Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I struggled to get into the story and wanted to DNF several times. Andie was unlikable and flat, Jack was pitiable but also a total doormat. The biggest issue I had was pacing-it took 70% of the book to find out what happened between the main characters and I didn’t think the wait was worth it. There are a few plot points that felt forced and unnecessary as though they were placed into the story only to serve as growth catalysts for Andie yet they failed to make her relatable or likable.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was only ok for me.

Andie is a publicist and unbeknownst to get, she gets assigned an author. Jack. He's someone she already knows. And hates.

The venom behind the thoughts, and words, Andie feels about Jack were a lot. As I read on, I kept waiting for the big reveal. To see what unforgivable thing Jack had done. When I read it I was shocked. Not by what Jack had done, but by Andie's reaction to it. It's not as if what he did was ok in any way BUT Andie never gave him a chance to explain himself. I'm not saying she totally overreacted, but maybe she did. I don't know.

I'm glad I finished the book to get at least a little closure with their whole story. The book was fine, but not great.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

less of a romance and more of a story following parent loss grief. The characters have little personality and the story moves so quickly - I’m pretty sure 3 weeks passes within 20 pages?? The idea of the story drew me in, and I do think it is well written, but it needs more substance! I think adding in Jack’s POV would have helped immerse the reader in the story a little better. Or honestly just anything regarding Jack.

I loved the nod to publishing and the complexities therein. This was a fun read. I just wish the MFC had been a little less angsty and weepy.

3 stars

I liked the idea for this book but unfortunately the execution fell flat for me. This book was so fast paced it almost felt like a montage in a movie. All the scenes were so short and had very little depth. I constantly found that I was wanting more explanation, more conversation, more detail. I couldn’t get a sense of how the characters were feeling or any growth between the love interests. You’re also just thrown into the book with no explanation or set up. Almost immediately they’re on the book tour and you don’t really get a chance to get to know the main character at all. Speaking of the tour, they’re traveling to a bunch of Europe countries and there was so much opportunity for fun setting and adventure but it barely played a part and I found I never really remembered where they were because it was glossed over so much.
A main plot point in this book is that Andie and Jack are exes and had some big falling out and now they’re enemies (at least, on Andies part. jack seems to want to put everything in the past). You don’t find out about this falling out until 75% into the book and it really doesn’t make the buildup worth it. I was so frustrated and felt like Andie’s refusal to talk about it with jack was so over the top.
I also did not like Andie. She was so unprofessional and selfish. She was supposed to be jacks publicist but she was so rude to him and was constantly causing him to run late for events and didn’t listen to anything he said. She also didn’t treat her best friend or her mom very well. She gave off the vibe of someone who has to be the center of attention. She was mad at her best friend for moving in with her boyfriend and not being constantly available to listen to her complain. And then she completely ignored her mom talking about her engagement and upcoming wedding, even though this was a really big, emotional moment for both of them and she just wasn’t there for her.
I had a hard time with this book. It felt like a first draft or an outline where there were a lot of good ideas it just needed a lot more depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

TW: Death of a parent off page

Andie has landed her dream job as a senior publicist and hopes to take the New York publishing industry by storm. As luck would have it, her first major client is also her worst enemy, Jack Carlson, who’s not only still as handsome as ever, but also wildly successful. The two must work together as they travel throughout Europe on a major book tour. Will they kill each other or end up falling in love instead?

Enemies to lovers can sometimes be tricky. The reason for the animosity has to be compelling and grounded in such a way that the reader can connect with it. That’s difficult to do because we’re not let in on the conflict between Andie and Jack, until nearly the end of the book, and once we do find out the reason for her hatred it all boils down to the dreaded miscommunication trope. Le sigh! I’m not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, especially when Andie willfully refuses to talk about what happened in the past. It was difficult to root for her at times. Look what happened was definitely shitty, but it didn’t make sense that she would refuse to talk to Jack, considering he had spent the day of the event trying to get a hold of her and texting her that it was an urgent matter. I’m not going to lie, it was incredibly frustrating.

