I was intrigued to read this as I have heard good things about this author before, however this was nothing ground breaking.

I liked that the concept was original, the protagonist learns more about saving the planet.. BUT she only wants to do this to impress her boss.. because she fancied him? Tropes like this anger me, as it reinforces the fact women change themselves to 'win' a man or meet their expectations. She was not an environmentalist, the only green thing she did was recycle, yet she was charmed to become more eco friendly because of his devilish good looks (rather than Earth's impending doom, the threat of animal extinction, dangers of pollution etc). I dislike books that make women seem desperate for male approval, and this book did just that. YES, ok at the end she did seem to have a passion for it and was pleased she had changed her ways, but the reasons for the change in the first place were to please a man.

Lack of a subplot also made the story less compelling. Romances are not my thing anyway but I didn't realize the only storyline would be about the protagonists efforts too woo her boss with her hemp underwear! There was nothing to keep me gripped, as the relationship seemed inevitable and predictable.

There was Bridget Jones style humour throughout, with the protagonist getting into some scrapes (mostly in her attempt to flirt with her boss) but at least this provided some light relief.

Not a terribly written book, but not one I would rush to recommend.

I really struggled to get into this book. Some of the situations the protagonist got herself into were just cringe worthy and ridiculous and it seemed like it was going to be a predictable plot. I persevered, though, and the ending - which was not at all what I expected - saved it from a 2 star review.

Fans of Helen Fielding’s “Bridget Jones” series will like this fun book from Nicholas Spalding. The main character, Ellie Cooke, is worried she will lose her job when the PR firm she works for is sold to a man who wants to represent environmentally conscious clients. Ellie pulls all kinds of antics in an attempt to keep her job. It’s all very life-changing & eye opening for Ellie. By the end of the book you’ll be cheering her on!

Thank you to @Netgalley.com for allowing me to preview the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetgGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Nick Spalding for the advance readers copy of "Going Green" for my honest review.

Ellie works at a PR firm which has been recently purchased by a company all about saving the planet - recycling and climate change. Ellie is none of these and has to quickly change her ways. The book is written with a sense of humor dealing with climate changes. Ellie was over the top at times and a bit too many of the "F" words used for my liking

This is the 1st book I've read by Nick Spalding and it for sure won't be my last! I haven't laughed this hard in some time!
Going Green! The title alone had me sucked in. Everywhere we go these days, it's all you hear, so seeing a storyline about Ellie doing all she can to save her very Green work environment, I knew this was going to be good!
Ellie meets Nolan the new PR company owner and soon learns he is taking the company into a direction that is the complete opposite of what Ellie is used to. When she realizes the company will be promoting eco-friendly businesses, Ellie goes above and beyond to prove to Nolan that she is worthy of keeping her job.
This story isn't likey for most, but I have a goofy sense of humor, so I laughed until I cried! The lengths Ellie took were beyond reason and so hilarious that it will keep in my mind for days!
Thank you Mr. Spalding! I needed this laugh more than you can know. And thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for review.

When I originally downloaded this book, i have to say I was skeptical. Its hard for some to mix humor with the this type of book. But I am glad I gave it a shot.

Ellie, an always late, under enthusiastic employee of a recently sold PR firm, is desperately trying to keep her job by essentially being the opposite of all she is in the eyes of the new boss. Who of course happens to be a very cute, and also very environmentally conscious, man. Ellie does her best to impress him, and everyone else, about how green she truly is (which is zero BTW) and truly fails miserably at almost every turn. The beginning few chapters were a bit too slapstick for me, it was predictable and not very exciting. But as the book went on I laughed out loud quite a few times (to the alarm of my poor boyfriend) and became pleasantly engrossed in the tale of poor loveable Ellie. Overall a fun, easy read, and I’m glad I was introduced to Nick Spalding and look forward to checking out more of his work.

I thought this book held great promise between its pages, as the first few had me laughing. Sadly though, it soon descended from the sublime to the ridiculous, as our female protagonist, Ellie Cooke goes all out to save both her job and her man. Some of the scenes were just far too dramatic and far fetched and the book quickly lost its charm. I did finish it though, and would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read it.

My review is on Goodreads, and is pending approval on Amazon.

I love Nick Spalding's writing and have read many of his books.
This is such a fun tale where we meet Ellie Cooke who drives a gas-guzzling Mercedes and buys her disposable fashion from online retailers - so it's a surprise when the PR company she works for is taken in a new direction of representing environmentally green clients. Obviously, this doesn't fit in with the way Ellie Cooke lives her life and she sets out to open her eyes to climate change and to impress her new Boss - Nolan.

