Out with the Ex, In with the New by Sophie Ranald
Source: NetGalley and Bookouture
Rating: 3/5 stars

Gemma has three goals in life: 1) to marry her long-time boyfriend, Jack; 2) to land a job as a serious journalist and; 3) to become YouTube famous.

Gemma has spent a year pounding the pavement looking for a job. She has what it takes to be a fine journalist, but no one seems to want to take a chance on her. Through what feels like a thousand interviews, Gemma has kept her attitude positive and hopeful, leaned on Jack for support, and continues to ever so slowly grow her YouTube following with make-up tutorials and interactions with her followers. Gemma knows, if she keeps plugging along and doing her best, all her goals are totally achievable.

Gemma gets a job . . . .

With a spring in her step and load of enthusiasm, Gemma rushes off to meet Jack to share her wonderful news. Not only has she gotten a job, but she’s gotten a job with an up and coming site that has loads of room of growth and advancement; she has to start at the bottom, but that’s OK, because Gemma finally has a job! Unfortunately, on the same night she shares her wonderful news with Jack, Gemma also finds herself without a boyfriend. Jack doesn’t just dump Gemma, he crushes her heart and obliterates one of her goals, all so he can go gallivanting around the world with his best friend . . . . who happens to be a woman ☹ In a fit of despair, Gemma unloads all her pain and sorrow in a video she impulsively loads to her YouTube channel. As it happens, her brutal honesty not only gets the attention of her regular followers, but a host of newbies. Who knew heartbreak could help make one famous?

As the days and weeks trudge along, Gemma settles into her new job (not quite as posh as she originally thought!), her new living arrangement (far creepier than she suspected!) and begins to see real growth in her quest for fame. Gemma’s new life goals is to show Jack exactly what he gave up and, in an effort, to achieve that goal, Gemma finds herself tied up with a hot new boyfriend who is one part of a YouTube sensation. Her attachment to Charlie seems tremendously fine at first with invites to the swankiest parties, mentions of her attachment to Charlie on all the social media platforms, people recognizing her on the street, and a new agent helping her grow her own channel and following. The days and nights spin out of control in a haze of dates, late nights, new videos for her channel, her increasingly boring job, and her increasingly troublesome home environment. Though Gemma tries to project an air of footloose and fancy-free (take that, Jack!), her original followers notice a stark change in Gemma and it’s not one they are at all happy about.

To her new followers and “friends” Gemma seems to have it all. What those new followers and friends don’t know and/or see is the turmoil constantly bubbling under the façade of chic, on the rise woman living her best life. Gemma is tired all the time, her work, such as it is, is suffering, and her original followers are put out with her vapid new videos and tutorials. What’s more, Charlie is sort of an ass and her landlords are the kind of trouble no one wants to be a part of. After a series of serious and rather awful events, Gemma finally pulls her head out of her ass and finally begins making decisions that not only better align with her own true attitude and moral compass, but truly allow her to become YouTube famous for all the right reasons.

The Bottom Line: I struggled with this book, in large part, because I struggled with Gemma as a character. The first two-thirds of the book I found myself wondering if Gemma were actually too stupid to live! She comes across as a flighty, immature girl whose only mission in life is to have everyone know and adore her. Really? In this day and age, that’s all you’ve got? While it seems, I should have DNF’d the book at this stage, I hung on and was richly rewarded for my efforts and stubbornness. As things in Gemma’s life become quite serious – for example, the situation her landlords find themselves in – Gemma rises to the occasion and sheds the self-centered and selfish façade to reveal a real and even admirable human being. Gemma finally begins to understand that she has real talent as a writer, real compassion for others, and when she lets those qualities shine, she becomes a person everyone really does want to know and, dare I say it, emulate. I don’t think I would bill this read as “a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy” (as it has been!) but as a more serious read that deals, in large part, with the sad state of our society as a whole. Gemma has to come to terms with the fact that YouTube famous isn’t real life and real life is often hard, messy, painful, and demanding, but it is also the part of people that other people respond to, pay attention to, and generally like. Gemma shows tremendous growth throughout this read and I was left feeling a bit more hopeful about the real Gemma’s out there in the world. There is a life beyond the superficial and sometimes, that life is quite spectacular.

