3.5-4 stars. There were a lot of layers to this book that battled for importance, some easier to connect with than others, but all created a very human character in Andie.

To start, I want to defend her. I knew while I was reading I could probably go to reviews and find plenty calling Andie an “unlikable” FMC. Did she frustrate me at times with her questionable choices and not realizing how selfish she was being at times? Yes, but who among us hasn’t been exactly that person? I know I’m certainly guilty of getting wrapped up in everything I might be struggling with in my own life and not recognizing when those close to me are also struggling with something. Andie was realistically fallible, and the important thing was that she experienced growth and wanted to work on herself.

When it came to the romance between Andie and Jack, I went back and forth on being invested and wanting them to move on if they weren’t going to talk about whatever happened in the past. I’m all for not knowing everything up front and waiting for an event to be revealed, but the book was nearly over before it was all finally explained. Without knowing if the event was something that was bad enough to explain Andie’s initial reaction (it was) but redeemable enough to want the two of them to work things out (undecided) made it challenging to fully root for them. There was some great tension between them, but the push and pull going on for so long without details gave me a bit of whiplash.

The real story for me came in Andie’s personal journey toward processing the various forms of grieving she needed to face and to see her finally stop running away from the difficult emotions. The way she handled things was far from perfect, but there was authenticity in the mess, and I personally appreciated it.

Thank you to Penguin Books via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Publicity by Bianca Gilliam is such a fun and heartfelt read! It follows Andie, a book publicist who ends up on a European tour with her ex, Jack—who also happens to be a famous author. There’s tension, banter, and so many swoony moments as they navigate old wounds and lingering feelings.

I really enjoyed the mix of romance, travel, and personal growth. Andie felt super relatable, and the chemistry between her and Jack was chef’s kiss. If you’re into second-chance romances with a little enemies-to-lovers twist, this one’s definitely worth picking up!

This book was overall a fun idea and a light hearted read. I want to give this book 3 stars, but in my heart personally, I think it’s more of a 2.75. There are a few things that annoyed me about the book, but overall it was an easy read, that made me feel things (unfortunately those emotions were mostly annoyance and exasperation). That being said this book gave me “the Hating Game” vibes and I absolutely loved that book so maybe it was just not what I needed at this moment in time. I think in another phase of life I would have really enjoyed it and in reality I felt like the FMC was very real and human - maybe that’s what made me so irritated by it all. Ultimately, I do think this book is the perfect beach read or “in between” book when you have a book hangover and just need something different. Feel free to stop here if that’s good enough for you. If you want to hear more about what I didn’t like, keep reading… BUT beware spoilers if you continue…Again, I feel bad bashing this book because I think part of my anger is that I am over the miscommunication trope. In addition to that I did get a little annoyed with my girl Andie because at a certain point the dislike of this man over something that seemed to happen in college seems a little absurd when her job is on the line - especially when we have no idea why she hates him. She is also extremely selfish and I eventually just got sick of her being so self-pitying. You’re an adult, can we start acting like one? All of this being said, I actually felt a little remorse when I found out what exactly happened between her and Jack. My last bone to pick is that this didn’t really feel like a romance between her and Jack, but between her and her best friend Sarah. It felt like their conflict and love for each other was a little too much in relation to the conflict and feelings going on between her and Jack. At a certain point I was wondering if they were going to end up together, and I am only half kidding…

This is not a book that focuses solely on romance. It is a romance that focuses on grief, friendship, personal growth, career troubles, and the overall challenges of life. Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam is a story that I think anyone who likes contemporary romance should read.

Andie has been struggling with the death of her father ever since it happened--5 year ago. The same year where her life was ruined and sense of trust was destroyed by Jack Carlson. But she doesn't like to stop and think about that for too long. Not when she landed her dream job as a senior book publicist in New York. And her first day gives her a new sense of hope, until her first and biggest author is none other than the one and only, Jack Carlson. She now must spend the next month running his book tour and campaign across Europe. Running from her past with him, the distance growing between her and her best friend, and her mom's new boyfriend, all while keeping her grief tightly locked away, is a lot to ask of one girl. But she has to do it, and she will, because of her career. What could go wrong?

I really enjoyed this book! In terms of a contemporary romance, Gillam did an amazing job in terms of keeping the plot strong and stable, making Andie her own character, not just having her personality and story be based around Jack. Did this mean by the final chapter I wanted a thousand more pages about the two of them? Absolutely. But that means it's a really good book. As someone who hopes to work in publishing I absolutely adored this story and it really sealed the deal for me! The writing itself was light and digestible so I was able to come back to it whenever I needed. Gillam also handed some harder topics with grace-- the feelings of grief specifically. Tears came to my eyes many times but always in what felt like a safe environment, due to the book. I never could have guessed what happened 5 years ago between Andie and Jack, making the ending all the better!

If you like light romance, strong fiction, and an overall cute story, you should put this on your TBR to buy as soon as it comes out on May 20th!

