BAD PUBLICITY

A publicist is forced to confront her past when she discovers her new client is an old fling.

Andie’s first day at her new publishing gig in New York really didn’t go as planned. First, after she found out that she’d be working with one of the company’s top authors, she dropped an f-bomb in a meeting with her boss. Jack Carlson is a handsome young historian transitioning into fiction writing, and he’s also Andie’s ex. Andie and Jack met while studying at the University of Edinburgh, and it’s a time Andie does not look back on fondly. It’s been five years since Andie allowed herself to remember the terrible events that unfolded with Jack, along with the heart-wrenching and unexpected death of her father, half a decade since she’s effectively addressed her grief and anger…and she isn’t going to start now. Unfortunately, she and Jack will be stuck together for a month as she accompanies him on his book tour through the U.S. and Europe, and it’s Andie’s responsibility to make sure everything runs smoothly. It doesn’t help that Jack is charming and beloved by fans and booksellers alike, and that he desperately wishes to make amends. Initially, Andie is successful at keeping Jack at arm’s length, but soon enough, she begins to remember why she fell for him in the first place. Can Andie keep the past where it belongs, or will her repressed feelings threaten to destroy her career and new beginning with Jack? Gillam’s debut rom-com explores grief and second chances, set in an appealing European landscape and an industry that will appeal to bibliophiles. The book delves deeply into the way Andie deals with the loss of a loved one, betrayal, and a seemingly unresolved depression. Readers may be a bit hard-pressed to find the comedy in this rom-com, but will instead find a protagonist grappling with years of suppressed emotions as she rediscovers her purpose.

A moving tale of grief and second-chance love, without any hints of typical rom-com levity.