Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This was an okay book at times, but was really frustrating to read for the most part and I did not like the way it ended. Sam is one of those characters who you want to shake for the bad decisions she keeps making. She has no self-worth and self-esteem and still has a crush on Dave no matter how shabbily he treats her. Speaking of Dave, I thought he was an annoying bully who was just using Sam. I would have liked it if Sam was more involved with the new man who enters her life, rather than sticking on to Dave. Sometimes, in these kind of stories, I like if the author sticks to the cliched formula as that seems to work.

An interesting, cutesy read which I really enjoyed. The characters were well developed throughout and the writing style was basic but very readable. The kind of book which is just nice, emotional and warm to read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book which i very much enjoyed. Who's that girl tells the story of Sam, a wannabee journalist, with very low self esteem, a curvy physique and a massive crush on her womanising boss, Dave, who only sees her as someone to pass work off to, not someone he would ever look twice at.

When Sam gets her 'big break' reporting on SF Fashion week, she inadvertently finds herself as a contestant on the hugely popular 'Beautifully Curvy' competition and attracts the attention of a handsome suitor who simply loves her for who she is, not who she tries to be. As Sam starts to make changes to the way she looks and acts, Dave becomes besotted with her and so develops the ultimate love triangle. We follow the story of how Sam finally gets the man of her dreams. A nice easy summer read!

I struggled mightily with this book. I was kind of into it, actually, till about the 75% mark. I liked Sam, I liked the way she started to get to know the person she is, and then it became clear that she was going to let Dave, a guy who routinely discounted her, be The One. I started skimming through till the end and just felt more and more let down. The pacing is all off, and the fact that she picks a guy who has no faith in her until the last page is weak, to say the least. I won't leave a review, but if I did, it would be one star. VERY disappointed.

A nice easy read with an important message to be yourself!

A warm, honest and fluffy read that really hits the spot.

I found it so easy to relate to Samantha and it was wonderful to be taken on a journey with her as she evolved from the shy and self conscious woman she was to the strong and confident woman she became!

Who's That Girl is a funny, warm and lighthearted feel good book!

Hayes new romantic romp is an interesting and fun read although it does suffer from a lack of feminism which maybe a problem in the current socio-political climate.

The story switches from first person to third person which is a bit jarring at first but the further I read, the more I felt it worked and was a nice narrative twist to the writing. Hayes manages this very well and although at times the third person narrative doesn’t really do justice to the understanding of the character, it did off sets Sam’s first person to even her character out slightly.

The lack of focus and intrigue at times can get in the way of the book with Sam being an emotionally, body conscientious and socially awkward not picking up on things when the reader is already ten paces ahead. It is a bit like Clark Kent and Superman, everyone can see it is the same person but the people and characters within the pages don’t have a clue. Without revealing spoilers, it is very apparent who Al is although the two main characters do not have a clue.

If this book was released five years ago, it would probably have a different reception but due to the current climate of #Me Too and sexual aggression hitting the foreground of today, there are quite a few scenes that raise questions that may not be appropriate for an audience of today. I did have problems with one particular scene where Dave is saying just tell me No, has he sexually assaults a character. This may have played differently if this book came out a couple of years ago then it does today.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and there is a lot of good in the book which is a very enjoyable summer read. If you read the book and not put too much thought into some of the plot narratives, you will find a fun loving and entertaining narrative. Hayes is very talented writer and her plotting and characters are remembered long after you finish though with this particular book, the timing is probably a bit misguided.