After living with her mother and commuting to her job in London, Gemma has just landed a job as a junior writer at Clickfrenzy. Now, she’s hoping she can move in with her boyfriend, Jack. But when she tells him about her new job, he then tells her that he has quit his job, He has decided to travel the world with his friend, Olivia, with whom he grew up. There goes their relationship even though Jack promises he will return to Gemma.

Since Gemma’s job is in London and two hours away from where she lives with her Mum, Gemma rents a room in a nice house owned by Richard and Hannah.

As Gemma has always done a lot of vlogging and has a large following, her new job is centered around that. After posting a video of her breakup with Jack, she gains instant fame and even more followers. This blossoms and she is soon "rubbing elbows” with wealthy and famous YouTubers. Charlie and Gus are famous twin brothers on YouTube and soon, Gemma and Charlie start a relationship of sorts.

Soon, Gemma gets involved in helping charity organizations, as well as a friend closer to home. But, can she find someone steady to have in her life?

Well, this book seemed so juvenile to me. I would think that a young woman in her mid-20s would have a better handle on a bit of maturity, but Gemma surely does not. Perhaps since the age of vlogging has missed me, that must be why I cannot believe so much time is wasted on it. Rather cutesy at times, but also rather silly. Hope other readers enjoy this story.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this book! I found Gemma highly relatable and wildly funny. It was enjoyable to read about her making her way through a breakup, new job, and rise to YouTube fame all while finding herself! I also liked how the book touched upon domestic violence without shaming the survivors or those who choose to go back to their abusers. It's such a rough topic to discuss but I think this book handled it very well. The relationships Gemma forges throughout the book with her roommates, co-workers, and fellow vloggers felt so familiar and relatable. I enjoyed this a lot!

This book follows Gemma, a YouTuber who is just starting out. When her boyfriend breaks up with her she posts a raw reaction video. She could never guess how that one video could change her life.
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I thought this book had some really funny moments that made me laugh out loud, while also hitting on some serious issues. It was a quick read and excellent for the busy holiday season. I really enjoyed the growth of Gemma as a MC and I would definitely recommend this book.
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I would like to thank @netgalley for providing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

.This is a feel-good rom com about a young woman, Gemma, who is trying to find her footing in real life and in the digital world after her boyfriend of four years leaves her and she finally has a new job with a new media company.

I found the chapters to be a bit long for me, but it didn't drag. One of the things I enjoyed was that this is more of a slow burn rom com. It really spent more time on Gemma trying to figure herself and her life out. What didn't sit well with me was that on one hand, Gemma's development was really good as the story progresses. On the other hand, while Gemma is trying to find her footing, she went from one breakup to another break up and ended up with her current boyfriend with almost no time in between.

Though I don't necessarily relate to Gemma's hobby/career as a vlogging (or subscribing and viewing), I loved that Gemma was able to used her position of power to shed light on a very important issue that I hold close to my heart. Overall, it was a fun and lovely weekend read with touches on serious topics. I'm grateful the author took it in that direction.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, it took me several chapters to get invested into this story. It was a good story, but I just couldn't connect with it as deeply as I originally thought I would have. Towards the middle, I got really into it and couldn’t put it down.

This was quite a funny read. I found myself laughing out loud through a lot of it. I enjoyed Gemma’s character a lot and it was fun taking this journey with her. She started out so naive but quickly grew into such an awesome strong character.

I love how this book was inspired by the “youtube” culture we have in our world today. It was fun seeing this through a first person perspective. I feel it was honest in Gemma’s mistakes and missteps and really showed how hard she worked to get to where she is.

Overall, this was a cute and easy book to get lost in for an afternoon. Thank you kindly to Sophie Ranald, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this title.

This is a honest review. I received this book at netgalley from the publisher.

I had some trouble in the beginning. I had the feeling it was to much on how Gemma was doing on YouTube. But after a couple off chapters I couldn’t put the book down. I loved that when we go further in the book we see so much more about Gemma. What is happening with her “ex”. And why is is becoming a famous YouTube star.

