As a book lover I loved how bookish this was. The characters were so cute and felt so real and the storyline was hilarious.

Not my favorite romance at all. I *know* this is genre fiction, but the entire plot felt so contrived. The characters didn't have much chemistry. The final reveal section as to what happened five years ago (that had been hinted for many many chapters and thus had a huge buildup) wasn't well executed--I wasn't a huge fan of the flashback and the single Jack POV chapter felt jarring and also unnecessary--it's very obvious he is very in love with Andie and I didn't need the chapter to see that. The smut was the epitome of "generic sex scene" and didn't do what sex should do in a book--deepen our understanding of plot and character, as opposed to just...existing by formality. I would have preferred either nothing at all, or something more meaningful. Andie's avoidant tendencies also got pretty annoying / one-note by the end. That said, all the bookstore descriptions were fun--loved the mention of Albertine for example.

What an amazing book! I could not put this one down. The pacing was excellent, there was a mysterious backstory pulling me along, and I found the characters interesting and complex.

I liked Andie, for all that she clearly needed to get out of her own head a little more, and Jack was a great foil for her, a believably charming author who helps Andie realize how she needs to change and grow. Andie is feisty, with a delightfully salty vocabulary where Jack is concerned, but also really competent at her job. The pull between managing her life with professionalism and detachment versus dealing with her feelings and facing the messiness of life felt so real.

Gillam kept the characters tight, adding just Sarah and Andie's mom as secondary characters, with enough background characters to fill in the world of publishing and book tours without overwhelming the reader.

I think my favorite part was the back story; Gillam managed to capture just the right way humans react in tough situations, as well as the equivocating we all do. The backstory was realistic, heart-wrenching, and so true-feeling. It perfectly set the foundation for the rest of the character interactions throughout the book.

I really liked this book and cannot wait for more from Bianca Gillam!

Okay, this was cute. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. Andie was super likable but at times selfish, Jack was intriguing and Sara was a really good friend. In fact, the Andie/Sara friendship was the best. One of the best parts of the book.

Andie lands her dream job in NYC as a book publicist. She is so excited until she finds out her number one author is Jack Carlson, a guy from her past whom she has some MAJOR beef with! Andie, against her better judgement ends up traveling to Europe with Jack to promote his newest novel.

There is so much buildup that at times it really dragged for me. It was almost a DNF because honestly I felt myself straying too far away. I wanted to know why there was a problem between Andie and Jack. What their history was, what happened...

It was taking WAY too long to get to that climax. I think I was enjoying their sweetness too much to give up on them so I powered through!

Filled between the pages was friendship, heartache, grief and second chances. I am a sucker for second chance romance.

I was really happy with the way Andie came full circle and learning to work through her feelings with her personal life.

I also really loved the flashback scenes of what went down 5 years prior and the turmoil between Andie and Jack. (Andie comes to find out the truth of what actually went down and the reader finds out alongside her)

I think I would have been 4 stars if it didn't take me so late in the book to unravel the hate. The whole thing was a little silly but I could actually see the whole thing happening on a college campus.

This was long at times but overall a really sweet read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!!!

3.5 stars for me - This was very much an enemies to lovers romance, with some added layers of second chances and grief. I think this book was a very easy read, I quickly was engaged and invested in Andie’s story. I was a little frustrated that it took so long to find out WHAT happened in the past between Andie and Jack, but we did ultimately find out. I think the grief in this book was beautifully done, and while I was first annoyed with Andie she definitely grew on me after processing her grief and recognizing her selfish ways. The character development in Andie was great, and I loved Jack throughout. I wish we got to see more of Andie & Jack together, but ultimately very much enjoyed this book and would recommend!

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

Super thankful to have received this ARC. It was an easy read with nice tempo and very down to earth writing but I did feel like it was too short. I enjoyed majority of this book except that I didn’t get more of Andie and Jack’s love lives. I wanted even deeper into what their future held. (Maybe a second book would help with that ☺️)

This book also brought tears to my eyes especially with how she handled her grief of losing her father. I could genuinely feel all of her emotions after reading through the pages and it was done so eloquently…very very touching!

BUT I NEED MORE!!!!!

My thoughts after reading the ARC is that the book gives off vibes similar to “Book Lovers” and “Just for the Summer,” which I really like. It starts off a bit slow, and there are moments where the characters argue without much background, which can be a bit frustrating. However, the buildup really gets going, and the tasteful smut is a nice touch! The main character can be a little self-absorbed at times, but I found the second half way more engaging. I definitely wish there was an epilogue to tie things up nicely, but overall, it’s an enjoyable read that has its charms.

4/5

Andie lands the job of every young PR’s dreams - accompanying a famous author on an international book tour. But Andie doesn’t want to do it - she had a thing with this famous author pre-fame, back in their undergrad days, and now she hates him and would prefer not to be around him, thank you very much.

This book is not my favourite, particularly because it revolves around a baseline liking for Andie whose only claim to this seems to be that she’s a human. I wasn’t feeling it. She lies to herself, she seems only okay at her job, and she’s a shit friend & daughter. This would be fine, but she’s not self-aware or funny enough to be endearing at it.

Basically, Emily Henry… you’re fine.

The writing was done so well that I’m honestly upset the plot wasn’t executed well. Andie is an emotionally unavailable and stunted woman in her late 20s. I couldn’t relate to at all and I definitely did not want to empathize with her. The way Andie dramatized their enemy origin story you would have thought that Jack ran over her puppy in front of her. Based on that alone, I believe this book should’ve been placed in college/at an internship or the reasoning for hating should have been something different. The hatred is completely one sided and makes Andie look like a bitch, especially because Jack is like a golden retriever, eager to please. I also didn’t feel Andie’s connection to her mother or her best friend, it all felt very surface level. We were told that they’re close or that she misses them but it wasn’t felt at all, like I said Andie’s emotionally unavailable.


Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC!

I enjoyed Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam very much. Andie and Jack's slow-burn, enemies to lovers story kept me interested and entertained. This book felt like a cross between Emily Henry and Josie Silver. Great read!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Andie finally lands her dream job in NY as a senior book publicist. On day one she realizes her biggest author, Jack Carlson, is also her biggest enemy. Of course a one month book tour across Europe entails and you slowly learn more about Andie and Jack’s past from their perspective views.

Filled with emotional depth, the story navigates through the couple’s history as well as grief and second chances. I especially connected with Andie as she was grieving the loss of her dad. There was a moment in the book when she finally broke down that was especially poignant.

I love a slow burn enemies to lovers romance so this book was a 5-star for me!

Adding Bianca Gillam to my must-read authors list! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Terrific Tour

Andie and Jack sizzled throughout. I felt the dimension of lightheartedness and looming past throughout. The scenes set- I felt like I was in the cities of the book tour with them. The way Andie develops throughout her journey, there is so much growth and subjects you can’t not resonate with. A top tier choice for second chance romance.

The fact that this is Bianca Gillam’s author debut is brilliant and shocking. It is illustrated so well as I read this I could visualize watching the scenes as a movie in a theater or my living room. It would be a box office crime to not develop this into an instant Rom-Com cinematic classic. Beat the masses and read this gem first before it’s on the big screens.

I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review. Thank you to Bianca Gillam and Penguin Group Penguin Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book had me at the first f bomb. I loved Andie so much and I’m pretty sure we’d be friends if she was real. The story follows Andie, who has finally landed her dream job as a senior book publicist, on her first day at her new job. She finds out her biggest author is actually a man she knew in college, but we don’t get many details about what went down.

Over a month, the two navigate the European book tour and their feelings for each other. Andie is also still grappling with the loss of her dad.

The book ends up being far more emotional than I expected at the beginning. It’s refreshing to read a book where the characters are actually emotionally aware. The spice is relatively mild, but well done. Absolutely loved this book.

Bad publicity follows Andie, a senior book publicist, and an old flame and new client, Jack. Jack - love him, he is so caring and wants to healthily resolve old issues. Andie makes me roll my eyes so hard and shut the book. Her attitude towards everyone, really, was so despicable because she was so selfish. I think she was written this way so we could see a redemption arc, but her crap attitude went on for too long for me to care.

Bad Publicity, by Bianca Gillam, was not the book I thought it would be. Based on the bright yellow cover and blurb given to describe it, I was expecting happy silly comedy of errors style romance. This book relied on an enemy to lover trope that didn’t resolve til the last 1/4 of the book. It touches on parent loss, grief, and your past attempting to ruin the life you’ve built for yourself.
The first 120 pages or so Andie is highly unlikeable with almost no explanation. The book mentions the ”incident” but she comes across as unprofessional and whiney. Reading is borderline stressful, it seems as if every day is a bad day in her life. When the incident is revealed it is genuinely upsetting. Had I known this is what the book was going to hinge on I would not have chosen this. Although this book has some romantic moments it is not a pleasant read.
The book wraps up in a nice way but for probably 80% of the book I felt Andie was making things out to be worse than they were or I was downright uncomfortable.
Anyone in search of a fictional story with a hint of romance may enjoy this, but should be prepared for parental loss, feelings of shame, and abuse.

Thank you to Bianca Gillam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review

The main trope is miscommunication with some alleged enemies to lovers peppered in. The pacing of this book was v odd — the first 75% is basically “mean girl goes to work and is primarily unprofessional”. A lot of planes, airports and automobiles. Not a lot of chemistry between the 2 characters. Not even a lot of dialog between them, which made it really difficult to cheer for them when suddenly in the last 15% of the book everything gets resolved.

Also, authors, a plea: it’s deeply unrealistic that a woman in her 20s or 30s has exactly two contacts in her phone: her best friend (who she only has time for when it services her) and her mother. Please, I beg you: consider the existence of friendships. Or therapists.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc. I’m sorry if I’m the mean girl in this review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! From the first word in the first chapter I was hooked!! This book is so well written and I was instantly attached to the character's and their stories. It flowed so well, was detailed but not overly so, and the characters were so relatable and lovable (except Robbie, he can step on a Lego)

"Bad Publicity" by Bianca Gillam is a fun, fast-paced romantic comedy that delivers equal parts tension and charm. Andie, a senior book publicist, is ready to conquer New York’s publishing world—until she’s forced to work with Jack Carlson, her college nemesis and the last person she wants to see.

Gillam expertly builds the chemistry and banter between Andie and Jack as they navigate a high-stakes book tour across Europe. The tension from their unresolved past is electric, making every interaction entertaining and full of sparks.

Filled with humor, romance, and European charm, "Bad Publicity" is a delightful story about second chances, facing the past, and discovering that sometimes your worst enemy might just be the best thing that ever happened to you.

A die is forced to deal with a history she’s been running from when the first client at her new publicity job is central to that past. There are many good and well-handled parts of this book, and I enjoyed reading it. At the same time I also was hung up on the number of times the female lead is dealing with emotions or she’s described as emotional. It was overused and although I don’t think this was the intent, it plays into the overly emotional woman stereotype. It was jarring to pull me out of the story. The character’s emotional state was clear without that added layer of description.

This was a very quick read, and very well written! However I felt it lacked chemistry between the main characters. I would have liked more between them, especially at the end. Maybe a couple more chapters or even an epilogue. This was more than just a miscommunication trope to me which led to me wanting more from the characters. Even the side characters like her best friend. It was entertaining and I read it in less than a day, I just would have liked the story to continue longer.