Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of Bad Publicity.

Our story jumps right in to our main character, Angie, snagging her dream job as a senior book publicist, yay! However, she finds out very quickly that the author she'll be working with the most right off the bat is Jack Carlson - a man she was romantically involved with during her time at university and who she ended things with after he "betrayed" her. Jack has a month-long book tour to go on abroad in Europe and while Andie does not want to work with him, this is her dream job and she does not want to lose this opportunity because of him.

Overall, I liked this book. I'm not sure if I would label it as a rom-com, but it's definitely a romance with themes of grief woven into it. The pacing was a little off - I didn't love how we don't find out what Jack's "betrayal" is until very close to the end of the book. I understand that it's probably because Andie then decides to go her own way so she can focus on herself and her relationship with her mom (as well as Sara) but still felt way too late, especially considering how the story ends not too long after that. Generally, the ending was too abrupt for me - I would've loved to see what Andie and Jack got up to together after reuniting and Andie realizing she loves him and wants to be with him. Even if it's just a short peek into their life, I think it'd be a nicer way to wrap up the story.

I don't mind that the romance took a step back for Andie's journey with her grief. I thought it was beautiful but again, considering the clipped ending, this book seems to be more about Andie and her life, rather than a story about Andie and her life INCLUDING Jack. Andie's father is such a big part of the story but there's no mention of him in the book blurb at all. There's a lot going on but I feel it needs to be more comprehensive.

Bad Publicity would probably be a book I'd personally buy, read, and then take to a book swap.

I absolutely loved this book. I went in expecting a typical rom-com, but it was so much more. A story of loss, grief, friendship, and love. Plus, I always love when the MMC is an author/writer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A must-read for romance lovers. Engaging writing and unforgettable characters. A perfect blend of angst, humor, and heart warming moments that is sure to leave a lasting impact.

Rating: 3.5
Bad Publicity sets up a classic romance premise—two people with a complicated past forced to work together—but takes its time getting off the ground. While the story has its strengths, particularly in its emotional depth, it also struggles with pacing, redundancy, and a lack of clarity in character backstory.

The book starts abruptly, throwing us into the central conflict before giving us enough background to understand why it’s a conflict in the first place. Andie, the protagonist, lands her dream job as a publicist but is immediately dismayed when assigned to Jack—her college ex. But why is this such a catastrophe? We aren’t given much information early on. Was it a bad breakup? Did he betray her trust? Did their relationship implode due to ambition? The weight of their history is hinted at but not fully explained until much later, which makes it hard to invest in their tension from the start.

The writing style is simple, which makes for an easy read, but at times it feels like the author is mimicking lines from other romance novels without quite hitting the mark. For example, “I swallow the sound of frustration that moved up my throat.” What does that even mean? Moments like these pull you out of the story rather than immersing you in it.

Andie’s best friend is a highlight—supportive, understanding, and someone you want to root for. Unfortunately, Andie doesn’t quite return the favor. She seems more focused on venting about her own issues than genuinely being there for her friends. Her dynamic with Sara, in particular, feels one-sided; Sara hesitates to open up because Andie is too wrapped up in her own drama to really listen.

The book’s pacing is a mixed bag. The chapters are short, which helps create a fast reading experience, but the story itself feels rushed. Scenes jump quickly, and Andie’s entire world seems to revolve around Jack—running into him, thinking about him, talking about him—without much else happening in her life. It becomes repetitive, making some sections feel like they’re spinning in circles rather than moving forward.

However, things do improve as the book progresses. The inevitable “only one hotel room” trope makes its appearance (of course), and Jack starts to emerge as a genuinely sweet and thoughtful character. He respects Andie’s boundaries, distances himself from other women once he realizes she’s watching, and even gets adorably jealous when she talks to other men. The tension is fun, and by this point, you’re fully rooting for them to figure things out.

Interestingly, beneath the romance, Bad Publicity is also a book about grief. Some readers have noted that it feels like the author wanted to write a novel about grief but was pushed to make it a romance instead. While that may be true, it doesn’t feel like a weakness. Grief is an unavoidable part of life, and it adds emotional depth to the story. If anything, it makes the book more meaningful.

In the end, despite its flaws—rushed storytelling, vague backstory, and a protagonist who sometimes falls short as a friend—the book still manages to be an enjoyable read. You’ll find yourself engaged, eager to see how Jack and Andie’s relationship unfolds, and ultimately satisfied by the journey. If you’re in the mood for a romance with a touch of emotional weight, Bad Publicity is worth the ride.

The story was solid, but the lead female character was a bit annoying. I like that she came around at the end and realized what she was doing to people, but it was hard to watch her go on this journey. The way the flashback was handled was weird, too. The male lead gets one chapter from his POV in a flashback. It was a little jarring as a reader to switch back and forth for a single chapter. Otherwise, the story is enjoyable. Travelling through Europe with the characters is fun. The romance is kind of believable. Library patrons should enjoy this title.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Books for inviting me to read Bad Publicity. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.

I gotta be honest... I was bored.

