I love a good enemies to lovers office romance so this book seemed like a perfect fit!

Andie and Jack formally knew one another but had a falling out five years ago. Jack is an author and Andie is tasked as his publicist on his European book tour.

The traveling aspect was super fun and I loved all the events. The chemistry between the two was undeniable.

I was a little frustrated it took so long to find out what happened between them and I felt a lot of backstory originally was left out. It came together nicely but wasn't my favorite.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

I'd definitely like read more from this author as I did enjoy it! I'd give it 3.8 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this eARC! This exes/enemies to lovers that the novel covers topics like grief. The main MFC lost her father and is still struggling with the loss when her university ex and enemy becomes her new author on her publicity list. I am all about an exes/enemies to lovers trope, but I felt frustrated halfway through the book and still did not know the incident that caused the rift between the two. It was hard to stand behind the MFC's attitude and sometimes plain rudeness to the MMC when you had no idea what the problem was. I felt bad for the MMC.

I did enjoy the traveling aspect of the novel, as well as the humor. However, the novel was not my favorite due to the lack of understanding of the riff and how the MFC sometimes acted. I wish there were a POV from the MMC, not just the FMC.

Again, thank you, NetGalley and Bianca, for letting me read this! I look forward to Bianca's next novel.

"Bad Publicity" is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance that skillfully blends workplace drama with a European adventure. Set in the competitive world of book publishing, this novel offers readers a perfect escape with its witty banter, simmering tension, and picturesque settings.

The protagonist, Andie, is a relatable character whose determination to succeed in her dream job is immediately tested by the appearance of her nemesis, Jack Carlson. Their shared history and unresolved conflicts provide a solid foundation for the story's central tension. The author deftly navigates the power dynamics between them, creating a compelling push-and-pull that keeps readers invested.

Jack Carlson emerges as a complex love interest, with layers that are gradually peeled back throughout the narrative. The slow reveal of his character adds depth to the romance and challenges readers' initial perceptions.

The European book tour serves as an excellent backdrop for the unfolding drama, offering both glamorous locales and opportunities for forced proximity - a trope that romance readers will undoubtedly appreciate. The author's descriptions of various European cities add richness to the story without overwhelming the central plot.

While the premise of reuniting with a former antagonist in a professional setting isn't entirely novel, the author injects fresh energy into the trope through sharp dialogue and well-paced character development. The balance between Andie's professional ambitions and her personal growth is particularly well-handled.

However, some readers might find the initial setup a bit contrived, and the resolution of certain conflicts may seem too convenient. Additionally, the focus on the romance occasionally overshadows the intriguing aspects of the publishing industry that could have been explored more deeply.

Overall, "Bad Publicity" is an engaging romantic comedy that successfully combines workplace drama with a second-chance romance. It's an ideal read for those who enjoy their love stories with a dash of professional ambition and a generous helping of European charm.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bianca Gillam, and Penguin Books for the e-book ARC of Bad Publicity.

4.25⭐️

To start, this book had me hooked right away because it was:
a. Set in NYC
b. Centered around two main characters in the book industry
c. Filled with scenes set in Europe

Bad Publicity is a wonderful debut novel from Bianca Gillam, and I can’t wait to read more of her work in the future. The characters felt real and had enough depth to make them complex, yet their backstories didn’t overwhelm the lighthearted romcom/beach read vibe.

I also loved the slight element of mystery around how Andie and Jack were connected. I have to say, I didn’t see their university fallout coming, so props to Bianca for adding some nice suspense and tension throughout the first 80% of the book!

Two exes are forced to work side by side during a European book tour. What could go wrong?

I enjoyed this book. It is not your typical second chance, enemies to lovers story in that we don’t actually find out exactly what happened in the past until almost the end of the book, so it is mostly speculation until that point. The banter between the two protagonists is wonderful and hilarious at times. If you are a fan of a slow burn, this book makes it last the perfect amount.

The topic of grief is also a big part of this book, and I felt like it was handled well. The author does a great job of capturing those unexpected moments when the sadness and anger seem to come out of nowhere.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable, easy, and fairly light read. I really loved the main characters even if I thought some of the side characters were less than my favorite.

This book was one where the two main characters have a history and for whatever reason had a falling out and you spend the whole book trying to figure out if the reason they are no longer friends/together is a valid reason or not, but let me tell you the way I was NOT expecting the reasoning behind the disagreement and also felt like both sides had valid reasons to feel and act the way they had been is rare in books like this. Usually, it feels like something trivial that should have been gotten over a long time ago or isn't serious enough that they probably shouldn’t get over it lol. Jack was such a cinnamon roll, and I was obsessed with him from the beginning! I loved seeing Andie open up to herself but also the people around her and be able to overcome and grow from grief and trauma from her past. I also EAT UP a workplace romance.

“I reach the last chapter. My breath catches in my throat as I tear through it, desperate to get to the end before the shop closes. The feeling of turning the final page is like emerging from being underwater, taking a first breath—the world feels new again. Tears roll down my face as I close the book, pooling in my collarbone. For the little boy who used to sit in this chair, alone. For the Jack who only ever wanted to apologize, to make things right.”