We start that Gemma is still living with her mom. And is in love with Jack. As Gemma finally finds a job she thinks that her live is going the right way. She has a small YouTube channel. A lovely boyfriend. And is thinking for the next step, when Jack comes and says he want’s to travel the world with his best friend. Gemma reluctantly support his decision.

While all off that is going on Gemma wants to find a place to live near her work. She finds this in a cute neighborhood. And shortly after that everything goes wrong. Jack dumps her and Gemma has no one to talk to that her camera. She post this on her YouTube channel without much thought and goes to sleep. Not knowing that this will change her live.

If you love Sophie Kinsella. You will love this book.

4/5 stars
This book had me laughing out loud so many times throughout it. I loved the main character and her personality and how she handles the situations that got thrown at her.

Gemma is 24 and lives at home, but is hoping that will change with her new job and her now 4-year relationship. But, when her boyfriend trumps her news of a new job and the ability to move out of her mother’s house with his own plans to travel, without her but bringing his friend Olivia along, things take an unusual twist. With a new house share in London with a married couple and another single like her, she’s expecting great things – and along with her new job and new outlook, she’s going to put more emphasis on her vlog and see where that leads. Then the totally unexpected (to no one BUT her) letter from the boyfriend arrives, confirming he’s moved on without her – and she’s devastated. Taking to her vlog – she vents – and the vlog takes off.

Gemma was more than a bit naïve and uncertain at first, and a bit star-struck when her vlog took off, with a few nicely placed warnings in actions about the lure and dangers of social media and deciding about motives when one is surrounded by other ‘influensters’ with big followings. Sure, with two boys that are interesting and only one seeming to share her ‘place’ in the vlogosphere, along with the ‘celebrity’ culture that is celebrated (or shot down) with the ‘ever on’ reality bent of the script – it’s going to take far more thought and consideration, and a removal of a bit of her innocence before she actually starts to grow and see potential – the real and the false – in her newly defined life.

Heavily peppered with YouTube culture and references, the perils and alure of social media, and quite a bit of missteps from Gemma – it will take some unexpected events to be thrust in her face before her choices become clearly evident, and besides being a cause celeb for herself, she throws herself into a true cause that she cares about. Again, like Sorry not Sorry the promise of “laugh out loud” was a bit overstated, and this felt more chick lit than rom com – even with the happy for now ending.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aAb /”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Having recently finished 'No, We Can't be Friends', I really wanted to read another book by Sophie Ranald. This one focused on one of Sloane Cassidy's clients, Gemma Grey, her vlogging career and her search for self-identity and a stable rewarding relationship.
I was surprised how young Gemma sounded compared to Sloane. Sophie Ranald is a master of characterization. It was absolutely clear that this girl is only 24 years old, and is still trying to understand what she would like to do with life. One thing is clear, she is a good, decent person, who cares about other people and is trying to do right by them. Gemma started her make-up advice vlog for fun. As it happens to many vloggers (my cousin is one of them, so I can vouch the author's research is spot-on), she hit a 1000 subscribers milestone, and made some similarly-minded friends in the YouTube community, but..that's it. Then her boyfriend Jack goes travelling with another friend and breaks up with Gemma. Gemma records a video with her 'epic reaction' to the break-up, which goes viral and gets her noticed. Of course, the plot is a bit predictable: Gemma needs to discover the pros and cons of her online career, and she also needs to find a worthwhile cause to care and do something about.
I loved Gemma with her honesty and self-deprecating humour. This book previously had a different title- 'The truth about Gemma Grey'. While the new one is more attention-grabbing, I still prefer the old one, because the focus isn't so much on her romantic relationships, but on Gemma becoming more self-aware and more mature.
Out with the Ex, In with the New is a great example of the chick-lit genre: it is entertaining, touching on some more serious topics (the charity Gemma ends up caring about is very close to my heart) without making the reader feel too depressed, and, of course, there a HFN at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookuture for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Big Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
As usual, I was deceived by the nice cover. The cover for me seems refreshing and I was hoping that it could give me that vibe.
First, I did not expect that the story is going to be about a rising YouTube vlogger. Had I known, I would not have expected too much from the story. The plot is kind of weak. It just revolved around the daily struggle of Gemma who was recently dumped by her long-time boyfriend. She was getting over him by keeping herself busy at work and posting vlogs on Youtube. The story kind of bored me a little. There are lots of characters but they are not well developed which made them uninteresting. I find the story kind of shallow, but I appreciate that towards the end the character became mature enough by doing something worthwhile. I would have enjoyed this book more if Gemma had developed a deeper relationship with some of the characters.

