3.5 stars. This was a fun behind the scenes story of the life of a movie production assistant (and wannabe screenwriter) trying to find her way in Hollywood. The characters were fun but there were parts of the plot that felt thin (the instant “love” with production assistant Kai, the weird dynamics with coworker Saffron where the favoritism was clear but didn’t really serve the plot…) and the big drama of the piracy plot had a fairly anticlimactic resolution (oh, we found the guy? Sorry. Everyone knew it wasn’t you). Sweet and quite fun..

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

If you love the following tropes/ideas, you will adore this book:
1. 90s pop culture
2. Female writer/PA
3. Film industry dynamics
4. Found family
5. FBI
6. Y2K vibes

When I read the book, I devoured the entire book in less than 24 hours. Every second of my day I kept going back to this book to read it. Not only is this novel well done in its storyline and the development of the plot from beginning to end but also in its creation of each and every character.

As I read the novel, I felt as if I knew each character’s story, personality, and interactions with the lead character as if they were old friends to myself as the reader. Not only did I find the character development to be a strength in this novel but also I saw so many stories begin and resolve throughout the novel with ease and without rushing any plot line.

We met the lovely and talented Charity who is trying to become a professional screenwriter in the film industry. From working on a film set in Canada to being afford an opportunity to move to Hollywood, Charity sees stars. Following the motions of her job, Charity becomes tangled with love, new friends, scandals, and even the FBI!

I could not recommend this novel enough. I adore this author’s writing, the characters in this novel, and hope to see more in the future.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Christine Stringer for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished Charity Trickett is not that Glamorous by Christine Stringer and here are my thoughts.

It’s 1997 and Charity has gotten the job of a lifetime… Assistant to the director of the biggest movie of the year… The trouble is that life isn’t what she was expecting. The backstabbing and disaster love life is just the tip of the iceburg.. When a mistake costs the studio hundreds of millions of dollars and there is now an FBI investigation that could land her in jail… Charity knows she needs to keep her head down and change her fate.

You know this one started off strong. I was really drawn in, loved Charity and I was ready to be blown away and then fizzle…. It just started to drag. It was monotonal and the story didn’t seem to be going anywhere and I almost DNF’d it and then…BOOM it was like it came back online. I likened it to dialing… it was like waiting and waiting for the good stuff haha.

I loved the plot. Hollywood… The hustle and bustle.. The glitz.. Glamour and the darkness. It’s always great when you dive into a book where you don’t know much about how the setting works. I love movie set books. They always teach me something.

The writing was great when it was great and repetitive in the middle. It felt like someone else wrote the middle.. It was a weird feeling.

All in all I did like the characters and the story was interesting enough that I did enjoy it by the end.

3.75 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @sparkpress for my gifted copy.

I enjoyed this read so much!!! Charity Trickett is a delightful and relatable character, and I found myself rooting for her right from the start! She is striving to be a writer in the late 1990s film industry, and finds herself in several aggravating and absurd situations. The writing in this book is witty and vulnerable, and I found myself laughing out loud through it.

I definitely recommend this read for those who love a good women’s fiction and for those who have experienced troubles in the workplace! I found so many situations relational to my own life experiences, which made me feel connected to Charity.

This was such a fun read, and I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy for my bookshelf!

Set in the 1997 in Hollywood, I knew I’d like this book and I really did!

Charity Trickett is an assistant to a film director on a massive Hollywood blockbuster in a sexist, male dominated industry. She dreams of becoming a screenwriter or working her way up to producer and it looks like things are going well for her. With glamorous parties and socialising with the stars, her life looks pretty perfect but after struggling with the co worker from hell and making a mistake that changes everything, her dreams start crashing around her. Will Charity be able to work her way through the ruins of her career or will this be the end of her Hollywood dream?

Charity is such a likeable character. At first, I wasn’t sure if she’d be portrayed and the clumsy girl next door who would annoy me a bit but she really wasn’t. She was strong willed and worked for what she wanted. Even when everything goes wrong and others would just go into hiding, she carried on and faced some pretty horrible people. Although I wish she had stood up more to Saffron (what an epic cow) and said no more when it came to doing tasks outside of her job role, I understand that in some careers it’s best to not speak up.