I enjoyed this story so much! The attraction and romance was the star of the show yet more human emotions, like grief, trust, and forgiveness were evident. I felt this was a "grown up" romance between two adults who had their own issues to address before the expected conclusion.

I read it so fast!

*thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

one thing I noticed throughout the book is how rude the fmc is to the mmc?! I didn’t really like her attitude and I didn’t feel connected to her character.

overall I feel like the plot was a bit boring and repetitive but there was some moments where I was invested in the story.

An easy romance read. However, I couldn’t get behind the FMC. Between her being rude to Jack and the only information we get is “an incident happened” wasn’t enough for me to also hate him. The reveal felt too late and I think there could have been more impact if we had heard her side of the story early on and then his side later. I wish there were more scenes of her saving the day while on the tour, like the radio scene. Overall, there was a lot of drama around not communicating and emotional intelligence which was frustrating to read.

Thank you for the opportunity of reviewing the arc!

***A love letter to the dualities of human experience.***

This book was not what I anticipated and I mean that in the very best of ways. As someone who enjoys a good love story and as a former aspiring publicist, this book caught my eye as an “easy read” and I couldn’t be happier to have been proven wrong. I laughed and cried and contemplated throughout this short but bittersweet journey through the dualities of human relationships, ranging from friendship to familial to romantic, including the complex spectrum of experience that comes with those relationships: love and loss, hurt and forgiveness, grief and growth, and all the nuances in between. As someone who likes my characters imperfect with room to grow throughout their journey, Jack and Andie were delightfully “human” and I found myself rooting for them throughout. I can’t wait to read more books by Bianca going forward.

This was a cute read, everything you want in a romcom.

Andie is excited to land her dream job as a senior book publicist in New York. Her dream quickly becomes her worst nightmare, finding out her first assignment is working with Jack Carlson. He happens to be the man who broke her heart in college, they haven’t crossed paths in 5 years. Jack is a highly successful author, Andie still finds him agonizingly attractive. The two have to spend an entire month together, in some of the most romantic spots in Europe. Can they keep it professional? Or will old feelings resurface?

I really enjoyed this read, I love a good second chance and enemies to lovers. Add in the European adventure, it’s the perfect cherry on top 🥰

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC!

Bianca Gillam's debut novel is beautiful for its exploration of grief, trauma, love, loss, and friendship. Andi navigates her first high profile P.R. campaign and finds herself in an internal battle when she places herself in close proximity to Jack, a past lover, who she knew from her university days. They adventure to London, Paris, Dublin and Edinburgh’s for Jack's p.r. campaign for his first fiction novel. It's a slow burn reveal of the full history of Andi and Jack's enemies to lovers story. The reason for their past fall out, revealed 20 chapters in, is something unexpected and an issue that young people contend with today. The last 40% of the book is stronger than the beginning and it’s worth the wait.

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Read Copy.

Bad Publicity introduces us to Andie and Jack, who are thrown together to work on a book tour but have a contentious history that neither mentions to their boss or agent. Throughout the book we are left wondering what happened in the past and the big reveal comes at pretty much the very end. The book is from Andie's perspective except for a chapter that's is from Jack's view. We understand her fears and anxieties and learn more about her journey with grief, guilt and regret.

I had expected this book to be a light read but there were some complicated themes that made it more serious and I found myself wondering more about Andie. It seemed she was prone to panic attacks and was dealing with depression and anxiety. While it wasn't named directly, the descriptions of her feelings felt a bit odd to me. I especially wasn't fond of her relationship with Sara (her bff) and how dependent she was on Sara to fix all her problems.

If you've recently experienced a loss you may want to skip if you're not up to reading about deep and undealt with grief. Overall the book is a quick read and leaves you feeling warm.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC!

My review is also posted on GoodReads on 8/25/24

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review

To start off, Andie was so easy to dislike. She kept losing her cool on Jack, getting frazzled beyond repair, and would disassociate and zone out to where she missed literally everything (and at one point throw coffee on someone!) I wanted to understand her and think that Jack deserved this behavior but she didn’t tell us what the heck he did to deserve it until 70% of the way through the book! It got to the point where it felt like she was beating a dead horse and I didn’t even feel like Jack was actually a bad guy at all. I have notes where I wrote that Andie deserved what was happening in present time because she was being such an idiot.

To go on with her not telling us her real issue until 70% through the book, she seemed like she was such a horrible friend and daughter. Had we found out a lot sooner I wouldn’t have had such a dislike towards Andie and I could’ve gotten through the book easier with more understanding towards her. Even still, she wasn’t that great of a friend. Sara deserved better. And as for being a daughter? Her mom deserved a heck of a lot better! I liked that we got to see what grief really, truly can be. But to the extent that Andie was not even actually listening to her mom and had to keep shutting her down and couldn’t even remember to simply text her when the plane landed…. Come on Andie.