As with all of Nick's work - the encounters and situation Ellie gets herself entangled in are hilarious - especially the Belgium trip - I found myself really rooting for her!

A really fun and enjoyable read.

Originally published on The Best Freking Book Blog

Pitch for Going Green: Romance, but make it unnecessary

Going Green by Nick Spalding was a heck of a lot of fun. Ellie Cooke is a PR Consultant for a firm that is going under. Morale is low. Her car ka-thunks its way down the road, emitting tons of greenhouse gases. She’ll get around to fixing or replacing it because, ya know, the environment. However, she has more important things to do, like redo her CV (This book is VERY British).

The firm is within weeks of closing when Nolan Reece steps in at the eleventh hour to save the day. He announces that the firm will be moving in a new direction, working exclusively with ecofriendly businesses. Oh, and he has to let some people go to save some money and he will let them know sometime soon. This spurs Ellie into action in order to save her job. She buys plants for around the office, trying to impress Nolan with her (extremely forced) go-getter attitude and her love of the environment, even going as far as buying hemp underwear even though she is apparently allergic.

Surprisingly, this somehow saves her job and even gets her promoted. Of course, this is the start of the romance subplot. Honestly, it was totally unnecessary. This book could have excised that entire subplot and would still be just as charming and funny. That’s not a bad thing by any means, if anything, it shows how good of a writer Spalding is.

As for the environmental message, this book is incredibly preachy and that is a good thing. The way it handles how people talk about climate change is nuanced and well done. In the middle of the book, Ellie visits a Year Six (please explain I’m not British) classroom to get some focus group data or something (please explain I’m not a businessperson). She prepares relatively easy questions for them as they are young and, she thinks, stupid. Kids these days are definitely not stupid. They are terrified of the planet that Boomers destroyed, Gen X made worse, and Millennials can’t do anything about. They pepper her with questions about doomsday scenarios that are totally plausible. It’s the wake up call Ellie needs to change her non-ecofriendly ways which ultimately leads to disaster.

My biggest issue with this book were the chapter titles. This is just a personal quibble, but I ABHOR cutesy chapter titles. And, ho boy, this book has them, so many of them. This doesn’t take anything away from my rating or anything, but I just needed to warn you before you dive in.

Going Green is fun, quick witted, and just a delight. It’s a great primer for how to start being a better global citizen, as well. Overall, it’s a 4/5, 7/10. Make sure you pick this one up, as it is available now!

Thanks again to NetGalley for letting me read this eARC!

I’ve read several of Nick Spalding’s books now and I do enjoy them however they generally have one person who is very irritating and find themselves doing things that are quite predictable.

In this story Ellie is the main character and although there are several instances where I did laugh she tends to do things which make me cringe. I now tend to figure out what the outcome is going to be however that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy his books. This isn’t one of my favourites of his though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.

4.5 Stars

Ellie is one great character, she acts well before she engages her brains and that lands her in all manner of situations. Some of them were hilarious, others just amusing, but the whole time you are willing her on, and wanting good things for her.

I'll admit straight up that I didn't laugh anywhere near as much as I normally do with a Nick Spalding book, I'm not sure whether it was due to the subject matter, my frame of mind, or whether I was missing a trick but I didn't find it as funny.

That being said there were for me a few snort out loud moments which the author always seems to make me manage, and it certainly is humorous, so I'm guessing the issue was my sense of humour went partially on holiday while I was reading this!

It's thought a really good story, with some certainly memorable moments such as the plastic bottle costume and the narwhal, the hunt for the composting system and Ellie's first encounters with Nolan. Oh and the meal with the birds that was brilliant! Actually thinking back although the scene with hemp underwear didn't make me laugh as I was too busy wincing in sympathy, it was certainly memorable too!

Ok... there may have been a great chapter involving fabulous descriptions of a bike ride too, a character who seemed obsessed with leeks and a very specific species of moth, and the various train journeys were of note too! I'm purposely leaving out the details so as not to spoil the reasons while all of those were memorable for me, but definitely some of the highlights of the book!

And well I didn't see that outcome to the book coming in a million years, I wouldn't have guessed that. It was fantastic, so fitting and really unexpected!

