Charlie should NEVER have agreed to be the new Prince Charming on the reality tv show called "Ever After". There are a few reasons for that. Charlie isn't sure that he believes in true love at all and his primary reason for doing the show is that he wants to fix his image.

I believe this is Allison Cochrun's debut romance and it's a zinger! There's happiness, amusement, neurodiversity, misunderstandings, humor, sweetness and romance... it's just that nothing happens quite at the times and places that anyone expects!

Dev Deshpande is almost the opposite of Charlie. Dev definitely believes in the full on fairy tale and that's one of the reasons that he's a talent handler on "Ever After". When the show runner notices that Dev seems to have a way with Charlie - they are assigned to each other. Rather than managing the potential Princesses, Dev is now tasked with managing Charlie. His job seems impossible at first... he must turn Charlie into someone desierable... romantic and engaging.

There is a grand twist in this book  - and okay - it begins with a practice-dating trope, but I loved it. Dev offers to spend time with Charlie, ease him into social interactions by practicing. As the practicing progresses, Charlie beigns to realize that he has made a tragic mistake by being on the show. As his feelings for Dev begin to surface... the dynamic changes and things go a bit sideways.

What I loved about this book is that it's a full on rom-com that brought tears to my eyes at the right moment. Like Dev, I found myself being convinced that "true love" was a real thing and I was cheering them on! I love when I get caught up in things I'm reading.

The humour was great... I loved some of the friendships in the book. They had just the right amount of spice!

The Charm Offensive is, as a matter of fact, a truly charming book. It’s heartwarming and neurotic and funny and sweet and is truly about falling in love. That it’s set on a reality tv dating competition is both antithetical and essential to the story. Charlie is a cinnamon roll, Dev is a delight, and the book was just what I needed.

Dev and Charlie are sooooo cute! Watching their relationship grow was so precious and beautiful. I loved how they supported each other in their times of need and they were so gentle and loving. I liked all of the LGBTQIA+ representation and also the mental illness representation too! I really related to Dev's depression and Charlie's anxiety.

The perfect book for fans of books like One To Watch and TV shows like reality TV shows like The Bachelor or Bachelorette. It is cute, fun, & a novel you won't wanna put down.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun is about a reality tv producer, Dev, who tasked with helping awkward, anxious, tech mogul Charlie get through starring in a dating show. Charlie can barely get through one date with the women in the show but behind the scenes things are heating up with his producer. I loved this book so much! The chemistry between Dev and Charlie was so sweet and I felt all the characters played such a big role in each other’s lives. The author did an amazing job featuring queer people and really making it THEIR story. The representation of mental health, POC and queer people in this book is something to be so proud of! This is definitely a reread!

The perfect book for PRIDE month, The Charm Offensive packs in diversity in all fronts and celebrates love in a way you don’t often see in a novel.

While I’m not a fan of The Bachelor, or really any reality TV, the idea of a reality film star busting open the premise and breaking the rules is deeply appealing. Cochrun delivers in a fast-paced and fun (not too spicy) Rom-Com for a new generation of readers.

Very cute and fun! A little forgettable but I think the comps are just so BIG that this book had a lot to hold up to in my opinion.

4.25 STARS

Set amidst a long-running reality dating show backdrop, “The Charm Offensive” is a unique, diverse take on a more traditional theme. Not only does it explore the concept of love while showcasing relationships in its varying forms, but it also addresses mental health issues that so often go untreated and even ignored.

Boasting a writing style that is both witty and heartfelt, I was easily drawn into the story right from the get-go. The two main protagonists were exquisitely charming in their mutual fallibility and bearing witness to their burgeoning love connection was quite endearing. However, I felt the author was trying a bit too hard in her efforts to demonstrate normality by depicting only characters that furthered this agenda. Still, I applaud her endeavor to shine a spotlight on the true meaning of love and to finding it in the most unlikely of places.

I have been hearing amazing things about The Charm Offensive and literally all of them are true. You must pick up this book. It is beautiful, it is funny, it is heartbreaking, and it is so relevant. Alison Cochrun wrote a fabulous story and stories like this, with queer rep, ace rep, mental illness rep, are CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.

Dev is a producer on the reality tv show Ever After, a Bachelor type show where contestants compete to win the heart of a prince/princess. Dev believes in happily ever afters, even though he just got out of a failed 6 year relationship with his colleague Ryan. He is responsible for creating these beautiful HFNs on TV but has his work cut out for him with the show's new prince, Charlie. Charlie joined the show to rehab his image after losing his job but is extremely uncomfortable in the spotlight. Dev becomes Charlie's handler and as their relationship grows they begin to realize their happily ever after might be right in front of them.

This book has not only mental illness representation but also ace, queer, and nonbinary rep. As I don't identify with any of those experiences, I can't 100% say that they are accurate but reviews from folx with those identities seem to highlight that positive rep. What I do want to state is that this book shows that diversity is critical, it's sellable, it's marketable, and it can be amazing to read, even if those identities aren't your own.

I loved the Bach setting - I am not a huge Bachelor fan and I absolutely loved this. It felt realistic the ways that production creates narratives that aren't their just for good tv, which is extremely frustrating and can be heartbreaking. A few of the twists felt obvious but the payout was still so good (I really want another book with a few of the secondary characters!).

I highly recommend this. It is honestly a beautiful book about finding love, not only with someone else but within ourselves. And definitely read to the Acknowledgments because they made me tear up.

"I don't think happily ever after is something that happens to you. I think it's something you choose to do for yourself."

As an avid watcher of all different permutations of The Bachelor as well as practically any reality dating show, I was primed to love this book. However, even going in prepared to fall in love, I was unprepared for how much I would absolutely adore it. Charlie and Dev were easy characters to connect with - the two felt well-rounded, human and flawed while also being adorable, funny and charming. Parisa, Jules, Daphne, Angie and so many of the background/supporting characters were a complete delight as well and filled out this fun, pulpy world that I enjoyed inhabiting the entirety of my time reading the book.

Cochurn is well versed in the world of reality tv dating shows, introducing elements readers will be familiar with while also never punching down. I never felt mocked or silly to be someone who enjoyed these types of shows while also understanding the fragility of the atmosphere created and the very strict script these shows are supposed to operate within.

Charlie and Dev both deal with various mental health issues throughout the book and I loved the way these were dealt with - the two of them falling in love with each other not in spite of their mental health struggles but because they are able to go through it together in healthy and thoughtful ways. The two learn from each other and accept one another and the world the book lives in is one of inclusivity and acceptance while not denying that some people are rooting against them.

I feel so grateful I was given a chance to read this book. Thank you so much to Atria and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I've already preordered this book and can't wait to see what Cochrun writes next.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the chance to read and review this book!

TW: homophobia, mental illness, panic attacks and anxiety attacks, ableist language

Dev Deshpande believes in fairy tales, in happily ever after. He's a producer in the reality dating show Ever After and he scripts the perfect love story for this contestants, even though his love life is terrible and he just broke up with his boyfriend, after six year old. But then they choose the tech wunderkind Charles Winshaw as the show next prince and star. He's so far from the perfect Prince Charming. In his last effort to reabilitate his image and get back to work in tech, Charlie is determined to do anything, but he's stiff, anxious and he doesn't believe in true love and in this show. When Dev becomes his handler, in order to instruct him and tell him what to do and how to act in the show, to connect with the women in the show, slowly they become to know one other, to get, help and support each other. When they start to realize how strong is their chemistry and connection. they have to battle with their show contracts, hopes and futures and fears. And what love story they get to tell and live.

I LOVED The Charm Offensive! The story was so cute, a wonderful, funny and brilliant rom-com, told by two different POVs, Dev's and Charlie's.
They are very different from one other. Dev believes in happily ever after, he's a windwhirl, always smiling, always fixing and helping people, while Charlie is nervous, emotionally closed-off and socially awkward. It was wonderful to see how slowly they get to know one other, how they clicked, understanding, helping, support and loving each other, while filming the show, visiting cities and places and sharing their lives, traumas, fears and desires. Dev and Charlie fight with their own traumas and difficulties, mental illness and work.
How they start to accept their own fears and desires and to open themselves to let people in. In a game of pushing and pulling, running away and closing onelsef off, Charlie and Dev are complex and wonderfully intricate main characters.

I liked the way the author talks about their struggles, mental and emotional ones, their fears, desires and hopes and how the author talked about Charlie's mental health, his compulsion, anxiety and panic attacks, the importance of therapy and to be surrounded by loved ones and also the importance of loving oneself first, being healthy and working on oneself.

