The social media genre has gotten so popular these days. This one does it very well. Fast paced and gripping. When Mel disappears from social life people wonder what would take her away from her 2 boys. Is she really taking time out or has she been taken? Told in a modern format this one will keep you engaged.

The Ugly Truth is probably one of the most uniquely books I've read in a while. Not the story as such, but more the format. Told by means of a documentary, media headlines, social media, YouTube videos, diary and a (I want to say) biography. There are no real scene setting chapters you might see in a traditional book. I praise L.C North for the way this book is written, as I said it's different and refreshing. The subject matter is fairly clever too. I saw aspects of the #savebritney movement (For those who followed the Britney Spears story), but also a hint of big A List stars and what they deal with from the media and journalists, plus their businesses (Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Baby spring to mind). I think if I came away from anything with this book it's that it's made me think. How does not the fame, but the attention (Good and bad) effect someone of that stature? Effect their mental health or their physical health?

This book follows the story of Melanie Lange. I don't really want to tell you more than that, it's about her life from a teenager through fame and how she was perceived. It's about family, businesses, love and children. There is some love in this book, but a lot of hate, jealousy and confusion. Confusion because who was right in their actions? Peter Lange (Melanie's father) or Melanie herself? This book will leave you with on question at the end and I liked that as it leaves it open for the reader to decide. Honestly I'm not sure who I chose at the end, Melanie probably. On a side note can I just say I hated that Peter called Melanie, Mellie. As another Melanie (Mostly a Mel) I'd have had issues with my father too if he called me that!!

This book was EXTREMELY hard to put down as you have to keep reading to find out what has happened to Melanie. I felt for her on so many occasions. Was Nell to be trusted? Did Finn really have her best interested at heart? Was Zara as bad as she sounded? And Peter... Well don't even get me started with him. But when you are told a story from so many points of view you start to see things, make conclusions. Like I said, this book will make you think.

I highly rate this book. It's a good mystery, some general fiction too. It'll appeal to those who have grown up watching those A Listers stars and seeing all the headlines. Having that 'teenage role model' who you wanted to dress like, be like, maybe even be that person. A solid 4 stars, this is probably the hardest book I've had to review as I just don't want to give a thing away.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for this advance readers copy in exchange of an honest review.

Social media star, businesswoman, and ex-model Melanie Lange has disappeared. Fans have been told that it is for a mental health break, but as the months go by with no contact from her, Melanie's friends are getting worried for her safety.
Her father Peter Lange is a multi-millionaire and owns a hotel chain. He is overprotective of his daughter after she went 'off the rails' a little in her younger days, and decides that he will lock her in his newly acquired beach house for her own 'safety'.
However, all is not what it seems, and Melanie finds herself living a daily nightmare, where she has no contact with the outside world, or with her two young sons. She is often shackled, and is given minimum food and water to live on. She is also drugged a lot of the time 'for her own good' as Peter would think.
Will she ever be allowed to leave?
Melanie's fans are divided, is Peter really trying to keep his daughter safe, or is her keeping her prisoner?
The story is told via interviews with Peter, and Melanie's friends. Who will YOU believe?
This shows the dark side of social media, and the torment that it can inflict on people who are in the limelight.
A great read.

'the ugly truth' is a compelling story which takes a deep dive into the dark side of fame.it is formatted by intertwining a netflix documentary transcript and tweets to create an engaging atmosphere and a fast paced read.
Highly recommend

This is one of the better books I’ve read about the nasty side of social media and the media. Told through a Netflix documentary, Tweets, blog posts and unpublished interviews, The Ugly Truth is a horrific story about the ugly consequences of constant hounding by the tabloids, paparazzi and Twitter trolls.
Ex-model and social media darling Melanie Lange disappears, supposedly to take a mental health break. Everyone knows, however, that she’d never voluntarily leave her young sons for so long. Soon her fans and friends worry about what has happened to her.
It’s difficult to know just who is telling the truth. Is her father loving and concerned? Or is he a deluded control freak? Is Mel really being kept prisoner, or is this simply a publicity stunt? And what of her best friend Nel? Is she a trustworthy narrator? Or a lying con artist responsible for all Mel’s woes?
This is a fast-paced, easy-to-read mystery which is also a real indictment of how celebrities are harassed today. It appearance, soon after the release of the Netflix series on Harry and Meghan, is timely. It’s hard to put down – and made me very relieved I’m not in the limelight!

