“A laugh-out-loud story about saving your job…and maybe saving the planet in the process”


Those of you who follow my reading schedules and reviews, will know that a contemporary comedy, albeit with a smidgen of the rom/com about it, really isn’t my type of book at all. However, I had heard and read such good things about Nick Spalding’s books, that when one of those not-to-be-missed NetGalley ‘Read Now’ offers came up, I just couldn’t resist downloading it.

This style of anecdotal, observational and conversational comedy, is one I really enjoy, and the way in which we Brits seem to have the unique ability to laugh at ourselves, never ceases to amaze me. But how would it translate into a full length story, I wondered? Well, if you had been anywhere near me when I was reading the book (which I did in just a couple of sittings), you might have wondered who the raving loony was, laughing and chuckling away to herself in the corner and this time the tissue wasn’t for tears of sorrow!

From the very first paragraph (shared above), the play on the name of an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues, was enough to have me smiling and that just set the tone for the entire story. As you can tell, this one hits the ground running; the storyline is relentless in its pace and humour; the ending is oh! so satisfying and replete, in the rather sickly and cliched way I had come to expect, but not until after that one final curved ball, the sting in the tail I never saw coming – and to be honest, neither did Ellie! The chapter breaks were really only there to give me chance to draw breath and re-group for the ongoing battle, although the chapter headings themselves were an absolute triumph in their own right.

Narrated in a single timeline and voice, by Ellie herself, makes this very much her own story, to do with as she wants. In fact it reads more like a personal diary in storybook format, the kind of thing that should really be kept under lock and key, a ‘for your eyes only’ read! Ellie is very prone to having ‘conversations’ with herself, sometimes not very silently, although she doesn’t always realise she has spoken aloud, and always totally honestly, in a no-holds-barred kind of way. Her thought and speech bubbles would make a great graphic book!

How far would you go to save your job? That’s the dilemma Ellie faces when the PR company she works for is sold and her new boss turns out to be a keen environmentalist, who intends to refocus and transform the business, to take on PR assignments exclusively for ethical / green brand clients. The thing is, Ellie, by her own admission, is one of the least environmentally green people in the country and is definitely the queen of cheap, chain store clothes shopping when she puts her mind to it. What would anyone faced with that situation do? – Why, lie of course! Ellie becomes an overnight convert, with some very unexpected results (you really shouldn’t miss the itchy hemp knickers debacle!), not all of which are quite so dramatic, but all of which give Ellie pause to stop, think and re-evaluate her life.

The trouble is, when you go from thinking about taking action, to actually taking action, sometimes the lines become a little blurred, the scales of reason can get tipped too far the other way and passion becomes obsession. Then when you find you have been right royally deceived by someone you thought you could trust, flipping out is only the beginning of a journey which can either make you stronger, or cause you to crumble. You really don’t want to be in Ellie’s path when the flipping out starts, that’s for sure!

Nick has written a fluent, well structured and multi-layered story, which is current, topical and bang on trend, but never preachy and always told with heart and humour. There were plenty of subtle twists in the seamless storyline to keep me guessing and because of Ellie’s frenetic and chaotic pace of life, the air was always full of latent tension. Skilled in the imagery of words, Nick’s writing has great visual depth and range, and I could almost imagine myself alongside Ellie – outside the smelly train toilet; egging the crowds on as a giant foam plastic bottle; and with her head stuck down a cess pit – and that’s not even the half of it! I don’t know how much of it is smoke and mirrors, and whether I am doing Nick a disservice, but it feels as though the words simply wrote themselves, as everything flows so well. Such an effortlessly assured and compelling style of narrative and dialogue.

Nick has also created and breathed life into a cast of well developed characters, who more than ably complement his writing style and totally claim the story as their own. Whilst it may not have been easy to connect with and relate to all of them, because of their passionate eccentricities, they were always addictive, authentic, emotional, raw and passionate, with the possible exceptions of the duplicitous scumbags, Nolan and Rob, who really did deserve everything they had coming to them- and then some!

Engagingly Enjoyable; Entertaining Escapism; Enthusiastically Emotional – what other great reasons did I need to read this book.

In the world Nick has created for Ellie, the female of the species is definitely more deadly than the male – and certainly more vocal!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Such a fun lighthearted read!

