This book was EVERYTHING. There has been a whole in my heart since I read Red, White and Royal Blue last year, and this book finally filled it. I can't even begin to describe the cuteness. The mental health representation was done so well and the chemistry between Dev and Charlie was perfection. The conversations around accepting oneself and self-care felt so authentic. I wouldn't change a thing about this book. Loved every second of it.

4.5 stars rounded up

Wow! I loved this book! Honestly, Alison Cochrun had me at secret, gay romcom between the star of a Bachelor-esque franchise and his producer. But, she delivered so much more: a satisfying, sexy, and incredibly tender romance between two men struggling with identity and mental health issues that ultimately reads as a rallying cry for self worth and self love.

Dev Deshpande believes in the fairy tale romance that he helps create season after season as a handler on the hit reality series Ever After. Though, after a recent break up with his boyfriend of six years, charming and outgoing Dev is not sure if the fairy tale is for him. Charlie Winshaw, twenty-something tech phenom, is only here to rehabilitate his image after a fall from grace amongst the Silicon Valley elites. Awkward, anxious, and unaccustomed to being in the spotlight, Charlie finds himself unprepared and unable to be the season's perfect "prince." It is up to Dev to coach Charlie through the season and ensure that he walks away having found true love. With one of the show's women, of course...

As an unashamed fan of the Bachelor, I loved the behind-the-scenes view Cochrun gives us of the show everyone loves to hate. She pulls no punches when it comes to the manipulative and exploitative nature of reality TV. From within Ever After's isolated bubble, though, it is Dev and Charlie who find themselves forming a connection built on mutual understanding of what it means to be neurodivergent in an environment designed to stress those struggling with mental illness and questioning their identities. With each other's support and that of the book's cast of amazing, diverse side characters (yas, Parisa and Jules!), Dev and Charlie confront their own flaws and learn to extend care and compassion to themselves.

Cochrun treats sexual identity and mental health with incredible sensitivity, and my criticism of this book is that I wish she could have extended that same consideration to race. Dev is second generation Indian American, but I felt like his race was a relatively superficial choice.

All in all, The Charm Offensive is warm, witty, and will have readers cheering during the final act like any great romcom. Dev and Charlie are so easy to love, and watching them realize this over the course of the book was simply a delight.

"I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I rate it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The experience of reading The Charm Offensive felt like having a fascinating convo with an old friend by the heart 💜 of a fire. I was so excited when I heard about this book and its premise, and I was even more excited after I finished reading it. Basically the book of my dreams. The perfect ROMCOM.

This book is going to be the winner of best romance and debut novel categories 🏆.
I relate myself with the character in this book like anxiety. I highly recommend this book to every YA reader. The perfect romance between charming Charlie and goofball Dev will keep you all hooked into this book until it's last word.

This debut Novel by Alison Cochrun contains the recent and fascinating traditional blend of romance and you won't stop yourself for falling for it.

Cute sweet and utterly charming. This will undoubtedly be a hit this summer for bookstagram!

Great little story and one that I see most people really connecting. With.

Personally, I would like to see a moment in which I read a romance book and I <i>don't</i> cry. I felt like every interaction our main characters had was so special and pure and intimate without them even touching each other. Charlie and Dev were just so in sync and patient with each other and I really enjoyed how carefully this book moved through the mental health of the characters. It was very tasteful and not romanticized by any means, and definitely makes the reader hopeful that there are people like that that exist out there.

Dev works for Ever After, a bachelor-like dating show with a prince and his princesses, trying to find their future husband/wife. Charlie is looking to clean up his image after a public meltdown and finds himself on the show because what better way to clean up your act than to date multiple women and be completely vulnerable on national television. The thought of all of this makes Charlie want to throw up but Dev is there to manage and assist where he is needed. As Charlie's handler, he is there to make sure everything runs smoothly and coach him where necessary.... which is everywhere. Charlie is a terrible star for the show but Dev will not let him break the show's season. The more time these two spend together, the better they understand each other and thus a friendship begins.