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the way it was written in the style of news stories, blogs and a documentary- i was hooked. The characters you great, it made you really hate the ones you were supposed to hate! I think it also portrayed the british media in a very true light!

Nobody has seen or heard from Influencer & mother of two Melanie Lange for months. Her PA, Nell, has posted a series of short videos that she received from Melanie shortly before she went off-grid - and they're fairly ominous, stating that Melanie has been essentially kidnapped and locked away in a remote house by her father, wealthy hotelier Peter Lange. As the conspiracies grow bigger and bigger, what is the actual truth?

Pieced together from snippets of tweets, gossip blogs, a Netflix documentary, Melanie's YouTube videos, testimonies from family & friends, and sessions between Peter & his ghost writer for his upcoming tell-all book, there's just one question: Are you team #SaveMelanie or #HelpPeter?

There's an obvious reason why I wanted to read this book (I'm only surprised that the title wasn't a Britney song) - and there's clear inspiration here. It's for that reason that I couldn't even begin to fathom the notion of being team Jam- I mean - team Peter - but this was well written, and romped along to a satisfactory finale.

At times I felt like there were almost too many voices to keep track of, but I'm sure it'll be easier to tell one from the other in the final edit, I was reading an unfinished proof.

One that will be talked about, no doubt!

Thank you to @penguinukbooks for the Netgalley approval.

What a great book. Was a different writing style to what I usually read and I really enjoyed it. It is told in my a few different characters who are getting interviewed for a upcoming documentary on the main character’s disappearance. I was really shocked by the ending was not expecting it. Will definitely be recommending this book.

Melanie Lang has disappeared and the online world is divided. Is her father protecting a troubled woman or is she being held against her will? Who will you believe…?
The concept of this book is great and I was excited to read it. I also thought the format was interesting, as told through tweets, a Netflix style documentary, YouTube videos and unpublished autobiography. However, from the blurb, I’d expected a dual narrative featuring two unreliable narrators with a big climax and reveal in the ending - which wasn’t quite the case. At times, the format written across multiple characters felt disjointed and slowed the pace of the story for me. The ending also felt a bit rushed and, as I had to push through the slower pace of the book, it didn’t quite pay off as much as I’d anticipated. While there were moments of the book I enjoyed, it sometimes felt more like a documentary on the dangers women face in the media than an absolutely thrilling crime read first, with a social message included, which is I was hoping for.
Huge thanks to the author, L. C. North, and publisher, Random House UK, for this advance review copy. Views my own. 3*

An interesting and enlightening read about the twisty nature of the Press.
A great read which keeps you turning the pages and wanting to read more, even though some of it is quite uncomfortable to read.
I will look out for more from this author in the future

The book is written as social media posts, interviews, diaries. In the beginning it was not easy to read but later I got used to the writing style and couldn't put the book down. The characters psychologically are well developed and unexpected ending. I liked that the author showed that money and fame doesn't make people automatically happy. Generally very good read. 4.5⭐

Although I made it through the whole book it would be disingenuous to say I enjoyed it. Whilst I feel there are some interesting ideas within it and the discourse on the effects of social media are relevant, the book felt quite superficial. It seems more suited to an older YA audience than as contemporary fiction and may find a strong audience there (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review).

I enjoyed this pacy little thriller. Great imaging around the more insidious side of celebrity, the lengths people will push themselves to, toxic media influences, building people up to break them down, coercive control. Kept me up reading it. Incredibly bleak at times. Surprising ending (in some ways).

Enjoyable.

