Book Review: How to Get Ahead in Television by Sophie Cousens

Blurb: Poppy Penfold desperately wants a career in television. After months of dead-end applications, she gets her big break with a temporary job as a runner for RealiTV. But to land a permanent role, Poppy will need to go head-to-head with fellow runner Rhidian: arrogant, highly competitive - and ridiculously good looking.

Poppy goes all out to impress, but somehow things don't go to plan. Whether failing to prevent a washed-up soap star from becoming roaring drunk during Scottish game show Last Clan Standing, or managing to scare the horses during the filming of Strictly Come Prancing, Poppy gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. With highly strung presenters and distractingly handsome producers in the mix, it's Poppy's determination that will see her win or lose her dream job, and maybe her dream man too...

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: I always love reading debuts because you never know what to expect but sometimes it surprises you greatly. And this is the case of How to Get Ahead in Television. I haven't laughed that much reading a book in a while. What a fantastic read! I loved everything from this book. I found the idea of dividing it in 50 Steps (instead of chapters) of what you should do to find a job and make it in television so clever! Some of the steps were just hilarious.

And Poppy, our heroine, was like a breath of fresh air. She was down to earth and naive enough to make you like her and root for her. But her perseverance to follow her dream was admirable. I'm quite sure I'm not tough enough to make it in television! Seriously, I loved reading about what is going on behind the scenes. You always imagine some of the "reality" is staged but you never know how far they are ready to go to make a show work. 

Sophie Cousens creates some fictional programs and formats during the story and even if some were just (hilariously) absurd, some others were not that far fetched. I'm sure some tv person will get some interesting ideas from this story! But really, they all transported you to the crazy world of the telly.

As I said, Poppy was a fantastic character but let's not forget about the other ones. Starting with her mother. What a crazy lady. But you could tell she just wanted the best for her daughters. Then there was gorgeous Rhidian. He had me confused a little at the beginning as he is competing with Poppy for the same job in TV but as the story progressed and we saw more of him, I started to like him (a lot). And then there's a whole cast of secondary characters, from sexy but bossy producers, envious co-workers, friends with crazy ideas and acquaintances with sensible jobs that make this story just perfect. Really worth a read.

How to Get Ahead in Television is crazyly fantastic. Sophie's style is witty and fast paced and the lol moments are non-stop! 

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