Bad Publicity, by Bianca Gillam, was not the book I thought it would be. Based on the bright yellow cover and blurb given to describe it, I was expecting happy silly comedy of errors style romance. This book relied on an enemy to lover trope that didn’t resolve til the last 1/4 of the book. It touches on parent loss, grief, and your past attempting to ruin the life you’ve built for yourself.
The first 120 pages or so Andie is highly unlikeable with almost no explanation. The book mentions the ”incident” but she comes across as unprofessional and whiney. Reading is borderline stressful, it seems as if every day is a bad day in her life. When the incident is revealed it is genuinely upsetting. Had I known this is what the book was going to hinge on I would not have chosen this. Although this book has some romantic moments it is not a pleasant read.
The book wraps up in a nice way but for probably 80% of the book I felt Andie was making things out to be worse than they were or I was downright uncomfortable.
Anyone in search of a fictional story with a hint of romance may enjoy this, but should be prepared for parental loss, feelings of shame, and abuse.

Thank you to Bianca Gillam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review

The main trope is miscommunication with some alleged enemies to lovers peppered in. The pacing of this book was v odd — the first 75% is basically “mean girl goes to work and is primarily unprofessional”. A lot of planes, airports and automobiles. Not a lot of chemistry between the 2 characters. Not even a lot of dialog between them, which made it really difficult to cheer for them when suddenly in the last 15% of the book everything gets resolved.

Also, authors, a plea: it’s deeply unrealistic that a woman in her 20s or 30s has exactly two contacts in her phone: her best friend (who she only has time for when it services her) and her mother. Please, I beg you: consider the existence of friendships. Or therapists.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc. I’m sorry if I’m the mean girl in this review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! From the first word in the first chapter I was hooked!! This book is so well written and I was instantly attached to the character's and their stories. It flowed so well, was detailed but not overly so, and the characters were so relatable and lovable (except Robbie, he can step on a Lego)

"Bad Publicity" by Bianca Gillam is a fun, fast-paced romantic comedy that delivers equal parts tension and charm. Andie, a senior book publicist, is ready to conquer New York’s publishing world—until she’s forced to work with Jack Carlson, her college nemesis and the last person she wants to see.

Gillam expertly builds the chemistry and banter between Andie and Jack as they navigate a high-stakes book tour across Europe. The tension from their unresolved past is electric, making every interaction entertaining and full of sparks.

Filled with humor, romance, and European charm, "Bad Publicity" is a delightful story about second chances, facing the past, and discovering that sometimes your worst enemy might just be the best thing that ever happened to you.

A die is forced to deal with a history she’s been running from when the first client at her new publicity job is central to that past. There are many good and well-handled parts of this book, and I enjoyed reading it. At the same time I also was hung up on the number of times the female lead is dealing with emotions or she’s described as emotional. It was overused and although I don’t think this was the intent, it plays into the overly emotional woman stereotype. It was jarring to pull me out of the story. The character’s emotional state was clear without that added layer of description.

This was a very quick read, and very well written! However I felt it lacked chemistry between the main characters. I would have liked more between them, especially at the end. Maybe a couple more chapters or even an epilogue. This was more than just a miscommunication trope to me which led to me wanting more from the characters. Even the side characters like her best friend. It was entertaining and I read it in less than a day, I just would have liked the story to continue longer.

Thank Netgalley Penguin books for a early copy of Bad Publicity, Bad Publicity I'm sure you guess it: is a enemies to lovers romance it a very typical read experience. Andie are main character get this big job as a book publicity to travel through Europe on a book tour for a month the catch is she work alone side her enemies who she haven’t seen in five years name Jake to make his book tour the biggest it every been. I'm not a big fan of enemies to lovers I really request this book because of all the book references ( which we definitely get) Throughout the month book tour we find out why Andie hate Jake so much and this was the problem for me it's was a OK reveal. Topic of grief was handled extremely well and make you connect to the book in a very deep way. The writer is very simple, simple is good i fell into the book very quick but once I put I down I won't think of it again, but again it's your very typical enemies to lovers book.

So thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC.
Having lost a parent also, I found myself relating to Andie often throughout the book. This book did a beautiful job of how individuals navigate their way through grief.

The slow burn of Andie and Jack’s relationship without knowing about their past was done so well. I appreciated that the flashback didn’t occur until almost the end of the book. It really allowed readers to be able to learn who Andie and Jack are objectively.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this ARC.
"Bad Publicity" by Bianca Gilman is a powerful and emotionally gripping read that left me in tears. The protagonist's journey is filled with heartache and resilience, making it impossible not to empathize with her struggles. Her love interest added depth to the story. The tension between hate and love was masterfully portrayed, showcasing the complexity of their relationship. The love interest is truly amazing, bringing warmth and support that the protagonist desperately needs. Gilman’s writing draws you in, making every emotion feel real and palpable.
Overall, this story is a beautifully crafted exploration of love, forgiveness, and personal growth and grief. It had me invested from start to finish, and I can’t recommend it enough!

1.5 ⭐️
I don’t think there’s a more boring romance book on the planet. The main characters had no chemistry. The dialogue was all like “there was a spark and i know you felt it too” and I was so confused because these characters could be siblings with the amount of bickering and romantic chemistry they have. There was no spark.

The flashback was interesting but it was one chapter 80% of the way into the book. If this wasn’t an ARC I probably would’ve DNFd it. Although People We Meet on Vacation isn’t my favorite book, I think if this book was structured more like that it could’ve been better. Break the flashbacks up and spread them throughout the book. Also the reveal for the “awful thing Jack did” needs to be sooner. By the point it’s revealed I don’t even care anymore and I found Andie just super annoying and whiny.

I never felt that butterfly feeling but I don’t have a specific explanation for why. I love a good slow burn but there’s a difference between a slow burn with stolen glances and lingering touches and a boring story with characters with no chemistry

Andie's avoidant personality made it hard to root for her or believe she formed a deep attachment to anyone the way she seemed so self-involved to the detriment of her other relationships.
I didn't quite buy chemistry between her and Jack because the personal growth seemed to come pretty late in the story arc.

I usually wait until i'm at least halfway thru but I couldn't do it anymore. I feel bad being mean bc I got an arc but this is just not written well and it's probably the english major in me but the quotations were not properly punctuated half the time and the fmc was so annoying and the lack of explanation abt the main characters past wasn't enticing enough to make me wanna keep reading and find out what happened it was just annoying and took away from the story imo. also why doesn't goodreads let us see the little notes we leave when we update our progress that just pissed me pff too

I liked it overall, I feel like the main characters could’ve had more chemistry and close proximity. I know some people like less dialogue but I like dialogue and it did lack some dialogue. But I like the story and where it took place.

“Every minute of every day, Jack Carlson is on my mind”
“Because the dull ache of grief is moving through me, for the people we were.”

this was a perfect romance. it was so emily henry-esque and reminded me of her books which i hold so dear. if you like emily henry or lynn painter, read this!! Jack was so perfect and always respected Andie’s wishes even when he disagreed. Andie was a complex protagonist, I hated her and loved her all at once

DNF. One of my least favorite things in romance novels (any novels, but it seems most prevalent in romance) is when the female main character is one dimensional. Andie had zero personality beyond hating Jack for whatever he did — I didn’t read far enough to find out, but from other reviews I gather that the reveal doesn’t occur until about 75%.

There were also numerous simple typos — ficas instead of ficus (the plant), punctuation and quotation errors… overall, it just felt like this book needed some more polishing before being sent to ARC readers.

Thank you NetGalley for an early look at this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This one just wasn’t for me!

I had a hard time getting into it at first because of the FMC being so closed off to hearing others' opinions or giving love as much as she receives. I'm glad I kept going though (or maybe I don't with how many tears I shed) because of the deep connection to grief and loss in so many ways. Without spoiling it for others, it touches on so many deep feelings and relationships. There are so many ways that there are good and toxic family dynamics, all the different ways in which we deal with (or try to avoid dealing with) grief, the difficulties to move on from grief and trauma, damage that can be done with horrid people with power, and the importance of people that see, know, and love you despite our shortcomings.