The story follows the life of Gemma, who when we meet her is in a serious relationship and making plans for the future. Then suddenly all her plans change and she has to reinvent herself. I think the novel tries to cover many important topics and goes from funny to serious.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Gemma is thrilled to tell her boyfriend Jack that she has a new job but he drops the bombshell that he is going travelling without her. They promise to commit to a long distance relationship but that soon collapses.
Heartbroken, Gemma bares her soul on her YouTube channel and it goes viral… Her life changes forever as she gets swept up in a life of glamour and celebrity that makes her yearn for early nights and junk food.
As an influencer, content creator, blogger, occasional vlogger, whatever, this was a fab book to read and I found I could identify with Gemma quite a lot as she battles to be herself and work out what she wants from her life.
There is an important message about reality in social media which I think is important for young people to realise. Celebrity is sold in reality TV shows every day and the amount of work it takes to be successful is often overlooked. I think most bloggers start for themselves but it is very easy to swept up in products and money making potential.
Out With The Ex, In With The New has plenty to say about relationships, both friendships and romantic connections. Again, this really resonated with me as I had a boyfriend who went off to travel when I thought we would settle down. When he came back, he was ready for all the things I’d wanted previously but I’d moved on.
There is a serious side to this book as Gemma discovers that her housemates are in an abusive relationship and uses her media presence to promote a campaign against violence.
The overall effect of the book is a balanced one of fun and drama. Many of the media aspects of the novel are ridiculous yet probably true (daily cat articles sounds very realistic and I’m sure I’ve clicked on quite a few over the years!) as are the celebrity parties and the truth behind big YouTubers. This book is modern yet with the classic story of looking for love.

OUT WITH THE EX, IN WITH THE NEW
BY SOPHIE RANALD

I really loved this book that isn't something that I typically read. I thought at first that it was going to be silly and a farce but it really touched on some serious subjects such as domestic violence. I really loved Gemma's character as she wasn't at all superficial, she had some real depth to her. I loved her mother also who stood by Gemma and I loved their closeness despite Gemma striking out on her own to live in a shared house with Hannah, Richard and Amy.

I really loved watching Gemma grow as a person. Jack, her long time boyfriend breaks up with her to travel the world with his best friend, Olivia. This breaks Gemma's heart as she finds out just like anybody in the world who has ever been broken up with that people who you thought were your friends pick a side. Sometimes they pick your ex and you find yourself having to rebuild your life. This point was portrayed well in the novel. I was hoping that her and Jack would get back together but when her and Raffy got together I saw some real inner growth.

Gus was another character who surprised me with his inner growth by the end of the book. I never really liked Charlie as I thought that he was immature and his lack of reaction to Gemma when Gus had his tantrum made me glad that Gemma ended it with Charlie. Highlighting Richard's poor behavior and abuse of Hannah touched on themes of domestic violence and abuse and how insidious and poisonous it can be to be involved with someone like that. Gemma's treatment of Richard and also Amy's treatment of Richard was handled really well. Gemma's doing volunteer work at the women's safe house shelter is where she really shined.

I read this novel really fast and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't a fluff book it is really relevant to our times with social media and how much people are influenced by it. I would recommend this to anybody looking for a feel good book.

Thank you to Net Galley, Sophie Ranald and Bookouture Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow, Gemma sure has a complicated life!

Her boyfriend of 4 years dumps her, just as she finally find herself a job. She moves into a house with a married couple and another girl but it isn't long before things take an unexpected turn there. She spends a lot of time in her bedroom vlogging but the vlogging world is a weird one that she isn't all that sure of, the longer she is doing it. She meets Charlie, one of the superstars of that world, and his twin, Gus, but is Charlie the right guy for her? And what about Raffy?

