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!

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin for the eARC!

This book was a ⅗: would read on a beach trip if it was in the hotels library.

I really liked the storyline, plot, and the characters in this book. However, I found that the conflict was not introduced early enough to the point that I was absolutely hooked on this book (as shown by the 10 days it took me to read this book).

I enjoyed the characters and once I hit the 70% mark where the background to the conflict was introduced I think I finished the book in one sitting. Great book, I just wish there was more in the beginning in order to feel more connected and interested in the plot.

Great detail about the book publishing industry and it was super fun to hear about the European tour! Loved Andie!! The dynamic between the mom and daughter was also an interesting read!

The book stirred a whirlwind of emotions within me. The unexpected twist from the past caught me off guard, enhancing my enjoyment of the fiery enemies-to-lovers dynamic between the protagonists. The protagonist's journey of self-discovery and the heartwarming conclusion were also highlights for me. However, the pacing felt somewhat slow and occasionally challenging to follow. I found myself wishing for a deeper dive into the female lead's psyche to grasp her emotions more fully from the beginning rather than having to wait until later in the story.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Die Liebesgeschichte um eine zweite Chance spielt in der Welt der Bücher, Autoren und Verlage. Als Leserin bin ich von so etwas als Basis für einen Liebesroman in der Theorie ein großer Fan, auch wenn längst nicht alle Bücher rund um Bücher für mich ein Volltreffer sind. Auch “Bad Publicity” gehört leider in diese Kategorie.

Die Geschichte kam meinem Empfinden nach nie so richtig in Gang. Ich habe beim Lesen darauf gewartet endlich, in einen guten Lesefluss zu kommen, das passierte aber leider nicht.

Die Auflösung zu den Problemen zwischen den Hauptcharakteren ließ dazu passend recht lange auf sich warten (nach gut Dreivierteln des Liebesromans) und fiel zudem überraschend blass aus. Dem Verhalten der Heldin dem Helden gegüber folgend hatte ich etwas wesentlich schwerwiegenderes erwartet, als enthüllt wurde.

Die Hauptcharaktere blieben zudem leider etwas blass und ihre Beziehung interessierte mich darauf aufbauend nur wenig.

Als wesentlich kürzere Geschichte hätte das romance Buch für mich sehr wahrscheinlich besser funktioniert.

Keine Bewertung, da abgebrochen.

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mit Büchern und zweiten Chancen mag, für den könnte “Bad Publicity” eine Versuch wert sein. Beim Lesen sollte man für die Charaktere und die Geschichte etwas Geduld aufweisen können.

By Bianca Gillam
Published Date May 13, 2025

This book was a great second chance romance. Andie and Jack have to overcome the past, recognize the hurt they caused each other, and take the time, risking getting hurt again to understand what really happened in their past.

As a lover of a cozy bookstore and the library I loved the descriptions of all of the different book stores. I could close my eyes and picture myself there. Andie was a very relatable character, going through a whole bunch of trauma in different areas of her life and bottling it up to try and move forward. Eventually the bottle will pop open but we always think we can just keep it contained.

I would have loved to see Andie take over the bookstore that was run by the neighborhood. As much as the bookstores were a part of the story and how much she loved them I would have loved for her to end the story with going back to what she really loved or at least showed her volunteering at the book store. I also would have loved to incorporate Sara’s story a little bit more. I felt she was such a big part of Andie’s life but her story just bits and pieces.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially to bookshop lovers like myself.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Bad Publicity by Bianca Gilam - 4.5 stars
MORE! I want more Jack and Andie! I loved this story- it starts as what you would assume is a traditional enemies to lovers trope, but oh, how much more it really is! We dive deep into Andie’s struggles with grief and her ability to compartmentalize, to her own detriment. Jack is the worst… at not being the worst. I wanted more of their specific story, but I absolutely loved this book and Andie’s journey.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title!

I ultimately wasn't as invested in this story as I expected to be. The city scenes were so wonderful to read, but I felt the chemistry wasn't quite there for me.

This was a fun easy read! I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it because in the beginning Andie isn’t very likable. All you know is that she hates Jack with a passion, and she’s selfish. I’m so glad I pushed through though because once you get past that it becomes a good book.

3.5 stars for this cute romcom.

First of all, I have to say, I am a bookish book fan.
I just love reading about books, about book lovers, about the book industrie →authors, editors, booksellers etc.
It could be the main plot or just a side story but romance between book lovers is my favorite kind of books.

Which is why I asked for this arc I was so excited to read and I am very thankful to Netgalley and to Penguin for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange of a review.

In this book, Our FMC (Andie) Is a new publicist in a big publishing company in New York and her first work is to go on a whole month book promoting tour with a very popular author ... who also happens to be her ex.
Jack (the mmc) used to be a non-fiction historical books author and just published his very first fiction work.

Unfortunately, even if I did like it (I read it in one sitting), something was missing for me.
The story felt a little flat at first, I was feeling like reading a diary in which the fmc (Andie) just talk about her day assisting her author/ ex she absolutely hate, kind of like a to do list with little comments about how it went.

I know the book is supposed to be a second chance enemies to lovers, but reading about her talking trash about/to the mmc (Jack) without even giving a hint of why she is mad at him was kind of hard to follow.
I think the explanation about what happened between them in the past came too late in the book so it was hard to understand why he needed to apologize.
I want to understand her feelings, to be mad at him (Jack, the mmc) with her and to feel all the emotions of both main characters.

I do plan on buying a physical copy of the book and giving it a second chance (sometimes, stories are better after a first read).

so I might have to write a second review after my reread but i do recommend this book to book lovers.

♡ Bad Publicity review ♡
4/5 stars
This book was such a cute romance book! I loved reading about Andie and Jack's relationship and I definitely recommend this.
♡ What I liked ♡
Andie and Jack were such a cute couple, the angst and tension between them was perfect.
The way Andie's grief about her father was captured was so well done, it added a lot of emotion to the book.
I loved both Andie and Jack's characters so much
The plot was exciting.
♡ What I disliked ♡
THE ENDING WAS SO FRUSTRATING, I would've loved more of a conclusion between Andie and Jack, and more cute moments between them.
I did not like Andie's best friend Sarah at all. She annoyed me so much.

This book had me feeling so many things. I didn’t expect the surprise twist from the past, and I enjoyed the enemies to lovers chemistry between the two leads. I always enjoy a book about authors and bookstores and found the bookstore descriptions/stops to be a cute touch. I enjoyed the protagonist’s self-growth as well and the sweet ending.

I liked this but it wasn’t for me, it was a bit slow and hard to follow at some points. I loved receiving the ark and would recommend the book to friends!