This was an ok reaf for me , it took me
A while to get into it and whilst it wasn’t my usual choice i enjoyed it . Would look for more from this aithor

I really loved this book it was mind bending and I didn’t expect the ending at all…it really made me question what is the truth? There is always more than two truths and this book proves it. The way the story is told though emails, transcripts, Netflix clips is brilliant it’s unique and matches this story perfectly…nothing is real and nothing should be believed…this will make a big impact in 2023 get it on your TBR list NOW

Thanks for the ARC one my favourites from the many ARCs I have been lucky enough to read this year

I'm not a great fan of the fashion for books that mix tweets and interviews with multi-narrator formats and I started this book a bit irritated by the over-the-top offer of so many different sources. That said, once I got stuck in, I learned to live with it, and I'd almost go so far as to say the device worked quite well. I frequently moan about multi-narrator stories where the various voices are indistinguishable - but L.C.North has used different formats to differentiate the narrators really well. I had a particular soft spot for the two twin sisters who kept finishing each others sentences.

Melanie Lange is a character we won't find hard to recognise in multiple real-world characters. Finding early success as a model (I was thinking Kate Moss, though she's a lot older), as the daughter of a hotelier (think Paris Hilton), she got attention for her every move. We learn about the toxic power of the Paparazzi (think Jade Goody) and the unfiltered spite of Twitter and social media (think Caroline Flack and many others) and I'm writing just a couple of days after the release of Harry and Meghan's account of their lives in the spotlight. I wasn't overly sympathetic to them, but this book does remind us that even rich, beautiful, vastly over-privileged people can be hurt by the words of the press and keyboard warriors.

It's not a new theme. I've read several books already this year about the toxic power of social media, but this one combines an approach that's very much of its time with quite an interesting story about family and business and how far some people will go to control others.

What starts out as rather insubstantial fluff, matures as the book progresses to develop into a book with some strong themes and thought provoking messages.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

An interesting look at how the media and public treats celebrities, keeps you turning the pages until the very end

The Ugly Truth is an exploration of celebrity and the media and public's fascination with it.

Melanie is a character whose celebrity and its pitfalls is all too familiar with incidents and dramas that made me think of the Free Britney movement, the media's treatment of Caroline Flack, Cheryl Cole and a toilet attendant, and all those famous women who've been elevated high only to be knocked down.

This is a fascinating read for the most part and clever with it. The reader is being voyeuristic in reading private narratives and gleaning gossip from others in a novel that shows how social media and gossip is destructive.

Not so much a thriller as an expose and deep insight into the cult of celebrity.

I've read quite a few novels now about social media and influencers and the like and I think I'd rather take a job cleaning toilets than be an influencer. Melanie is a young woman who was talent spotted by a modelling agency at the age of 15 and who is thrust into the spotlight with her every move being documented. This is the story of how 19 years later she disappears. She claims she is being held prisoner by her controlling father, he claims she's in rehab.

The story is told through diary entries, transcripts of a Netflix documentary and an interview with her father etc and is thus a bit disjointed going backwards and forwards between different formats and past and present. The author however does a good job of keeping us on track and it doesn't get too confusing although the formatting at times doesn't help (not the author's fault!).

I expected more from this book. I think we are set up to believe that there are at least two unreliable narrators here, so I found the ending a little disappointing. There needed to be much more of a reveal and it all seemed a little rushed at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’ve read a few of this authors previous books (published under Lauren North) and really enjoyed them and when I saw The Ugly Truth and read the blurb I knew it would be something I would like.

Told through transcripts, interviews, podcasts, twitter and a Netflix document The Ugly Truth introduces us to Melanie (Mellie) Lange. An ex-model, business woman, mother, entrepreneur and influencer who has spent most of her life under the scrutiny of the press and media. When a video is uploaded to her YouTube channel showing Melanie claiming to have been kidnapped by her father and held against her will for the past 6 months Social Media literally implodes.

No-one has seen or heard from her in months, her best friend is frantic, her ex-husband is concerned and her 2 young boys are devastated, however her father Sir Peter Lange says she is fine – she’s safe in a hospital after having a mental breakdown. Who is telling the truth?

WOW.. I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved how the story is slowly unwrapped and revealed to the reader through different sources, reading the differing versions from the best friend, the father, the ex-husband, the friends, the followers, the public.

The Ugly Truth looks at the danger of social media, the downside of fame and how a pack mentality can make or break someone. Topical and relevant and thoroughly addictive I would definitely recommend this book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