Perhaps because I've gotten to the age where friends are losing their parents, I see aging parents issues way too well, we have friends going through really hard life things with their kids or family members, but the tears just kept coming from one point on. So often we want to avoid all the feelings instead of dealing with them, phew. Maybe it hit too close to home with the journeys through grief I've had with good friends, but my eyes were VERY puffy after!

I still couldn't come to love the FMC even to the end so I couldn't give it 5 stars but I rounded up my 3.5 to 4 stars! There were just way too many times that I wanted to scream at her "ask your friend how SHE is", or "listen to what she is trying to say", or "be open to other people's stories"!!! It just was the same pattern over and over and I got very frustrated with her but probably because being unteachable or unwilling to listen is one of the traits I least care for in people. I know we all have it but it was VERY strong with her!

Bad Publicity was such a treat! I saw the author's description of the book on her site and I couldn't agree more--she absolutely nailed the atmosphere she was going for. Bonus points for being a book about publishing! Cannot wait to read what Bianca writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'll start with the good. Books written from the POV of someone who works in the literary industry are some of my favorites. It's like reading about the adventures of a dear bookish friend. It is also really interesting reading about the inner workings of the publishing industry and book tours. Jack was exceptionally sweet and understanding almost to a fault (he was pretty much a doormat by the end of the book). I loved him as a character, although I questioned all of his life choices. He was interesting and, honestly, the only reason I liked this book.

Now for the bad. The pacing of this book felt really off. Andie keeps referencing some big, horrible event that happened between her and Jack, but we don't get any context until about 75% of the way through. Normally, I wouldn't mind this, but the FMC references it excessively. It got to the point where I was more frustrated than curious, and by the 50% mark I was just reading so that I could figure out what Jack could have possibly done wrong to make Andie act like such a ugly troll to him for pretty much the entire book. I really just didn't enjoy the back half of the book because of this.

And finally, the ugly. Andie, they could literally never make me like you. If Andie has no haters, then I am dead. Almost all of her problems (quite literally) were of her own making and would not have been as big of a deal if she went to see a real therapist to process her grief instead of talking to her best friend and mother like they're her therapists. She makes the fact that she has problems and trauma into other people's problems by being mean to them for seemingly no good reason and expects people to cater to her feelings without thinking about how her actions affect others. News flash: just because you have trauma doesn't mean you get to act like a total A-hole to the people around you. You are still responsible for your actions. Andie is literally one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read about, and it really ruined the book for me. She's unprofessional, immature, and incredibly selfish. I'm supposed to root for someone who acts like an emotionally immature troglodyte for the majority of the book? I think not.

I'm giving this book 1 star. Between the pacing and the incredibly unlikable FMC, I didn't just not enjoy this book, I actively disliked it. I will not be purchasing or recommending it to anyone.

I enjoyed this read though I think it could have used a little something. I loved the exes to lovers banter. Jack really was a great guy.
I didn't like how many times it referred to "what happened" and how much she hated him without the back story. Though what happened did suck and I can see how it would have caused the rift in their relationship, I didn't feel like it was bad enough to created such a major plot impact. I was like, "Is that it?" I wanted to tell Andie to shut up and listen more than one time. And she was really whiny.
Sarah was a hard character, I mean I know she was Andie's voice of reason and she needed that but at times it was a little bizarre. I thought the way they talked their relationship almost seemed more than friends, though it did turn out to be purely platonic. It seemed a little unhealthy. And then Sarah's additional side story at the end.
In a way, there were so many side issues, the main story plot was a little lost. I did finish the book and overall liked it.

Bad Publicity features so many popular tropes: enemies to lovers, second chance romance, and forced proximity. It also explores some more serious topics, like betrayal and losing a parent, I found myself a bit frustrated at how long it took to get the back story of why she was mad/hurt by Jack, and the emotional bits didn’t quite land.