This book is set in 1997 and I sooo wanted it to have all these 90s feels. But for me it did not, some of the references were actually more early 2000s dated. It kept pulling me out of the story when there were references to things that I know we did not do or say in the 90s.
For example; some of the foods that they ate were definitely not what anyone was eating in 97, even if you account for LA being a little ahead of the times. Charcuterie, burrito bowls, hummus and veggies, organic iced teas.....if they were around they were not as mainstream as the author makes them. Then the technology, Charity has a cell phone that she puts in her pocket and texts with Kai. Nope, even the most advanced tech in 97 wasn't doing this and certainly not the mainstream, that didn't come until like 2002 ish. She would have had a pager at that timeperiod or a Zach Morris brick phone.
Plus, she's emailing and using a computer all day at work, in 1997 people barely had email addresses yet, the internet was so new to the majority of people. Most things would have still been done by phone, fax, on paper. They didn't mention a fax machine once!
And then her boss asks her to rip cds onto his computer to put on his MP3 player, I actually googled this one because I knew that those weren't invented yet. Those came out in 1998 in South Korea, so most likely in 1997 her boss wouldn't have any idea that even existed.
Do any of those things matter to the story, not really, but could the author have made it set in 2003 and all that wouldn't have bothered me so much.
Now to the rest of the story, it was cute, she fell into pretty much every situation, good and bad. There were a lot of characters that were really surface level and I didn't know why they loved her so much, there wasn't really any development of why she had such wonderful relationships with all these people.
Overall, it's a quick read that doesn't take much thought. Just don't think your going to get your 90s nostalgia on this one.

Charity Trickett is paying her dues in the Hollywood machine, climbing the ladder with hopes of someday being a big-time screenwriter. Through a series of misadventures, misunderstandings, and misery, Charity finds out who her real friends are and how to achieve her dreams.

The late-90s setting was a fun backdrop for this story, and I learned a lot about behind-the-scenes Hollywood. The plot is a roller coaster, with some parts mirroring that slow pull to the top, but then it picks up momentum on the downhill as Charity navigates glamorous parties, frustrating co-workers, and balancing her duties with her dreams. She's a sympathetic heroine who is easy to cheer for.

I enjoyed Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous by Canadian author Christine Stringer.

Set in the 90s, the story opens in Vancouver where Charity is an aspiring screenwriter working as a production assistant while navigating some disastrous personal setbacks.

No sooner has she extricated herself from one sticky situation than she gets what seems like a big break: the director invites her to move to L.A. to work as his assistant in a major studio.

Charity jumps at the chance, but all is not as rosy as it seems.

A lot of Charity's experience rang true for gig work in your 20s. She navigates:
- Terrible co-workers who have no boundaries
- Ambiguous job descriptions and reporting relationships
- Ethics around leveraging your connections
- Paying bills versus selling out
- Fake dating and 'we can't dating for various reasons
- Crashing hard on a core task and feeling like your professional life is on fire

Charity's friendship with rising star Vivy and her working relationship with Daniel, another assistant-turned producer, were probably the highlight of the story for me.

The book ends somewhat suddenly--I kept flipping pages and was surprised when there wasn't more story. This is one rare case where I wished for an epilogue that wasn't there.

On the whole, a strong debut for Stringer and an enjoyable, breezy book. Perfect for a flight or beach read. Curious to see if this is the start of a series.

This book is fast paced giving drama from real house wives type it was an ok read if you want fast paced drama

Thank you NetGalley and SparkPress for the opportunity to read and review the e-arc of Charity Tricket Is Not So Glamorous.

Charity Tricket is a hardworking PA to a movie producer who gets her golden ticket to Hollywood to work for the big guys in the 1990’s film industy. Just when you think all of her dreams come true, her world falls apart!

I love that this book was based on a true story - that of the author! It made this story that much more amazing. From crazy mishaps, romantic tensions, backbiting and sabotage, awkward moments, and sheer terror this book had me invested from the start. Charity Tricket stumbles, not exactly gracefully, through it all. Charity was relatable, hilarious, resilient, and optimistic to a fault but I absolutely thought Mrs Stringer did an excellent job of making her personality shine in the pages of her story.

A heartwarming and hilarious book. It was excellent.

This book read a bit more like a YA to me due to the writing. Characters also didn't seem very mature and it was initially confusing to keep up with a lot of the side characters. Overall easy read but I feel like the ending was rushed.

This was a cute read, and it would be perfect for the beach! If someone is looking to get back into reading, this may be a good book for them!