I loved the relationships in this book - both friendships and romantic. I liked the dynamics between Charity and Daniel (I kind of wanted them to end up together) and the slow burn relationship with Kai.

Overall, this book was so enjoyable to read, I was invested in the characters and enjoyed hating on the bad guys. I’d recommend this and seek out more books from this author!

The moment I saw “for Bridget Jones fans,” I was in and this book did not disappoint. It was such a fun, chaotic, heartfelt ride, and I had the best time reading it.

Set in 1997 Hollywood, it perfectly captures that behind-the-scenes madness of the film industry, with all the glamour, mess, and emotional meltdowns you could hope for. Charity is an absolute delight, charming, determined, constantly on the edge of disaster but always holding on to her dream. I laughed, I cringed (in the best way), and I was 100% rooting for her through every wild twist.

It’s full of heart and hilarity, with just the right amount of real emotion underneath all the madness. Huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC! This was such a joyful, escapist read and exactly what I needed.

3.75⭐️ rounded up
I found myself liking the supporting characters more than Charity in some spots, but overall thought this was a good story about a writer paying her dues as an assistant and trying to make it in Hollywood. The resilience of her character comes through, as well as a dose of comedy sprinkled throughout.
Things I didn’t love: some of the transitions / changes in scene are sudden or not as clear as they could be to create a more cohesive storyline for the reader.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed reading Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous by Christine Stringer. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Charity might not be glamorous, but she’s pretty good @ what she does. She thinks landing a great job in LA will be a stepping stone to her dream career as a script writer, but reality definitely rears its ugly head.
This is a fun read. It was impossible not to root for Charity as she learns the ropes. Lots of interesting side characters, friends & foes. One of my college roommates worked 20+ years in Hollywood production. She’s told me some interesting stories. I actually wondered why the story was set in the late 90s, but it made sense when I read the author’s bio. I do remember the days of doing business w/pagers, less security cameras, & DVDs.
Thanks to the author & publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy via NetGalley. Would definitely read the author’s work again.

📖 Book Review 📖 Nothing in life is as glamorous as it seems from the outside looking in. Charity Trickett has the opportunity of a lifetime to work in Hollywood as an assistant in the film industry but it does not take her long to realize the seedy underbelly of this famed city. Charity might have bad luck following her; but her dreams are big, and her ambition and drive are even bigger. Christine Stringer brings us back to the shiny silver era of the 1990’s, where all the cool peeps had pagers (I did not) and Beanie Babies were going to be our retirement savings. I’d trade an original Tamagotchi to be back in the 90’s right now amidst the chaos of the world but for right now, I’ll happily settle for this escape from reality in Charity Trickett Is So Not Glamorous.

I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Thank you NetGalley and SparkPress for this ARC!

This was one of my first dives into women’s fiction and it did not disappoint. It was a bit slow to get into it, but the MC made me want to keep rooting for her. The 90s references and chapter titles gave me so much nostalgia and love for the background setting of this book. This was a fun debut and I’m looking forward to keep branching outside of my regular genres and read more of this now.

Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous is an entertaining book that shows the ups and downs of a woman who, when she is on her way to achieving her goal of becoming a publicist in the entertainment field finds out it may not be quite as glamorous as expected. The novel is entertaining with a fun cast of characters, some of whom it seems may not be as trustworthy as they appear. The book would make a great beach read.

“Charity Trickett Is Not so Glamorous” by Christine Stringer was such a cute book! I feel in love with Charity’s character and enjoyed the dialogue of the characters. I loved the office drama too! I was thrilled to find out two other books are coming out in this series and I can’t wait to read those!

My thanks to NetGalley and SparksPress/BookSparks for the ARC of "Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous" in exchange for an honest review.

What a juicy plunge into behind-the-scenes Hollywood filmmaking and dealmaking. It's a La La Land world of preening egos, conniving backstabbers, and striving, talented young hopefuls, gasping and grasping for the golden ticket to fame, fortune and a three picture deal.

Having toiled as a studio production assistant herself, you can tell from the storytelling that author Christine Stringer knows her subject all too well.......and lays out her depiction of the film business with unerring, take-no=prisoners wit.

