I had high expectations for this book because I like books like this, but the problem was that it fell flat. I felt like I could have swapped out this book with others and it would be the same. I just wished there was something that made it stick out. I felt the characters and plot points were generic to the genre

A big thanks to the publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was SO entertaining and funny! Sometimes, you need to change it up and read a book with a highly unlikeable main character - that was Natasha for me. I feel like this book was "on the nose" on purpose which made for a brilliant read. I loved how the author subtly poked fun at the nature of media and newsrooms today and I got a good laugh out of the obviously exaggerated/convoluted political conversations that Zach tries to partake in.

5-star read. I can't wait to see what others think of this!

I think this might not have been a disappointment for me if I'd not read very many books that cover women who are a trainwreck. Oof, she's messy! There were some redeeming qualities though - it was funny in a dark, embarrassing way. I'm not a huge fan of embarrassment humor so again, it wasn't for me. But I can imagine people really liking it. Her relationship with Zach were such a terrible choice too. However, the lead-up ended up being a let down for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Holly Baxter, and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a letdown for me. Having received this ARC with a fair bit of anticipation, I found the story’s promise quickly deflated as I delved into the narrative. The book tracks the downward spiral of Natasha Bailey, a journalist whose career implodes following a significant ethical lapse. This mistake not only costs her a coveted reporting position in London but also earns her a demotion where she’s reduced to churning out mindless clickbait - not to mention her husband leaving her. Her personal life mirrors this downward spiral, wasting her savings on a shitty apartment in Queens and isolating herself further from her friends and family.

The introduction of Zach, Natasha's fuckboy ex boyfriend who moves into her apartment, fails to inject much-needed complexity into the story. Natasha's relentless negativity and her failure to navigate her relationships or career aspirations make her an impossible character to root for.

Natasha's major misstep, which serves as the crux of the plot, feels both overblown and frustratingly avoidable, casting a shadow over the entire book. Her interactions with others are completely unlikable and totally lack warmth and authenticity.

The book's ability to keep me engaged was not a testament to its quality but rather to a morbid curiosity about how the narrative would resolve its many conflicts. However, any moments that might have offered depth or insight were completely brushed over. Natasha is horrible to everyone, learning nothing and changing nothing, always the victim.

Baxter's attempt to craft a narrative around redemption and growth falls short, hampered by a lead character whose path to self-discovery is both unconvincing and unfulfilling. The story, aiming to be compelling, instead serves as an example of missed opportunities, rendering it a difficult and ultimately unsatisfying read.

If you're ready for a rollercoaster of cringeworthy decisions and funny moments, buckle up. Natasha Bailey, the disastrous protagonist, is a total trainwreck. From her jaw-dropping lapse in journalistic ethics to her misguided attempts at romance with her ex, she's a mess. While you'll want to shake some sense into her, you might also find yourself rooting for her redemption, even if it seems hopelessly out of reach. The writing is witty and interesting, and I had fun while cringing.
(thank you to the publisher for the e-arc)

While I've delved into quite a few tales of unhinged women lately, Clickbait stands out for its uniqueness. It's undeniably clever and has its moments of humor. Natasha's chaotic life, with her marriage and career in tatters and strained family relationships, is portrayed in a hilariously obsessive manner, particularly with her fixation on her ex-boyfriend. However, while it was entertaining, I must admit it didn't quite rank among the best books I've ever read. Still really enjoyed it!

I love books about Women Going Through It and Clickbait meets the brief. I never quite knew where the story was heading and it was thrilling to read about a character who is largely an unrepentant jerk with low self-awareness.

Natasha has ruined her marriage and her career and has a terrible relationship with her mother and sister. She becomes fixated on rekindling a romantic relationship with her ex-boyfriend and now current house mate. Will Zach come to the rescue or contribute to Natasha’s growing list of public humiliation?!

This was dark, funny, embarrassing, and ultimately an entertaining read about a character that is hard to root for (though I couldn’t help but hope Natasha gets it together).

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Clickbait had a very unique plot with some interesting peeks into what those incredibly annoying spam stories I see elderly patrons often click on on say, the weather channel, are made of. Past that I would say this wasn’t quite to my tastes but not because it wasn’t well written. Rather I don’t know if I loved Natasha, the main character, but due to my middle of the road feelings for her I found myself more frustrated than anything else as I read this.

Natasha was a well regarded journalist until she got herself caught up in a (semi to very gross) scandal and was relegated to writing clickbait stories as part of a demotion. We see her life post divorce and at what I’d say is rock bottom. She has an interesting family who she treats badly (though they aren’t great on their own) and a delusional take on a romantic partner. Overall she was just someone you wanted to shake a bit because she had a lot of good, but the blindly bad is a bit much.

I’d say that all is testament to a great writer as Natasha felt very real to elicit these feelings. My challenge is that it didn’t make it an enjoyable read for me personally, as I know plenty of folks similar to Natasha and already hear those stories, versus get an escape. I’d recommend this specific to your tastes, but hopefully I’ve given it you an idea if it would be for you.