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Books | Penguin Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. I loved the storyline and all the characters. I thought the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book!

A second chance enemies to lovers forced proximity romance that's also about moving through your grief. Andie is thrilled with her new job in publishing except that her first project is shepherding Jack on his book tour. These two have a back story that we don't get until too late in the book, although Andie complains about him a lot (a lot) without explaining. And he seems like such a nice guy. Then there's Andie's grief over the death of her father, which hovers but isn't explored. This had potential (always like a look behind the scenes of publishing) but felt too trope-y for me in the end. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Over to others.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be well-written; however, it does not appear to have been marketed completely accurately. I was expecting a romance from the description and there was certainly a romance subplot, but I believe it was a women's fiction book than a romance. As long as readers go in with the right expectations, I think this book is definitely worth reading.

When a book says it’s part Devil Wears Prada mixed with part 10 Things I Hate About You, I’m going to read it! Bad Publicity by Bianca Gilliam is a second chance romance with some enemies to lovers vibes. We follow a senior book publicist (Andie) and her biggest author (Jack) as they embark on a one month European book tour to promote Jack’s newest book. We get a peek into their past, go through some grief with them, and eventually end up somewhere happy.

This book was.... interesting. I enjoyed our MMC, but at times it felt as if there was no backbone and by the end of the book he became a doormat. Our FMC, rather than dealing with her trauma and addressing it in an appropriate way, takes it out on the people around her and feels that it is okay for her to do so. Also, I love a good suspense when it comes to a "what happened in the past," as much as the next person, but this was dragged on for soooooo long. The entire book our FMC references this horrible thing that happened between her and the MMC that makes her treat him the way she does and we dont end up finding out what it actually is until the 75% mark and by that point, i was more interested in what could've happened than the story at hand. Overall the enemies to lovers felt one sided.

This was a quick, nice read. I have to shout out the author for not doing the thing that annoys me more than anything and gave the character a reason for being in NYC and speaking in British-isms. The quick explanation made all the difference. This at times went a little slow and I wouldn't say it was entirely a romance more aboit grief with a bit of romance thrown in. This is one where you have to ignore the unbelievability of a person going from paid intern (do those even still exist?) to senior whatever in 5 years right from finishing college and just enjoy the human connection. The quitting a perfectly good job because you want to maybe do domething else without lining anything up thing just doesn't happen anymore for someone who comes from the background this main character does. If you can put that stuff aside it's enjoyable.

Oh, man… I was not a fan of this at all 🫣 There will likely be spoilers in this review, but here it goes.

The FMC was very unlikable from the get-go. Like very unlikable. She was selfish, irritable, and extremely unprofessional. She treated other people like trash but expected it not to blow back on her. She pushed people away but got butt-hurt when they did the same to her. Everything revolved around her and what she was feeling.

When they introduced Jack into the picture, she immediately was a major B to him. Regardless of him being her client and her refusing to disclose their past to her employer. She just proceeded with her job but took the low road and treated him like crap - constantly telling him to “fuck off” and intentionally thinking of ways to make him look bad. When he tells her maybe she shouldn’t go on tour with him, she takes it as an insult when she’s been thinking the same thing. About 25% in, she realizes what’s she’s doing and stops being unprofessional… somewhat.

She constantly talks about how she feels distant from her best friend or how she gets worried when she has kissed notifications from her mom. Yet she only talks about herself to her best friend even as she notices her best friend is going through a rough relationship and doesn’t ask about it and isn’t there for her. Then she very purposefully doesn’t respond to her mom or doesn’t listen to her or doesn’t call her when she thinks about it.

From the beginning, I knew that whatever this secret “terrible” thing that Jack did in college that “ruined her life” was, it was not worth how she treated him. There was nothing short of murder that would have made sense to me. I was right. Of course it was an overreaction and she refused to take anyone’s view or story into account because she wanted to wallow in her self pity… Jack deserved better and never should’ve ended up with her.

She also used her grief over her dad’s death as an excuse for acting like she did. It was her only personality trait, her grief, but it also wasn’t even believable. It only came up when she wanted to feel bad for herself.

Bleh. Not my cup of tea…

This book tells the story of a Andie (a publicist) and Jack (an author) who have a history together on a book tour together for Jack's latest book. There is tons of bookish humor and a great slow burn and enemies to lovers storyline between the main characters. Honestly, any book that is set in both Europe and the bookish community is alreaduy going to be a winner for me. The banter between the characters is well written and I loved the descriptions and scene setting in the different countries that are visited.

This book deals a lot with grief and I was not quite expecting that. However, I believe that the way the FMC handles her grief is beautifully written and a journey that is worth going on. I was thrown for a bit of a loop though, mainly because this is being marketed as a romance novel, which is what I was expecting the main plot to be.

