I took a chance on requesting this book, and I was glad that I did! I needed something to get me out of a reading slump, and it definitely helped. I think that it definitely feels like a debut novel, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some parts of the plot were clunky, but Bad Publicity had a lot of heart.

We follow book publicist Andie on her journey through grieving her father’s death, while working with an author with whom she has a past – enter Jack Carlson. Jack and Andie met while both studying at the University of Edinburgh (I did my masters there, so I loved the little Edinburgh moments!), but due to circumstances unknown to the reader, in the present day, Andie hates Jack. The book chronicles Andie and Jack on the latter’s book tour through Europe, and focuses on their subsequent reconciliation.

I thought that the past conflict served as a compelling mystery throughout the book, and helped keep me reading – however I do think that it dragged on for a bit too long, and the reveal felt rushed and not very impactful. Andie’s grief over her father’s death and how that impacted her relationship with her mother felt realistic and heartfelt. Honestly, I think the book does better as one of family and self-discovery rather than romance – this also comes from the lack of a POV from Jack. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will try out Gillam’s future books!

Bad Publicity is a fast read, but it left me with mixed feelings. The pacing felt off, making the story drag in places it shouldn’t have. The relationship between the protagonist and her best friend was particularly odd, especially the interactions with the friend’s boyfriend, which gave off some weird vibes. The constant cycle of breakups and makeups among the characters became tiresome quickly. As for the big “drama” that was supposed to drive the plot—it was disappointingly underwhelming. Despite these issues, the book was an easy read, so if you’re looking for something light without expecting too much, it might be worth picking up.

Two exes are reunited for a month-long tour. Andie is a publicist in New York who’s new client is a big-shot author and is excited until she finds out it’s her ex. Now she’s going on a month-long tour in Europe where she’ll have to sort out her past while staying professional. At first, Andie wants to pretend away the history with her and her ex, Jack. Jack, on the other hand just wants to reconcile and try to be friends again. This book was very grumpy and sunshine, and that only made it better. My only dislike was how cold Andie was to Jack in the beginning. Overall this book was a good read, and a cute romance.

*Bad Publicity* is a delightful rom-com that expertly combines workplace drama with the thrill of a second-chance romance. When Andie, a senior book publicist, finds herself tasked with managing a high-profile campaign for Jack Carlson—her college nemesis and current heartthrob—her professional and personal worlds collide in unexpected ways. The novel offers a charming exploration of unresolved tensions and the possibility of love rekindled, set against the picturesque backdrop of a European book tour. With witty banter and heartfelt moments, this book is a fun and engaging read for anyone who enjoys a romance with a dash of career chaos.

I think that the book was good and I really enjoyed the ups and downs of the characters. I thought there was the characters had some growth to them. I would not change anything about the book.

This book was a quick, fun read for me. I'd never heard of the author, so I was excited to receive an ARC and see what she had to offer. What she delivered was witty banter, a heartfelt journey for both characters and a fantastic supporting character in Andy's mother. Where it fell flat for me was character development. I would've enjoyed the FMC more if I'd gotten to understand her better earlier on in the story. Overall though, it was an enjoyable book.

While I enjoyed the banter between Jack and Andie, there were several pieces of the plot that didn't really work for me. Because the reveal of what happened between them was so late in the book, I couldn't help but think a simple conversation would have cleared things up and Andie was overreacting, Then when we did get the reveal, it seemed to be resolved very quickly. I would have enjoyed seeing what happened later with Andie and Jack as she continued to heal and they grew together as a couple.

The descriptions of the settings were wonderful and I really felt like I was there with them. Overall I would give this 3.5 stars if I could.

I'm going to give this one four out of five stars. It was a good concept and I did develop a lot of affection towards the characters by the end. But Andie was way too unlikable for me at first. And Jack took a while to really develop as a character. I also felt the suspense leading up to the reveal of what happened to Andie and Jack at uni was too over the top. However, I liked their banter and I adored Andy's mom.

This book was absolutely phenomenal. There’s just something about a book that is about books and authors that sits right in your mind. This story of Andie and Jack was so well written and it just made you immediately fall in love with the characters. You’re wondering almost the whole book what could have possibly happened between them that caused all of the trouble — and when it’s finally revealed, you never would have guessed it. I enjoyed this book so much and I just know when it releases, it’s going to be well loved.

My favorite thing about this book was the locations -- the writing was so good that I truly felt I was experiencing each cozy little spot along with the characters. The downside of that is that I now feel robbed bc my local bookstore doesn't have a hidden little nook with a comfy armchair for me to curl up in.

Onto the plot:

I really thought this was going to be more light-hearted than it was, but it was still a quick fun read.