Who's That Girl by Celia Hayes is a cute romantic comedy that I enjoyed. Sam Preston is a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, but all she ends up doing is other peoples work. Sam is in love with her boss Dave, who has no romantic interest in her. Sam also suffers from low self esteem. When Sam is finally noticed by an attractive man and becomes a contestant in the Beautiful Curvy pageant, Sam's life turns around. I found this book to be a quick and fun read, and look forward to reading this author again.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sam Preston is not exactly where she wanted to be in life. She’s stuck living with her parents again. She’s the low end of the totem at work. She’s also in love with her boss, who doesn’t look at her as more than a lackey and is a jerk.
I didn’t like this story. Another “in love with the man who doesn’t notice me” plot. I didn’t really like Sam and the more the story went on, I really didn’t like the story, especially the end.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

4☆ A great read

When I read the blurb for Who's that Girl I was very excited.
Being a curvy girl myself I was excited to see curvy girls being represented.

Sam is a journalist and living at home. She struggles with her weight. So when her boss Dave sends her to cover a beauty contest. But somehow she ends up entering the beauty contest for curvy women. She feels out of her comfort zone.

Sam finally becomes empowered and her confidence grows which was good to see.

I did enjoy Who's that Girl.
I did appreciate how Celia wasn't affraid to write about body image and our hangs ups.

I did feel it lacked a little romance but overall a good read.

The Blurb :
Sam Preston appears to be living the glamorous life of a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle...
If only that was the case... in reality, she's frustratingly single, stuck living in her parents' house, and oh yeah, in love with her boss, Dave, who barely knows that she exists...
Life seems like it will never change... until the day Sam is put on an assignment with Dave, reporting on the San Francisco Fashion Week. She hopes this might be a turning point in their relationship...
But things never go to plan and practically overnight, Sam becomes an accidental contestant in the Beautiful Curvy pageant and life suddenly becomes very complicated.
How will she manage her new rise to stardom, her job, and her sudden irresistibility to not only Dave, but a new man on the scene?

My Thoughts :
This was a slow starter for me but it did pick up a little as the story went on.
I really liked Sam Preston and found myself routing for her throughout. Working at the San Francisco Chronicle as a Journalist she is in love with her boss Dave, who is yet to notice her. Things may just be about to change when Dave asks her to report on the SF Fashion Week.
Dave isnt really a likeable charactor, hes a bit of a bully and talks down to Sam, not helped as she has body confidence issues as it is. Al, would of been the obvious choice for Sam. This is let down by the annoying Dave and I think most people would be disappointed with the ending.
Although thats not to say its worth a read.

I really wanted to love this one but it just fell flat somewhere along the way. The story was kind of messy and at times hard to follow because there seemed to be missing information. The whole thing was a little choppy. TOo bad because there was definitely potential there.

This is a fun story, it flowed well and I enjoyed the characters and their interaction.

It is a very easy read but it lacked a little for me as from reading the blurb I expected a more positive story as that would have given the book an extra sparkle and made it stand out from other similar books in the field, it has a lot of potential.

3.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 4 stars for Amazon and Goodreads

Sam Preston works for the San Francisco Chronicle as a journalist. Sam has had a hopeless crush on her boss, Dave, who barely knows she exists. Sam is covering the Beautiful Curvy pageant and also Fashion week with Dave. When Sam becomes an accident contestant in the Beautiful Curvy pageant she gains confidence and starts dating a wonderful man. Throughout all of this Dave treats Sam poorly.

I am such a fan of the character Sam, she is a normal woman who shares our insecurities and body image issues. I absolutely hate the poor choices she makes dealing with Dave. That really made the book suffer for me personally. I don't want to give to much away but I wish the ending was different.

I was really looking forward to this book, but I didn't like either of the lead characters . I also didn't like the way the book was writing mainly the way 3 person narration.

Source: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher as well!!
I liked Sam, she was a normal woman. She had body issues which we all suffer from at least once, she has confidence issues I can relate to and she is just a normal person. Nothing special about her really. She turned into this confident, feisty woman who finally could say no to people. Not that anyone would listen to her.

I did not like Dave one bit. I found him rude, arrogant and a bit forceful towards Sam. He was a bully and didn’t do anything good in my eyes. She didn’t get a say if she wanted him all over her, she tried to say no but he carried on. Some would say it was a little too much. He was a bully, and I think that if he wasn’t as full on as he was, Sam would have been a much better character.

