I adored this book. It's full of heart and swoons and real characters facing real mental health issues in an environment of "fake" reality that pushes them to their breaking point. But together Dev and Charlie are unstoppable and perfect.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC, my thoughts are my own.

This was one of my most anticipated read of the year, as someone who casually enjoys the bachelor and loves romance, in general. While it is not a new favorite it did contain aspects of this book that I liked, first of all the mental health positivity surrounding going to therapy, anxiety rep and depression rep. However as I do not have an OCD to my knowledge, I cannot speak on that aspect of the book.

I loved the scenes cut out, we get in between certain chapters that show us what will be censored and how things are put together to present the people in the reality tv show as "drama" or "mean' even though they were led to these actions or sentences being taken out of context to create drama for the viewers.
I loved the behind the scenes of the book.

The romance aspect felt lacking compared to the rest, I did not particularly cared about them together, but did enjoy them as individual characters. It has an HFN ending (happy for now), which is nice.
The biggest aspect of the book for me was more the growth each of our MC's went through and how they learned and became happier at the end of this, but did not need each other to continue to grow or be happy (which is honestly my favorite aspect of the book).

There were some scenes in the book, part of the drama outside of the tv reality drama, that made it annoying to me and felt out of place, I won't spoil anything but the main conflict fell flat to me. The time skip in between it and the resolution did not help my enjoyment of the book at all.

Overall a good book that read quickly.
I would recommend it for fans of the bachelor and romantic tv realities as it is basically the bachelor where he gives out crown and they accept to become his "princess" instead of accepting a rose.
4/5 stars
Bookarina

Best LGBTQ++ book I've read this year. I found the two main characters love story to be very relatable and I loved the juxtaposition of their love story and the backdrop of the reality dating show taking place. What I loved most was the normalization and support shown of Charlie's OCD and anxiety and Dev's Depression. I also very much enjoyed the moral that its okay to take care of yourself first and that your mental health is one of the most important things but that you can still have meaningful relationships.

Dev, a believer in true love and fairy-tale endings, is a producer for Ever After, a Bachelor-type reality show. When Charlie, the season's Prince Charming proves to be difficult, Dev is assigned to be his handler. As Dev works with Charlie to make him camera-ready, the men learn a lot about each other and begin to have feelings for each other. They have to hide their feelings for the sake of the show, but it is not easy for either of them. I appreciated that this book deals with mental health issues, and although the show they are producing is hetero-normative, many of the producers are LGBTQ+. Both of these aspects play a role in the way the relationships among the different characters and the storyline evolve.

Well… dang. After having The Charm Offensive hyped up to me as a sweet and hilarious queer romcom, I saved my read of it for when I needed a pick me up. While I can definitely see why so many people have connected with this novel and feel there’s a lot to love about it, I had a lot of conflicting feelings that unfortunately left me lukewarm on The Charm Offensive.

We’ll start with the considerable good. First of all, the premise of this novel absolutely hits all my buttons. I’m fascinated by reality TV and particularly what happens in production behind the scenes of reality TV, so the idea of a producer/contestant romance excited me. The diversity of character identities across various spectrums in The Charm Offensive was phenomenal. Charlie and Dev individually as leads were three dimensional, well developed, and endearing. I appreciate the themes of unconditional love and being true to yourself, even and especially if there are parts of yourself you find difficult to accept. And the eventual ending of the novel and the direction the plot went in left me with a sense of satisfaction.

However, there were several elements that didn’t resonate with me on a personal level. The first and most subjective is that the sense of humor didn’t land for me, which for a self described romcom isn’t a good start. The second is that I didn’t connect with the chemistry between Charlie and Dev even though I loved them individually as characters; I felt their relationship at times bordered on codependent, and combined with the forced proximity trope generated by the reality TV show premise, it was uncomfortable for me to read at times.

The last part is the extreme focus on mental health and particularly mental health struggles. Please don’t mistake me—I definitely feel like novels of all kinds, even romance, should center frank discussions on mental health more, and judging by other reviews, these discussions in The Charm Offensive were much beloved by many readers. For me, my issue was twofold. At times I felt battered and inundated with Mental Health 101 lessons and I found it quite heavy handed on the educational bits, enough to take me right out of the story. And given that I struggle with several mental health issues of my own and enjoy romance for the lighthearted break it can provided, the tone of this just wasn’t for me and didn’t match what I expected.

As mentioned above, I truly believe The Charm Offensive will find (and already has found) a special place in the hearts of readers. It undertakes difficult subjects with sensitivity and grace in addition to having a cast of compelling characters and great premise. If you’re in a place to handle detailed and prolonged depictions of mental illness along with an ultimately heartwarming conclusion, I’d recommend giving it a go as it’s likely you’ll enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advance reading copy. All opinions are my own.