I had an issue with the pacing of the story and the big reveal of why the FMC and MMC became rivals in the first place. The way that the FMC talks about their falling out, I was expecting it to be this huge unforgivable thing. When it was ultimately revealed, it fell a little flat for me. I think this plot point could have been handled earlier on in the book to build the stor from there. It would help the reader justify some of the FMC's behavior and her feelings towards the MMC.

Overall, I will say this an enjoyable debut novel for this author. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from her in the future!

Oh my God, I spent three days reading this. The main character has the worst victim complex—an absolute nightmare. She cries non-stop throughout the entire book, over everything and nothing. She’s a horrible, selfish person who can’t get her own life together and ends up poisoning the lives of everyone around her—her mother, her friend, Jack, her boss, literally everyone. Imagine a selfish Carrie Bradshaw who’s constantly sobbing.

She left her mother behind and moved across the ocean after her father died, and then spends the whole book whining about how much she misses him. But how her mother has been feeling over the past five years? Barely a thought. At least her mom found the strength to keep living—unlike this clueless FMC.

She doesn’t deserve her best friend, especially when that friend needed her most. She doesn’t deserve Jack either—and I won’t spoil anything, but her behavior is pure trash. I don’t feel sorry for her at all. Everything that happens to her is just a consequence of her own choices.

All she really deserves is a lifetime subscription to therapy.

This book was your cute average romantic book. It was fun to read and I read the whole thing on an airplane.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

Unfortunately, this title wasn't for me. I felt that it had some pacing issues, and it had a lot of unexpected heaviness with grief being a main plot point. While I do not mind that, I was going into this under the impression it was a romance. I think I just was not ready for that. I would like to revisit this story in the future with that headspace in mind.

This book started unexpectedly, the first word being “fuck” I had high hopes for the story. But unfortunately it fell flat for me. It was a cute second chance romance, and a quick read, as I read it in one day.

I’m giving this book a 2 1/2. Well, I really liked the foundation of the plot. I do think it needed more developing. There were moments where I felt it was rushed and other moments where I felt it dragged on. I do like the characters, Andie and Jack. I liked that they had a backstory, although I didn’t love or more importantly did not buy the entire explanation of their history. I think that it needed much more developing. I also did not like the title. I think there might’ve been better options. I do think it was a good read. The story itself flowed, and I read it within a couple of days.

I went into Bad Publicity thinking this book filled with a publishing-centric, second-chance romance as an author and publicist who have history are forced to not only work together, but travel together on a book tour. But unfortunately, I found that this book fell a bit flat for me as it felt like the author wanted to write about grief and healing more than romance,

Though I don't mind a heavier, more emotional romance, and thought the way the second-chance scenario was handled was realistic, the actual romance of this book felt like a secondary (maybe even tertiary?) plot as the main character dealt with her grief, trauma, and career crash-outs. I felt tension between the main characters, but rarely chemistry, and wished there had been more sparks and sizzle so that the romance of it all could really shine.

+ forced proximity
+ enemies-to-lovers
+ second chance romance

Bad Publicity by Bianca Gilliam has all the right ingredients for a compelling debut: grief, second chances, and PR drama. Unfortunately, it never quite sticks the landing (or gets off to a strong takeoff, for that matter).

The emotional core of Bad Publicity was Andie’s (our FMC) grief, and where the story truly had something to say. Those moments felt the most grounded and sincere, and you could tell Gilliam was reaching for something deeper beneath the surface of a typical romance. Unfortunately, the surrounding plot didn’t always support that depth. The pacing dragged, and the romantic tension never quite landed, making it hard to stay engaged even when the emotional themes were compelling.

Andie was tough to connect with (like girlie, be professional, and be a better friend!!), but I understand what the author tried to do: mirror the impact of unresolved grief and emotional walls. However, without more context or development, it created a disconnect that made it hard to root for her. And Jack, well… he was there.

Let’s talk about the romance: The book leans more into a slow, sometimes painfully slow burn and unraveling of past wounds than any real romantic development. The big reveal of what happened between our main characters five years ago boils down to the “just let them finish their sentence” trope, which made the buildup feel more frustrating than suspenseful.

The first half of the book was slow-going, and I kept waiting for that turning point where I’d fall in love with the characters. It did improve in the second half, but by then, I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I’d hoped to be.

That said, Bianca Gilliam shows real promise. The bones of a great story are here—emotional depth, messy characters, real-world challenges. With stronger pacing, clearer emotional arcs, and a little more levity (or actual romance), I’d love to see what she writes next.

If you're into books that prioritize introspection and emotional ambiguity over classic romantic beats, Bad Publicity is for you.

Thank you to Penguin Group Penguin Books, and Netgalley for the eARC. Bad Publicity is available for pre-order now and will publish on May 20, 2025.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Penguin Books for my advanced readers copy for an honest review. Unfortunately, I DNF this one around the 30% mark. I couldn’t connect with the characters and thought it was slow.