Of course there has to be an M/M romance that takes place on a Bachelor-type show with an MC who falls in love with his male producer instead of one of the female contestants. I'm surprised nobody has written this story before (I imagine there's plenty of fan-fiction over on AO3). I'm not a dating reality show fan, but The Charm Offensive was vastly enjoyable, even if it made me uncomfortable at times.

Charlie is a handsome yet socially awkward tech millionaire who comes on Ever After to salvage his reputation after a mysterious parting of the ways with the company he co-founded. And Dev is the handler/producer who loves the fairy tale aspect of his show, even though he knows there is little chance that the contestants will have a real, long-term happily ever after. When Charlie turns out to be a disaster in front of the cameras, it's Dev's job to work closely with him and turn him into good reality TV material. But of course the more time they spend together, the more the two men start realizing they are in dangerous territory if they act on their attraction. Charlie signed a contract agreeing to become engaged to one of the contestants, and he needs to look good to salvage his career. And Dev would get fired from his dream job if anyone caught him kissing the prince.

Alison Cochrun's writing style reminded me of Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue, a combination of humor, intense emotions, and witty dialogue. Her characters have diverse ethnic backgrounds and are on varying places on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, so there's lots of interesting queer representation. She also shines a light on how it feels to live with a mental illness like anxiety, depression or OCD, and thankfully this is not one of those ridiculous romances that pretends that love will cure all ills. I was a little uncomfortable about the fact that Charlie and Dev's burgeoning relationship happened at the expense of the female contestants ( several of whom have interesting but minor arcs) but a late plot development cleverly allayed most of my concerns.

I can't say this book made me want to catch up on past seasons of The Bachelor, but it did provide a nice swoon-worthy finale and a happily ever after that is much more believable in a romance novel than on TV.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review

I enjoyed the hell outta this book. It’s so unique and consistently hilarious with wonderful MCs, but it’s also deeply emotional and heartwarming and angtsy and swoony and sweet. It’s absolutely one of my fave reads of the year.

There are so many things I love about this book:
• MCs Charles and Dev are adorable and wonderful
• The humor - I laughed my ass off. This had me LOLing on like the second or third page and then every few paragraphs thereafter
• The unique premise/setting - the Bachelor-type TV show where Dev works as a producer and Charlie is the “prince” looking for love is really fun and outside-the-box
• The fantastically diverse cast - we get characters of many ethnicities and sexualities represented here and it’s beautiful
• The spotlight it shines on mental health - depression, panic attacks, severe anxiety, OCD and mental health stigma are highlighted and handled in an authentic and sensitive manner

One of my favorite aspects of Dev & Charlie’s relationship is whenever Dev comes to a realization about Charlie’s needs, he doesn’t dismiss him or judge him (like when Charlie voiced a concern about people touching him without permission). Every time Dev learns something new about him, he immediately changes his behavior where necessary so Charlie will feel more comfortable. Looking out for Charlie’s mental and emotional well-being (and preventing any anxiety triggers for him) became second nature for Dev. I loved that. 🥺🥰

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC.

This book was absolutely adorable. It had similar vibes to RWRB and it was just fantastic to read. I loved reading every second of this book and think it will become a "it's gay and it slaps" type book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! #NetGalley #TheCharmOffensive

I absolutely adored this book. It’s a heartwarming rom-com with an amazing, diverse cast of characters that will have you laughing in the first 20 pages. It deals with mental health, sexuality and identity, workplace discrimination and so much more. I loved reading along as Dev and Charlie both went through an intense period of growth and I was really touched by the loyal friendships (the supporting characters really stood out in this!).

If you loved One to Watch, you’re sick of how heteronormative The Bachelor franchise is or you’re a sucker for good banter, you need to get this book when it’s released!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Read this if you: like watching the bachelor/ette, liked One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London, crave books that talk about mental health and have great representation.

This book focuses on Dev, a producer for Ever After, and Charlie (basically the bachelor). They are opposites in how they think about love. Dev is a hopeless romantic who just wants everyone to have a fairytale ending. Charlie doesn’t believe he is worth of love and just wants to repair his reputation so he can go back to working at his Silicon Valley tech job.

Read this book! I laughed and I cried and I smiled so much!

Oh boy, Dev you sweet idiot. You sweet sweet idiot. I do feel like in a lot of romances there is at least one sweet idiot.

I really love a Bachelor "retelling"/AU. I don't even watch the who but I really like the concept of it in my romance reading. It can either go really well or really poorly and The Charm Offensive hits all the sweet spots.

