A brilliant look back at the life of a model in the early noughties. Told with the irreverence and humour clearly required to ensure you'd survive such a time. I hope Ruth writes more as I'd be keen to read it.

Ruth was going to be a Lawyer but she was scouted to be a model first.
This book gives an insight into the real world of modelling.
It reads like a travelogue and takes you to interesting places, it also tells us the readers about the people she meets, both nice and not so nice.
The author made this a fascinating and interesting read and she tells it like it is.
Also some things that happened then would hopefully not now.
I found it an enjoyable book done with humour and honesty.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

If you survived the 90’s and 00’s highly questionable approach to body image and were raised on a diet of glossy magazines, you are going to absolutely love this book. This is a captivatingly informal, instantaneously intimate look at what it was really like to be a working model at the turn of the century: the book follows Crilly’s ‘discovery’, her early years finding her feet as a model and her rise to international fame over the following ten years. She describes her career as not-quite-making-it and though young Ruth is regularly told she’s too short, too old or too curvy for true global stardom, her career is an undeniable success, enabling her to pay off her debts and travel the world with star-studded friends in tow. This all sounds extremely glamorous, but somehow she never loses her relatability or her informal style of storytelling. As anyone who’s a fan of her brilliant Instagram account will know, Crilly is an extremely able communicator, slipping her arm through yours like a best mate and deftly managing to strike the perfect balance between the highs and undeniably exciting, achingly cool nature of life as a model, and the drudgery of the lows: including potentially unsafe photoshoots where she and her fellow models are at the mercy of the creative whims of single-minded photographers and art directors. Her unique self-effacing humour is evident throughout her anecdotes of bone-achingly-long castings for the most mundane of products, schlepping across the maze of London in a time before Google Maps and sharing complicated accommodation with her fellow models as they zip around the world in a quest for fame and fortune. An un-put-downable, hyper-glamorous and utterly hilarious time capsule of a book.

Reviewed in October 2024 Cambridge Edition

This was fine. I can’t say I loved it but it was an easy enough read with some interesting anecdotes, like

Like most of my generation (I think), I used to love America’s Next Top Model and that whole universe of ‘go sees’ and photoshoots, so when I saw this book I was definitely intrigued. Full honesty, I had never heard of Ruth Crilly, but that didn’t deter my interest. What I found a funny and honest memoir of the often unglamorous modelling world. There were no major bombshells about mistreatment which was actually nice, mostly just some funny tales and reminders of how badly models were treated, yet still so many strived to be one.
It was definitely an interesting read and the audiobook was a good listen (I did a mixture of ebook and audiobook). If you were an ANTM fan I’d say give it a whirl!

What an incredibly evocative and nostalgic scene-setting opening! Oh, the 90s! ‘How Not To Be A Supermodel’ lays the industry bare via funny anecdotes and reminiscences from author Ruth Crilly. The audiobook narrated by the author is a good listen too.

A thoroughly enjoyable memoir of the fashion world in the nineties and early noughties, when ladette culture was in, Marlboro Lights were de rigueur and a lot of questionable things were done in the name of fashion. Dreaming of being the next Gisele Bundchen, tall, curvy Ruth navigates the London modelling scene for over a decade, writing in a scathing and laugh-out-loud style about, among other things: having her eyebrows bleached off, trying to explain cystitis medication in a small Italian pharmacy, dyeing herself red by accident on the way to a career-transforming shoot in Paris, falling in love and being tricked into a pair of too-small shorts in Tokyo. Written without any self-aggrandisement or false modesty, this is an open, honest appraisal of an often-closed world that I genuinely couldn't put down.

Laugh-out-loud funny! I was not expecting this to be so witty and smart. I loved it from start to finish! Thank you for providing me with access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

I love Ruth I've followed her for years on YouTube and her written blog. There's no disputing she is a good writer but I found that the humour fell a bit flat for me in this book. I enjoyed unit for me just not that funny..

Give Crilly a medal!!! That was flipping fantastic. Laughed so much I pulled a muscle!! Highly highly recommend.

I have known about Ruth for a while so it was great to be able to read about her experiences especially in the fashion and model industry

**Listened to the audio book and read along with the kindle edition too**

I have followed Ruth Crilly for years on youtube and so I have known about this look for a very long time now. Really excited to finally listen/read!

I love that Crilly narrates the audiobook herself, and she makes a point of highlighting the fact she does all the voices and accents herself! I love that! Right from the off, you know she's not taking herself too seriously.

This book is so insightful. It's incredibly honest and has a real down to earth humour too.
I also found it very nostalgic as Crilly writes about an era that I remember fondly!

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'How Not To Be A Supermodel' by Ruth Crilly.

This book has fantastic descriptions that set you straight in the scenes. The cover, title and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.

An absolutely fantastic, page turning, hilarious and addictive success by Ruth!!! Love, LOVE, LOVED this absolutely fantastic, laugh out loud book!! An absolute must read!!! I will start by saying that this isn't my usual chosen genre but I'm an eclectic reader and happy to read most books. I must say that if you are the same as me and don't normally read non fiction then don't let that put you off and pick up your copy of this great book today.