In the end Andie becomes a better friend and a better daughter. Things are resolved with Jack and I’m glad she finally got closure on it. Andie was also able to heal a little from her grief. But the tone didn’t feel like a rom com (I never once laughed or found the storyline romantic) or an enemies to lovers at all like I had hoped. I think the story would have made a bit more sense had we gotten the flashback chapter with the reveal of what happened sooner on, just so we could have more insight into the valid feelings Andie was having.

2/5 stars. I wasn’t super enthused by this book. I loved the setting but the romance wasn’t compelling to me. Everything was super predictable and I didn’t really love the fmc’s best friend. I feel very middle ground about it.

3.5 stars. I really loved the last 70% of this book. I teared up a few times, which is rare for me while reading! I wish the big “event” that had happened in Edinburgh was revealed earlier in the story. It shed so much light on why Andie hated Jack so vehemently. Once I learned their history (which was very well written), I understood the characters better.

I thought the aspects of this book that dealt with grief and the past were done really well but reading this book felt like I was watching the story from 30 feet in the air rather than living it or watching from close up. Nothing felt immediate or real to me, not the characters, the interactions, or the emotions. I think this was partially because there was a lot of over explaining, repetitive descriptions, and telling rather than showing.

The highlight of the book for me was the scene where Andi meets Nigel for the first time. That felt real and complicated and I was able to see the scene play out rather than just being told about. If the rest of the book had been like that I probably would have enjoyed it more. Overall this writing style simply wasn’t for me.

Going into this book I was expecting an enemies to lovers esc workplace romance with a bit of banter and angst. That was not what this was at all. Bad Publicity is a story that shows its readers the struggles of grief, good and bad. Andy is a girl who was hit with two very bad things at the same time, and in turn was forced to overcome them whether she knew how to or not. After being assigned to work with someone from her past, whom she despised, Andy learns that sometimes the best way to heal and grow from your past is to face what is troubling you all along. As someone who has dealt with this level of greif, I think it is incredibly healing to see it represented so well in a story, and respectfully at that. All serious topics aside, the romance was pretty great too. Jack is an easy to love character with a kind and charming demeanor. Andy is a smart business woman who cares deeply for those close to her. I will say for Andy hating Jack’s guts there isn’t as much anger exhibited by her character as I was expecting, but it is definitely there. This book is an adorable workplace romance with wit and tension, but it is also a book about growth that brought me to tears.

This novel’s main character, Andie, is a publicist who decides to go on tour with a writer who happens to be an ex (Jack) from her university years, 5 years ago.

I think the last ~30% of the book was pretty good. At ~70% into the novel, we finally get flashbacks explaining how and why Andie and Jack split which was necessary for me to understand and feel convinced of the chemistry between them. I also thought the discussions of Andie’s grief were sometimes quite moving. The ending was also sweet.

The main issues I have are, (1) Andie is flawed, but not in an endearing way that I found easy to read. It made her interactions with different characters uncomfortable for me to read. In the context of a rom-com, I don’t get on well when the characters are too flawed. (2) The novel could use more editing. I found a lot of the text repetitive when discussing Andie’s feelings about guilt, love, loneliness, sadness. So, reading the self-reflective parts and the heart-to-hearts with some characters, I became uninterested. (3) The pacing of the novel, particularly where the flashbacks were placed, I think should have been moved up. Not being convinced of the relationship chemistry until about ~75% through is too long in my opinion. Because of the delay, it felt more like a ‘forced proximity’ romance, especially given the duration and magnitude of Andie despising Jack.

Overall, the premise of the book was promising. But I personally didn’t get on well with the writing and editing, and didn’t feel much for the characters. Others may find the subjects and relationships here more interesting though. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

3.5 ⭐️, rounded down. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the cover and the premise. Enemies to lovers and she works in the publishing industry? Amazing. He becomes her main author campaign? Even better. I loved the description. That being said, it felt like the description didn't match the book as much as I hoped it would.

This book writes beautifully about grief. Grief and loss are, arguably, the backbone of this story, and the way Biana writes about these feelings are both heartbreaking and realistic. The "romance" took a back seat and this is in no way what I consider to be a romcom. I think I would have enjoyed the book more and rated higher if it wasn't marketed as a romcom. Until about the 80% mark you don't understand truly what happened in Andie and Jack's pasts that culminates in so much vitriol from Andie. I understand it's "enemies to lovers" but it was never that for Jack, and Andie never hated him, not truly.

By the end, I felt like something major was missing. There was resolution, but no follow-up. I might round this up to 4 stars even if there's an additional epilogue with some conclusion to the characters and where Andie ends up. I thought I knew what was going to happen (maybe she'd get back into writing, maybe she'd go to Dublin, maybe we'd find out what happened to Sara, etc)... and then the story simply ends. Grief was the main plot point and that was "resolved". I think we needed a little more for a romance.

It was a beautiful book but I fear the marketing has done it a disservice. I hope I can return back to this review next year and change my opinion!