Gang, get excited because a new romcom is coming out Sept. 7 that I think you will absolutely love! It’s smart, funny, moving and truthful. Get ready to add The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun to your TBR!
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SUMMARY: Charlie Winshaw is the latest star on Ever After, a “Bachelor”-style reality dating show. Charlie is an anxiety-ridden tech wunderkind who signed on solely to rehab his image and break back into the industry, but the closer he gets to Dev, his behind-the-scenes production handler, the more he questions what he’s really looking for.
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I don’t think I can convey the charm packed into this lovely book. The main characters were so engaging and well-developed, I got the warm fuzzies reading their story and kept catching myself smiling at my Kindle (like a HUGE goof).
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There were some fun tropes—practice dating and one bed—along with a strong helping of sexually diverse and neurodiverse representation. I’m not a reality TV fan (the excessive drama stresses me out), but I still enjoyed reading about how the on- and off-screen action.
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I was surprised by how much I liked this one and will likely also check out to the audio version after it’s released. Perfect for fans of Red, White and Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
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QOTD: Who are your favorite fictional couples?
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Thank you to Atria Books, Alison Cochrun and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
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CW: Mental illness/depression, homophobia, family issues

I see a lot of people say they want to get back into reading but want books that feel like reading a great fanfic. For those looking for books with those vibes, this ones for you! I adored this book and its cast of diverse characters. I am a huge fan of found family and platonic bonds in books, and this ones provides! And oh.. Dev and Charlie... I love them so much. The romance in this book is just perfection. Its sweet and complex and left me yearning for more.
This book as an excellent handle on writing mental illness. As someone with a handful of diagnoses, I related so much to Dev and Charlie and their struggles. I've never read a character with OCD, and while I cant speak from experience on its accuracy, I loved how it was handled and the message it gave to neurodivergent readers. I love how informative this book was on mental health and queer identity while never being preachy.
I will definitely be buying a copy upon release and recommend you preorder this one!
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Rep: MLM, Gay, Questioning, POC (Indian, Black, ambiguous), OCD, neurodivergent, Side: Ace, bi, pan, lesbian, nonbinary they/them
CW: panic attacks, light homophobia and biphobia, depression, non-graphic sexual content

Big thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book! I absolutely adored it. There is so much great mental health representation, and LGBTQ representation. there was a few conversations throughout the book about asexuality and the spectrum of that, which was great to see in a romance. I loved Dev and Charlie discovering themselves and the way they feel for each other, really interesting character development. The climax wasn't all light and fluffy and I loved that, I really felt like I wasn't sure how it was going to end. I highly recommend for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue or Boyfriend Material.

I loved every second of this book. Dev and Charlie have such beautiful, complex souls, and their love story felt sweet and believable. I adored the reality tv set-up! I really wish there was more queer rep in reality tv, so this was perfect for me. The glitz and glam of the tv show contrasted nicely with the quiet moments of relationship growth between the two men.

Charlie and Dev’s mental health struggles were handled sensitively, and I could really relate to Dev’s chronic depression. I loved that both men managed their mental health in different ways and each had a unique arc. I wish I had another book just to watch them in a relationship together. SWOON.

The side characters are PHENOMENAL. Loved the way everyone came together over the course of the story. Alison Cochrun’s writing is fabulous with great dialogue and clever banter. Can’t wait to read more books by her in the future!! I’ll definitely be rereading this one!

Thank you so much Atria books and Netgalley for this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I’ll be posting this review to my IG @andiewritesandreads closer to the pub date.

BLINDSIDED. I was COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED by the pure perfection of The Charm Offensive. My heart could not and still CANNOT handle it. The Charm Offensive is hilarious, gut wrenching, and an utter roller coaster of emotion - I laughed hard and yet, I cried even harder. It's not only an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, it is also an advocate for MENTAL HEALTH. Once I was done, I wanted to simultaneously hug the book and throw it at the wall. It's flawless. Dev and Charlie are absolutely priceless.

All the stars and all the adjectives, The Charm Offensive will be a book I shove in everyone's face. My goodness. Alison Cochrun has quite the future ahead.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the advance copy of The Charm Offensive.

THIS BOOK IS SO FREAKING CUTE!! OMG I HAVE TO PREORDER THE PHYSICAL COPY LIKE NOW. IT WAS AMAZING AHH. The representation in this book was beyond, literally beyond everything. These two characters were just so connected in ways I can’t even describe, I could literally feel the chemistry jumping out of the screen!! that’s how good it was written, I highly recommend buying this book when it comes out in september or preordering it while you still can!

Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Bachelor. Charming and funny. Loved this one for the romance and the exploration of the behind the scenes of reality tv.

I enjoyed this story, for the most part. Dev and Charlie are adorable and their love story is well developed. It's definitely a well written romantic comedy and think it'll resonate with a lot of people. My only, and it's small, thing with this book was that there were times when it felt like a dragged on a little too long. I don't usually care about page count (I'll read short or long books with no problem) but I did feel like I would read pages and pages and not really get anything out of those pages. Besides that, it was a great read!

I loved this story so much! Dev and Charlie’s love story is so cute, and I loved the way their friendship and romance developed. I will definitely be reading more of Alison Cochran’s work.

Dev is a reality-tv producer on the very Bachelor-esque EVER AFTER. He believes in fairy tales and has been watching the show since he was a kid. After a last-minute shake up, he has been assigned to be the handler for the prince aka the gorgeous and smart Charlie. Dev’s job: make sure Charlie is where he needs to be and performs well enough to make good tv. But soon enough Dev learns that Charlie is not who he thought he was. After Charlie has a bit of an anxiety attack, Dev tries his best to keep Charlie on track, and int turn, Charlie starts to realize that Dev is the only person who is not turned off by Charlie being himself. As Charlie goes on on-camera dates, he cannot figure out quite why he does not feel right with any of the women contestants, yet when he looks at Dev, his stomach fills with butterflies. What now?

Alison Cochrun has quite possibly created my favorite modern gay multiracial romance. If I could give this book more than five stars I would. As someone who loves pop culture, the whole behind the scenes reality tv theme added exactly what this story needed to come to life. Alison Cochrun has created these characters who are so real that I could relate to so much that I had true empathy for everything they went through. So many of us suffer from depression and anxiety, so while one might assume this would be a surface level romance novel, it is so much deeper than that. I could see this becoming a successful film.

On top of having two main characters who are grounded in reality, this novel is filled with so many side characters that bring the book so much more life and reality. I loved how all the characters had things they needed to overcome including Dev and Charlie’s friends, the other people behind the scenes and even the contestants on the reality show.

This truly is something special. I have never considered myself to be a romance novel person and I found myself crying at the end. One of the absolute best books of 2021.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria books for providing me an e-book copy of The Charm Offensive for review.

When i finished reading this story, I had a huge smile on my face. The smile is still there as I type this thinking about Charlie and Dev. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Oh my God...this book was SO GOOD. It was funny and romantic and so very soft. It was inclusive and educating (but never preachy). The dialogue was hilarious, the love scenes were swoon-worthy, and the grand gesture at the end? No spoilers but my heart was beating so fast in anticipation. I could imagine how the author felt while writing it...to finally be giving the characters (and the readers) the HEA they'd been waiting for. Dev and Charlie might be my favorite romantic couple of the year and this book will undoubtedly be in my top 5.

“It’s the way things are supposed to be. Charlie is their prince, and Daphne is the perfect princess, and this is all how it’s supposed to go. So why does Dev feel like everything is terribly wrong?”

Y’all, this book is SO GOOD!!!

Basic premise: Dev, hopeless romantic & TV producer on the reality dating show “Ever After”, is assigned to coach Charlie, their new bachelor, a mysterious wealthy tech guy who’s anxious and uncomfortable on-camera and off. WILL DEV HELP CHARLIE FIND TRUE LOVE?? In Dev’s words: “I *know* I can make you fall in love.”

Featuring:
- Extremely cute bubbly/controlled pairing
- A disaster gay - scratch that, TWO disaster gays
- Forced proximity
- A dash of fake dating
- A healthy sprinkling of gay panic
- “I will avoid this person I like, that’ll make my feelings go away, right??”
- M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G S
- Just! Talk to each other already!
- Comforting & supporting each other in hard moments
- Positive & authentic mental health rep
- Learning new things about your sexuality; taking time to figure yourself out; not rushing into labels
- The all-knowing snarky friends (Jules & Parisa)
- All the queer rep: gay, bi, pan, ace, folks who uses they/them pronouns, also loved the sapphic-centric ending
- A script for a queer all-Desi movie based on a Bollywood set and comped to “Jane the Virgin”?? I NEED

This book has all of this and more. It’s such a sweet romance that isn’t afraid to step into the mess and struggle of mental health issues, that shows us how important it is to believe we deserve love and to have love story narratives that represent us & our varied identities. There was so much that I could relate to: Charlie, coming out later in life; Dev, avoiding therapy and hard emotional work; and of course, Charlie’s love of The Expanse series & “puzzing” and Dev’s profound love of cookies.