I found the premise of this book interesting, and I did enjoy some of the characters. However, I don’t think this book was for me. While it was an easy read, I didn’t find myself feeling inclined to pick it up each night. Once I did, I enjoyed it.

I think my issue was that a lot of Charity’s friendships and her career trajectory felt way too far-fetched, even for fiction. I was looking forward to the FBI-involved portion of this book, as seen in the description. It ended up not being a plot point until about 75% of the way through, and it didn’t feel like a major issue. It was very interesting that this happened to the author in real life though!

I enjoyed Kai, but I felt he was cringey at times. The relationship went from 0-100 very quickly, and I didn’t see/feel the connection there.

Overall, I think this is solid for a debut novel!

Rating: 2.5 stars ⭐️

Charity Trickett was a fun book, fluffy & light. Charity was likeable, delightfully uncomplicated, & at times ridiculously bumbling.

There were odd tangents that went nowhere, for example Charity’s relationship with her family which takes an unexpected turn, and not in a plot twist way, more just inconsistent narrative.

Charity’s adventures in Hollywood are plot set in VHS/DVD era & the luxury references missed but nothing about Charity’s plot arc is realistic, it reads less like chic lit & more like young adult romance. Charity’s meteoric rise to fame is unrealistic but entertaining nonetheless.

I was surprised to read the author experienced her own brush with the law in similar circumstances.

Unfortunately you can see the end coming a mile away but it’s a fun ride. No thinking necessary.

with respect to the author, since this is based on her life experience, this was hard to get through.
charity trickett is a PA on a film set before getting the opportunity to act as the assistant to the film's director during post-production. toh, for the first half of this book, charity trickett's life was so glamorous. the events in the latter half of the book that unravel her picture perfect life in Hollywood seem very random and hard to believe.
also the lack of empathy and support she received from the people in her life was confusing to say the least. now, again, this apparently is based on the true experiences of the author and i'm at no liberty to dismiss the hurdles women in the film industry had to jump in the 90's. but even the dismissal from her parents when she was having a personal crisis?? bonkers.
this may be a compelling story, but this needed some editor's help.
thank you to netgalley and sparkpress for this ARC. all opinions are my own.

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. I managed to get 60% of the way through the book but I couldn’t finish it :(

Good points:
The premise of the story was great. You could really see what the author was going for. At times the imagery was so well described that you could really picture what the author was going for.
The protagonist is an interesting character.


Not so good points:
Unfortunately the flow of the dialogue in this book wasn’t my style, and I found it difficult to stay engaged with the story.

If you’re looking for an easy read with an interesting concept, you may still enjoy this, it just wasn’t my personal style of story telling.

This is such a cute book!

I need to buy it based purely on the pink cover because I am actively working on adding pink books to my shelf.

Unfortunately this was not formatted for my ereader so I was unable to read this and get into the book, but from what I was able to sample, I smiled a few times and wanted to keep reading. (Writing style was wonderful, humor was fun, and book was enjoyable from what I was able to sample)

I am excited for this book’s release! I am a bit bummed it was not formatted for the ereader.

Thank you for allowing me to sample this eARC! I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

🎬✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨🎬
If Bridget Jones moved to 1990s Hollywood and got caught in an FBI investigation... THIS WOULD BE HER STORY.

Okay besties, listen up—if you’ve ever dreamed of working in movies, getting your big break, or just surviving your twenties with your dignity intact and a half-decent outfit, this book is your next obsession. 🤯💁‍♀️

Meet Charity Trickett (yes, that’s her real name, and no, she’s not ready for this town 😅). It’s 1997, and she’s fresh off the plane in LA, armed with ambition, zero cash, a crush on the wrong guy, and a burning desire to break into the biz. 🎞️🍸

What starts as an assistant gig to a big-shot director turns into a wild, chaotic, is-this-really-my-life ride through:
✅ backstabbing coworkers
✅ soul-crushing studio politics
✅ a maybe-illegal mistake (whoops)
✅ and oh yeah… an FBI investigation 😳🚨

What I LOVED ❤️‍🔥
✨ Hollywood Nostalgia – You can feel the 90s oozing off every page. Think: pagers, power suits, and parties in the Hills. 🕶️🧃
✨ Voicey & Hilarious – Charity is equal parts chaos and charm. Her inner monologue is Bridget Jones meets The Devil Wears Prada but with more espresso and unpaid overtime. ☕😵
✨ Based on a true story?! – I did not expect this level of drama to be real. I was gasping by chapter 10. 💅📉