Al was completely see through for me. It was obvious who he was, or wasn’t, and I just didn’t like him. Yes he was charming, wanted Sam for who she was but he still pretty much forced her to do something she didn’t really want to do. Again, a bully.

As you can tell I am not a fan of forceful men. I don’t think there is a place for them in real life, let alone books.

I had so much hope for this book but in the end I was quite disappointed. I expected it to be funny, and have me laughing out loud. Yes I got the positive image, love yourself no matter what, stand up for what you really want, but I don’t think the story was the right one for it.

The writing was easy to get into, it was quick and simple. However, I didn’t like how it would be from Sam’s prospective and then to the third person. It was a little confusing to begin with. I would have liked it to be from Dave’s view, to get into his head to see what he was thinking.

Sadly, for me this book is a 3/5. I didn’t like the men in the book, and the story was repetitive. Unfortunately, I was glad to see it end.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Sam is on a hamster wheel at work; running furiously but never actually getting anywhere. Desperate for her own byline, instead she spends her days running around after other people, assisting in their work when she longs for an assignment all of her own. Any free time she has is spent dreaming of Dave, deputy editor.

Dave has his own problems; dating a string of glamorous women has finally caught up with him and put his job in jeopardy so he now faces three months without a stunning model on his arm, thanks to a directive from his editor. Faced with needing an assistant for a story, he chooses Sam – reliable, dependable, hard-working Sam .. with the added bonus of her non-threatening appearance of jeans, jumper and low self-esteem.

This is a decent story, which moved along at a slower pace than I’m used to. I expected to read more about the pageant than I did but the story was centred more around Sam and her attempts at finding ‘the one’. There are some funny moments along the way, and this is a happy read.

My thanks to publishers Aria for pre-approving my requests via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

I immediately loved the cover and synopsis, of this book. The title creates fun and mystery. Samantha (Sam) is a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives with her parents and has tried (and failed) the lemon diet. When Dave, her boss, tells her he needs her to report during Fashion Week, she signs up for the challenge, with unexpected consequences.....

Who's that Girl is just so funny! I was laughing out loud within the first few sentences and repeatedly throughout the book. I loved Sam's take on life, and her resolution to just be herself when faced with working in an industry where image and appearence matters. Dave was pretty hilarious, too. Who's That Girl is a real story for real women, and shows that every woman has something to give society and that everyone deserves a chance to shine.

It shows that physical appearance and economic status is not everything, too, which I think is an important life lesson to us all. To me, it shows that it's not what you have, it's who you are that counts.

I thought the plot was original and the pace was just righht, not to fast and not too slow. Sam, Dave and all the characters and setting were created in a vivid and relatable way. Sam has some very realistic hangups about her appearance which I think many women, (myself included) will identify with. In Who's That Girl, and through Sam's experiences, Celia Hayes challenges attitudes surrounding what beauty and success are, or should be, in a straight-talking, yet lighthearted and humorous way that had me rooting for Sam (and Dave).

Who's That Girl is a delightful, warm and honest read that had me hooked on its plot and feeling various enotions while watching the story unfold. I felt the characters' happieness uncertainty and doubt. That, along with everything else I have talked about in this review, made this a read I enjoyed, and one which I would recommend.

Thanks to Celia Hayes and Aria for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review and also the oportunity to participate in the blog tour for this title.

The premise of this book drew me in but I could not get past two major things:
1) Dave is a bullying JERK
2) The characters talked in circles and I'd have to read some scenes twice to interpret all the double talk happening. Also, being a California Girl, I had a hard time with American characters living in San Francisco having scenes written in English (like the country) slang & spellng..

I wanted to like Sam.....and I started to. But her choice at the end blew it for me.

I'm glad I tried it but it was not one I'd read again or recommend for purchase.