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.

I am all around smitten with this book and it's characters. I couldn't help rooting for Charlie and Dev right off the bat. They were both so sweet and so deserving of love. 🥺

Not only does this book have expansive LGBTQA+ representation (I don't think ANYONE in this book was cishet!) but it also highlights mental health. I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder in 2017 and seeing someone with the same struggles in a love story made my heart soar.

I LOVED this book. Not only does it spread a wonderful message, but it also made me laugh all the way through. (And cry a bit, let's be honest.) I gave it 5 stars on my goodreads and now I need a physical copy for future rereads. 🥰

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I wanted to love this one, because I loved One to Watch and I've dreamed of an LGBTQ version of dating shows like Bachelor, but I just couldn't connect. The characters irritated the hell out of me. A regrettable DNF but an extra star for the cover.

We just loved this one! The premise hooked us - lead of a Bachelor-style TV show falls for his (male) producer? Yes, please! - and then the execution gave us a compatible couple and adorable love story on that backdrop. Dev and Charlie are both working with their own mental health struggles, and seeing them support each other throughout the relationship was wonderfully heartwarming. Also the sexual tension was real!!!

In addition to the love story, the Bachelor-style TV show backdrop perfectly encapsulates the reason why we watch. (One of our favorite lines references the "large conservative fan base" and the "even larger feminist fan base that claims to watch ironically" - we feel seen and called out in equal measures!) For a faithful viewer of the Bachelor franchise (she hesitates to say "fan" but she's watched every season since 2003) who also calls herself a feminist and claims to watch for the producer interference, this book was the culmination of every Bachelor fantasy. Cochrun serves us with the behind-the-scenes producer manipulation and storyline construction while also managing to give us that ooey-gooey lovey-dovey feeling we really want when we sit down to watch.

I"m not sure where to start with how perfect this debut novel is. The story tackles with such immense care and authority the topics of queerness & mental health that I recommend this book to basically everyone as required reading.

The story follows a reality dating show where a prince seeks his princess and eliminates a couple of women each week. This sounds very much like the Bachelor and it totally is however our "prince" as it turns out is Charlie a tech genius looking to get back into the industry that pushed him out. The good PR from the show is supposed to get him back to work. He has zero intentions of falling in love. Dev his newly assigned handler/producer is supposed to make Charlie TV ready since as it turns out Charlie is a completely socially inept. Their love story is what happens behind the scenes of the reality dating show where Dev is an out gay man and has been since forever, Charlie is just discovering his identity and isn't ready to label it. They are total and complete opposites and yet they fit perfectly in all the ways. The story's heavy topics feel so natural and so nuanced. The fun uplifting moments are so swoony and on point.

I'm in love with Dev and Charlie and their love story and their growth and their self-healing and their everything.

When you're skeptical, but you really want to believe in happy endings . . . in a nutshell, that is The Charm Offensive. I'll start here: I have seen exactly one episode of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. My sister-in-law suggested I watch because they were filming an episode in Capetown, Sout Africa - where I was heading a month or so later for my honeymoon (because I feel I need to explain why I succumbed to viewing). But that was all I needed to grasp this concept of the reality television series presented along the production timeline of a TV series where you'll get a glimpse of how the, uh, the strings are pulled to make the magic happen.

Charlie (Charles Winshaw to the audience) is cast as the prince for a fairytale romance-themed reality series where contestants compete to win the prince's heart and hand in marriage. Feminists of the world are cringing, but keep reading - it's actually a fun read that points fingers in the right direction. Dev Depashande has worked on this series for years and he's typically a handler for the women on the show. But because Charles Winslow, a tech guy trying to improve his image, is super awkward and plagued by anxiety, Dev is reassigned to Charlie and they connect! The season will be saved! Dev just broke up with his boyfriend, who also works on the show, and he's bordering on the edge of depression, about to tumble into the darkness. So, there's a whole mental health layer to this story that is "praise hands" all the way. This is Charlie and Dev's story and it is tender, funny, poignant, and HOT.
What you get is a love story, steamy romance, social commentary on reality television, sexual spectrum discussion, positive mental health discussion - The Charm Offensive contains so much goodness, while serving up some entertaining delight.

