Too Blessed to Stress, Alli Hoff Kosik (Review by Aura Johnson)

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

This book is a character driven novel that explores four ~influencers~ who spread the word of our Savior through a megachurch and peddle their products or services. Their projected image of effortless life, relationships, and faith is something to certainly be envious off, while the persona behind each post is not as perfect as one might see.

 As their roles grow more visible and the stakes get higher, cracks begin to form between what they believe, what they show, and what they’re expected to uphold. The story explores how performance, ambition, and spirituality collide in a social-media-driven world, using humor and sharp observation to question authenticity, community, and the cost of appearing “blessed” all the time.

The story was not what I expected at all, and if you enjoy watching influencers on YouTube, “Righteous Gemstones”, or “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”, then this is probably a book for you. At first, we meet a few influencer gals who are hustling hard for the Word, the megachurch, and the pastor, all while dealing with their own drama. Each woman is experiencing struggles that the social media would NEVER see, along with the other influencers, of course. Life has to be perfect in front of everyone.

 However, when there one of them ends up finding some seemingly suspicious papers in their beloved pastor’s office, all the ‘perfect’ life ideas go out the window as they try to figure out what happened, how to not cause a scandal, put on a gala for human anti-trafficking, and how to still get enough social media likes.