Monday 4 January 2016

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

Amazon UK
Title: How to Get Ahead in Television
Author: Sophie Cousens
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Publisher supplied review copy
Publisher: Corvus Books
Publication Date: 3rd September 2015
Rating: 5 Stars


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...

After reading a few frankly mediocre, uninspiring books, and then abandoning something else at lunchtime, I was definitely in the mood for something that may lift my mood and entertain me, and in picking to read How to Get Ahead in Television, I knew within the first few pages that I was definitely getting that sort of book. 

The list of chapter titles initially worried me slightly as it makes it sound as though this is a How To - self help style book, but I can assure you it isn't, although if you do really want to work in TV, this could be almost a how not to go about it guide. 

Poppy Penfold is a brilliant character, she really wants to work in television, despite her nagging, and funny mother giving all sorts advice against a media career. Poppy finally gets a chance as a runner for RealiTV. However its a temporary contract, and she is in competitions with a gorgeous man who seems to be very competitive. At the end of the temporary contract one of them will land a proper one year contract. 

I loved the whole set up at RealiTV, and although I'm not a huge fan of watching reality TV, the behind the scenes goings on, are a lot more entertaining. Poppy encounters all sorts of programme formats, and situations where is something could go wrong, it probably will, and that Poppy will be at the heart of it. 

Poppy doesn't have a huge amount of luck with men either, and again some of the scrapes she gets into a completely hilarious. 

How to Get Ahead in Television, is such a hilarious book, that has kept me reading while grinning like an idiot the whole way through. As Sophie Cousens has worked in television, you can tell that most of the scenarios are based most probably on real life occurrences, and as such, are believable and not unrealistic. 

I love the voice of this book, as well as the host of characters at RealiTV, including the various producers, and star hosts of the shows. There is also a look at just how some shows are manipulated, just to increase viewing figures, which I suspect goes on the whole time in the industry. 

I'm not sure I can explain just how much I enjoyed reading this book, and think its a fabulous debut from Sophie Cousens. I would love to see a sequel, just to see how things progress even more, as I really wasn't ready for the story to end and to say goodbye to Poppy. 

Thank you so much Corvus Books and Sophie Cousens for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 


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