I find myself in the minority of this book. For me, I found this one quite slow going. Based on Vanity Fair, I found myself skim reading some pages.

Unfortunately this book was just was just an ok read for me but I’m sure others would enjoy it more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A clever take on Vanity Fair, reeling in some of the biggest news stories in my memory - I lapped up this absolute thumper of a read.

Based on Vanity Fair, the modern day story of Becky Sharp feels close to the recent hacking scandals and the editors involved. Fast paced, the story takes us between the present and Becky’s tough childhood. Not always likeable the flashbacks to her childhood and occasional moments in the present do show a more vulnerable person fighting to get somewhere and make for a compelling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Becky.

I’d never actually read vanity fair so I read the blurb of this book with great interest and was keen to get started.
I thought Becky was such a fascinating character and I was utterly absorbed throughout. To be fair, I thought all of the characters were well written, authentic and complex but without being too confusing. I won’t spoil the plot but safe to say that my interest was kept throughout and it felt timely to be reading about media spin with all that is currently in the news! Would definitely recommend.

The book is written from the point of view of the main character, Becky. There are flashbacks to her childhood which I found very interesting and really enjoyed. Perhaps it’s because young Becky is much more likeable than adult Becky, but I found my interest waning half way through the book. Overall it is a good read and I am glad I continued with it. I liked the writing style and will look out for more from this author. Thank you #netgalley

An enjoyable book, which is a rewrite of Vanity Fair set in the British tabloid era of the 1990s.
Because the characters are very clearly based on real people, despite the introduction saying that's a coincidence, it does lose suspense because anyone that remembers that era or has heard about it knows where this story is going.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book. I didn’t know anything about Vanity Fair, the book this one was based on. I didn’t like the characters but I guess that’s the point of this book. The ending felt a bit rushed but maybe it is how it was with VF? All in all, I enjoyed it but maybe 3 stars for not being memorable enough for me.

This book is based on a retelling of vanity fair. I enjoyed it and it was interesting to get a glimpse of the media in the late 80s early 90s. Recommend for a quick easy read.

Becky Sharp is based on Vanity Fairs very own Becky Sharp (not a classic I've read but I've seen the film.) I can't say I warmed to either Becky tbh but then I'm not sure you are supposed to.
Although the story is written well I just couldn't empathize or sympathize with any of the characters so I felt a bit detached from the whole story.
The story had interesting elements, set in the 90s and touching on the big media incidents including Princess Diana and Hacking scandals.

Check out my antique newspapers... Bit of a sideline collecting hobby

🗞️I do think this novel would appeal to many, it just wasn't as gripping as I'd hoped

Thanks to Netflix for the ARC of this book

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A bit of a mish-mash but cleverly done. A unique take on a classic story. Recommended.

Becky is a determined young journalist, hellbent on making a name for herself and clawing her way to the top.

This is a modern retelling of Vanity Fair, but also a dramatisation of Rebekah Brooks' (a key figure in the News International phone hacking scandal) rise and fall. I've not read Vanity Fair so I can't comment too much on the retelling aspect, but as someone who was 16 when Milly Dowler was murdered I have vivid memories of the media at the time and, of course, the subsequent phone hacking scandal and trial a decade later.

I found Becky a really compelling character, as well as wholly unlikable. The story, overall, was interesting and kept me turning the pages. I liked the flashbacks to Becky's childhood, although they were somewhat abrupt and I found myself a bit lost about what point in time I was at - however, these flashbacks are where Sarah May's writing really shone. A lot of the story felt rushed as well, we don't get to spend a lot of time in each era and therefore it was hard to really latch on to any motivations or backstory. The time jumps also meant the relationships Becky formed were never fully developed for the reader, so it was hard to really connect with them.

While I found Becky a captivating character, I didn't feel the same about most of the rest. They weren't as well developed as I would have liked. I would have really liked more on Amelia and Rawdon in particular.

The dramatisations of real life events, particularly surrounding the unnamed Princess (Princess Diana) and Ella Walsh (Milly Dowler), helped me connect with the story at certain points, but at others really pulled me out of it because I kept trying to marry up events with my memory of what really happened.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and an interesting lens on the seedy tabloid culture that dominated my childhood and teens. I just wish there was a little more depth and exploration of the characters and motivations.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I struggled a little with this one. The writing and story telling is compelling but feels weighed down by the in your face comparison to Rebekah Wade, alongside the usage of Vanity Fair names and characters. I would have much preferred this, if all the blatant similarities had been left out, and author had just written this story with different character names or obvious overlaps. I liked the writing and would read something else by this author

