I loved this book so much and waited for it to come out to talk to my friends about it. It definitely tackled very important issues in today’s society.

from the perspective of a pr assistant who is trying to work her way up the ladder at a magazine company, one night she's in charge of chaperoning world famous popstar milo jax. they bond and he invites her to his flat a week later where they have a drink, flirt, and sleep together, all consensually. and then she wakes up the next morning and she's sore and she's bleeding and she can't remember anything about the rest of the night. the rest of the book then follows her struggling to cope with this, the impact it has on her friends family and work, as well as examining rape culture and misogyny in society. it's a heavy read! but i read it so quickly, desperate to know how it all ended. and the ending didn't disappoint

I thought this book was an interesting exploration of celebrity culture and the menacing undertones it can have. The cover is also absolutely stunning. I did however, find it quite difficult to get in to, partially due to its subject matter, which is particularly heavy, and partially due to the writing style, which fell a little bit flat for me. This is a very raw and uncomfortable read, particularly in the wake of the Me Too movement, but should be approached with some caution.

The premise of this book an interesting read, at times my attention wondered, so it was very much a book I dipped in and out of, rather than one I had to carry on reading.

After reading the description of this book, I was so please to have received an e-copy. The description was something I felt was an important topic to explore and highlight, however, I feel this fell flat during the book. Half of the book felt unnecessary and just filler writing. It didn't explore the topic as much as I expected, or would have liked. I didn't really enjoy the writing style for this reason. The characters didn't jump out to me and I didn't therefor particularly care for any of them. This could've been a great book but feel some tweaks were needed before publishing.
Thank you for the opportunity to pre-read.

This book made me think hard about celebrity culture, trauma, and the complexities of power and consent.

The premise of Gold Rush instantly hooked me: Rose, a 25-year-old PR assistant, wakes up after spending the night with the world’s biggest pop star, Milo Jax... but she doesn’t remember what happened. What follows is a tense exploration of celebrity culture and the abuse of power in the wake of the MeToo movement.

It’s a hard read at times as Rose wrestles with the complex emotions of knowing something wrong happened while still being drawn to Milo. How could she regret it when so many women would give anything to be in her shoes? It’s a powerful commentary on how fame can distort reality and morality.

Rose’s story is heartbreakingly relatable, capturing the challenges so many women face in navigating their own voices in a world that often tries to silence them.

As someone who worked in PR for years, I also found the industry insights really interesting—particularly the conversations around influencers and celebrity worship.

The ending? Perfection. I won’t spoil it, but for a story like this, it’s tough to nail the conclusion, and I thought Petter did it beautifully.

I started this book a while ago but just couldn't get into it. I so left it to try again later. Sometimes this works sometimes it doesn't.

Sadly I just couldn't get the hang of this book, it was all over the place. There doesn't seem a lot going on and when it does, it doesn't make sense.
I did read it until the end in the hope it would pick up but unfortunately, it didn't.

I'm afraid that didn't really enjoy this book. It all seemed a bit too clichéd. Rose is portrayed as a a bit of a PR genius but she spent the bulk of the book drunk, high or hungover. Obviously there must be a lot of this in these celebrity circles but I just wondered how she could get any work done and it seemed at odds with the quiet, work driven person she's also supposed to be. The lines were very blurred as the events unfolded too. When I requested this book, I thought that it would be a case of either a spiked drink or a man incapable of accepting no and it was a lot more complicated than that. I don't want to say any more than that because of spoilers. I think that there was a little too much thrown into this.

Gold Rush explores the cult of celebrity, and how so many seem to believe that being famous means that you can do whatever you like, with no repercussions.
Rose is a character with very little self confidence as it is, and when a world famous pop star, Milo Jax, shows an interest in her, she can’t believe it. Why would he want to see her? Well, it seems that he has a nose for a willing victim. He has recognised an easily coerced, shy young woman and he sexually assaults her.
This is a very introspective novel, and we see a lot of Rose’s inner thoughts where she constantly argues with herself: did something happen, did Jax rape her, or did she allow it? She’s a young woman who is obsessed with the way she looks - as are most of her peers. The scenes at the hen party honestly made my toes curl.
This should probably come with trigger warnings for sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, eating disorders and suicide. There may be more, because everything was thrown at this book.
I did somewhat enjoy Gold Rush, and especially the character of Minnie (Rose’s boss), who took no nonsense from anyone. I read it really quickly, due to the fact that I didn’t want to put it down, in the hope that Rose would tell someone or report Milo Jax as a sexual predator, I think.
This didn’t quite hit the mark for me, and I think it may well be that I’m not the right demographic for it.

I was really keen to read this novel but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. It is about an important issue - consent in the wake of the #MeToo movement but I just couldn't connect with the characters. I liked that it explored the messy lives of young people and how that can lead them to be in dangerous or unwise situations but also how absolutely it made it clear that it's not ok for them to be assaulted. It just all felt a bit too all over the place for me - there seemed to be a lot going on that took me away from the main story. I think I've perhaps read this book at the wrong time so the fault is possibly mine and I would look out for more books by this author in the future.

Rose works as a publicity assistant at Firehouse, a well-known London publishing house. Part of her job is to liaise with celebrity agents and secure appearances and sponsorship deals, meaning Rose must attend events, despite not being as obsessed with celebrities as some of her colleagues are.

At one of those events, she's tasked with looking after everyone's favourite pop star, Milo Jax. Milo is as handsome and charming in person as he appears online, and he seems to be really taken with Rose. The fact that she doesn't seem bothered by celebrities only serves to make him like her more.

