India, Aug. 20 -- It sets out to be a witty, heartfelt, layered romance with themes of grief, healing, and forgiveness. But, instead it turns out to be a tired checklist of romcom tropes like enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, second chance, grand gestures, and countless callbacks. The premise of the book, Bad Publicity - a publicist forced to work with an author who wronged her years ago - has promise, however, falters in its execution.

Andie, the protagonist, is a self-centred person who never looks beyond her nose as she is wrapped up in her sulky bitterness. Jack, a gorgeous historian-turned-fiction writer, is a manic pixie dream boy who desperately craves a redemption arc but feels like a cardboard cutout. Most damningly for a rom...