For the girlies who:
💔 Know the pain of loving someone who thinks ambition is “cute”
💸 Have ever overdrafted while chasing a dream
🎞️ Can quote Nora Ephron and know who Harvey Weinstein was in the 90s
💅 Want a heroine who messes up big but keeps showing

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

📚Book Review📚

Book: Charity Trickett is Not so Glamorous @christinestringerauthor
Release Date: June 10, 2025

Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous is the perfect summer read for this upcoming season! This book has everything - humor, friendship, work drama, and little mystery too. Charity is a kind, witty, hardworking assistant and screenwriter in LA and I simply could not put this book down as we follow Charity through all her adventures.

Thank you the Christine Stringer, @Netgalley, and
@booksparks for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review of this book!

#CharityTrickettIsNotSoGlamorous #NetGalley

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was light, fun, and very witty! Charity works as an assistant in the movie industry in Canada and as her job is finishing up, she’s offered the opportunity to move to LA and work for someone she worked with in Canada. She encounters a lot of personalities and a co-worker who is out to get her. I really loved how she navigated all of the roadblocks and huge egos. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and SparkPress for the Advanced Reader copy of this book!

Our protagonist is a kind, resourceful, and spirited woman working her way up on film sets. She jumps at the chance to move to LA to work as an assistant and things go on from there. There are definitely times where you have to suspend your sense of disbelief (just like at the movies) and then other things that feel so true that I knew the author must have lived through it herself (like being interviewed by the FBI at a Coffee Bean?! And haven't we all had a weirdly spiteful and/or undermining colleague?). Some bits felt rushed but one constant was Charity's determination (okay, she has a few wobbles!) and film smarts.

I'm looking forward to Christine Stringer's next book!

Thank you NetGalley and SparkPress for sending me this e-arc!

Honestly I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed this book! Women’s literature isn’t usually my cup of tea, but as the story progressed I found myself wanting to read more and more!

I really enjoyed the FMC and the development of her journey as she navigated Hollywood and working for a major film company! I loved her friendships, and how they stood by her side no matter what!

This was a lovely, heart warming story which would be perfect for readers who loved Bridget Jones Diary or The Devil Wears Prada.

*these views are my own*

I got to spend some time in the life of an assistant to a major film director in the book Charity Trinkett is So Not Glamorous, and as the title suggests, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. On the bright side, Charity has some pretty famous friends, but there are also some jealous coworkers, petty errands she has to run, and, oh, she may end up in some pretty major trouble. I’ll let you read to figure that one out. This book was a fun read, and it was interesting to pull back the curtain on the film-making world.

Thanks to Netgalley and SparkPress for this advance copy. #CharityTrickettIsNotSoGlamorous #NetGalley

3.5 stars!

Charity is working in film production, but her real dream is to be a screenwriter. Any free moment she has is spent editing her scripts to perfection. When a big movie producer offers her a position to be his assistant, she springs at the chance to get one step closer to her goal. Along the way, Charity is met with roadblocks, famous friendships, and jealous coworkers. Is she really cut out for Hollywood?

Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous is filled with all the 1990's references you could imagine and as a film buff myself, I loved them! It was my fantasy as a latch-key kid in the '90's to go to Hollywood and work in the industry, so this was a very interesting snip it to the way the industry actually works.

I found Charity to be an interesting and relatable character, but the special sauce was her community of industry friends who helped her along the way. I found her relationship with her friend David to be quite realistic and fun. Their banter was perfect.

There were a few plot holes that I felt could have been resolved when it came to conflicts in the workplace. I thoroughly enjoyed the build up to the romantic relationship Charity experiences in this novel, but found some of their interactions to fall a little flat. I found the glimpse behind the scenes of how movies get produced, and what truly happens when you're an assistant fascinating. I could read 12 more books on the topic if Christine Stringer wants to write them!

Huge thank you the Christine Stringer, Netgalley, and SparkPress for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. This one made my '90's heart sing!

This was such an entertaining story to get lost in. I loved the late 90s timeframe setting, Hollywood lifestyle, and job arena. They captured my attention, and all the extras were bonuses to enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Charity Trickett may not be glamorous but she is kind, smart and hard-working, you can't help but fall in love with and wish for all her dreams to come true! I was championing her every step of the way!
It was exciting to know that some of the plot points were based on real experiences in the author's life. It was interesting to learn a little behind the scenes of Hollywood as well. I found Charity's story to be relatable and realistic.