Charlie doesn't know what he wants nor does he know what to expect, but as his time on the show continues, the events that follow are not at all what he would've ever imagined for himself.

Charlie was :') personified I think. I just feel like he was this nervous flower that hadn't bloomed and then all of a sudden HE DID. I WANTED TO WRAP HIM UP IN A BIG HUG THE WHOLE TIME. Him and Dev were just such a rewarding pair of characters to follow and love and I could not have been happier with how this book progressed.

This book has everything I love, and despite that, it fell a bit flat for me. We’ve basically got 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳 with wonderful, queer themes and exploration of attraction and sexuality.⁣
⁣
I say this like I’ve watched 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳/𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 at all since 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝗪𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫’𝐬 season. 🤦🏻‍♀️⁣
⁣
Where 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 falls short for me is through an overwhelming focus on the superficial 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳-𝘦𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦 show, 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳. For too long, I struggled with understanding what the heck the book was about and if it was ever going to head in the direction it was marketed. I think the burn suffers from being just a little bit too slow. 😅⁣
⁣
The end wraps up very nicely, but it didn’t change my mind at all about the other 75% of the book that I trudged through and thought about giving up on a few times.⁣
⁣
Thank you so much to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the digital ARC. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 will be available 9/7/21.⁣
⁣
Do you watch 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳/𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦? If so, what was your favorite season?

The Charm Offensive is a little bit One to Watch and a little bit Boyfriend Material, but where those two books flew by I felt like The Charm Offensive was a little long and needed some editing down. I was rooting for Charlie and Dev and as characters I adored them, but a lot of the where and when just seemed to drag for me. Overall I liked it, I just didn't love it.

alright, first of all - thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

for my review, i am going to list some of the things i loved about this book and what i loved about them.

1) Hardly any cishet characters. I'm so serious about this. Most of the characters you meet and genuinely spend time with in this book are NOT cishet. And that's amazing. Especially considering the reason they're all interacting in the first place - they work on a tv show that has historically been very, very cishet.

2) Diversity amongst the diverse characters. There's a lot of racial diversity, but the author doesn't presume to tell a story that's not hers. I would absolutely listen to reviews from Asian and Black readers when this book comes out, but my first impression was that Alison wrote these characters very well! I adored them all.

3) The discussions about mental health and mental illness!!!!!! Let me put all the exclamation points for this. We have two MCs who deal with mental health issues, and you see them deal with it in different ways. I loved the discussions they had about it. I love that everything wasn't magically fixed at certain points when revelations and breakthroughs occurred because! healing! is! not! linear!

4) Charlie Winshaw - who deals with a big identity crisis in a very public way. Also, I felt very represented by him in a lot of ways?? He was basically my favorite. Even though everyone else was also my favorite.

5) All kinds of ace rep. *whispers* Even with one of our MCs.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. There's so much more I could say, but I don't want to spoil it. I think some people reading this book might critique it by saying it's trying too hard to be socially aware or diverse or whatever but what they don't get is that diverse people want diverse stories. I wanted THIS story. And I'm so glad it exists.

Also, I want a spin-off of ******'s story after that ending!

The Charm Offensive is about a producer on a reality dating show (a la The Bachelor) named Dev who unexpectedly gets reassigned to handle the show's new Prince Charming, Charlie. I mostly enjoyed this book. I thought the set-up was interesting and I was invested in the characters (for the most part). My biggest gripe with this book (and a lot of new books/media coming out) is how it plays with identity. Instead of subtly exploring issues of identity or discovering and understanding how one's identity impacts our experiences, the author beats the reader over the head with the blunt object of identity politics. I don't always think "show, don't tell" is good advice, but in this instance, it should have been. Overall, it's an enjoyable book if you don't mind the cheesiness of some of the romantic aspects (I say this as someone who doesn't love romance novels but reads them anyways).

Such a fun read about Ever After, a show modeled on The Bachelor. Charlie isn't the typical lead, but thankfully his producer is Dev, who gets him like no one else does. They soon find themselves falling for each other, which threatens to ruin everything.

