This book was chaotic and wonderful from start to finish! I was hooked from the very beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. The story takes place in the 1990s and the author did a wonderful job bringing you back to that time. The plot also really tapped into the struggle that so many face in their quest to make a big name for themselves. If all women’s fiction was written as compellingly as this book then I would read more of this genre! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who finds the film industry and Hollywood in general intriguing. Or to anyone who just wants a fun read!

*Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous* was a fun, fast-paced read that surprised me in all the right ways. On the surface, it’s light and witty, but there’s also a quiet depth to the way Charity’s story unfolds. She’s not your typical leading character—awkward, overlooked, and a bit cynical—but that’s exactly what makes her so relatable and endearing. Watching her navigate life’s little messes, and some bigger ones too, kept me turning the pages.

The humor is smart and subtle, never over-the-top, and the writing has a breezy quality that made this easy to get through in just a couple of sittings. I also appreciated that the book didn’t try too hard to be "quirky"—it let Charity’s personality shine through naturally. The supporting characters added some nice color without overshadowing her journey.

While it doesn’t dive too deeply into any one theme, it offers enough emotional insight to feel meaningful. If you're in the mood for something light but not shallow, (and 90’s themed!) with a main character who feels like she could be your best friend (or maybe even you on an off day), this one is worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place in late 90s LA, where Charity Trickett becomes an assistant to one of Hollywood's movie producers.

This was such a fun read. The first 10% was slow, and I considered DNFing it, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Once the story got going, I found myself needing to read "just one more chapter" because I just had to know what happened next.


4 stars

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous.

While I appreciated the chance to follow Charity’s journey and admired her tenacity, I found that the pacing of the story made it difficult to stay fully engaged. The main conflict or turning point didn’t arrive until well past the halfway mark—around 70% in—which made the narrative feel drawn out. Some storylines lingered longer than necessary, impacting the momentum of the book.

Charity herself is a character with strength and potential, and her resilience in the face of adversity, especially regarding the Canopy situation, is commendable. However, the resolution felt uneven and left her character arc feeling a bit flat by the end.

Overall, while there were meaningful elements and themes worth noting, the story lacked the balance and pacing needed to deliver a truly compelling experience.

I read this through netgalley so good love the 90s references in here, the chapter headings are amazing, and it just felt like a cheesy 90s comedy. I definitely would recommend this book. Charity is funny but also sweet and serious. Kai is a magnificent love interest. And I love the whole atmosphere of canopy studios and break room sounds like it would be a great 90s movie in real life

90s/Y2k vibes i absolutely ate this up. It made me laugh and smile. The whole plot and setting in Hollywood was immaculate. For my girls who loved legally blonde this is it 🥹 such a good read

Set in the late 1990’s, this is an epic workplace women’s fiction book, based on true events. Charity aspires to be a movie writer and gets a gig working for a director at a Hollywood studio. This book was so unhinged in the best way. Charity puts up with sooooo much BS at her Hollywood job, and is pushed to the brink of insanity. I think anyone who is under appreciated at work will relate to this. The drama felt so real and I kept relating it to things that have happened to me at work (both prior and current job). I felt so bad for her! There are several characters you will hate (looking at you, Saffron!!). Thankfully she has close friends who help her along the way. And while the romance is secondary in this book, I loved that too. Definitely recommend this one!

💗 “No logical person has a handful of encounters with another person and thinks they’re in love.”

💗 “Where do I go to break down in private?”

(will add to my instagram a bit closer to pub date!)

Sharp, heartfelt, and full of Hollywood grit, this story captures the highs and lows of chasing big dreams in a city built on illusion. Charity Trickett is a lovable underdog you’ll root for through every twist, misstep, and moment of triumph. A smart, satisfying read about ambition, friendship, and finding your place in the chaos.

Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous, follows the story of Charity as she moves from Vancouver to Los Angeles (Hollywood) to follow her dreams of working in the film industry.

This story is thought provoking and I found it really interesting.

The start did feel like it was dragging on for a little bit, but then it got interesting and I struggled to put the book down.

The way the Author tells the story of Charity is inspiring, as she also had a personal experience similar to the book that she wrote.

It also included themes about misogyny in the film industry, and how it was a very male influenced industry and how Charity wanted that to change.

If you love reading books about Hollywood and all the things that are involved in creating a movie and bringing it to the screen you will love this story.

Overall I’m happy that I was given the opportunity to read this eARC.

fun and vibey debut novel with awesome characterization and plotting and some really strong themes. would definitely recommend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Loved it! Fun and glamorous. And the 90's vibe was real. Based on a true story, Author Christine Stringer’s Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous is a hilarious insider’s look at not only the fun and fabulous of fame and wealth, but also the jealousy and elitism that accompanies all that prestige.

It’s 1997, and Charity accepts an offer to work in glamorous Hollywood as the assistant to an L.A. director while his upcoming blockbuster is set to hit movie theaters soon. She’s sure the connections and experience she’ll gain will catapult her producing and screenwriting ambitions, but she learns it’s not all glitz and glamour. From backstabbing employees to a million dollar mistake the FBI is now investigating, Charity must figure out who she can trust, how to avoid jail, and whether she’ll ever work in Hollywood again.

Thank you for the ARC @netgalley and @gosparkpress. Opinions are my own.

