An interesting book, a little hard to get into but I am sure glad I stuck with it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

This was a very frustrating book to read. I did not find Casey funny or likable. I'm obviously not the target audience for this type of book, which I find disappointing. This was very conflicting.

tl;dr Review:

Completely not what I expected and full of snarky and sly insight into our culture, female friendships, and the lies which we tell ourselves.

Full Review:

When I first started A Lady's Guide to Selling Out: A Novel by Sally Franson, I thought it was going to be a kind of "frilly" read. Something easy and simple and where I wouldn't have to think too hard. It didn't hurt that the narrator gives off the impression that she's fairly shallow as well.

Yet, the more I read, the more I kept seeing her sly asides that indicated there was much more to this book and its protagonist than first meets the eye. Her wit combined with the unflinching and honest assessment of issues like what we will do to get ahead, how we can lose our dreams in the pursuit of what we think are our goals, our fauxlebrity (i.e. Real Housewives) worship, and even sexual harassment, led the book to read more like a feminist satire.

It also leaves you at moments with questions about to what lengths we would go to - both in working our way up the corporate ladder and in how far we'd go to protect and help our friends.

If you're looking for a book that reads like "chick lit" and will have you smirking to yourself as often as you're mulling over the insightful commentary on our current world, then you'll love this!

I have very conflicting thoughts on this title. I had a very hard time getting into it as I could not, and still cannot related to the main character Casey. The plot dragged in the beginning (first 50 odd pages) but then picked up quickly. I imagine the author meant for Casey to be relatable, but Casey seemed disconnected from reality. That said, not every character has to be perfectly charming and likeable and the adventures (marketing, PR) that Casey encounters are written in a very current, jaring way.

Casey Pendergast works for the man, but its not her true passion. At 28, she makes a very good living and as all the material things she wants. She finds herself in a few moral dilemma's as her PR company aims to use artists to promote products they wouldn't normally use: in essence selling out. She herself selling out as she is essentially doing the same thing. There is a strong lesson here on the power of social media.

I really wanted to like this book as there were some really good messages outlined throughout the story; it just wasn't cohesive. After reading the first few chapters I almost shelved it as a DNF, but in came Ben Dickinson and I was like "hey, this chemistry is well written just keep going." Parts of this book are good, some are not.

I will say I did not like the Devil Wears Prada book, but loved the movie (when does anyone ever say that - that the movie is better than the book - right?!) I think this story may be a better fit for a screenplay. It has potential.

I do need to note: great cover design. It is certainly eye catching.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion of the book. The book is about Casey Pendergast who is an executive is selling her soul to sign authors for a new social media ad campaign. I think this book would have been great as long as it had an overhaul first. It just droned on for several pages all over the place if there were more interactions with all the players would have helped the book. No spoilers, but the last chapter was good still finding it lacking. The ending was a let down due to I think the author would like to redeem herself with a sequel. I think the story has possibilities but it just missed the mark.

As a book loving former English major in my mid-twenties, I thought I was really going to love A Lady's Guide to selling out and was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would. I found the pace to be pretty slow at the beginning but I hate to leave a book unfinished so I kept reading. By the end, I didn't feel as though I had related well to any of the characters, particularly Casey.

Bottom line: I didn't hate it, but also didn't love it.

This title held a lot of promise, with some wry observations about how it feels to be a millennial woman torn between chasing dreams and ensuring survival. I found a lot of the characters, Casey included to be so stereotypical that it dulled the enjoyment of the book

Fun chick lit read. I really enjoyed the book. The revenge details are unrealistic, but totally satisfying.

This book has endless potential but I felt it was lost in the incredible plethora of plots and names and characters. Casey’s story is incredibly timely dealing with corporate politics and sexual assault. She is a very likable character but I felt she was dimmed by too much going on around her.

Yes, some of the characters were interesting, but too often charicatures. There was an element of predictable romance in the story....too much of a potentially good thing.

I will admit that I didn't finish this title. Not for lack of trying but I just couldn't get through it The book started out promising and I really liked the characters but as I read on, the more I disliked Casey and just couldn't finish it.