Ellie works for a PR company. It's taken over by Nolan who wants the company to go green so Ellie then starts to try and have Nolan believe that she's really green orientated. Didn't expect the ending.

Going Green by Nick Spalding
This book was a quick, easy and entertaining read. I loved the main character who gave me a lot of laughs

Topical an interesting. I enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book about love, life and discovering yourself. This book is quite funny and fairly easy to read but it didn’t leave me wanting more. It was ok.

Sorry this wasn't for me, I had hoped to enjoy but found it boring and not very well written. I have read books by Nick before but this one I really could not get into or recommend.

This was an strange book about a women, who isn't really committed to going green, attempts to do so to save her job. Don't take this too seriously but it was amusing.

I LOVED this book! It has hilarious, laugh-out-loud, and read the section to your partner funny moments. It has a lovable, yet misguided character. An epic plot twist, and an ending that you're totally rooting for!! I would honestly read this again for the laughs. Well done!

I am a big fan of the author and have personal challenges around the green agenda so I was attracted to this book.
I really enjoyed the story which was both very funny and able to challenge my behaviours around recycling.
The end has a real twist which was unexpected . All in all a great read.

Nick Spalding is definitely an auto buy author for me. I love the humour he brings to his writing. I enjoyed this story. It added a humorous level to a very serious topic and yet didn't take away from how important the topic of climate change is. If you like a book that gives you plenty of belly laughs pick this up.

I really enjoyed this novel; Nick Spalding stays, as usual, just the right side of slapstick with the humour in the story and creates a main character in Ellie who is likeable, real and doesn’t try to hide her flaws. Some nice twists and turns but not an over-complicated read. The more I read by this author, the more I want to read.

not quite my cup of tea - "forbidden love" isn't very interesting to me but then again i don't like romance driven books in general. i am quite sure there are many who find this book enjoyable. i have read Spalding before and liked his work so it is just the subject matter for me that was not a good fit.

Unfortunately this book was not my cuppa tea, I just couldn’t get into the storyline. It probably is someone else’s cuppa tea but just not mine, but I do love the cover of the book colour is very fitting for the name off book. I wish the Author all the best for the future sorry that I didn’t get into your story.
One day I may try and persevere and try and get read this again.

This was an interesting book about finding yourself and being true to who you are. Even if Ellie didn’t start her journey for the right reasons, she certainly followed the right path. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC

I didn't really get away with this book and didn't finish it, its my first from this author and other books have been received better, I may well give it another go or another book at some point.

I like the "forbidden love" trope. While heavily used in a lot of books, it's still a tried and true plot for most stories, when they're given justice. This is one of those books that gives that trope justice. You take a main character and give her a new boss who is the total opposite of herself in values, but also forbidden because they're coworkers and it's typically "forbidden." Definitely an interesting and engaging novel.

This was a book that drew me in immediately, thinking what would it relate to the environment. I enjoyed the dialogue the main character had with herself and how she processed the different things she was dealing with. I def did not see the twist until it nearly happened when just before it happened I guessed what might be. Overall a great easy read with a few things you may want to consider yourself,

This was a light, easy read. It ebbed and flowed and it never proved to be too taxing. It centred around Ellie who was always quite laizze faire when it came to matters of the environment. She works for a PR firm and when the new bosses make it known that environmental awareness and care is their primary objective she much mend her ways quick smart or find herself in search of another position. And of course with every such dilemma come many bumps and pit falls along the way. The story did lull at times but it provided some laughs too.

When her PR company gets sold to an environmentally conscious new owner and not everyone will get to keep their jobs, Ellie Cook is determined to show how green she can be. The problem is... she's really not! She drives a gas guzzling Mercedes, drinks from plastic water bottles, and loves meat. Determined to fake it til she makes it, she finds herself in several awkward situations, totally humiliated in front of her hot new boss, Nolan Reece. She may have oversold her commitment to green when instead of getting fired, she gets promoted.
This book was so funny it had me laughing out loud and fascinated to find out what Ellie would get into next. From itchy hemp underwear to bearded hippie vegans, gas-guzzling cars to the disgusting habits of humans on public transport, this book is full of hilarious scenes. And after all the entertainment and laughs, it leaves you wondering what you can do yourself to help the environment.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.