I really loved our Prince/Bachelor Charlie. He was flawed and sweet and really grew throughout the book. I loved his handler (our other main character) Dev. He is also flawed and sweet and is just trying so hard to keep it all together.

This book isn't just sunshine and rainbows. Both of our main characters are dealing with their mental health. I feel like the author did a great job of showing how people deal with their mental health in very different ways, how some in the world view them and how they view themselves.

Of course there is a third act break-up and yes it can be worked out by actually talking but like I said at the beginning Dev is a sweet idiot. I really like how it played out and it felt right for the story.

I really really loved this book. My favorite romance of the year so far!

I also recommend reading the acknowledgements from the author at the end. It's very sweet and she talks about coming to terms with her own sexuality while writing this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of The Charm Offensive in exchange for an honest review.

This was a delightful, fun read! There were many moments where I caught myself laughing out loud. I really enjoyed the main characters. This is a book that I would definitely recommend to others.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

The Charm Offensive follows Charlie Winshaw, a tech genius looking to repair his image in silicon valley by being The Prince on a reality dating show called Ever After (think Bachelor), and Dev Deshpande, his hopeless romantic handler on the show, over the course of 9 weeks as they fall in love with each other instead of the contestants.

I really loved the premise of this one. The bachelor-esque details were really cute and thought-through (see this description of a candidate that made me snort: “Lauren S., 23, Little Rock, former student: I’ve had my heart broken in the past, but I’m older and wiser now. I’m ready to find love again. I’m ready to be a wife. I’m ready to be a mom.“). Dev’s identity as a queer Indian man was discussed really well (I find that often the immediate substitute for character qualities in BIPOC written by non-BIPOC is gratuitous trauma, but Cochrun did a good job of avoiding that, and I also appreciated the writing of Dev’s non traditional parents). I also really appreciated the discussion of the spectrum of asexuality and how that played out for some of the characters— it’s not something I see often in romance.

It wasn’t perfect, though, and I do have a couple of critiques: somebody sobbed or vomited in every single chapter, and honestly it got kind of tiring to read by the end of the book. It made the Big Dramatic Moments seem a little less intense and valuable because of the high-resting-state of drama. I also have some questions about the handling of Dev and Maureen, the show producer, and their relationship. It struck me as odd how much Dev was willing to overlook Maureen’s racism as a man of color, and a little infantilizing of his identity as well. I struggled with the resolution of that arc, and how much Dev didn’t consider himself complicit in some of the behavior on set (or never confronted his complicity in a satisfying way). I also never got a resolution on Dev’s screenplay or career, which was unfortunate. The last point is more of a preference— I think the handling of mental health in the book was fine (and definitely well-researched) but sometimes I got the sense that too much was happening at once. It could be a little overwhelming to track all of these arcs at once and be invested in everyone’s wellbeing at once.

On the whole, I’d describe it as funny and light and interesting. I can safely give it 3-3.5 stars, and I’ll be reading future work from the author as well.

THIS BOOK!! I loved it so much. The explorations of sexual identity, neurodiversity, queer found family, representation in television - all of it was so beautifully done. The romance was stunning, the friendships equally so, and charm was off the charts. The Charm Offensive immediately joins the ranks of my favorite books I've read this year, and I want to thank netgalley/the publisher for giving me an opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I slammed the request button so hard on this one. Back in the day, I remember reading a lengthy Bachelor-inspired fanfiction, so I had high hopes for this, and they were met. As much as I love all of the white boy romcoms, Dev was such a great change of pace. And the juxtaposition of Charlie supposedly being Mr. Perfect, and be so incredibly far from perfect. The representation of mental health in this book was lovely, as were the queer cast in the background. I hope this has a future as a series, and I want Daphne and Angie's book (books? Idk I sort of ship it) next. This was so sweet and lovely, and the slow burn was immaculate. I've already told a handful of people to read it, and I can't wait to own in in September!

I love love love loved this book!!!! The Charm Offensive is set at a reality dating tv show called Ever After, which is a fictional version of The Bachelor. It centers on Dev Deshpande, a producer on the show who typically works with the female contestants but has been assigned to be the handler for the lead, the tech whizkid and heart throb, Charlie Winshaw. Charlie agreed to go on the show to rehab his public image, after being ousted from the tech company he founded with his college best friend after a panic attack during an important board meeting. As Dev and Charlie spend more and more time together, Charlie slowly realizes that he is more interested in Dev than he is any of the women who are competing to win his love -- and Dev realizes he's making the cardinal reality tv employee sin of falling for the lead of the show.