I saw the blurb for Bridget Jones fans and was like I am in!

I loved the writing style, it was so easy to follow and you feel like you are sitting in the office building with Charity, Casper and Saffron in LA, watching the office politics of the ‘90s film industry.

I got The Devil Wears Prada vibes with the relationship with Saffron and FMC Charity. Saffron as a character mad me so angry (in a good way), she was so manipulative and back stabbing. She was written so well that you just wanted to get back at her for being so jealous and petty! Casper fed into that with his wishy washy favoriting them. I think when an author can make you hate a character without making them do truly bad/evil things, bravo!

And then her hunky coworker is just the most stellar guy! Very closed door romance, but just the sweet solid guy to counter balance the jerks in the side characters that you can imagine in Hollywood life.

And then at about the 95% mark, I started crying, I felt so connected and rooting for Charity that when she is finally broke and broken and is going to give up it was like noooo!

5 stars for evoking such emotions! This is not the great American novel, but something you could see as a movie with a young Reese Witherspoon in.

i just loved this book!! charity is such a loveable character, i was rooting for her the whole time and she just felt so down to earth and real. i also loved (almost) all the side characters! all the ones you were supposed to love anyway lol
loooove the fact that all the chapters were 90s pop culture references, so fun!
honestly i just enjoyed this book so much, such a great story and i love that it’s based on the true story of what actually happened to the author as well!

thank you to netgalley and spark point for this ARC!!!

Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous by Christine Stringer is a funny, honest take on chasing big dreams in Hollywood. It follows Charity, a screenwriter hopeful who moves to LA in the '90s, thinking she can write her way to success.

Instead, she’s met with rejection, sleazy industry types, and one setback after another. The book is packed with awkward moments, painfully real truths, and just enough hope to keep her going.

While it’s relatable and heartfelt, the ending feels a bit underwhelming, Charity endures it all gracefully but doesn’t really get the justice she deserves. She ends up happy, sure, but it’s more of a quiet survival than a triumphant win. I wanted her to prove them wrong, not just cope.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this novel.

This was a very fun light read. Set in the 1990’s it was giving a fun comedy with over the top drama and loving friendships. Charity was a relatable character with an exciting personality that made you want to root for her. I love how it kind of threw you in to her story with no prior knowledge of her previous experiences. Going in to a busy movie set with our main character playing cards with Blake and Daniel or meeting Kai for the first time as a reader.

I do wish it was longer. I wanted to see how her story continues but it felt like a proper movie ending to me.

I loved this book.
The plot is tightly written, no loop holes, no superfluous characters or scenes. I like that in a book. I feel like this is the kind of book I want to read over and over. So, I will definitely be checking out anything Stringer writes from here on out.
We find Charity moving up in the movie business, moving from Vancouver to work in LA. Stringer obviously has first-hand knowledge of what goes on in Tinseltown and it's not so glamorous, but we know that as an audience. What makes this book so good is that Charity finds some good eggs, just like her. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop; for her and for there to be more villains, and I was pleasantly surprised that I could just enjoy these characters.
The only thing I would say is I felt the ending could have given me more. I like the feeling of optimism at the end, but I could have used 5-10 more pages to tie it all together. Regardless, this is a great novel by a Canadian writer and I very much look forward to more from her!

I really wanted to like this one. It is pitched as a perfect read for Bridget Jones fans and promised a behind-the-scenes, chaotic romp through 1990s Hollywood. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the first few chapters. The writing felt disjointed, and the plot was hard to follow. Charity came across as too chaotic for me to connect with or root for.

It's unclear at first that the story is set in the 90s, and even once I figured that out, the references didn't feel era-appropriate. There were confusing anachronisms, like pagers and voicemail services mentioned alongside texting, which pulled me out of the story. The tone also didn't capture that nostalgic or 90s vibe I was expecting.

If this is supposed to be based on real life, I can respect the effort, but maybe Charity's Hollywood dreams were delayed because the narrative lacks the focus and depth needed to make readers care. This one just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and SparkPress for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sparkpress for the ARC!

I absolutely loved the first half of this— I could picture in my head like a movie, bright fun colours, and a larger than life heroine looking to make it big. I was invested and I wanted to know how Charity was going to make her dreams come true. However, the pacing fell off for me in the second half— too much time was spent lamenting doing grunt work and the stolen DVD, and then everything wrapped up too quickly in just a few pages. I understand why the author wanted Charity to experience hardship and have to fight for her place, but it really took the shine and sparkle away from the first half of the book-- which was one of the best parts!

Overall, I enjoyed myself but wanted more of the fun vibes from the first half throughout.

Charity Trickett is a little too chaotic for me. The storyline was hard to follow & really hoped the audience knew how Hollywood movie production worked. From what I understand, this is loosely based on the author’s lived experience which may be why some parts were much more detailed than others. Overall, I think it needs a little more refining & likely wouldn’t recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and Sparkpress for the copy - all opinions are my own.

Quirky and funny with a great '90s vibe, but a bit of a mixed bag. The story moves at a fast pace, yet somehow still feels a little slow at times—like things are happening quickly, but not always with much impact. I really loved the nostalgic '90s theme, which added a lot of charm. Some parts felt a bit too outlandish or unrelatable to me, but overall, it’s an entertaining and offbeat read if you're in the mood for something different.

3.5 Stars
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC