This is a fabulous way of writing. Lots of different ways of getting the story told. Very addictive and I read it in one sitting and felt that disappointment when you’ve just read a great book. 4 stars.

Absolutely loved this book!

I loved how it switches from past to present but also diary entries, videos and interviews. Keeps the story interesting. Also all the narrators are unreliable so you don’t know who to trust and what the truth actually is. I was shocked at the ending which is very hard to do in thrillers. I would highly recommend!

5*

The ugly Truth

A book about the toxic celebrity/social media culture. It begins with Mollie claiming to be being held prisoner by her controlling father it's clear Britany Spears conservatorship has inspired the author. The story backtracks through the years leading up to the incident . The story is told through tweets and interviews with key characters. It's interesting at the start but found there was no real plot as such. This book did make me stop and think about those involved in the public eye, celebrity culture and coercive control.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK Transworld Publishers and the author for the chance to review.

Clever and unsettling thriller about fame, power, and the perils of the media spotlight, told through interviews, transcripts and diary entries.

Mel is beautiful and the younger daughter of a wealthy businessman. She's a successful entrepreneur in her own right but she's regularly shown in the press drunk and with different men. How much of this is true and how much is made up or twisted to sell newspapers?

When Mel disappears, at first people believe she has decided to take some time away from the relentless media scrutiny. But when she still hasn't emerged months later, her best friend becomes increasingly worried.

I went into this thinking that I would be blown away, based on some of the reviews I've seen. The blurb intrigued me and I was ready to be shocked and enthralled.

Unfortunately I didn't find it very dark or mysterious and I ended up DNFing at 45%.

Perhaps it was a case of timing and I wasn't in the right mood for this one.

Melanie Lange is the famous daughter of hotelier, Sir Peter Lange. House ded by the pess and social media comments on every move, dissecting her life.
When she announces on her YouTube channel that she's stepping back for a while, fans seem to accept it but best friend, Neil, knows that she would never leave her children
Told as a TV documentary script, the story plays out as various contributors speak.
Às young people dream of being in the social media spotlight, its how's light on the ugly side as well. Thought provoking.

📸The Ugly Truth by LC North📸

Lies, lies, and yet more lies are spun in various guises through this intricate web of a story. Somewhere along the way, the ugly truth battles for exposure. But who is telling the truth? Who is hiding behind a shield of falsehoods? What are they working to hide?

Melanie Lange appears to have it all, at surface level anyway. She's a former model, now a YouTube star and CEO of her own cosmetics company. Her father, Sir Peter Lange is a billionaire business tycoon, and she is one of the most recognised celebrities in the country.

But then Melanie posted to say she needed to ‘take some time out’ and disappeared off the radar. Now, she is posting emotional videos claiming her father is imprisoning her and needs help to escape. Sir Peter Lange says she is a danger to herself and is admitted to a private mental health clinic.

Through a mixed multimedia approach, which gave me Penance by Eliza Clark vibes, North explores the dark side of fame and family dynamics - but who is telling the honest truth and who is only out for themself? This interesting blend of blog exerts, interviews with key (none particularly likeable, it must be said) characters and transcripts of Melanie's videos make for a darkly entertaining, easy to binge read (I finished in a little over a day), but at times, it also felt a little drawn out; my attention waned.

Having recently read The Woman in Me by Britney Spears, it was impossible not to draw on a host of direct parallels - the intrusive paparazzi and media actions, overbearing, controlling friends and family and more, to the point of utter discomfort.

With themes of guilt, self identity, loyalty, trust and digging into why people behave as they do, The Ugly Truth has a layer of added depth. Overall, it is a solid, thought-provoking psychological thriller. 3.5⭐

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an eARC; this, as always, is an honest review.

This was a brilliant book, so well written and full of suspense and mystery. It kept you very intrigued right to end while the story unfolded throughout the book. I loved all the characters of the book and you felt you were in their lives with them . I love a psychological thriller book that has a great ending and the story has a great ending. I have read other of this authors books and they all have been fantastic so far.

The story showing what can happend behind the close doors and what we, as a followers, fan, see is just a piece of their narration, not even a hince of real life events...

Save Melanie? Help Peter? What is going on with them? What is the truth? Who is responsible? What is thr truth? The truth can be ugly, and we're here for it.

Honestly, I was bored. Ok, I understand the assigment, the plot, the idea, but still I'm not buying it.

A narrative that hooks you from the very first sentence, this suspenseful thriller will have you racing towards its explosive finale. A roller-coaster of suspense that delivers.

I really wanted to love this one but sadly it missed the mark for me... I loved the multi media format but the plot didn't grip me & I wasn't rooting for any of the characters.

A novel about the cult of celebrity written in the form of documentary script blog posts, emails and memoir interviews. I did not finish as it was neither mystery not thriller more a drama about a woman's life written from the viewpoint of others.

Melanie Lange appeared to have it all, modelling and then developing her own makeup brand, alongside her father’s hotel chain. But underneath the surface, things are not so great, and the media is there to record everything in lurid detail. When Melanie suddenly disappears, rumours surface that her father is keeping her prisoner. But is she captive, or being protected from the world?

The Ugly Truth chronicles Melanie’s life through social media, newspaper reports, videos and a Netflix documentary interviewing the main characters - her best friend Nell, ex-husband Finn and father Peter Lang. It’s an entertaining and thought provoking story, showing the best and worst that social media can be. The hounding by press paparazzi, desperate to get incriminating footage of even the most mundane moments, the changing opinions of complete strangers and the effect this can have on an individual.

Very enjoyable, in a dark way.

The Ugly Truth is a stark examination of the obsessive culture of the British media. A powerhouse combination of compulsive drama and psychological intent.

The Ugly Truth isn’t an easy book to read. No, far from it is at its core ugly. It delves into both the media and society’s obsession with the celebrity lifestyle. Only a few pages in I was reminded about the #freebritney movement and the British tabloids treatment of Princess Diana. Britney Spears relationship with the media and her subsequent relationship with her father after her very public breakdown shone through in this story and makes the reader ask all kinds of questions, not all good.

Melanie Lange has been in the spotlight since her teenage years. Her popularity took off like a rocket, but she was watched at every event, every party, her life wasn’t her own. So, when she was photographed at a party where cocaine and drug taking was obviously part of the deal, she was dropped by the major brand she was modelling for. Some suggest this was her sister, Zara trying to sabotage her considering it was a party hosted by her boyfriend. It is never revealed if that was the case.

The Ugly Truth is told in an original way, through the medium of a Netflix show and interviews. Melanie has been missing for around six weeks at the time of filming and interviews are conducted with Nell, Melanie’s best friend and PA, Sir Peter Lange, Melanie’s father and owner of the Lange hotel chain and Finn, Melanie’s ex-husband. It sounds like hell, doesn’t it? I mean who would want to live their live constantly being spoken about and trashed on social media. I think it would slowly destroy me, a ticking timebomb.

There is talk that Melanie hasn’t been seen in public in months because her father has held her against her will somewhere. There’s been talk for years about her mental health, her relationships, her post-natal depression after having her boys and then her marriage breakup. But where is she really? Has her father done this or is she genuinely receiving help for dwindling mental health.

I actually despised Sir Peter. He had one of those god complexes that brokered no argument against his decisions even if that impacted you personally. He certainly liked having the reigns in every situation even when it came to setting up his daughter with a boyfriend. This is where I could very much see the similarities between Britney Spears’s father and Melanie’s. He’s the kind of guy that is far more concerned about his money than he is about his daughter’s welfare and don’t get me started on his treatment of his other daughter, Zara.

A really interesting novel about the rise of reality stars and the way in which social media can skew perceptions as well as being used to manipulate personal narratives.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy.

The Ugly truth had such an interesting concept. However the execution was not that good. I was so close to DNF this book

Firstly, the layout of the book is brilliant. It's a good mixture between interviews, emails, and social media posts, which I love, as it makes the reading a lot more interesting and gives you multiple characters and thoughts.

Plot is well planned, and you do keep switching sides throughout, and it's not until the end that you really question each side and your own thoughts.

Characters, a majority you love to hate, like the plot, you question everyone.

What I have taken from the whole book is how sad social media can make someone's life. I thought the subject was handled well, and the ending was quite an emotional one and made you question what you see online!

I look forward to seeing you are #savemelanie or #helppeter

Didn't quite know what to expect from this one. As I started and realised the entire book was being told by a Netflix style documentary interviewing friends/family of the missing Melanie, also YouTube videos posted by Melanie herself. I wasn't sure if I'd connect to the characters with this format but it worked perfectly, really refreshing and I really felt like I was literally watching a documentary on a celeb.
It's so fitting in this cuurent world with paparazzi, social media and no privacy for celebs, also sadly very true.
My only negative really was that I ended up not really know what Peters intentions really were? I don't think it ever confirmed it for me, maybe it's meant to be like that, for the reader to decided.
Thank you #NetGalley definitely recommend anyone and everyone to have a read of #TheUglyTruth you may just learn something

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book! It was a quick read due to the pace and the multimedia story telling. I think this book covers an important topic to be discussed and would encourage others to read it.

I loved the premise of this story, especially in the world of social media and our desire to put celebrities on a pedestal and tear them down. I found the narrative a tad jarring, wasn’t keen on the speed with which it jumped through the different methods of telling the story- diaries, interviews etc. I cared about Melanie and read quickly to understand what happened to her, which meant I maybe didn’t enjoy the story as I got there as much. A very interesting and important topic though, I would recommend reading, just take your time!