I also loved the representation. In The Charm Offensive we have gay MCs (a questioning one, slowing realizing his sexuality), lesbian, gay and pan side characters. In a sweet and witty story, The Charm offensive address the hidden reality of the reality shows, the villanization of women just for public entertainment, the often homophobic and ableist enviroment and in this situation, Charlie and Dev have to survive, fight for themselves, to be true to themselves and love one other.

This story is really sweet, romantic and I really loved it! Charlie and Dev will stay in my heart!

What a joy! This was so smart and fun and poignNt and honestly pretty nearly perfect. I was hooked from the beginning, loved the diverse characters, and really enjoyed the care with which the author took as she navigated the mental health of both characters and how she portrayed the ups and downs of supporting yourself and a loved one who is neurodivergent.

This was a fun romance that takes place on a reality dating show. Charlie is this season's prince and Dev is his handler for the show. Charlie is very shy and standoffish, he is not comfortable being on the show but is only doing it to help his reputation so he can get back into his work. Dev is the opposite, he is very upbeat and a happy person who believes in the fairytales that he helps create one the show. Their relationship was so fun to watch! I don't watch reality tv so I don't usually go for stories like this but I really enjoyed. I love a sunshine and grump and this one did not disappoint there. I struggled with the story towards the end, I just wasn't a fan of one the plot devices but overall still a great read. Highly recommend this one, especially if you are a fan of The Bachelor type shows. Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review!

This is a cute story and definitely appeals to those who can't get enough of the "meet-cute" trope presented in a lot of "younger" romances. It's not a book that just stands out above the rest as super-memorable, but it's good nonetheless.

The Charm Offensive is THAT book for me! Immediately I laughed and wanted to read more. I loved the characters: Charlie, Dev, Jules, Parisa. Alison Cochran made them alll so important and nobody left out. This story had a basis around the Bachelor and reality TV dating shows. I found myself doing deep belly laughs at certain points and smiling so big during my whole read. Whoops, I may have even read this in one sitting.

I will start this review off by saying I am in a love/hate relationship with the Bachelor franchise.

Yes, it's trash 99% of the time but it's a fun guilty pleasure I enjoy.

Which was why the premise for this book caught my eye.

Charlie is a tech guru who was kicked off the board of his business because he was considered "difficult" so he decides to go on Ever After to change his image. He meets his handler, Dev, and soon he's struck by how much he likes him and eventually he realizes he might just find love on "Ever After" after all.

I loooved this book. Charlie wasn't your typical hunky millionaire. He's got anxiety, he's OCD, he has panic attacks, and yet he still gets through the hard days with Dev at his side. Dev has his own emotional problems with depression and yet they both work through it. I've never actually read a book that really resonated this much with my own problems before and I just want to tell the author how much I just ached with how these two men weren't treated as wrong. They were both strong, and they got through the bad days together.

Thank you for that.

And the ending!

*clutches chest*

Thank you for the ending.

I loved every character in this and I am going to add this to my own personal collection when it comes out officially. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've only ever watched about ten minutes of a reality show before I turned it off and never went near another, but that didn't stop me from going for this book. And I'm so glad I did.

The inclusivity is off the charts, but the characters are so wonderfully themselves that never did I feel like the author was running down the LGBTQ+ checklist. Dev, all spikes and angles, is a romantic at heart, working for the fakest of "romance" reality TV shows; Charlie, the millionaire math nerd, agrees to go on the show to prove he is normal, after being turfed out of the company he started with his ex best friend.

Charlie is going to be flown to dream spots around the world as he chooses from twenty lovely women. It's in his contract that he will propose to one at the end of the show, and he has to stay with her at least six months.

The problem is, Charlie is about as hapless as they come when dealing with human emotions like attraction--he's too busy looking for germs, and making sure people don't get into his physical space.

Except for Dev, who is his handler. He feels differently about Dev, beginning with barfing on his shoes . . .

I just loved this romantic, sweet, exhilarating emotional rollercoaster of a story. The narrative voice splits between Dev and Charlie as the two navigate between the show's crazy fakeness, the personalities behind the camera, and their own emotional landmines. So many landmines.

Cochrun doesn't forget to give the side characters real dimension, motivation, and a chance to change, as Dev and Charlie orbit one another like a pair of planets escaping the gravitational pull of the sun. The result is a vivid, funny, romantic, passionate, and compassionate combination that I read in one go.