I felt like this was a pretty modern book about what it takes to be a success when you live in a big, expensive city and all the pressures that come along with it. Not easy, that's for sure.

I give this book 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture.

This was an odd read for me as generally I liked it, but I definitely think there is room for improvement. I like the characters and I like vlogger/influencer aspect to the book, but I think this also made the book drag. The author goes into a bit of detail about it and after a while, I just got bored reading it and I'm someone who watches YouTube daily. I liked the last 1/3 of the book as that focused more on Gemma's growth.

All in all this was an okay read, and while I didn't love it, I would check out other books from the author.

3.5 stars

Because I’ve read other books by the author, I wanted to read this one as well.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t like it as much as the first one. It’s interesting and there are many moments that felt like the heroine is one of my real friend but it also has moments that I wanted to quit reading because it seems like dragging a lot for my liking.
Overall it’s a good story and I’m looking forward to read more books by the author.

This book was fun, flirty, and filled with whimsy! Gemma is 24 and at a bit of a crossroads in her life. She has finally landed a job after looking forever. Excited to share this news with her boyfriend Jack, who she is certain she will be moving in with soon, Gemma gets a bit of a shock. Jack has decided he’s going to tour the world and not with Gemma but rather his friend Olivia. So now Gemma finds her self finding a new place to live in London alone, and she finds a room in a house with a very interesting couple. Things get off to a bit of a rocky start. Gemma‘s dream writing job turns out to be Gemma writing quirky quips about cats. And then she gets a dear John letter from Jack. Gemma is devastated and takes to her Vlog to vent and gives the most epic break up spiel ever! What follows is a wild and crazy chain of events that will alter Gemma‘s life and perspective forever.

Gemma was a great character, I was cheering for the girl from first page to last! There was a lot in this book about vlogging and the YouTube culture and admittedly I don’t entirely understand it. My kids seem to watch a lot of YouTube and the attraction escapes me, why anyone would want to watch someone else playing video games is beyond me. I know there’s more to it than that, but I am definitely not of the YouTube generation. I did find it interesting, it’s crazy how well known these people are for skateboarding around their house. There was a lot more to this then YouTube parties, make up videos, and shopping. There were some heavier topics and I think they were incorporated into this lighter read very well. Something I truly did appreciate about this book was even though there were some romantic entanglements the story really was about Gemma finding her inner strength. My only tiny niggle with this book is it could’ve been edited down a little I think, but that’s very minor. All in all this was an entertaining book about an engaging character.

This book in emojis. 💅🏻 👛 🐱 🧸 🦋

*** Big thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

Jack and Gemma had been engaged. She is floundering in life and wants to be a journalist. Then all of a sudden Jack says he isn't ready to get married yet but still loves her. He wants to travel for a year. He doesn't ask her to go with him but tells her he is traveling with his best friend , who is a woman. Pics on social media show Jack and his friend to close for comfort. Next thing she knows is Jack has dumped her and now with his best friend. Meanwhile Gemma has a You Tube channel and as she is holding her teddy bear, Stanley , she talks about her heartbreak. It gets thousands of hits.
At a party Gemma meets Charlie and they hit it off right away. Things look great between them but little things start bothering her and she thinks maybe Charlie isn't for her. But then Jack shows up again and misses her.
Gemma has decisions to make and Jack seems to be one of them. This book was funny and also sad. The whirlwind of Charlie got Gemma out and doing things. Also her channel was doing awesome!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

Being honest, I found it hard to start the book as I did not particularly like the main character at the beginning and found her quite shallow annoying, due to certain traits - this had changed a lot by the end but it was not my favourite Ranald character throughout.

I enjoyed the story enough to keep up once the story developed however, as it was a good attempt to make a modern romance novel and the environment she based the characters in (being social media/online presences) was a new perspective. This is what kept my interest for the most part; it felt like it veered from the usual tropes just enough.

I'm always glad for a new chick lit book and would recommend for this reason. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the book for an unbiased opinion!