I’m not even a reality dating show watcher and I loved this book so much. And when the author says in the acknowledgements how much she came into herself & her identity writing it *sobs* I can’t wait for this powerful & romantic story to be out in the world and for more people to read this book that will pull all of your heartstrings.

tl;dr: BE GAY DO THERAPY

Content warnings: mental health symptoms (panic attacks, anxiety intrusive thoughts and compulsions, depression), ableism, homophobia/biphobia

“But burning that bright and that fiercely must be exhausting; no one can sustain it forever.”

There are certain books that are incredibly special and speak to your heart on a deep level. The Charm Offensive is one of them. It has been a long time since I have been this emotionally invested in a couple. I loved Dev and Charlie with all my heart. They were absolutely perfect and their story is one that needs to be told.

Dev, a producer on the reality dating show Ever After, whole heartedly believes in love and happily ever afters. Tech millionaire Charlie is the new love interest on the show, hoping to use his newfound fame to bring him back into the good graces of his company after a breakdown last year. The only issue is that Charlie is awkward and uncomfortable, which makes for horrible TV. Tasked to loosen up Charlie, Dev becomes his handler, anticipating Charlie's needs and comforting him during his panic attacks. The forced proximity leads to sparks flying between the two, forcing Charlie to examine his own sexuality and what he truly wants out of life.

Dev has my heart completely. He is so observant and sweet and oh so adorable. Dev pegs Charlie right away and quickly is able to anticipate his every need. And goodness, Charlie is nerdy and stiff, but underneath loves big and has a heart of gold. I loved that excel spreadsheets, libraries, 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles and 90° angles were what calmed him the most.

Together, Charlie and Dev are pure gold. There are so many amazing one-liners and internal thoughts from both main characters and their banter is hilarious. They make me want to go to Lady Gaga night at a gay bar and dance the night away right alongside them. They understand each other, see each other, make each other better, and push each other outside of their comfort zones. Their relationship developed through a slow burn romance until their explosive and epic first kiss. Dev and Charlie are so adorable together, they make my heart gush, and I just loved them.

While I loved Charlie and Dev's relationship, this book tackles sexuality and mental health in a non-taboo way. It's frank and honest. Charlie's journey of self-discovery was absolutely beautiful. He doesn't think he's lovable, because he's never really felt attracted to anyone. As he spends more time with Dev and talks with his best friend, he starts to explore his sexuality and what labels he does or does not want. Never preachy, this book explores sexuality through a unique lens that was well done and emotional.

Both main characters deal with their own mental health struggles and these are discussed openly throughout the book. Shining a huge spotlight on mental health and therapy, there is no judgement and the immediate acceptance of all the characters and their inner most battles made my heart so happy. Cochrun normalizes not having your life figured out.

In addition, I loved the behind the scenes antics to get ratings for the show. They were over the top, but felt super real and I could totally see this happening on set of any current reality dating show. I was obsessed with Charlie's best friend Parisa. She is hilarious and snarky and knows Charlie so well. Parisa helps his exploration without judgement, helps him sift through his emotions and is just there for him. I would LOVE to read a book about her.

Bottom line, this book is amazing and you need to go out and pre-order it immediately. The book started a tad slow for me, but once I got into it, I was invested and fell in love with this sweet couple.

⚠️ CW: general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, OCD, depression

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

"The Charm Offensive" is CHARMING. Absolutely one of my favorites this year - Alison Cochrun delivers a perfect romance novel, full of humor and heart with a couple worth rooting for.

As the producer of the reality show "Ever After," Dev believes in fairytales and romance. But after the network receives criticism that the stars are only there to find fame (and not for the right reasons!), the show runner decides to bring in an outsider: Charlie Winshaw, a millionaire tech guru who only agrees to the Prince Charming role to rehab his image. The issue? Charlie doesn't believe in love and thinks the show is fake. He's uncomfortable on camera and the production is quickly falling apart. To help turn things around, Dev is assigned as Charlie's handler to help him find love during the show's nine weeks of filming.

This novel is SO good. Based on the description, I knew it would be something that I would like, but it really surpassed my expectations. In addition to the slow burn romance, it also had a seriousness that I wasn't expecting to add reality to Dev and Charlie's story. The book was so sweet - I found myself smiling throughout - and there is a wonderful depth to it, as well. It's a guilty pleasure without any guilt.

"The Charm Offensive" strikes the perfect balance of playing to the dedicated Bachelor Nation audience while creating its own show structure (such as throwing a ball before the international travel begins) and pointing out the flaws in the reality program (for example, noting that the couples fall in love after spending 10 total hours together). With the new season of The Bachelorette starting a few weeks ago, I found myself missing Dev and Charlie - they were such special characters.

"The Charm Offensive" is a standout. I can't wait to see what Cochrun writes next.