The fmc is, objectively, an unprofessional mess, which drove me crazy because all she talks about is how professional she is. She's holding onto a grudge from college that isn't revealed - and the subject of which isn't even hinted at - until the last 1/3 of the book. This made it really hard for me to have any sympathy for her at all -- I kept thinking "It can't be that bad, just get over yourself & talk to him". When the reveal finally happens everything is explained away in what feels like a second -- I think I would have preferred knowing sooner what he did that made her hate him & explore the wars in which it colored her life afterwards. Instead, I was left feeling like some ridiculous misunderstanding had occurred and the fmc was just being childish - which of course is not the case.
Overall, I was happy with the resolution & the ending made me smile.

I really wanted to love this book but the longer I went through it I realized, I hate reading books where just a simple conversation could fix all the angst with the main characters. I felt so much “bang my head against the wall” just know if the feelings were to have been talked about the hurt could have been fixed. But I can’t speak for the grief that Andie went through and continued to tamp down till her rock bottom and than climbing out of it to fix all build all the relationships back up that suffered in her dark days. I liked the jack had some grieving of his own, his lack of relationship he dad didn’t care to have with him, and just jack as a character. Loved the flash backs after Andie starts diving into grief and feelings, to enjoy the memories as well as still feel sadness and missing him. But they ending left me wanting more, even a flash forward to a few months or years later would have been nice. Cover art is catchy and enjoyable. Wasn’t my favorite book but o believe that’s in my not loving the trope personally, will try out another book from Gilliam. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the early read for my honest opinion. Overal 3.5 star from me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story follows Andie, a book publicist, forced to go abroad on a media tour with a former college-mate, Jack, who she seems to despise. The book covers some heavier topics for a romance like grief and anxiety. The author did a great job of writing about the complexities on grief though. I found the characters to be relatable and endearing for a majority of the book. It was a little slow paced for me at times. Overall, I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy a miscommunication trope.

This one wasn't doing it for me, I just couldnt get into it at all - I unfortunately had to DNF just for lack of interest

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers, second chance romance. I do feel like some backstory earlier in the book would have helped understand the characters motives better but it was a nice read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

3.5

At its core, this book is a story about a journey through grief and Andie's process of dealing with loss. While I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others to read, if you are someone looking solely for romance, this may not be for you.

My biggest struggle with this book, is Andie's immaturity and inability to have an adult conversation with anyone else who is invested in her life. While I understand this is connecting to the growth she goes through throughout this story, I think the way she treated Jack and Sarah specifically throughout this made her hard to like. I also felt like the flashback being saved until nearly the end took away the opportunity to see her growth after following along with her through so much of it.

Overall, I really enjoyed Bad Publicity, but really wish for more time to see Jack and Andie's relationship grow after she comes to terms with the work she has been putting into her own well being.

I was so exciting after reading the blurb for this book, loving the plot. The story was good, but it unfortunately just fell a little short for me.

Andie and Jack are a play on the second chance romance and enemies to lovers tropes, with the addition of being coworkers.

I loved that this book was about the book industry. Reading about the publishing/publicity side was so fun.

Bianca wrote about Andie's grief extremely well and it added so much emotion to this book.

My only problem is I needed more resolution to their problem. Andie spent most of the book just being mean and not at all professional, with little growth on her end.

One can never go wrong when picking up a Biana Gillam book, so I knew I was in for a great read - but even I was blown away by how good this was! Unputdownable and lovely are the two words I would use to describe this!. Fantastic and utterly addictive would also suffice :) Either way, you are in for a treat!

Andie and Jacks relationship is everything I look for in books like these, and this one especially hit the spot. The part about grief was so relatable, and so was Andie with her unique personality. I absolutely am so grateful that I received this ARC and I will absolutely recommend this to other rom-com readers.

3.5 ⭐️

At its core this is a story about grief and lasting love. The relationship was sweet, the moments of grief - especially grief you haven’t processed - were so real, and the banter was fun. I found andie to be pretty selfish but that just made her more real.

I think at points this was a little too long. And I felt the flash back to the big fall out happened a little too late in the story. But overall my complaints are mild compared to how much I enjoyed the love story.

I struggled with this one. I think some of the writing is really strong, but unfortunately this is not a book I would recommend to most people.

My first issue is with the FMC. Her experience of grief is really a central theme in this book and I believe that is beautifully explored. She has a huge problem with the MMC which is not explained until the very end of the book (more on that in a second). She also does not appear to have many friends and for some reason can’t predict an extremely obvious plot point from the book.

The MMC has very very little personality besides being handsome, good at public speaking and having a poor relationship with his father.

My last big issue is with the overall structure of the book. The first third literally just flits between different book tour events (first we went here and then we went there and then we went there). But my largest issue is that the flash back chapters were at the very end and were very short. I would have preferred more hints about the incident and the relationship with flashbacks throughout.

I also don’t recommend this book to someone seeking something spicy. The few sex scenes are not particularly descriptive. It’s almost like they are halfway done. This book is underdeveloped and reads like a mediocre kindle unlimited novel.

Thanks to Penguin for the ARC.