As the two become closer, Rose has to deal with jealousy from her colleagues, mounting pressure in her friend groups, and the idea of being seen with a world famous pop star. Rose is flattered - until she wakes up one morning, bleeding, with no memory of what happened between her and Milo the previous night.

Gold Rush is a difficult read - I really felt for Rose. Since we've moved as a society from getting our gossip from print to mainly online, celebrities have gained a unique type of influence and power. It's not always earned and it's not always deserved - what type of people are made famous, and why?

The book is set in 2017, and uses the #MeToo movement as a catalyst for a discussion about celebrity, power, influence, consent, and fame. I thought it was well written and I'd read more from this author.

It's difficult to say that I "enjoyed" this book - it's a good read, an intriguing story, well-written, but it is grim. Which is a testament, really, to the author having done a good job. This book explores, without mercy, a time in our protagonist Rose's life when everything changes. Where she can't find the truth, doesn't know the truth, and nobody else seems really that bothered about the truth. It's unsettling, and as I said, very grim at times, in a way that female readers will recognize and wonder how some women continue to get up and carry on each day having had similar experiences in life. Not for the fainthearted, but sadly an all-too-familiar story of what it is to be a women in society.

Really wanted to love this, but struggled with it. Felt like the author was trying to cram a lot in and some of it was underbaked, although worth exploring. Wish it was longer and went it to more of the side plot points.

I had high expectations for this book. I was expecting a more in-depth exploration of celebrity culture and victim blaming, but instead was met with something uneventful and lacking of any real substance. I can see what the author was trying to do by tying together certain events throughout the novel, but other sub-plots felt unwanted and unnecessary. Ultimately, some of these sub-plots should have been taken out and replaced by the actual plot that is on the back cover, and what the reader is here for: Rose's journey as an SA survivor and how this plays out in the media, celebrity culture, fandoms and victim blaming.

However, I am aware that not all victims have blazing stories in the spotlight. I am aware that many suffer in silence behind the scenes, often unbelieved and ignored. I suppose by writing the book in the way it was, Petter has accidentally (or intentionally, perhaps?) highlighted this issue, that anyone can be a victim and go through their daily motions undetected.

Thank you to Netgalley and Fourth Estate for the chance to read and review this book! All opinions are my own.

I read an ARC of this book which I received via Netgalley. Rose a Public relations assistant for a music firm has a one nght stand with a music legend which turns into a rape? She has a propensity for fainting, getting drunk and vomiting. I am not sure who is more at fault her or our pop star. I am not sure if she had consensual sex or is raped. I am not sure what the whole point of the narrative was. we are guided through rose's life, drunken dinners, drunken days with her firms credit cards and a whlly nonsensical relationship with a media influencer. To to it off w have a drunken hen night - perhaps I need a drink to try and make sense of it

Gold Rush, Olivia Petter

Imagine you’ve just spent the night with the most famous man on the planet. Except you don’t quite remember it. That is what happens to Rose, a twenty-something woman who seemingly has everything going for her.

Working for one of the most powerful publishers in the country, Rose spends her days doing PR for glossy magazines. There are tedious spreadsheets, fashion divas, and many A-list parties. It’s at one of those parties where she meets Milo Jax, the world-famous, globally adored, British pop sensation. An unlikely flirtation turns into an even more unlikely evening and then Rose wakes up, unable to piece it all together. What happens next changes everything.

🎀

I'm sad to say I found this book a bit overrated and didn't vibe with the characters. I just got a bit bored and didn't really care what happened. I feel like it should've came out a few years ago due to the themes it covers.

Fell a bit flat for me!

The novel follows Rose, a PR assistant and her journey through the glamour and power of celebrity culture - set just before the “me too” movement
The rose tinted glasses are quickly taken off and you’re shown the harsh reality of Tinseltown - the blurred lines between right and wrong and the murky waters of celebrity status.
“We give celebrities a power they don’t deserve. Power they haven’t earned. What happens when they exploit it”
You’ll feel all the emotions with this book
Rose is so relatable and authentic
It’s harrowing as you see her navigating the trauma, leaving her feeling utterly voiceless and powerless
The compelling story will stay with you and leave a lasting impression
Thanks @oliviapetter @4thestatebooks & @netgalley for the thought-provoking read

I read Gold Rush in a day on holiday, and I'm sad to say I found it a bit overrated! It reminded me a lot of Jaded by Ela Lee, which I read earlier this year and much preferred – both focus on sexual assault in the vague context of the workplace, and Gold Rush suffered in my mind with this comparison. It felt less fleshed-out and nuanced and like there were a lot of gaps in my understanding of Rose and her world – plus the 2017 references felt really shoehorned in there. Definitely wins for readability, though – I'd give it 3.5 stars 🌟

Gold Rush follows Rose, a PR professional at a magazine company, who finds herself stuck with the less glamorous aspects of working with celebrities. After a whirlwind secret romance with world-famous pop star Milo Jax, Rose wakes up with no memory of the previous night and finds herself bleeding and disoriented. Her life quickly spirals as she grapples with the aftermath while managing her work and friendships.

Despite moments of discomfort, I couldn’t put it down, eagerly turning pages to uncover the unfolding drama.

Petter delivers a powerful exploration of celebrity culture, consent, and the imbalanced power dynamics at play. Her writing challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths, making Gold Rush a compelling and thought-provoking read. If you appreciate drama-filled narratives that delve deeply into real-world issues, this book is a must-read.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

The book is very well written and a very interesting read. Despite the topics covered being heavy, I found it captivating to read.