Book Review: Bianca Gillam's novel Bad Publicity has a promising premise but bad execution with too many romcom tropes
The book, Bad Publicity, has all the makings of a good romance — forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, second chance — but lacks any real chemistry or depth.
It sets out to be a witty, heartfelt, layered romance with themes of grief, healing, and forgiveness. But, instead it turns out to be a tired checklist of romcom tropes like enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, second chance, grand gestures, and countless callbacks. The premise of the book, Bad Publicity — a publicist forced to work with an author who wronged her years ago — has promise, however, falters in its execution.
Andie, the protagonist, is a self-centred person who never looks beyond her nose as she is wrapped up in her sulky bitterness. Jack, a gorgeous historian-turned-fiction writer, is a manic pixie dream boy who desperately craves a redemption arc but feels like a cardboard cutout. Most damningly for a romance, the central couple lacks any depth or chemistry.
The secondary characters are paper-thin, with hardly anything noteworthy. Andie’s dynamics with her BFF is entirely one-sided — she is described as being the best, with nothing to back the claims. A (strained) relationship with her ever-supportive mum feels forced. Her grief at having lost her father is also two-dimensional. Basically, Andie doesn't have the self-awareness to realise that the lives of all these people don’t actually revolve around her, making it very hard to root for her as a heroine.
{{/usCountry}}The secondary characters are paper-thin, with hardly anything noteworthy. Andie’s dynamics with her BFF is entirely one-sided — she is described as being the best, with nothing to back the claims. A (strained) relationship with her ever-supportive mum feels forced. Her grief at having lost her father is also two-dimensional. Basically, Andie doesn't have the self-awareness to realise that the lives of all these people don’t actually revolve around her, making it very hard to root for her as a heroine.
{{/usCountry}}Even the travelogue-style setting, meant to charm the reader, comes across as postcard description dropped in to pad the length of this novel. In a 368-pager, it’s only on page 260 that the plot actualises into something beyond an endless internal (and agonising) monologue. Themes of feminism are thrown in, but aren’t given much space to get fully fleshed out. In the brief window of a flashback sequence, the embers of a spark ignite. But that too is rushed so much that by the time the predictable ending rolls around, the emotional pay-off seems hollow.
{{/usCountry}}Even the travelogue-style setting, meant to charm the reader, comes across as postcard description dropped in to pad the length of this novel. In a 368-pager, it’s only on page 260 that the plot actualises into something beyond an endless internal (and agonising) monologue. Themes of feminism are thrown in, but aren’t given much space to get fully fleshed out. In the brief window of a flashback sequence, the embers of a spark ignite. But that too is rushed so much that by the time the predictable ending rolls around, the emotional pay-off seems hollow.
{{/usCountry}}Bad Publicity reads like a debut that needed more time in the editing room. So if you’re looking for an engaging, smartly written romance, there are certainly better options on the shelf.
Title: Bad Publicity
Author: Bianca Gillam
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Price: ₹599
