Techbitch by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

Techbitch
By Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
Published by Penguin (4 June 2015)
ISBN: 978-1405918688

Publisher's description

Imogen Tate, editor-in-chief of Glossy magazine, is a legend in the fashion world. But when she returns from a sabbatical to find her twenty-six-year-old former assistant, Eve Morton, behind her desk, she realises times are changing.

Armed with a business degree, naked ambition and an iPhone, Eve announces she has been brought in to turn Imogen's beloved magazine into an app. With herself at the helm.

In this terrifying new world, Imogen is almost invisible. In place of her team of dedicated staff is a constantly evolving line of twenty-something bloggers at their desks day and night ('Only losers need sleep!'), amateur snaps instead of elegant photo shoots, and a URL address in place of Imogen's glossy pages.

But Imogen isn't ready to give up her hard-earned career without a fight. Where Eve has Twitter followers, Imogen has experience, talent and real relationships, and she's prepared to fight for the fashion world she knows and loves. Even if it means going to war with a ruthless Techbitch ...

My verdict
Techbitch made my laugh out loud in several places. Having worked in the consumer magazine industry for several years, I recognised many of the different character types. The book certainly blends fiction and reality well.

Imogen is an Editor in Chief in the cut-throat fashion magazine industry. But after six months of sick leave, she's back to work to discover that everything has changed. Glossy magazine is now turning into an app, enabling people to click and buy fashion items as they read, rather than a newstand magazine. And it's being run by her former assistant, Eve, who is now a Harvard graduate, completely ruthless and will stomp on anyone to get to the top.

Techbitch is a well-written fast-paced 'chick lit' read filled with many fantastic characters. And there's hardly any romance in sight, focusing mainly on the workplace, which certainly makes a change. I was rooting for Imogen all the way through, wanting her to give Eve a good shove (out the window of a tall building).

My only bugbear was that I was 'surprised' that Imogen was so un-tech savvy and that everything at Glossy had changed so much in six months - Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have been around for a lot longer than this. And she's only in her 40s - I could understand if she was much older than this. But otherwise, Techbitch was a great read.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.