Member Reviews

Going Green by Nick Spalding was a very slow burn for me. The main character Ellie was maybe a little too wacky and irritating and I didn’t get the “laugh out loud” thing that other reviewers are shouting about. Too predicable and slapstick to engage me properly. Now the last section of the book was a whole different story. I suppose that’s when Ellie seems to grow up (in every sense) and I loved her analysis and actions. To be fair, the early bits did set the scene and are thought provoking in relation to planet impact and climate change. I love the bit in school where even the teacher is astounded at the depth of the kids awareness of the dangers of our current consumerist, throwaway lifestyles. Overall then I give 3.5stars which I’ll round up to 4 for the subject matter and the last section.

Was this review helpful?

I wasn’t sure if I would like this book as I am far from an eco-warrior. It turns out that Ellie was far from that too!
The story is written with humour with Ellie changing the way she sees the world in order to save her job. However I think even Ellie couldn’t see this transformation coming!
At some parts it did get a cringey but I kept going and was pleased to see Ellie finally stood up to the bad guys.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

Going Green by Nick Spalding
Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing
General Fiction (Adult) | Humor | Women's Fiction
Release Date: December 8, 2020

Going Green is a romantic comedy by Nick Spalding.

This was an interesting book about Ellie Cooke, who has to quickly learn how to care about the environment so she can save her job. The premise of the book was good and the characters were likeable. There were some very cute scenes and some funny moments.

I'm so grateful to Nick Spalding, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Nolan Reece, a keen environmentalist, has taken over the PR company - Stratagem - who employs Ellie Cooke. Fully expecting to find herself out of a job Ellie realises drastic is needed from her and sets out to convince Nolan that she has was it takes to adapt and fit in with his environmentally-friendly ethos.

This was my second Nick Spalding book and what a really enjoyable read! It was funny, engaging and heartwarming in equal amounts. As I have come to expect with this author, he cleverly mixes serious events with slap-stick comedic scenes, creating an absorbing rollercoaster ride of emotions for the reader to experience as well as a few mishaps- Bridget Jones style. I definitely recommend this book, particularly if you're looking for a lighthearted read that still has plenty of substance. I shall certainly be reading more of Nick Spalding's back catalogue. Fast and funny, I had an absolute blast reading Going Green and laughed out loud more than I can remember doing for a while. You must get yourself a copy of this book as I'm sure you’ll enjoy it.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Amazon/ Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Wasn't sure if I would like this book at first. I absolutely did! Its been billed as a laugh out loud comedy and it is! Some much needed hilarity right now.
Great book.

Was this review helpful?

Interesting approach to discuss a very important topic such as climate change and what needs to change to tackle it. I found the storyline original, especially the unexpected twist at the end, quite a fun read too, however the characters could have been developed a bit more.

Ellen Cooke works in a PR agency, which is suddenly bought by Nolan Reece who intends to support the green cause and only work with companies matching his ethics. Ellen, in order to impress her new boss, becomes a champion of all things green and ends up being promoted as a result. The more she works with ethical clients, the more Ellen finds herself genuinely wanting to make changes to help save the planet and starts a romantic relationship with Nolan. However all is not as it seems at the PR agency....

Thank you Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review,

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed the start of the book and found Ellie’s antics comical, but around half way through found them a little cringeworthy and found myself skimming through them. I liked the environmental message that ran throughout though and that the lead female character was strong and independent, she just became a little too self righteous for me.

Was this review helpful?

I have read a couple of books by Nick Spalding, notably my favourite "Bricking It", and have come to expect lots of anecdotal humour, wild slapstick comedy and tongue-in-cheek observations of the crazy modern world we live in. Spalding always delivers, and "Going Green" is no exception.
At the heart of the story is Ellie Cooke who jumps out of her skin to save her job, inadvertently ending up in the 'saving the planet' camp. Her antics at trying to impress her new eco-friendly (and quite dishy) boss Nolan Reece are at times hilarious. The scenes at the protest march in front of the shopping centre had me in stitches. Ellie may be desperate but she is also out of her depth and all her efforts come across as utter non-starters (at least in the eyes of her colleagues). Yet, she gets her point across to her boss and it looks like she has saved her job. But that's not quite the end of the story. Expect quite some twist at the end!
"Going Green" has a topical storyline, a hapless but in her special way principled heroine and a motley crew of minor characters.
The story is told from Ellie's point of view and is narrated by her. Spalding makes her believable by reducing her language to colloquial with some curses thrown in to spice things up. Perhaps a touch too many for me, but hey, that's how most of us would speak if our job was on the line.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first Nick Spalding book, but won't be my last. The voice of the narrative was so direct that it took me a chapter or two to orient myself in the story—but once I did, I found myself along for an off-beat, clever, and often laugh-out-loud funny ride. At the heart of this book is the ability to laugh at ourselves even when--perhaps especially when--our good intentions go awry. A witty novel of surprising sincerity, personal growth, and doing the right thing not just for the planet, but for ourselves.

Was this review helpful?

Going Green by Nick Splading is a humorous contemporary fiction novel about saving one's job and potentially saving the planet. Meet Ellie Cooke, who isn't very environmental friendly person, of course she cares about plastic pollution and climate change, but life gets in her way.