The two do come to a truce and Andie starts to rediscover the Jack she once knew before their falling out. This is definitely more of a slow burn, and as the two travel from book signing to booking signing they grow closer sharing intimacies about their lives; but when they have to make a last minute pit stop in Edinburgh, the scene of their falling out five years prior, that hard won truce is off and everything they tried to leave in the past comes to a head, and we finally get the much needed conversation.

While this is a love story about reconnection, it is also a story about processing grief. Having lost her father five years earlier, Andie has not properly grieved his passing. Confronted with her mom moving on with a new partner, she must come to terms with his loss and heal, while also honoring his memory.

I do think Ms. Gillam gave Andie a great character arc, and my heart went out to her as she grappled with her grief and came to realize the toll it had taken on her life and relationships. She finally takes the steps to heal.

I do feel the ending was quite abrupt and could’ve done with an epilogue.

Rookie book publicist Andie (is her last name ever revealed?) is paired with successful author Jack Carlson and directed to accompany him on his European book tour. They have a history, but she’s determined not to let get under her skin, or rekindle any old feelings, or forgive him, or even discuss what blew up their relationship. Andie is rude to Jack from the get-go in a you-know-what-you-did kind of way that’s lacking in grace. It’s eventually resolved, but I’m not convinced it’s warranted, even though her reaction is impacted by her trauma. The backstory is he did something unforgiveable when they were young, green, university students. Was it preventable? Maybe. Should they have talked about it and tried to work it out? Maybe. Is it plausible they didn’t? Completely. Does the author drag out the suspense a bit too long? Definitely.

The ups and down sides to being on tour are authentically presented–no surprise, since author Gillam has worked in the publishing field. The charming book stores, tiny crises, travel stress, and connecting with audiences feels real. So does Jack’s generous agreement to pop in at Andie’s mother’s book club while they have a stopover in London. Subplots of Andie’s coping with grief over her father’s death, and her changing relationship with her roommate and best friend Sara add depth.

SPOILER: In the early nineties, before the Internet was so prevalent on college campuses, the boy’s intermural basketball team at my now-defunct school posted a HOT list and SLUT list posted on the door of one of player’s dorm rooms. I remember how angry I was, both that it existed, and that no one (resident advisors? upperclassmen?) saw it as anything but funny. I also remember how glad I was that my freshman escapades never made the list: I was no saint, but I flew under the radar, and since one of the players had a crush on me, he made sure I didn’t get mentioned on either list, though he felt I deserved a spot on the HOT list. “Your name came up,” I remember him telling me… what a blessing there is in digital archive of that scrawled list of girl’s names.

This experience, alongside the portrayal of how a short relationship can have such a profound impact on your life, is what resonated most for me; overall, this is a solid debut novel with some clunky moments that ultimately has wide appeal to fans of the workplace romance, second-chance romance, and enemies-to-lovers tropes.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #BadPublicity via #NetGalley, courtesy of #Penguin; this review will appear on HLBB on the scheduled pub date 5/20/2025.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Books for this ARC!

This book follows Andie working her dream job as a senior book publicist. She gets to work with a big name author, Jack Carlson, who just so happens to be someone from her past, which she would like to forget about.

Bad Publicity is an enemies to lovers story, and second chance romance. There are some heavy topics: grief and abuse/trauma, just a little warning.

Time for my thoughts… At first I really couldn’t get behind Andie. She was always so rude and mean to Jack and we had no idea why this was. It was a bit of a mystery, and I honestly just kept reading to get to the part of what happened. Then it made sense of why she was the way she is, but! I’m not sure if I could really get behind her. Her rudeness and her constantly running away had me like, “Girl! Stop! You’re not giving anyone a chance!”

All in all, I did love the life of a busy publicist. All the traveling, the cozy book stores, spending time with a cute author, I mean how could you be so grumpy? 😂 Anyhoo! I’m not sure if I would consider this a rom-com per se, I think it’s more of a contemporary romance? I didn’t really laugh out loud or giggle at much. I did feel bad for the FMC, as I mentioned there were some heavy topics. I think I’m going to give this book a 3 star out of 5. I liked it, it was good but it wasn’t my favorite romance book.

I didn't love this book -- it relies very heavily on a lot of my least favorite tropes and while there *could* be some very emotionally impactful moments, none of the characters feel authentic enough to connect.

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.