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.⁣
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I say this like I’ve watched 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳/𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 at all since 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝗪𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫’𝐬 season. 🤦🏻‍♀️⁣
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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. 😅⁣
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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.⁣
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Thank you so much to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the digital ARC. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 will be available 9/7/21.⁣
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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

This book was pretty fun. I've watched The Bachelor(ette) off and on for years so I was intrigued by the premise. I really enjoyed this! I definitely recommend this to readers who loved Red White & Royal Blue, or those looking for a new queer romcom.

This was so good! A queer romance with a lot of diversity that managed to deal with some heavier mental health stuff in a sensitive way while still being incredibly fun. I don't even watch The Bachelor and I had a great time reading this book's version of the show. And of course, I loved our leads Charlie and Dev, idiots to lovers with a height difference and excellent chemistry.

This was really an emotional rollercoaster and I loved everything about it. I recognised myself in both Charlie and Dev and I found myself with my heart in my hands crying and smiling, from happiness, sadness and a turmoil of emotions these characters made me feel.

I don't really know how to explain it. Took me by surprise! I was expecting a very lighthearted romcom and, while I got the romcom part, it wasn't lighthearted at all. Both MCs suffer from mental illnesses that make them feel broken, wrong, undeserving of love and caring. They will grow so much during the story but not without a lot of setbacks. My heart hurt for them, reading their thoughts, how they just couldn't just give in to the love they were feeling, a love bigger than what they were used to.

I loved Charlie and Dev, both separately and together. And this book was written so well, dealing with serious issues, taking actions towards what was wrong, having deep conversations. It was just perfect and I loved it. And the asexuality talk? My heart!! Everything about this book just hit home, good and bad!

My thoughts are messy right now, I have a lot of feelings, all positive. I'm sorry I'm not better at putting into words just how much this book meant to me. I highly recommend it and I will scream about it for all to hear!

I loved "One To Watch," and if you liked it as well, this is a queer commentary on the Bachelor/reality TV franchise that you must read! The producer angle was interesting, and I loved the peek into the the manipulation that reality TV can sometimes execute. Definitely pick this up! Made we want to reread "One To Watch" too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing a generous advance readers copy to me in exchange for an honest review!

I’m almost embarrassed to say this is one of my first queer romance books that I’ve read. But it’s one of my favorite books ever. I laughed. I cried. I learned. Isnt that why we read books?

I read this over several days and it was what I looked forward to doing during those few days. I would get a break at work and read. I would be on the bus and read. I miss reading books I enjoy this much.

I love that both characters were perfect in their imperfections and this book showed that being yourself is the most rewarding thing you can be.