There was a lack of chemistry between Andie and Jack. You don't find out why Andie treats Jack the way she does until way later on in the story. I feel like if we knew sooner, or had an idea of what, then maybe I'd feel differently about her character and them as a pairing. I kind of wanted the story to end. The pacing is slow, the build-up and the characters were not well-executed, and the romance wasn't satisfying.

I'm sorry but Bad Publicity is a huge miss with me.
If you're still curious, I would request it at your local library.

2 stars

A fun premise that is let down by a lack of chemistry between the leads and Andie’s insistence on ignoring Jack instead of having a conversation with him that could clarify their past and make it easier to work together.

There is a dark backstory that isn’t introduced until three-quarters into the novel which felt too late and also made it difficult to root for Andie and Jack to be together. I really wanted to like this and think with a few tweaks (e.g., no miscommunication and a less complicated history between Andie and Jack), it could be a charming romance. As it is, this is more a story of Andie learning to deal with her grief and let go of the past.

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Bad Publicity is a sharp, engaging romance that delivers the perfect mix of chemistry, tension, and emotional depth. Bianca Gilliam crafts a compelling story with well-developed characters, witty banter, and a plot that keeps you invested from start to finish. The dynamic between the leads is full of push-and-pull, making their journey to love feel both realistic and satisfying. With a balance of humor, heartfelt moments, and just the right amount of angst, this book is a must-read for romance lovers looking for a fresh take on the genre. Definitely one to add to your TBR!

I think that this is an absolutely fantastic book - if you go into it wanting to just read literary fiction. If you go in and you truly expect a romance book... a happy rom-com especially I expect you'll be disappointed. So I for sure don't agree with the fact that this one is being marketed as romance.

That being said - I found this book to be really wonderful at showcasing what it is like to live life with grief, how it can make you run away and shut down. Sometimes that's the only way you can survive a tremendous, life altering life, and Andie did just that. She moved to the states and promptly shut down the piece of her that was forever changed by her loss, she started building her career and was truly just surviving - not thriving.

Her big break as a publisher came, but the problem was that the author she'd need to be supporting and touring with is her "ex", Jack. He's not written particularly strong, and Andie's anger really overshadows and overpowers him time and time again.

It's a SLOW burn in the sense that you never find out what Jack has supposedly done - this big thing that changed Claire's life and blah, blah until about 75% into book. Then you get the flashback and eh... a discussion, perhaps multiple discussions and it would have been blown over. There's still a bully in the situation, and there's still some messed up crap - but holding that over someones head for 5 years? But again, it comes back to the grief. It turns out when she looks back at it all? She's able to see things far more clearly than before.

The ending was rather frustrating just because I would have liked a bit more. A bit more on her healing, a bit more about the "romance".

All in all I would say it was enjoyable just not very memorable.

However; these 2 quotes will stick with me for quite a long time:
<b>The thing no one ever tells you about losing someone you love is how guilty you'll feel about every single moment you spent with them where you could've been more attentive, more loving. Where you would've soaked up more of their presence, if you'd known you'd lose them so soon.</b>

<b>"I've found, thought, in my years on this earth, that life will surprise you. There is never just one thing at a time. There's room for many things, always. Light and dark, all at once."</b>

A very huge thank you to NetGalley, and Penguin Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Bad Publicity Review

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Penguin Books for the ARC! I received this copy in exchange for my honest review and as always I’m so appreciative of the opportunity.

I will be posting this review in full on my goodreads profile, featuring parts of this review on my Instagram account story, and placing the story into the highlights portion of my Instagram page under ARC reviews on 3/2/2025.

I was drawn to this book because I love the trope of enemies to lovers and this one seemed like a doozie! Jack and Andie for some unknown reason haven’t spoken in 5 years but now she has to be the editor and head of his Europe spanning book promo trip. Sounded awesome!

However to be honest with you I would have probably DNF’d this book if I hadn’t received an ARC of it. I usually give myself about 100 pages of a book before I decide if I will keep reading it or not. At about 100 pages through the book we didn’t really go anywhere in this book and it took until more than halfway to go anywhere. For the first almost half of this book we are just told repeatedly that there is tension and that Andie can’t stand Jack even though multiple times he tries to apologize for whatever travesty he committed towards her yet Andie refuses to hear him out. I’m all about dragging the tension out but it was just super repetitive and the plot didn’t really move. And at about 65% through the book when they finally get together they go from 0 to 100 in about two blinks which didn’t really make sense to me especially after such a long build up process.

Also the “misunderstanding “ between Andie and are mom over the garden party you could see what the event was going to be from a mile away.

I appreciated the authors attempts to show the process of grief between Andie and her mom but between that the storyline of Sara and James (who seems at the very minimum emotionally abusive) felt like completely different books and tones and made no sense in a book marketed as a romance.

You do finally get the answer to why Andie “hates” Jack 77% of the way through go the book and to be honest it made 0 sense why she would ever give him a second chance- even after seeing his POV it just didn’t make sense. And the end where she professes her love for him??? Like what the heck! What do you love about him? It was just frustrating all around.