Then there is Ellie's inner voice that is continually reminding her of reality, of what she should possibly be admitting to, as she's doing everything she can initially to keep her job when the PR company becomes environmentally friendly, not being completely invested in the cause, well until she has an epiphany at which point well you can find out for yourself.

There is a clear message with this book about considering the environmental impact of everything you do, and whether you can or should be attempting to be greener yourself.

Although not my favourite book by the author it is still another highly enjoyable read that I loved reading.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I requested to read this novel because the last one I read by this author (Logging Off) had lots of funny, laugh out loud aspects to it. This story not so much. I really wanted to like this story there were a few lines that made me laugh like this one, “Hugh Burnley Fishingstool tells me I should be buying more of my drinks in glass bottles, instead of plastic ones, but how the hell am I supposed to do that when there are literally none on display here in the Meal Deal section of Boots?”

It’s not any one’s fault but I just could not connect with main character Ellie Cooke and her situation. I stopped reading Chapter 5. I did not want to read about any more of her failed attempts at becoming something she was not to get in good with her new boss and keep her job.

I will read other books by this author I just could not connect with this one. I’m glad others did.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog

What the world needs now more than anything else is some light hearted comedy. This book is pure escapism at it’s best. Nick Spalding never fails to make me laugh out loud whilst getting across an important message. I read this book for the humour element which was plentiful but will take away thoughts about the importance of looking after our world. Each person can make a difference to the environment by making small, positive changes for the future. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for the opportunity to enjoy this great read. And a big thank you to Nick Spalding, cannot wait for the next book. #netgalley #nickspalding #goinggreen #readersofinstagram

As someone who reads a lot of "chick lit", it's always refreshing to read a Nick Spalding novel. I loved the background of climate change and how much a reader can learn about the environment while also enjoying a fresh new novel. Without giving too much away, I loved how the ending was completely unexpected and left me audibly gasping. It had me laughing out loud and smiling big smiles. Definitely worth a read if you need an escape from reality.

This is the book for you if, like me, you sometimes need a light-hearted, fun read. Highly Recommended.

Strong, likeable characters, with an important underlying message and actionable take-aways for us all.

Ellie Cooke works in PR for Stratagem PR. Her boss announces that he’s just sold the business to Nolan Reece, a successful marketing entrepreneur. Nolan wants to rebrand the company to Viridian PR and move into a niche market. “I want to run an ethical PR company that prides itself on its green credentials.” Unfortunately the company finances are tight so there will be a number of redundancies at the end of the week.

Eek! This rings alarm bells for Ellie, who;

- drives a knackered old and very polluting car
- has an addiction to online clothes shopping
- drinks from plastic water bottles
- doesn’t know much about ‘Going Green’

But Ellie loves her job. She needs to find quick ways to ‘fake it’ as a committed environmental activist, whatever that is, she’ll just Google it. Pot plants in the office, that’ll do right? Oh dear…

I really enjoyed Ellie’s character, her desperate attempts to keep her job led her to make impulsive decisions, most of which had disastrous but hilarious consequences.

This is the first Nick Spalding book I’ve read, and I liked his writing style. As well as being a funny read, Going Green is at times thought-provoking. It touches on issues such as the environment, recyclable energy and climate change.

A big thanks to Netgalley for my digital copy for an honest review.

I found myself wanting to read something different than I normally would so I gave this one a try. This reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic novels. Humorous, well intentioned female main character that finds herein very awkward situations. It’s a fun, quick read.

**I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

A great read.

Ellie is worried about keeping her job when the PR agency she works for changes hands and begins to focus on companies with green and sustainable aims. That is not her, but she pretends it is to keep her job, but it backfires when she is promoted because of her interest in all things environmental.

Some twists you aren't expecting, and lots of points that make you consider climate change and the environment yourself.

The writing style of this book was uncomfortable for me to read. I regret that I was unable to complete it.

How do you know if you really know someone? Is it by spending every waking moment with them? Is it just trusting your gut?

How well do you know yourself? Are you the person you want to be? Are you striving to be better?

These are questions I found myself asking as I read this romcom about a woman in advertising that decides she needs to “go green” to save her job. The follies she endured are hilarious and gut -wrenching.

You’ll enjoy this fast paced read.

I really wanted to like this book, the synopsis was right up my alley. It was too slapstick in humor for my taste, i love a bit of it but this felt like every scene was 2x too much - the travel sequence was just too much, it wasn’t funny anymore by the end. I wish it had more character development that came in the last 10% of the book, instead of just at the end.

I can see this being really fun for people who like fast paced humor!