OMG!! I absolutely LOVED this absolutely brilliant and nostalgic memoir!! An absolutely fantastic book that takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. This is a memoir filled with travelling, nostalgia, modelling, drama, humour, glamour, honesty, fashion and much, much more. Honestly, words cannot describe how brilliant this book is you really do need to grab a copy and see for yourself! I can promise you will NOT regret it but remember the tissues as you will be laughing so hard your sides will hurt and you will have tears streaming down your face!! You also need to clear your schedules as you will NOT be able to put it down once you have started. I know I couldn't as every time I went to I just had to know what was going to happen next so I promised myself another chapter but the same thing happened until I ended up devouring the book in one sitting of several ours. This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations Ruth who not only did a fantastic job writing this book she also did a great job bringing this memoir to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Ruth did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices as well as managing to convey and portray the characters emotions through her voice!!! Ruth's absolutely brilliant imagery, evocative descriptions and her amazing narration ensures the reader feels they are right next to her throughout travelling the world with her, getting frustrated, laughing along and seeing and feeling everything that she is. If you are a fan of the Bridget Jones and/or The Devil Wears Prada books and films as I am then I can guarantee you will absolutely LOVE this book as it is a brilliant combination of watching them both plus much more entertainment and drama!!! I genuinely cannot give this book the justice it deserves in words so just pick up your copy of this laugh out loud page turner and find out how good it is for yourselves!!! I really can promise you will not regret it!! This is one of those books that is very easy to read and perfect for any reading situations whether you are laying on a beach or curled up in front of a fire. It is an absolutely ideal read for anyone who is looking for an addictive and hilarious read that will have you hooked from beginning to end. I am really hoping that Ruth will continue into a writing career and tell us more about her fascinating lifestyle through the years!! This is definitely one of those books that will turn a frown upside down and make life seem a lot brighter. Anyway, I just adored everything about this absolutely gorgeous page turner from the first sentence to the last. Well done Laura on yet another stunner and I cannot wait until your next!!! Ruth really has managed to weave her life experiences into a fascinating, intriguing, hilarious and unputdownable memoir that will keep you hooked. I was that absorbed in the book that when I did manage to look up it took me a few moments to work out where I actually was. When I was finished I was actually gutted that I had to "unpack my suitcases" and return to dreary and rainy Wales instead of travelling with Ruth. She really does give an honest and enlightening view of her experiences in the fashion industry actually showing the reader through her incredible narrative and writing skills about the good, the bad and the ugly sides. Her determination, optimism, humanity, humour, warmth, intelligence and strength really do shine through the pages. I will warn you NOT to read this book in public as I made this mistake and actually ended up snorting with laughter at one point and spitting my tea out another time which was absolutely mortifying, but to be honest, worth it as it is just an incredible read that was worth the dirty and strange looks that I got off the people around me on them occasions! I would definitely recommend this book to absolutely anyone looking for a fascinating, intriguing, hilarious and unputdownable non fiction escapism.

Clear your schedules and get ready to take a journey back to the noughties and into the fashion and modelling industry with Ruth!!! You wont regret it and you wont be able to put it down!!

Congratulations Ruth on a fantastic, intriguing and fascinating read! I absolutely loved learning about her lifestyle and would love to read more about your journeys!

Overall an absolutely brilliant, entertaining, hilarious and fascinating travel memoir that will sweep you off with Ruth at the turn of a page!

#HowNotToBeASupermodel #RuthCrilly #BlinkPublishing #BonnierBooks #ZaffreBooks #Zaffre #RandomThingsTours #RandomTTours

@RuthCrilly @BlinkPublishing @BonnierBooks @ZaffreBooks @Zaffre @RandomThingsTours @RandomTTours

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having followed Ruth on social media for a number of years i thought I knew her pretty well… well maybe not!
this is book is a riot of fun that is/was Ruth’s life it has me laughing, cringing and reminiscing about my own younger self.
A great insight into a models and Ruth’s life

A fun read for fans of 'Next Top Model' and those cruel but entertaining makeover shows of the early 2000s. Ruth Crilly wanted to be not just a model, but a supermodel. In this memoir, which is very funny and mostly light-hearted, Ruth presents many cringeworthy anecdotes from her career (I'm not sure which was the most awful... maybe the one about the red coat) for our amusement and gives an insight into what it was like to work in the industry 20-ish years ago. No doubt much of it is the same now. The way she was treated by certain photographers, agents, editors etc was shocking. Nor was Ruth always on her best behaviour! But I liked her honesty and her friendly way of talking to the reader. She has a great turn of phrase and I particularly liked her descriptions of a buffalo mozzarella. The chapters often ended with twists, such as the one in which Ruth performs an actual feat of telekinesis in the hope it will get her out of a horrible photoshoot. I'd recommend this 'super' memoir.

Ruth Crilly was an international model in the noughties and this memoir tells the story of the somewhat less glamorous reality of the industry. She lifts the lid on the strange practices of the fashion industry, how tedious and unglamorous the work and can be and the effects on the confidence of even the most beautiful models.

It sounds like it could be a downbeat misery memoir but it’s most definitely not that. Crilly’s writing moves at a great pace, is very funny and never arrogant or self pitying – if anything, she underplays how successful she must have been to work as much as she did. This is a really valuable peak behind the curtain for anyone who’s interested in working as a model and a really fun read for everybody else.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.