Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for an eARC of Reputation by Sarah Vaughan!

I sometimes struggle with psychological thriller books that follow a political plot, but this one was easy to follow (Thank goodness!) The book follows politician Emma - Constantly in the spotlight, she has to be on her best behavior - or her reputation can be ruined in an instant. When a man is found dead in her home, she not only has to protect her reputation, but her family.

This is a suspenseful read - The political intersection with morals, family and bullying keeps it interesting and I was engaged throughout. I look forward to seeing what this author comes up with next!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

With social media firmly engrained as a fixture in our society, many issues that already existed are becoming more pervasive. People’s political beliefs are broadcast to the world (or at least their social network), misogyny, misinformation, and personal attacks under the veil of online anonymity run rampant. Sarah Vaughan’s novel, Reputation explores these issues and more in a complex and thought-provoking story about a politician whose personal life becomes public fodder for online warriors looking for a pound of flesh.

The story is set in England and centers around Emma Watson who is a member of Parliament for the Labour Party. Emma was formerly a teacher and was drawn to politics to champion women’s rights and safety. Emma is perpetually in the public eye due to her work, particularly after she works on a bill to strengthen punishment from revenge porn after one of her constituents is a victim of it and takes her own life. Her work on this bill launches a new barrage of threatening letters, stalkers, and online trolls talking about escalating and attacking her personally. The press hound her everywhere she goes. One columnist perpetually degrades her in his publications (ironically the columnist is man who was formerly one of Emma’s professors at university).

Meanwhile her personal life is falling apart. Her husband leaves Emma for their daughter’s piano teacher, Caroline (a woman who was formerly a colleague and friend of Emma’s). As a single, working mother, Emma has little time for her daughter Flora who lives with her father and Emma’s ex-husband (and the woman he left her for). Emma isn’t the only one being bullied online—Flora has also been the victim of bullying and catfishing from a girl at school who she thought was her best friend. Flora retaliates by sending revenge porn of the girl to a boy at school, leading to a police investigation into the very thing Emma is rallying against.

When a journalist gets word about the story of MP Emma Watson’s own daughter engaging in revenge porn, it seems too good to pass up. Especially since that journalist and Emma had previously gone on a date and spent the night together, only for her to break it off in the morning claiming it’s inappropriate. Emma is desperate to stop the story. This could ruin Flora’s life. But then Mike comes to her house and ends up dead at the bottom of her stairs, putting Emma on trial for murder as well as in the court of public opinion.

The book structure is nonlinear and told from different perspectives. Emma’s voice is the most dominant narration, but others have chapters as well. Peppered throughout are online discourse about Emma and her case. Many of the comments are vile, but sadly representative of what we all see online every day. People can be cruel and deeply inappropriate, with nearly no recourse. Except that some people can’t make a mistake and be forgiven, it turns out. A woman’s reputation is so easy to destroy. A single photo publicized online showcasing a regrettable moment—that can become who the public says you are. Everything about a woman can be distilled into that one photo and the discourse around it.

The first half of the book is fast-moving and builds context for the inevitable fallout from the journalist’s death. The reader doesn’t find out any of the details of the death until close to the end, when the trial is going on. Until then we see snippets—Mike (the journalist) and Emma having a brief fling, his retaliation after she rejects him, Flora’s bullying at school, her decision in a moment of shame and fury to snap the photo and send it. Her immediate regret.

All of these moments make sense in context. They are understandable, perhaps even forgivable. But seeing them laid out in the courtroom as evidence for or against the murder charges alters them. It’s clear how information can be manipulated, even if it’s true. Despite everything that happens to her, for many who don’t know her, Emma is not a sympathetic figure. She’s beautiful, successful, and confident in her advocacy for women everywhere. But beneath that shiny exterior lies a different side to Emma. Her husband left her for a woman she thought was her friend, her daughter has stopped confiding in her, she’s harassed online daily and sometimes even at her home, she can’t step a toe out of the norm without it making the front page of the paper. Emma is someone who stands up for those who are victims of the patriarchy, but she isn’t given the same grace to be vulnerable.

The ending is gripping and all is revealed. Some things I guessed, others were a surprised. After dedicating her life to supporting other women, will the women in her life return the favor to support her?

A gripping and powerful story. Julie Teal’s performance in the audiobook was outstanding.

Thank you to Atria Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Emma, a politician, has a good reputation. But, with her career, many things suffered with ask if the hours. One of them is her relationship with her daughter. Flora, her daughter is getting bullied at school. Then a man was found dead in Emma's home. A trial is started and twists will turn. I liked this book.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was a bit of a slow burn, but picked up towards the middle/ end. Nothing too crazy or shocking, fairly decent for a thriller.

Emma, an elected MP, fights to establish revenge porn laws when her own 14 year-old daughter becomes involved in a revenge incident. Emma, who protects her daughter from the tabloid press, finds herself in court facing murder charges. The novel explores the vulnerability of female elected officials and how a person's past becomes ammunition when revealed,. Reputation recommended for long weekend escape reading.