I hope someday soon, actual reality TV reflects reality.

I don't like the title; it doesn't reflect the story very well and could be better.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved the Charm Offensive! What a cute, funny read. Dev and Charlie are sure to win you over. Fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and lovers of reality tv will enjoy this book!

The Charm Offensive is the lovely story between our producer Dev and the star of a Bachelor-type reality show, Charlie. This book has so many great elements! It really pulled me in, and I was easily swept into the slow-burn romance between our two heroes. I really enjoyed the writing, the overall plot, the depth to our characters, our fun, diverse set of side characters and the romance overall. The pacing was good, there was a good deal of tension with enough resolution at the end to not feel completely rushed. There was enough humor and lightness, without downplaying the seriousness of the topics. I have realized though reading this book that I do not love reading novels written in the present tense, I find it a big disconcerting. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what the author writes next!

Dev has believed in true love and happy endings since he first saw Ever After as a boy. And now he's a producer on the reality dating show. Charlie is the newest "prince" and will be selecting among 20 women. But (gasp) he is not there to find love. He is hoping to revitalize his image, so he can return to the company he built.

This is the greatest set-up. The two of them fundamentally disagree but need each other. And it's tough to see how they can achieve their own happily ever after within the confines of a reality TV show contest. I was in love with the story and both Dev and Charlie from the start. But the journey this book took me on still surprised me.

I always appreciate when books talk about mental health. The Charm Offensive goes so far beyond that. Some of the metaphors and language used struck me so deeply, and I keep thinking of them. They capture the realities of depression so well.

I won't give any spoilers, so I will say I was surprised by the ending, and I deeply loved this book.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

TW: obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, depression

I'm at a loss for words about this one. It is absolutely exceptional and if you haven't preordered it yet you should do it asap. This story means so freaking much to me personally, as an aspec person with severe anxiety and having such open and honest on page rep was phenomenal. I can't recommend this one enough.

Maybe if I can get my emotions together, I can write a longer review. But at the moment I am emotionally unstable and uncapable of compiling actual sentences that could even attempt to explain how much I fucking love this book.

Rep: indian american gay MC with depression, white aspec mc with ocd and panic disorder, a bunch of queer characters including lesbian, bisexual, asexual, nonbinary, gay, and pansexual

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-book ARC in exchange for my review.

I'm sorry, but I really didn't like this one. Admittedly, I'm not the target reading audience, and I didn't like 'Red, White & Royal Blue', so it's obviously something about me and my reading habits more than this actual book. I'm sorry that I have to leave a review and rating, because I'm sure others will really love the book.

2 stars because it's just not my type of book, but I want to be generous.

4.5 cute stars. This book was so cute. Cute characters and a cute story. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book.

I adored this book. ADORED it. I laughed and swooned alongside Charlie and Dev in this reality-show set romance. I expected to root for the characters and to love the journey of their romance. I expected a lambasting of the heteronormative culture on Bachelor-esque TV shows. I expected all of that, but I did not expect the heartfelt and genuine discussions about mental health, OCD, and depression. Cochrun is an excellent, sensitive writer with heart, and these characters will stay with me (and so will the verb "to puzz".) Highly recommended!

For fans of dating shows The Charm Offensive is a charming read. Dev works on Ever After and is assigned to help Charlie to fall in love. Sparks fly and happily ever afters are sought after.

Not only did I spent my entire day in bed glued to my screen because of this book but I cried several times and left my friends pretty worrying voice memos about it.

Thank you to Netgally for providing me with this arc. These are all my own thoughts and reviews.

I think this might be one of my favorite books of all time. I haven't felt so seen in a character in such a long time.