At the roiling center of this asylum run by the inmates (around 1997) is Canadian production assistant and aspiring screenwriter Charity Trickett. She's now settled in Hollywood to help an up=and-coming director finish post production on the studio's next box office blockbuster. Charity's Gal Friday efficiency may work wonders on a movie set, but navigating the jungles of studio politics exhausts and confounds her. She's stuck in a toxic 'Devil Wears Prada' duel with Saffron, a so-called 'Associate Producer' who ruthlessly pursues her own agenda while sabotaging Charity at every opportunity.

Charity's fortunes (and hopes for making a deal for her own script) take a catastrophic turn for the worse - a terrible unforeseen misstep makes her a scorned pariah in the industry and puts her in the crosshairs of an FBI investigation.

Can Charity find romance, restore her good name, stay out of the slammer and get her script into production? Hey, it's Hollywood where anything can happen and that's the fun this book delivers on every page. You'll find yourself cheering her on as she encounters, outwits and fends off more topsy-turvy characters than Alice ever found through the looking glass.

For anyone who loves an insider's peek behind the mad, mad world of film showbiz, consider this one a must. ;Make a "Let's do lunch, baby, mean it sincerely" date with Charity ASAP.

Thank you Netgalley and Sparkle Press for my ARC copy.
Charity Trickett is not so Glamorous is a quirky, fun look into 90s era Hollywood. Charity is an assistant to a Hollywood big wig. Her dreams of breaking into the movie industry being fulfilled. Well until this happens, then that happens, then she's crying, but that's not near as bad as the FBI investigation.
Charity finds that her dream boss, isn't so dreamy. Her co-worker is more women fight each other to the top rather than raising one another up. Hollywood is a boy's club & has no interest in her dreams. Her decision making isn't super stellar, but her friends are truly the best.
The read is fun and Charity is a great character. Daniel is a good bestie and I enjoyed his character. The rest of the supporting characters weren't fully developed to me and there were several areas the were a little slow for me & I caught myself skimming those.
There's some romance, but this is truly a story of a girl with a dream & no matter what the world throws at her, she will not give up (though she is rather emotional about it).
Overall, a good debut novel. A quick, easy read for a girl with a dream.

This was a fun, quick read that I enjoyed! While it did take me a few chapters to fully get into it, I thought it was a fun time and I loved our FMC Charity. Her personality is ultimately what hooked me and the plot was so interesting and unique in my opinion. Definitely a fun read if anyone is hesitant on picking this one up.

A fun and fluffy — but addictive — book! Charity, our protagonist, is a mess: her boyfriend cheated on her, she’s moving to LA broke for her new job, her job spirals out of control…and all of a sudden she’s under investigation by the FBI? A main character who is immediately likable, and who readers will undoubtedly root for.

I loved that this book written about an assistant in the film industry investigated by the FBI is written by a former assistant in the film industry who was investigated by the FBI. And frankly, once the investigation started, I couldn’t put this book down until I knew what happened.

Some parts of the book, though, didn’t quite convince me. Nearly all of Charity’s friendships and her love interest felt so underdeveloped (and some of them far-fetched) and lacking in meaning to me that I suspected every single one of them was the one who landed her in hot water with the FBI.

Ultimately: a fun way to spend a few hours; but not necessarily a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I have mixed feelings on the book.
I likes charitys character - she was a fun, goal driven girl..
But the storyline was just okay. I liked the 90s references but as a whole I lost interest and just read along hoping it would get better

Thank you SparkPress, NetGalley and author Christine Stringer for the advanced e-book copy for an opportunity to review. All opinions are my own.

Charity is a fantastic, relatable main character with early career drive and energy. Set in 1990’s Hollywood, this book is filled with fantastic pop-culture references any GenX reader or fan of that decade will get a kick out of. The first 2/3 of the book, I didn’t want to put it down. The Nellie Olsen (Little House on the Prairie) sabotaging energy the character Saffron brought was captivating!

***SLIGHT SPOILER HERE***I was just waiting for her to get caught or get her due…but she doesn’t. ***END OF SPOILER***

And the last 1/3 of the story went in a different direction that lowered my interest level. The story seemed to hop around a bit at the end, but wrapped up nicely with strong friendship / found family vibes.

Overall, a fun summer read with some laugh out loud moments. This was a 3.75/5 read for me - fun, interesting, just a little inconsistent toward the end.