There’s a lot going on here that had potential but the pacing felt very off. The last third of the book easily could’ve been expanded to be the entire story and would provide necessary context for what felt like a slog in the beginning. Andie is a frustrating character and I can’t say I felt she developed well enough to root for her, but again, I think the ordering and pacing didn’t help her case. The stakes of the conflict between the two leads is left to be so ambiguous and while it felt justified, it almost felt like a cop out to find out about this giant issue so late in the book. This book would benefit, IMO, from more strategic editing. I would’ve loved hearing dual POVs and more flashback chapters throughout to paint a more vivid picture.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Publicity was everything good about rom coms. I got this as an Advanced Reader Copy and looked forward to coming home from work and continuing this book. I will say it took a bit for me to get into at the start which was slower, but then once I got used to the characters i was set.

The main character’s battle with the loss of her father was very cathartic as someone who has lost a loved one myself. Her journey through processing her emotions felt very realistic and raw.

Andie is a book publicist who gets her dream job in New York.

But then she realizes one of her authors is Jack, who she had a huge falling out with while in school. But this book tour they're about to go on could launch her career.

So she goes on the tour. No spoilers, but this book was such a highlight of my day. I loved the funny moments, the sad moments and in between. Besides the slower start, I really enjoyed it and I’d rate it 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing this book to me to review!

I was really excited to dive into this one! I love a book publicist storyline and was happy to read a real, emotional portrayal of parental grief and how that filters over into other relationships. I really loved both characters and was rooting for them and thought the ending was realistic and lovely.

had potential but unfortunately didn’t work out. The pacing was off and the characters lacked depth that I couldn’t get into this book.

Bad Publicity was a well-written book and I did thoroughly enjoy myself, but I was a little turned off by it feeling more about Andie figuring out her grief than finding love. I do realize that the stories are entangled and her growth with her grief is a key point of the story and her ability to face the troubles of her past with Jack... But, it just didn't feel quite right for a romance book. Not to say I didn't like the book, just wasn't exactly what I was expecting or looking for.

Damn this book for making me cry on an airplane. But seriously, it was really good.

I feel like Bad Publicity is an advertizement for therapy. If the main character, Andie, just had a mental health professional or support group, she could have avoided a lot of problems. Instead, she buried things and compartmentalized (or at least tried to) and dumped everything on her best friend, whose advice she did not even heed! It was definitely frustrating at times watching Andie make poor decision after poor decision, but at least she had some growth in the end. I still wish she realized she needed a therapist and started going by the end of the book, though!

The pacing is a little bit choppy, especially in the beginning. I love a short chapter- it keeps me reading and was part of what allowed me to read this book in 2 days! However, some of the jumps between scenes in the beginning there were a little whiplash-incuding. I think about 40% in or so it was much better and the pacing evened out a great deal. This book has a lot of great tropes- slow-burn enemies to lovers, forced proximity, just one room- but it is a bit more serious than other romances I've read. I wouldn't describe it as a romcom as Andie has a lot going on she needs to deal with and there is a good amount of angst and tension to work through. Trigger warnings- body/sexual shaming, some violence, grief and recent death of a parent. I liked the inclusion I saw with the mention of a trans person, but other than that there wasn't a ton of diversity.

Overall, Bad Publicity was a lovely read. Besides being a jerk and making me cry, which in hindsight was possibly the author's intent, I liked the bookish main characters, the descriptions of the places in Europe they were visiting, the slow-burn, high-tension romance that made me want to keep reading, and the overall plot. I would absolutely pick up another book by Bianca Gillam.

Unfotunately this book would serve as a perfect example of how NOT to write an engaging enemies-to-lovers romance. It starts right up front with Jack wanting to apologize and Andie cutting him off. That means no fun banter that gradually brings them together, instead Andie is an angry jerk refusing to sit down for five minutes to clear the air, while Jack tries so hard he is difficult to believe. The reason for the break comes close to the END of the book, so the reader is shut out along with Jack.

There's some good writing here, and the secondary couple were very much more engaging, but the main couple never convinced me; I won't review this book at Goodreads as I don't like putting negative reviews out there and hurting a book's chance. Tjhere will surely be some reader who will connect with it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I absolutely adore the main character, Andie. I would recommend this book to other romance lovers. There was so much to love about this story, but the most touching parts to me was her relationship with her best friend and the memories of her father while she dealt with processing her grief of losing him.

However, I left feeling like I wanted MORE from her relationship with the main love interest. I felt more connected and invested to her relationship with her best friend than I did to him. Based on what happens in the story, I don’t know if their foundation is believably strong enough to overcome what transpired. I just am left wanting MORE.

Again, I would absolutely recommend this book to someone who reads a ton in the genre already, but it might not land on my go to recommendation list of books I’m obsessed with. I am also 100% sure I would read another book by this author because as a whole, I enjoyed her writing style.

Jack is an actual angel, and the one that really kept me pulled to this book. It was difficult to follow Andie, especially starting out with having so much anger, and not truly finding out why until the end of the story. It made her pretty unlikable at first, but then once you understand the reasoning she was a little easier to follow.
All in all, great story!

Super cute and fun! It wasn’t my favorite writing but I enjoyed it and really connect with books that tackle romance with other emotions, like grief and loneliness. Can’t wait to recommend to friends!