Loved this - the narrative is clever and perfectly balanced between the two timelines. Smart, funny, glam - could't put it down.

Becky is a sensational, fun and gripping romp through 90's tabloid culture that has you hooked from the very first page.

This one just wasnt for me.
I enjoyed the writing style and did enjoy the chapters about Becky's past but the storyline just didnt grab me, just down to personal taste.

"Becky" by Sarah May is set in 90s tabloid-era London, following the rise and fall of a cunning protagonist who maneuvers her way into the high society of tabloid millionaires, royalty, and aristocracy. The story revolves around Becky's ascent through the ranks at the Mercury newspaper, employing manipulative tactics to secure one scandalous scoop after another, eventually leading to her own dramatic downfall. While touted as a viciously funny and darkly entertaining read, I found it to be quite the opposite.

The novel attempts to capture the spirit of the much-loved classic, "Vanity Fair," within the context of 90s London, but it fails to deliver a compelling narrative. Despite the promise of exploring some of the biggest news stories and scandals of the past few decades, Becky's involvement in these events feels contrived and forced.

The dark humor that is supposed to be a highlight of the book often falls flat, lacking the sharp wit and cleverness I anticipated. Instead, the narrative tries too hard to be biting and satirical, resulting in forced comedic moments that didn't resonate with me.

The characters, including the protagonist herself, lack depth and fail to elicit any genuine emotional connection. Becky's manipulative and self-serving nature becomes tiresome and uninteresting as the story progresses. The supporting cast, meant to add color and intrigue, remain one-dimensional and fail to leave a lasting impression.

Although the premise of a modern-day Vanity Fair set in 90s London holds promise, the execution falls short. The pacing is uneven, with moments of sluggishness and an overall lack of narrative cohesion. The attempts to mirror the themes and charm of Curtis Sittenfeld's "Eligible" were largely unsuccessful, leaving me disappointed and disengaged.

Ultimately, "Becky" is simply not a book that resonated with me. The combination of lackluster characters, forced humor, and a disjointed narrative prevented me from fully immersing myself in the story. While it may find an audience among readers with a particular interest in 90s tabloid culture, it failed to capture my attention or appreciation.

A very powerful book. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about her life and how she survived after her childhood and how she strived for what she wanted and worked to get it.

How can a book cover say so much about the story inside and yet still leave so much for the reader to discover? Of course, one quick look at this book tells you that it follows a woman involved in a series of scandals but the severity and the capacity to which she’s involved are still a mystery. Then you start reading.

In 1990s London, Becky Sharp is a high-flying tabloid journalist and close friend of the upper echelons of British society. She seems to be miraculously always there when a big news story breaks and her stack of exclusives catapults her up the ranks of the Mercury newspaper. But it can’t last forever and what goes up must surely come down at some point.

We know that Becky is an incredibly unreliable, untrustworthy narrator from the beginning of the book. She is a very unique voice and I really wish that more novels centred ruthless, manipulative female characters like her because it was a refreshing change from the usual bitchy/sassy girl with a heart of gold that fiction often presents us with. Armed with the knowledge that we know that Becky is about to do some terrible things, we go into the book waiting for the manipulation and scandal to unravel.

Becky’s mother is dead at the start of the book, so we don’t see much of her but we do know that her personality was pretty much the opposite of her daughter’s. However, it leaves the question of the origin of Becky’s serpentine, cold-hearted aura. At the risk of casting a halo effect on myself, I have very little in common with Becky and I don’t think I’ve ever said that about a female journalist because well, I was once one of those too. So, it was hard for me to connect to her and really care about her story.

Becky is ashamed of her humble beginnings and therefore claims to have attended the prestigious, fee-paying school Chilston House, where her mother was a cleaner and where Becky spent time having illicit piano lessons. The school becomes relevant to Becky’s life again later on in the book and for me, this was the only part of the novel where I was genuinely gripped by what was going on. It involves a missing girl and Becky once again lying to get information but I would have loved a whole book about this case much more!

There is also a part which touches on the realities for women moving and mixing in male-dominated media circles. This book is set in a time and place where men hold strong views about what women should be doing and how they should behave. Of course, Becky only cares about herself and getting other people to like and accept her, so she is well aware of what she needs to do to achieve that. She changes herself to fit in with the men, which is something that many women did in order to live a quiet life. Becky does it to propel her career, which is perhaps one of her only admirable qualities.