So we have hopelessly romantic Dev who I adored. His character is so funny and charming and grounded in reality while still maintaining a whimsical nature about him. I really loved how Cochrun managed to write him honestly without making him be a perfect person. And then there's Charlie... Was Charlie written for me? About me? (Probably not. But I'm going to pretend.) Charlie is awkward and a little cynical but by all means is the heart and soul of this story. I related to Charlie so much, having anxiety myself, and it was so good reading actually good representation. Together... oh my god, I could go on about the chemistry between them. (Seriously, you should listen to my voice memos. It's embarrassing.) Cochrun crafted such a gorgeous love story. I reread parts that made me swoon over and over thinking it'll lose that feeling it gave me, but it didn't.

Let's talk about the rep. I was so impressed with how much representation was in this and good representation at that. So glad to see a diverse cast of characters and sexualities. It's so rare to see asexuality being discussed in books, so imagine my surprise when there are two characters on the spectrum and a wonderful conversation about what asexuality means. There's a lot of stuff Cochrun does that I love. Good conversations surrounding difficult topics are so important and hard to do. It's easy to make talking about mental health and sexuality come off preachy or like an after-school special. This was natural. I truly felt like I was listening to friends advise and teach each other. And that's what I want in a book. I never want to feel talked to, but as if I'm a part of the conversation.

As to not get sidetracked... This is definitely one of my favorite reads. It's wholesome and real, and funny and romantic. It's everything you want. Like I said, I spent the entire day in bed devouring this book. The Charm Offensive has to be one of the best romance books. I desperately need a physical copy like yesterday. I know I'm praising and praising this book (I've actually asked a friend to get a copy when it's released so she can tell me if I'm overexaggerating) but I don't care I LOVED it. And I usually hate everything. I want to read books that make me enjoy reading, I want to read books that forces me to keep reading because I love the characters or I'm so invested in the plot I can't possibly look away now. Plus it's funny, and what's better than a book that makes you laugh genuinely? This ticked all the boxes for me.

The Charm Offensive is a beautiful novel about love and choice. Choosing what makes you happy, choosing yourself, and sometimes, choosing to believe in love.

rating: 5/5

Here I sit, eyes full of tears, heart full of this sort of crazy joyful love for Dev and Charlie. Oh my word, but they were the good stuff. Their affection for each other, the easy way they accepted each other, and the sort of natural chemistry they had completely won me over. The complex, flawed, but remarkably real characters themselves, and the dialogue between them - honest, real, and laced with these unexpected pockets of humor that made me smile so big - were absolute perfection.

I also loved the way some of the more touchier points were represented in this story. Both Dev and Charlie's struggles with mental illness felt very honest and respectful and empowering. Both characters took these amazing journeys of self-discovery, self-care, and self-respect that were incredibly rewarding to read about. I adored Charlie's character arc (honestly, I just really freaking adored Charlie, period, full stop. But anyway, his character arc...), and the gentle way his sexual questioning was handled. I loved Dev in the role of champion and protector, but then - they were both that to each other and ohmygoodness it was a thing of beauty. I am a sucker for books with imperfect characters, and I do feel like the way the author approached this storyline was just right.

That said, I struggled a bit with the first half the the book. The writing style took a bit for me to settle into, and I felt like there were portions of the first half that moved extremely slowly. I was perhaps less patient with the set-up and the reality TV bits of the storyline, and more greedy for the connection between Dev and Charlie. There were a few moments where I wondered whether I was enjoying it enough to continue, but in the end, every time, the loveliness of these characters sucked me back in.

And it wasn't just Dev and Charlie. Parisa was a brash, bold, scene-stealer extraordinaire and I adored her loyalty to Charlie. I also loved Jules's steadfast, genuine friendship with Dev. Even a couple of the reality show contestants won my heart a bit (and honestly, I kind of wanted to be best friends with Angie). These relationships were all layered and warm and completely irresistible to me. Honestly, the character development was just so fantastic throughout the story and definitely held it afloat for me when I became frustrated with the pacing.

In the end The Charm Offensive was utterly adorable, heartfelt, and romantic in an almost unassuming way. I'm incredibly glad I stuck with the story. I love that I met and got to know these amazing characters and my heart is so happy for the story they were given. It wasn't a flawless read for me, but it was absolutely worth it! ~ 3.5 Stars