It’s 1989 and our heroine, Becky Sharpe, is being interviewed for a job as a nanny at the very posh English Rose nanny agency. What Jemima Pinkerton, the agency’s owner, doesn’t know is that Becky’s CV is a work of fiction or at the very least has had some drastic embroidering. But despite all that, Becky lands a job with the Crawley family who are a family of media owners. For a girl with journalistic ambitions, it’s perfect and so begins her rise to the top.
One of her soon to be employers is an ex-Page 3 girl, Rosa, and Becky soon realises that the family is a clan based on rivalry. Pitt is the father and Rawdon is the son or heir apparent. One of Becky’s old friends, George, and one of the few that she trusts, becomes her journalistic rival and she makes a lifelong friendship with Amelia Sedley, the nanny upstairs, until Becky destroys it. But another friend known as Dobbin is secretly in love with Amelia and they all weave in and out of each other’s lives and beds as the decade progresses.
George marries Amelia and they have two children and Becky and Rawdon marry and have one child, Beth. But it’s Matilda Crawley who is the matriarch in charge of the Crawley clan and their position as media royalty. She controls everything and everybody. They own the Mercury newspaper and Becky soon becomes features editor after a major scoop. Unfortunately, she, and the Mercury, is then trumped by their rival, the Post. But she’s still on her way by cajoling, beguiling, sweet talking, bad mouthing in addition to her sheer ability to spot a good story.
However, it is a missing child, Ella Walsh, that will prove to be her undoing as she throws herself, and the paper, into the search to find her. It brings back uncomfortable memories of when she tried to save another lost child. But Becky’s on a crusade and nothing will stop her. The Mercury’s circulation figures have topped 4 million and she’s now the editor, the first female editor of The Mercury – she’s come a long way from looking in on the people who had the power but for how long? It’s a long way to crash down again from when you’ve reached the top…..
Becky really stirred memories of the 1990’s and there were echoes of Grace Dent’s biography, ‘Hunger’ as she was a journalist during that era. It was the last gasp of print journalism when papers had the kind of circulation figures that could only be dreamed of now and the power to whip up their readers into a frenzy about paedophiles. So much so that a paediatrician was mistakenly targeted by a mob. I liked the references that appeared in the narrative; Rive Gauche perfume, Calvin Klein’s Eternity, the Wild Child phenomenon which lasted at least 15 minutes, Greenham Common and Bermondsey factories becoming posh flats amongst others.
Becky is based on William Thackeray’s anti heroine, Becky Sharpe. A social climber par excellence and determined to make her way up in society, she was a great character to transpose into the culture of the ‘90’s. I sensed the influence of Succession as well in the Crawley clan. Some of the characters in the novel bear more than a passing resemblance to major figures of the time and it was fun spotting them. However, although I could visualise the other characters very well, Becky remained a little shadowy for me. It’s narrated in the first person and really rips along as Becky climbs ever higher.
However, there were also flashbacks to Becky’s unhappy childhood and single parent mum who worked at the exclusive school that Becky pretended she had been a pupil on her CV.
In the author’s introduction, she discusses the parallels between the ‘90’s and the Regency period. She also states that he has kept to the structure of Vanity Fair and used the characters names for hers. However, in places the pace did seem to momentarily flag and then pick up again as Becky makes another move. I thought that the author captured the ‘90’s very well and it seems incredible now that newspapers were able to hack into peoples phones without their permission and with devastating results.
But my question at the end of the book was would Becky do next?
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC

Becky Sharp is a plucky underdog who needs to escape her past and work her way up in the journalistic world. Based on Vanity Fair (which I haven't read so can't comment!), the story follows Becky from school along her career trajectory to better herself. Based mainly in the 90s the novel entwines real life events which added a sharpness to the storyline. I found the book heavier and more emotional than I was expecting - but made it thought provoking. I'd definitely recommend this to my friends, thanks Sarah for a thrilling read.

This one wasn’t for me - although a clever idea to retell Vanity Fair in a more modern setting and weave in elements of tabloid culture, ultimately I found it a bit disjointed. Thackeray lovers might love it though!

Such an accurate depiction of 90s British media. This was honestly so great I can’t wait to get a physical copy when it’s released.

1990's London and Becky is a journalist and will stop at nothing to further her career. She has contacts with everyone who is everyone and will stop at nothing to achieve her ambition.
However, will that be her downfall in the end?

A book about some nasty selfish people that think nothing of profiteering from other people's misery for their own gain. No likeable characters, but a brutally honest view of how the media can get totally out of hand in our times.

I've always loved Vanity Fair so I was very happy to read a new literary interpretation of Becky Sharp's life.

Sarah May's Rebecca Sharp is a 90s tabloid journalist who fakes her public school credentials to get a job on the Mercury newspaper. From there she ruthlessly works her way up to becoming Editor of the Mercury, until she is taken down by a phone-hacking scandal. Rebecca Sharp is transparently inspired by Rebecca Brooks while Pitt Crawley is the Rupert Murdoch of the story and Aunt Matilda Crawley is the real power behind the Murdoch empire. I was worried that the tabloid journalism aspect would irrevocably turn me against Rebecca but Sarah May pulls off the same sleight-of-hand as Thackeray and seamlessly blends the love and loathing we feel for the titular character. Rebecca's backstory is particularly heartbreaking, and her stone-cold revenge is a satisfying moment.

Though many plot elements remain and most of the original characters, this is a completely new story set in the fast-paced, scandalous, dog-eat-dog world of journalism in the late 90s and early 2000s. An entertaining, if not entirely comfortable read.

Becky Sharp is at the centre of this novel that focuses on her life and career in this retelling of Thackeray's Vanity Fair. As much as I don't believe you need to like the central character to enjoy a book, for me Becky is likeable despite her penchant for embellishing the truth, Becky shows tenacity, resilience and at times some vulnerability.
Becky's early life experiences are often harrowing & lay the groundwork for her character development & Becky's eagerness to succeed in her journalistic career. The lengths that Becky will go to to advance her career are sometimes astounding & always entertaining. The setting of the 90's in London is also an enjoyable aspect of the story.

An enjoyable book, once I started reading it was difficult to leave down, occasionally rambly, but overall an easy, gripping read. I would have no hesitation recommending this book! Huge thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.