Clickbait was quite a read. The book had its ups and downs, but in the end, I was satisfied. The climax was not disappointing. This novel is about Natasha who is frankly a hot mess and just can't seem to keep that mouth shut. What I heard about her is right, she is rather "self-destructive". There would be times that I would be shaking my head at her, like why would you do that? Or why did you say that? She is a journalist in the middle of a divorce who'd lost her friends, but she does have a circle of supporting people. I would say it follows her life for a bit as she lives her life, meets people, loses people, and is up and down on her luck. It is a novel of self-discovery, learning her lesson, and learning from other people over a period of time. It also has some good insight in the journalism industry, like dang, the job seems what it is, stressful, so you'd get a good look at her professional life as well. I'd give it 4/5 stars.

My minor complaint about this novel is that I wish they would italicize text messages and thoughts, instead of must making it only slightly smaller text. Sometimes, I would have to re-read, because I would mix up the narration or whatever with the slightly smaller text.

Natasha is a successful journalist who makes an incredibly stupid decision that results, ultimately, in the loss of her career, her friends, her marriage, and what seems like her sanity. Because throughout the entire book, she <i>keeps making stupid decisions</i>.

This is one of those books that makes me incredibly anxious because while it's easy to watch Natasha snowball into more and more trouble, her thought processes are so relatable that I can't help but question what I'm doing with my own life. And one of my only little quibbles with Natasha, and this book, is that she doesn't seem to learn a damn thing or be capable of any sort of meaningful change.

Plot and ending spoilers ahead:
Her relationship <spoilers>that totally isn't at all, with Zach was infuriating. He's a piece of shit. He's not interested. He's gross, she's obsessed, and the secondhand embarrassment I felt reading this develop made me put down the book at one point.</spoilers> But that's always easier to recognize when it's not you involved, right?

The sheer poor-me-energy channeled by Natasha made me want to pull my hair out. And change my entire life.

Despite the <i>anger</i> I felt at various points reading this, it was a very compelling read that I enjoyed. And also wanted to scream at. Big thanks to the author/publisher/NetGalley for the eARC.

Natasha Bailey is a journalist who has made a huge, enormous lapse in ethics. I mean, big. She loses her marriage and gets downgraded from a London reporter at large (a plum position) to a bottom of the barrel junior reporter in New York, meaning she’s basically writing the clickbait stories (and she really would have lost her job, but, I digress.) And she’s blown all her money on an apartment that is two blocks from the ocean in Queens. She’s lost most of her friends and she’s really living the dream.

Then things start to look up when her old flame Zach needs a place to live and moves in. However, her job is still terrible. What’s to become of her.

So, I’m torn with this one. Natasha is pretty much a miserable human being. What she did was so wrong, and so stupid, I can’t feel badly for her. The fact that she keeps any job is more than she deserves. She’s awful to her London friend, not great to her New York friend, wildly delusional about Zach, and if her family isn’t great, well, sister, get in line….plus it sounds like her mother paid for her to go to school, so she doesn’t have massive student loans she’s paying off. I just found her to be an ungrateful bitch.

At the same time, who doesn’t love to watch the train wreck? I was just a little bummed SPOILER. So, I kept turning the pages. But man would I want to hit her upside her h as in real life. Not really, because violence is never the answer, right? (Yes, really.)

"Clickbait" by Holly Baxter was a totally engaging read and had me laughing out loud to myself in the first chapter and totally emotionally drained at the end. The protagonist Natasha is introduced as a self-aware, flawed, imperfect everywoman.

The plot itself is good, even if it starts out rather basic (newly divorced, did something embarrassing at work, kicked to new shitty apartment). She is demoted from "Real Journalism" to writing clickbait articles – and is struggling to cope. She is the kind of cynical and sarcastic modern millennial whose inner monologue can be hilarious, albeit judgy and occasionally it slips out of her mouth. At first, I liked her- she had similar stream of thought and sense of humor as myself, a woman the same age (35), who has made some pretty significant errors in life. She’s not pretending to be a good person at first, and the author isn’t downplaying her choices as bad luck that happened to a great person. Natasha is a basic woman who has fucked up and is trying to recover whatever dignity she can. She spirals into theoreticals. She fantasizes both winning scenarios (“Maybe he’d ask me if we wanted to get back together over a hard seltzer in the sand...”) and tongue-in-cheek losing ones (“Maybe the guy in the cap would stab me.”) She is self-confident in some ways yet honestly lamenting the fact that she’s drifting away from the flirtatiousness and attention of being a young woman and seeking that validation again.

As the book progresses, we learn more about how she ticks- and it becomes less funny/relatable and more concerning. Her personality seems to regress. I won’t spoil it with too many details, but her character certainly has an arc.

The character of her mother moved me. She is a very specific woman- the modern-day boomer mom who is there when you need her but also maybe can’t help over criticizing? Who needs to knock you down a peg in front of guests and then call you sensitive when you’re offended? Reminds you how hard she worked only for you to be so ungrateful. Also a functioning wine-aholic? Copy my mom, Paste in book. Natasha met her mom where she was at, often responding in a moody and rude teenage way. It all felt so real and relatable.

The maneuvers of the plot itself and side characters are anything but predictable. At 96% I still had no idea how it would end. I’m not sure it ended in what I would call a satisfying way, but I suppose it ended the way it needed to, considering. I started this book in the evening and if it wasn’t for the necessity of sleep, I would have read it in one sitting. I don’t regret a minute of this book and will recommend it to anyone who enjoys a messy narrator.

Thank you to Holly Baxter for sharing this with the world and with me. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC. I am so on board.