Everyone will love you
The People’s Republic of Love – a new novel
How many narcissists does it take to change a lightbulb?
None, they use gaslighting.
Searching for your next upmarket novel?
In a brand new country where popularity is prized above all else, Tamsin – a shy tunnel engineer – must outfox the narcissistic Governor to rescue her best friend Charlotte from his cruel and oh-so-personal reality TV show, where the final really will be the end of her. But can Tamsin resist the temptations of the People’s Republic of Love, when it offers her everything she ever wanted?
A touch of Love Island, influencers gone rogue, a tunnel engineer, a jealous voice artist, a sociopathic narcissist who just so happens to be in charge of everything… plus cryptic tattoos, the worst possible version of Narnia, an obsession with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and that subway scene from Crocodile Dundee, all wrapped up in a toxic look-at-me society… welcome to The People’s Republic of Love, upmarket reading group fiction by Heather Child.
Will you love it? Read more…
The People’s Republic of Love
Celebrities have their own country… What could go wrong?
When Charlotte becomes one of the contestants in a hot new reality game show, Outta my Room, she feels like she’s hit the jackpot. With the fame and exposure the game is guaranteed to bring, her profile in the hedonistic Republic of Love will be elevated. She needs all the followers she can get to keep the lifestyle she wants.
Her friend Tamsin is the complete opposite. Fighting to be taken seriously as an engineer, she has no interest in fame or the island nation of the Republic and the antics of its Governor, a narcissistic sociopath who delights in humiliating his subjects for entertainment purposes. But one click is about to change her whole life.
As the escape room challenges become more dangerous, Charlotte realises that the horrors the contestants have to face all seem to be psychologically traumatic experiences from her past which she has no wish to revisit. When the contestants start being picked off, one by one, winning the show becomes much less important than just surviving it.
Meanwhile a single photo has turned Tamsin into an overnight sensation. It offers her fame, fortune, a ticket to the high life in the Republic of Love. But Tamsin is more concerned about the horrors being inflicted on her friend. Realising that this newfound popularity could help her get close to Charlotte, and the people running the show, she embarks on a path that will seemingly offer everything anyone could ever wish for.
But it’s a house of cards, and Tamsin knows – if she doesn’t act quickly enough – the whole thing will collapse and bury them all.
Please send enquiries to Julie Crisp at JCLA.
Images: with thanks to Peggy Anke via Pexels (video), Marcos Paulo Prado via Unsplash (woman), Ragnar Vorel on Unsplash (island)