Becky is a book about a fiercely ambitious woman who is desperate to escape her past and will stop at nothing to do that. I remember the infamous News of the World phone hacking scandal from the mid 2000s and further research into the life of a key player in that incident, Rebekah Brooks confirms that of course, Becky is based on Rebekah. I’m afraid I did lose interest around the halfway mark because I didn’t care about Becky’s affairs or private life. It picked up when news of a missing girl broke and I tuned back in during that investigation but by the end, it had waned again. I’m sure it’s a great read for people who love irredeemable people and severe, chaotic corruption but for me, it was far too long!

I was sold on this when I was told it was a reimagining of Vanity Fair. Love the cover of the book too

This book was a great step back into the 90's. The story centred on a journalist called Becky who wants to work her way to the top. The story has flashbacks to her childhood and we begin to understand more of the character.
A quick read which centred on events of the time.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

4.5⭐️

Becky is a retelling of Vanity Fair - which I haven’t read - so I only really know what other people have said about it, really. Regardless of my lack of background knowledge, I can safely say that you will be able to enjoy this novel without any Regency or Victorian novel reading background.

I tore through this. When you realise that for the meteoric rise of the main character, Becky, there will be a plummet, it’s a case of morbid fascination!

And like the original, this is a story without a hero. None of the men are particularly “dashing”, or nice, in fact. Becky isn’t a likeable character either. She knows what she wants, and will do anything in the dirty world of tabloid “news” to get it.

I couldn’t stop reading this, and I closed the book after the last page thinking: “Well THAT was a good job!”

So hopefully I haven’t given too much away, and if you’ve read any of my other reviews, you’ll know that I love to hate a character, and Becky has this particular trait in spades!
It’s a cracking read!

Becky Sharp is determined. Determined to get away from the dead-end town where she grew up, determined to make a place for herself in high society and determined to reach the top of the career ladder. And she doesn’t care how many lives she ruins in the process.

Set in 90s tabloid era London, Becky charts the rise and fall of a very modern heroine as she inveigles her way into the highest society, where tabloid millionaires mingle and trade favours and fortunes with royalty and aristocracy, pushes her way up through the ranks at the Mercury newspaper with manipulative scoop after scoop, and eventually orchestrates her own dramatic downfall. These are some of the biggest news stories and scandals of the last few decades, and Becky seems to have something to do with every one of them . .

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

An interesting read. Becky Sharpe whose character is based on the novel Vanity fair comes from a broken childhood and is determined to make something of herself. Starting life as nanny and quickly makes her way up to being an editor of a large newspaper. The story is told in different time frames which gel together well but she is not someone you can warm to and as we see the ruthlessness that journalism has become it was quite a difficult read at times.

Loved the 90s inclusions in this clever read - Becky was certainly not going to let past circumstances dictate how she lived her life or sashayed into her future. A really insightful retelling of Vanity Fair.

This wasn't a book for me! I haven't read Vanity Fair so I felt a bit lost, as well as not living in the UK when the scandal this is based on happened. Just not for me.

I haven't ever read Vanity Fair so can't comment on if the comparison is accurate. However, I loved Becky and her sassy attitude. I really enjoyed the storyline.

I really enjoyed this story. Whilst Becky Sharp was not entirely likeable I couldn't help but want to see her succeed. She was ruthless, ballsy and absolutely addictive. The nods to Vanity Fair are done brilliantly but the modern twist gives it a fresh edge. A great read that shows the harsh and gritty world of being a female journalist.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to read and review.

I did not finish this book sadly. It just fell flat and did not have the best storyline. I have not read the original Vanity Fair so had nothing to compare it to. It could have been a better book with more characterisation but this one was definitely not for me.

I was intrigued by the concept of Becky which is a reworking of Vanity Fair and also based on a certain tabloid editor. Becky Sharp is a journalist and the novel follows her from the 1990s to 2010 through her rise through the newspaper industry. I found Becky to be a very challenging character to warm to and was often confused by the narrative and the number of characters. However, it was a fairly entertaining read and I enjoyed the relationships and the variety of news stories covered.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

When I read the synopsis for this I was sure I’d love it, 90s London setting , set in the media world , scandal , gossip …. It ticked all the right boxes , but I got half way and was just bored .

It jumps back and forth a lot without any continuous flow and there just didn’t seem to be much going on . The characters weren’t very exciting and it all sadly just fell too flat . I feel it may be something that would work better on screen .

I could not put this down. Rebecca ‘Becky’ Sharp wasn’t given dealt with the best upbringing but this didn’t stop her from aiming high!

The book jumps from her past to now. I was hooked with this book and could not put it down.

I read this book without reading any reviews so I had no idea until I finished it that is based of a previous story.

If you enjoy twists, turns and a little bit dark this novel is for you

I struggled with the book and found that it jumped around quite considerably so I was not always clear what was happening now or what was a flashback, The premise was intriguing but did not quite hit the mark for me,

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this book for me to read.