ASEXUAL REPRESENTATION!!! LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS!!! (And not conflating the two!!!)

A perfect new-adult story for fans of Red White and Royal Blue.

At one point a character jokes that their production studio put together the queerest team possible, and it’s true and I love it. There are so many stories and representations weaving through this narrative and it is adorable and wonderful. I want sequels and/or fan fiction of all the side characters I KNOW were hooking up while the cameras were off!!

This is a quick and light read, perfect for a summer reading list. The romance between Dev and Charlie is sweet and has a really important message about empathy and anti-ableism. I did feel there were times where the writing came off overly preachy, but I appreciated Dev's transition away from apathy toward workplace injustices. I'm not a fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette or similar "trash TV" dating shows, so that part of the novel wasn't appealing to me. But for readers who are big on that form of entertainment, this one will be a winner.

This book was SUCH a special, immersive, ROMANTIC escape. The representation of neurodiversity, mental health struggles, and demisexuality/asexuality spectrum in this queer romance was so wonderful to see and will mean a lot, I think, to a lot of people. Dev and Charlie were each such standout characters; I loved them both equally, and loved watching them love each other, and themselves, even more. I literally could not put this down, and can't wait to buy a physical copy when it releases.

I am in love with this book. It was simply put, a perfect read. Such a great plot line and such great characters. Wow I want to read this over and over again. This book will definitely be flying off the shelves!

I enjoyed this book a lot. The romance was hot, the Bachelor style set up was fun and very accurate if you’re a fan of the show. It felt a little bit like a Red White and Royal Blue copycat but the premise was different enough that I didn’t mind.

Knowing that the author is white, I do appreciate that there is a diversity rep but I hope that they had some Indian sensitivity readers to confirm that it’s an accurate representation. It felt a little bit like checking the diversity box without delving in to the culture much, BUT it’s a romcom so I’m ok with a light touch.

Since he was little, Dev Deshpande has believed in fairytales, which has led him to devote his career to crafting them on the reality dating show Ever After. As a producer, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own relationship crashes and burns. When the show casts the disgraced tech prodigy Charlie Winshaw as its star, Dev realizes he has his work cut out for him. Charlie is awkward and anxious in front of the cameras, and worse, he doesn’t believe in true love. As Dev tries to get Charlie to connect with the contestants, they open up to each other, and Charlie soon realizes that he is falling for Dev instead of any of his contestants. But reality TV has a script, and in order for Dev and Charlie to get their happily ever after, they’re going to have to go off it.

I absolutely adored this book! This book is the version of The Bachelor that we all deserve. Alison wrote a story that is inclusive and diverse and gave it so much heart. The representation was beyond: Dev’s Indian-American and has clinical depression, Charlie has OCD, anxiety, and panic disorder (and is possibly on the ace spectrum), there’s a Chinese-American bisexual character, a Black bisexual character, and many others! Alison also delved deep into plot lines about mental illnesses and mental health. It wasn’t a topic that was resolved quickly; the characters struggled with their mental health, they acknowledged that they needed help, and they took care of themselves. Finally, Dev and Charlie were wonderful together; their love story was so sweet but also felt very real.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for this gifted copy! This book comes out September 7th, and what are you waiting for? Go preorder it now!

Incredible, Iconic, No Complaints, A STAR, stunning, beautiful, made me feel EVERYTHING, I will be making everyone read it.

This book made me so unbelievably happy, the characters were so easy to love and the characters are very amazingly developed. I read this book in one sitting, it was such amazing writing and plot i couldn’t resist. The mental health representation in this book was one of the best i’ve ever seen. I recommend this book to everyone!!

I adored this queer romance novel about a reality tv star falling for this producer. I found both Charlie and Dev to be very likeable and realistic characters and I thought that the queer representation and the representation of mental health to be stellar across both main and secondary characters. It is a fascinating look into the heteronormativity of reality tv dating shows as well.

I do think that there was a lot of focus on the nuances of queer representation and on mental health, but that the subject of ethnicity was not treated the same - there are characters of a multitude of backgrounds, including an Indian main character, but you don't hear much if at all about their culture or the way it has shaped them. I'd want to see more of that in a subsequent book, or even just more of an acknowledgement of the way that those intersections can affect someone's life and the way that they live.