4.5 This one surprised me I was not expecting such a court drama but I sure was pleasantly surprised. This story follows Emma a MP who had a family scandal that her paparazzi boyfriend/ friends with benefits tells her he is reporting on. Emma desperate to defend her daughter breaks things off with him and tells him to leave her alone. Days later she comes home to Mike in her house they fought he ends up dead at the bottom of the stairs. We follow Emma and Flora through the trial process this court room drama kept me turning the pages !
I really enjoyed this book I am a sucker for court room scenes I blame it on the years of watching Matlock but I always love a good closing argument. I also enjoyed the themes in this story about how the court of public opinion can really have implications far past the criminal justice system. I would say this book would be for fans of Scandal this book really made me want to watch that show again. I enjoyed the pacing in this book I really had a hard time putting this one down. I would like to thank NetGalley and publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I went to pick it up again and realized I was already pretty far in and remembered nothing. I wasn’t invested but I may pick it up again at a later date.

Sooo this was one of my first Netgalley approvals ever....and here I am a year later reading & reviewing this book! Terrible, I know! BIG THANKS to Atria/ Emily Bestler Books though for giving me that approval when I was just starting out! :-D

Anyway, on to my review -- I liked this quite a bit. This is a great book and I'd recommend for those that love:
Political, heavy focus on social media bullying/ trolling, courtroom proceedings, tense moments, descriptive writing, multi POV.

Those are all the things I liked about this. The characters are flawed but still people I could find myself rooting for. There are some decent twists in this story. Some of them a seasoned reader could guess (like who sent the text to Mike), some of them took me by surprise. The courtroom parts were filled with tension. This (for me) had a sort of slow start but when it picked up it really picked up and I was IN the story, needed to know what would happen.

This is a harrowing but great story of fighting against the odds stacked against you. I highly recommend this book to all readers of all genres.

This book was not my favorite - I really enjoyed the premise of it, but I felt like it was incredibly long winded, too complicated, and ended up being draining to read.

This is the second book I read by the author. I really enjoy her work.

There were a lot of unsavory acts in this book, by several characters. Potential murder, revenge porn... and from an MP and her daughter, nonetheless. This book had all of the delightful misgivings to move the story forward.

I will say that this book took a long time to get to where it was headed. I don't want to say "dragged on" because it was better than that, but the pacing was at times very slow and even repetitive. I did enjoy that the story was told in alternating POVs, as it was interesting to see the thoughts and actions of several characters in the story.

I don't know that I loved the ending, and I had it figured out pretty early on what actually happened. I don't think knowing took away much from my overall rating of the story, as I didn't really know the why or how. I do think that at times, the plot was too drawn out and could have been condensed a bit to make it move a little faster.

Overall, I gave this one 4 stars. I think this book is good for anyone who likes a bit of courtroom drama and morally ambiguous characters.

EXCELLENT READ!!! I could not put this one down and just kept going. Very well written edge of your set read..
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!!

Unfortunately, I could not get into this one at all. It was too slow for my liking. This was a DNF from me.

*Thank you @atriabooks for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

Thank you so much for this ARC!

It took several tries for me to start and finish this one. Once I was finally into it, I enjoyed the story and the different topics - politics, social media and its repercussions (or lack-thereof) and mother-daughter dynamics.

Very slow paced which ultimately felt like a long book with very little content. I wouldn't quite call it a "thriller" more of a legal drama. However, still enjoyed reading it but could have been cut down significantly for more of a thriller.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Sarah Vaughan
for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Sarah Vaughan is a master of raising awareness of controversial themes in her books. The value of reputation of a female politician versus the value of mother-daughter relationship. The sacrifice women has to take in order to achieve career brilliance. The bullying and the vengeance of the bullied. Who is right and who is wrong? How much is too much? What is women place in the world - career or being a mother? Could it be both? Could it be balanced?

All are questions and no answers in the books. Sarah Vaughan makes the reader think and search for answers in his/her own soul. Because there is no right or wrong, mostly. Everyone chooses for themselves.

At any rate, the plot was intriguing, I did not see some twists and turns coming. At the same time, some parts were drugged on and quite boring, some plot lines were underdeveloped and/or not explored enough. I felt like there were more themes to dig into and go deeper, where author chooses only to lightly brush.

Overall, it is still a good solid book which made me think and question many concepts. Pick it up and think for yourself.

Reputation was such an interesting book! I usually don't read court room dramas or crime books, but Sarah Vaughan's writing is so well done that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. The book did feel a little drawn out, and I imagined the ending a little different, but overall it was a thrilling read that I can easily recommend.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I was not able to finish so won't be leaving a full review at this time.

This book was a mixed experience for me. On the one hand, the pacing was too slow for my personal preference. On the other, the narrative was well crafted and kept me guessing. Overall, I think this is a solid choice if you’re looking for a slow burn thriller.

Thank you so much Atria/Emily Bestler Books & Netgalley.

An interesting book about what happens when your reputation becomes all-encompassing. I found the story to be too slow-paced for me but I did appreciate the character development and themes throughout.