This book is so great. Dev and Charlie are such wonderful characters who have their own evolution and narrative journey through the book in addition to the blossoming romance between them. I loved watching them fall in love, from their first kiss in New Orleans to the dramatic reunion at the end. I really appreciate the clear effort and thought put into making this book as diverse and representative as possible, from discussions of mental health care and depression to characters of all races, genders, and sexual orientations. Charlie's exploration of his sexuality is so genuine and well done in a plot line that could easily fall into stereotypes or tired tropes. I also appreciate how thoroughly it dragggggs The Bachelor for being highkey problematic in basically all regards. I read this book in one sitting and I can't wait for more people to meet Charlie and Dev.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part but I really have issues with the Indian rep. I was very happy to see an Indian-American MC, that too an LGBTQ+ identifying in YA literature but it's sad to say that there was absolutely no political-social correctness of his identity. It felt that all that was Indian about Dev was his name. And that is not how you sell me an Indian rep. I wish theta the author did more active research and included plot points that pointed clearly to how the Indian culture comes into play at least somewhere in the story! This was otherwise such a fun book but because of this whole - let's do an interracial romance part - I will deduct not one but two stars because it's done that poorly.

Let me start by saying this book surprised me in the best way possible. I fell in love with the characters right from the start, their love is so pure and genuine that it's impossible not to smile while reading it. The plot itself was right up my alley, reality tv shows are my guilty pleasure and there's nothing better than read about something you enjoy and consume every single day. I truly recommend this book for anyone in need of a good romance novel full of representation, wich is something we need to see more of. The Charm Offensive is gonna make you smile, cry and wish for a happily ever after like Dev.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so well written and the representation was thoughtfully and beautifully presented. I will be recommending this one a lot.

Super great book for fans of the New Adult genre. The storyline was so fun to read! Cochrun was also very detailed in her descriptions which really transported me into the story!

So earlier this year I was disappointed in 'One To Watch' with a similar premise because I felt like the idea could be so much more than what was presented in that book - and The Charm Offensive is why!! I couldn't help but root for Dev and Charlie the whole time, and I just didn't want to put it down. It was refreshing to read characters with a little more depth (even supporting characters) than you sometimes find in other romance novels.

Full transparency: I am not a fan of dating game shows, and the impact they can have on impressionable young people dreaming of romance. It was for that reason that I went into The Charm Offensive pretty sure that this would not be the book for me. I am happy to say that my expectations were THOROUGHLY exceeded.

First off, I was impressed by the balanced portrayal of the Bachelor-esque show. Dev, our main character, is a devout believer in true love, and is convinced that the show he is a producer on is the real deal when it comes to helping people find the one. You would think this would lead to a biased narrative, but Cochrun did an excellent job of showing the darker side of dating shows behind the scenes, while still not shaming people for wanting to believe in the fantasy the show creates.

A book can only be as good as its characters, and The Charm Offensive has absolute winners in Dev and Charlie. Both of these characters are raw and genuine, and you can’t help but root for both their individual growth and their relationship with each other. The portrayals of their mental health are very honest, and do a great job of driving the plot without villainizing their conditions. The cast is rounded out with a group of incredible, diverse characters who all bring something special to the plot. I’d also love to shout out the excellent representations of asexuality, which is very rare in contemporary fiction!

The only drawback for me was that the ending started to drag a bit, but that was not enough to take away from my thorough enjoyment of this book! I would recommend The Charm Offensive to anyone who is looking for a diverse, queer book in the new adult category (especially if you loved the tone of Red, White, and Royal Blue).

This is a super cute Bachelorette/Bachelor esque novel. I would definitely recommend it as a fun beach/summer read

Hi it's just me, feeling incredibly seen by the queerest romance book that I've ever read. As a former fan of the Bachelorette and a reality TV stan, the idea of a fairytale themed dating show with an emphasis on what happens behind the scenes was perfect! Add in the mental health representation and an organically grown relationship? Amazing!

As an asexual, I found the rep in this book to be so accurate. The theme of nonromantic love is presented frequently throughout the book and felt so authentic. Bravo!

*Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Well, this was absolutely precious.

I adored this story of Dev and Charlie. More importantly than the romance was the discussion about mental health. It was amazing to read about people who DON’T have it all together…and that’s ok.

You can tell this is based on The Bachelor franchise and I’m willing to bet it’s more accurate than not. Dev is so quirky and so authentic and Charlie is just a beautiful human trying to figure himself out (aren’t we all?). I loved their story and relationship so much!

5/5 on this one!!