Wow everyone! I am calling it now! We have a BIG upcoming release here! If you take a hint of Casey McQuiston's Red White and Royal Blue and add a dash of The Bachelor and a pinch of Kate Stayman - London’s One to Watch you get The Charm Offensive and Spoiler Alert, this book did NOT disappoint!

The Charm Offensive
By: Alison Cochrun
Pub Date: September 7th 2021

Goodreads Synopsis:
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.

As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

How is the Cover:
Absolutely adorable! I am a sucker for a pink cover from the get go but what is in the book really matches what the outside looks like down to the clothing. Kudos to the cover designer here.

Before I get into my take I want to say I Love the editors note in this book detailing what his parameters are for taking a book on as well as why he chose to take this book on. It was a very interesting and heartwarming tidbit and a perfect way to start this book.

My Take:
I can tell you right now that this book is going to appeal to the masses. It is Juicy and full of drama but it is funny at the same time. It also hits some serious subjects such as mental illness, experimentation, coming out and discrimination in the work place. This book will make you laugh, cry and be pissed off but in the best way possible!

The inclusivity in this book is also amazing! It makes me wish (as it always has) that the bachelor franchise was more inclusive. Have you ever seen a truly plus size person in the mansion and how about the amount of time it took for the show to have anyone of color as the lead. TBD on seeing anyone that doesn’t identify as straight in the lead role. The Bachelor is 100% a guilty pleasure of mine but to say it is a bit problematic is an understatement. I would love to see them expand their horizons and their minds to be more inclusive.

I Digress…

The Charm Offensive is a page turner that will have you wanting more chapter by chapter and is truly tough to put down. There is some steam in this book but doesn’t go into a ton of detail. The book is dual POV going back in forth between Dev and Charlie during the Filming of Ever After and the Dual POV was done very well in this case. The book was seamless but I always knew whose POV I was reading.

Audiobook Review?
This book I read on my Ebook via netgalley in exchange of an honest review so no audiobook review here but with how this book is written I could definitely see myself listening someday.

Would I Recommend this book?
1000% yes this book gets all the stars. Like I am making this book rain with stars it is FLAWLESS! Mark your calendars for this book folks and make sure to preorder because come fall this book is going to be what everyone is talking about!

Content warnings:
I am taking this directly from Alison Cochruns page, the content warnings, just because there are quite a few and I think her wording is best. I will link her page at the bottom.
On-page anxiety, panic attacks, and experiences with depression
Conversations surrounding OCD and mental illness stigmas, including workplace discrimination (off-page, alluded to)
Drinking and discussions of alcohol dependency
Familial estrangement and rejection based on mental illness (off-page, alluded to)
Brief references to homophobia and racism (all challenged)

my rating: 5 Stars

scheduled to post on Instagram and blog: 6/23/21

Wow, I LOVED this book! For someone who has NEVER watched the bachelor / bachelorette (which the show in the book, Ever After, is clearing based on) I still soaked up every minute & thought the setting was just so fun! The characters all felt so well written & I loved that you could see their development happening on each page. There was so much diversity & representation in the characters as well, including the way the book talked about & showed mental health. Also I loved the exploration of asexuality & what it means to be on that spectrum. The love story also felt very natural, which is often hard to find in a rom-com. I felt like Charlie & Dev so naturally came together first in their friendship, then romantically. I'll be thinking about them for a while, & honestly I hope we get a second book following the first (planned) LGBTQ+ season of "Ever After" - I would read that in a heartbeat!

Such a special book that gave me all the feels! Read it, read it, read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! This was absolutely adorable, I found it a little light on the comedy of the rom-com, but I didn't mind. If you liked [book:One to Watch|53103895] and now want to watch queer love, this is for you. It covered some heavy topics without ever feeling like it was dragging me down, like coming to terms with your sexuality, anxiety and depression, and forbidden love.

Charlie goes on to a dating show to prove to the people he worked with that just because he struggles with mental health, he isn't crazy, and he is perfectly capable of running his company. The problem? He's never really been attracted to anyone, and aforementioned anxiety makes being on camera with a bunch of new women a struggle. Lucky for him, his handler, Dev, believer in all things happily ever after, is there to help smooth the process along. The process being Charlie falling in love, but will he find love where he expected?

This is a very friends to forbidden lovers romance, as Dev could obviously get in trouble with his employer for seducing their prince charming during the middle of production. Both of them are so sweet, and I think for me the best part was the supportive response from some of the contestants and other team mates. It was just a sweet, hopeful read, and I enjoyed every minute of it.