The PR firm she works for is over taken by an environmentalist Nolan Reece, who of course wants to incorporate all things green in his office and in the lives of his employees. The author seems to be on a drill to write about global issues and bring out humor and drama to these stories.

I liked how the story progresses in the book, but the start was off. The characters were promising. I liked many conversations between them and other characters in the book. I liked the character of Nolan Reece and also the side character - Grace. Nick was off at times and wasn't consistent with her character in the book.

The twist at the end was good, but overall the book will be a one time read for me. I quite just read it for the sake of reading it and did not enjoy it much. Humor wasn't what I quite expected.
______

Thank You to NetGalley and Publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Ellie, who works in a PR company, wants to impress her new boss who is super green. She goes overboard and in doing so, becomes even more green than she could imagine. If you've read a Nick Spalding book, you'll know things are not how they seem. I enjoyed this as I usually do

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for a review. I LOVE Ellie's character. She is like 1,000 percent all in all the time and that is my kind of girl. This really gave a whole new meaning to lying about who you are. I love the environmental route that this story takes. There are not many fiction books that include environmentally conscious characters, much less different companies. Nolan.....what an interesting character indeed. I really enjoyed how this book turned out and the incredible strength of Ellie and her friends and co-workers. It was a great reminder about how I need to be environmentally conscious in my way of life and my dietary choices. This book was laugh out loud funny and a definite 5 star read!

Was this review helpful?

This is a funny story about a girl, Ellie Cook, who works at a PR firm that switches ownership. The first half read a little slow and it took me awhile to connect with the characters and writing. There were some very funny parts, laugh out loud parts. The book was well written and filled with good humor.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ebook in echanage for an honest review.

I have made a real conscious effort to make more environmentally friendly choices this year (reusable water bottle, shopping in charity shops etc) so I was really interested to read this book as it also tied in my current favourite genre, womens fiction!

The book follows Ellie Cooke who is bumbling along knowing she could be making better choices but just isn't able to. For example, she spends ages in Boots looking for a plastic free drink to offset the fact she is getting another meal deal! Yet when it comes down to it, driving her gas guzzling car and retail shopping she isn't doing much. However, when the PR firm she works for gets taken over by Nolan Reece, who is an green thinking environmentalist and wants to evolve the company to follow his beliefs and represent other environmentalists in the process, Ellie realises that her decisions may have a detrimental effect on her chance of keeping her job so changes need to be made.
As Ellie starts making changes and meeting new clients something begins to change in her and suddenly her motivations are different, however this leads to some new problems..

There were a number of moments that made me laugh in this book, as well as some that I just felt were a bit much in a Bridget Jones way.. I did really enjoy the book though and read it really quickly, the twist wasn't what I was expecting at all! Although in hindsight maybe I should have seen it coming!

I really enjoyed the clients characters and the fact that they ranged from what you might expect for a vegan food company owner to the less expected but all equally believable. There were times when I felt the stress Ellie was facing and wanted to cry with her!

I think this would be a really great book to read if you are starting to/wanting to make changes to be kinder to the environment as it does give you pause for thought but in a non 'preachy' way!

Was this review helpful?

It did take me a bit to get into this book and thought from the off it was going to be obvious what happened. Thankfully I was proved wrong and with a lot of LOL moments along the way, it was an enjoyable book to read.

Was this review helpful?

Going Green is the perfect book if you are looking for some laughs as well as an education. Ellie is a bit of a goofball (provides most of the laughs) who pretends to be very worried about the environment just to keep her job. Thankfully she educates herself (and us) about some very important issues and how everyone can do something to help. While I enjoyed the majority of the book, there were times when I just wanted it to move on. Too much detail or conversation. I would recommend this book as a beach read.

Was this review helpful?

Another laugh out loud offering from Nick Spalding. Not as long or as well defined as previous books but still an enjoyable escape from reality.

Was this review helpful?

I am going to use the word gutted here in my review! Sadly I just could not get into this one, every other book of Nick's I have loved and have read each more than once. This one just did not do it for me. It was almost because I could tell the main character who is a woman was written by a man! It was just a bit boring with none of the laughs I have come to expect of Nick's writing. Will definitely not let it put me off reading others by him.

Was this review helpful?

The formula here is pretty straightforward – each chapter presents the main character, Ellie, with a problem. She then tackles it, and things go awry and devolve into craziness. The level of craziness varies from one scenario to another, and some of them were kind of cringe-worthy (to me).

I actually liked the “not supposed to be funny” thread that ran throughout the book, despite it being fairly predictable: our heroine learns a lot, grows, and becomes a better person. One of the things I liked about this growth story is that it was not totally linear – it zigs and zags into other areas of her life a bit at times. After learning a lot about climate change, Ellie becomes kind of critical of other people who aren’t doing all the things she’s learned to do.

Her final lesson is one she learns outside the “rom” part of this rom-com – or maybe in spite of it? She was fairly independent in the beginning anyway, but she was basically skating along to get by. She learns to be independent and in charge by the end, which is as happy an ending as I needed.

This book was released earlier in December, and I read an advanced copy from NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Totally hysterical woman trying to pretend she is environmently aware to keep her job. She does not think ahead, totally reactive to all situations and sounds like a nightmare. The plot is ok, but the journey is painful. The book is not funny, just a load of cringeworthy scenes turning into disasters.

Was this review helpful?