and gleeful social satire makes this sing.”– “Publishers Weekly”

“Twisty, surprising, and dripping with satire, Lori Brand puts the ‘die’ in diet in this strikingly original murder mystery set in the world of competitive bodybuilding. A fascinating cast of deliciously demented characters will keep you guessing who dunnit, and who’s next. I absolutely devoured it!”– “Susan Walter, acclaimed writer and director”

“Brand takes you deep inside the fitness mania. She gives us a peek behind the Insta Fabulous curtain on how influencers’ lives are less than perfect, and way less than meets the eye; all in a contest where the stakes are literally life and death.”– “Alberto Mansur, author of Only the Dead Know Peace”

“Bodies to Die For is a wild, twisty romp through the world of bodybuilding and murder. Brand does an excellent job of showing how diet culture really is hell–no matter the size of your body. A perfect thriller for any readers looking for Ruth Ware meets the podcast Maintenance Phase.”– “Halley Sutton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hurricane Blonde”

“Brand’s debut thriller doesn’t shy away from calling out the ways women are exploited by social media and the fitness and diet industries while simultaneously delivering an entertaining story filled with surprising twists.”– “Booklist”

My Thoughts

You mean what you see on social media isn’t always true? You know, when you see the gush gush post about the boyfriend/husband and you wonder if you had dreamt the bitchfest that had you on the phone for over an hour last night. One of these days my fingers are going to snap and comment.

So now we add body building and body shaming into the mix. This can’t end well – and it doesn’t. Soon we find ourselves in the middle of a murder mystery. Short chapters featuring alternating perspectives bring on the snarky suspense. Quirky characters, you can’t help but love, bring out the crazy in full force. This story is certainly nothing new but when combined with all the different plots, it’s nothing short of a remarkable and jaw-dropping read.

Bodies to Die For Book Tour

Follow along on the tour and see what others have to say. 

Hosted by: Suzy Approved Book Tours

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