Chantel Guertin writes fun, flirty dialogue and has a knack for capturing the terrifying world of social media influencers. Unfortunately, I had too many issues with the protagonist and with the depiction of the childfree movement to truly enjoy Instamom.

The most disappointing part of Instamom was Kit’s championing of the childfree movement. I fully support women who choose to be childfree, and there are many reasons to make this choice – each and every one of them valid. However, from the very beginning, Kit seemed to only be part of the movement because of how popular it made her on social media. She never spent any time around children and never seriously explored her own decision, so the first time she’s ever forced to spend time with a child, she seems bewildered that children aren’t monsters that are actively trying to destroy your life. The first time Kit spends time with Addie, Kit acts much more childish than Addie does. Even though Kit acts selfish, inflexible, and rude, Addie continues to be herself and is super helpful. Then, when Kit does start to explore her feelings about children and being childfree, she continues to make impulsive and impetuous decisions that hurt others and gets upset when they don’t like her.

I found Kit to be very rigid; everything was black and white to her, and she seemed very judgmental of other characters who were more flexible. Her self-entitlement and victim complex made it challenging to enjoy the story. Everyone is allowed to change their mind as they are presented with more information; there is nothing wrong with choosing to have children or to be in a relationship with someone with children when you’ve previously decided to be childfree. But it’s not okay to judge others for their own decisions either way, and this is something Kit is more than willing to do at all times. When she’s a leader in the childfree movement, she has a very holier-than-thou attitude towards parents; Kit seems to think their lives are nightmares of their own choosing and that parents aren’t worth her time. But then, once she starts considering she may be okay having children in her life, she suddenly starts judging the other women in the childfree movement. Suddenly Kit’s deciding who has valid reasons for being childfree and who is making excuses or mistakes.

Kit’s attitude drove me crazy from the first chapter- she has the same hypocritical view of other influencers. When she makes money by being an influencer, it’s because she has something important to stay (just ignore her fitness posts because she doesn’t exercise and her cooking posts because she doesn’t cook), but when other influencers are around, she’s judging their content and thinking about how shallow they all are. Pick a lane, woman!

Will and Addie deserve better than Kit – I don’t care how good the chemistry between Will and Kit is.