The Charm Offensive is a charming story that denounces the toxicity of reality television. It also does a wonderful job at depicting mental health and its struggles. The blossoming relationship was adorable but their story was very predictable. During the story, the characters go to different countries and I felt like those weren't well detailed. It was hard to visualize at times. I would have loved more information on the multiples settings. This story is cute but I wanted to be able to laugh in this story. There wasn't anything comedic, Overall, this is a cute story but I wanted more comedic moments and a better description of the settings.

Run don’t walk to preorder this book! It was amazing!

This book has everything!! It made me laugh out loud in under 5 pages, it made me cry (although I’m quick to tears so take that as you will), it had impeccable banter, it had all the LGBTQIA+ representation of your dreams, it had probably the best mental health representation I have ever seen in a romance novel! The conversations even discussing queer topics and mental health topics were done with obvious care.

This book follows Dev, producer for a bachelor-esque show, Ever After, and the new male lead (who he produces) Charlie. Dev is a self-deprecating, but hopeless romantic that believes in the fairytale endings his show promises, while Charlie is shy, sensitive, and nerdy who just wants to repair his reputation through the show! Their banter reminds me of boyfriend material, but the premise is wholly it’s own!

Also, I now want to go to South Africa and eat Indian food out of a bread bowl, aka I’m Dev irl.

Please please please read this book so I have more people to talk to about it!!

I wish I liked this more than I did. The premise is cute and the reality dating tv series is very popular right now. Seriously: One to Watch, Cowboy Seeks Husband, The Charm Offensive, etc. However, the Ever After plot is ridiculous. Charlie almost immediately has chemistry with someone else, aka his producer/handler, and everyone is still pushing him to have fake relationships with 20 women. Eye roll. Secret romance ahead. The formulaic of the week by week of the dating show is agonizing to get through.
I didn't really like either main character either. Charlie, aka prince charming, is so awkward. Painfully awkward. Dev, the handler, is really obsessed with the fairy tale aspect of the show and kind of gets swept up in how hunky, yet vulnerable, Charlie is. It also felt like the author was ticking boxes of things to get in the story. Mental health, biracial, all colors of the LGBTQ, in the closet, "progressive show", asshole showrunner, get together, break up, get back together.
This book was obviously not for me but I do think there would be people who would like it.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun is adorable. The book is based on filming a tv show similar to the Bachelor. I must admit that I stopped watching the Bachelor for a few years but you know, a pandemic will make you change your ways and I did watch the last season. This book is a LBGTQ story and it was interesting to read Ms. Cochrun's true life story at the end of the book to understand how writing this book helped her life. I always thought the Bachelor enterprise should be more diverse. It gets a bit boring watching a bunch of pretty people hook up or fight. This book will give you a refreshing change and maybe a glimpse of what you already expect about filming the Bachelor. This book also tackles several mental health issues.

This book is a bit predictable. The predictability will make The Charm Offensive a fun vacation book that does not require paying attention to tiny details. I wish #AlisonCochrun much success with this book and future books. I would also like to thank #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This gets 5 stars from me for having the first and only definition of asexuality that I found meaningful, accurately portrayed how many nuances there are, and didn't pigeonhole. Otherwise, this was a solid four--the writing is a little bit jolty and didn't quite suck me in, but the romance was absolutely fantastic and it was one of few Bachelor books that succeeded and manage to make characters all have nuance. I wish I could go back to the beginning and read this with fresh eyes again!

I absolutely loved Dev's and Charlie's story! It was one I stayed up all night just to finish. They both brushed off their attraction and Dev was convinced Charlie was hetero. It was a fun ride to see Charlie start questioning himself and ultimately coming to his own conclusion about his sexuality. The secondary characters were amazing and I am excited to see if this turns into a series because I would be preordering all future books. I loved that neither character was neurotypical; they both had some things they were working through and trying to hide. But by leaning on the other they were on their way to working through them, as with all mental illnesses it is a journey and this is just one part of theirs. This book seemed very real and raw! I loved it!!

I'm speechless, breathless, I don't even know how to write this review because I loved this book so so much. But I'm going to try and gather my thoughts about this book, so here we go.

Mental Health: I think the reason why I fell so deeply in love with this book was the way that Alison Cochrun addressed mental illness and how the characters had to constantly deal with the stigma surrounding it. This book told me exactly what I needed to hear, that people who deal with these types of things are completely deserving of love and affection in every way. Seeing the characters learn to accept when they needed help by seeing a therapist or trying to take care of themselves was so refreshing and neither Dev nor Charlie were portrayed as weak for having to do so. At times, I forgot I was reading a book and felt like I was just reading my own thoughts, which is surprising considering this had the backdrop of a reality TV show, and I most definitely am neither a producer or star in one.

Charlie and Dev: It is really challenging for me to find a rom-com that makes me root for the characters. In the genre of romance it is pretty much a guarantee that the two characters end up together and it always seems to take out the tension and desire to read on. This book, however, this book right here had me wondering if they would be together or what would happen to them. I am so glad that the author decided to stray away from the usual "outing scene" found so often in queer novels and it was amazing to read a story where the characters revealed parts of themselves in their own time. I'm convinced that not a single person in this book was straight (except for Maureen, but she was terrible so...) and I absolutely loved that. Back to Charlie and Dev, their relationship had me in tears through this entire book, both happy and sad. Seeing Dev push Charlie away because of the feeling of not deserving love and seeing Charlie pull Dev closer and refuse to leave just tore my heart into a million pieces. Both of their feelings felt so familiar and the story completely sucked me into the pages. I never thought I would be so invested in a reality TV show, but here we are.

My final thought. Alison Cochrun, if you're reading through these reviews, I beg of you please please please write a sequel about Daphne's season. I will give anything to read about a wlw season of "Ever After." Literally anything. Take my entire bank account, I just need this book.

3.9/5⭐: I don't really know how I felt about this story, it was very on the fence for me. In this story, we follow Dev, our producer to the reality dating show Ever After as he becomes the handler of our show’s Prince Charming Charles (known to his friends as Charlie). But soon they find unexpected feelings brewing behind the scenes. Will they get their happily ever after or will it get them cancelled?

Now while I appreciate a good romance, I normally like them as my side plot to the main story but I got to say that this book hooked me. While I did find myself loving Charlie as a character (he was my favorite and he was precious), I wanted more of his backstory and history and I wanted to learn a little bit more about him than just bits and pieces that we get (also I need to see more Josh because if he was so terrible, how have they been friends for so long? We got a redemption arc for Ryan but no more backstory for Josh?) I also really found everyone on the crew, even Dev, to be unlikable in the beginning chapters. After a while, I grew to like Dev but I still found him frustrating (especially the whole three months thing).

I did love the representation that we got in this book which included Indian-american gay representation along with representation for depression, generalized anxiety disorders, OCD, panic attacks, anxiety as well as bisexuality and pansexuality. It also had a lot of good tropes like friends to lovers and forbidden relationships, fake dating au, etc. and while all that is amazing I did struggle with a little bit of queer-phobia and misogyny that's presented in the book (not by the main characters). I also found the mocking of Charlie’s mental health really pissed me off and it was a little hard to get through so be prepared for that.

but I did think this book was really great and I love the message that having someone to love is great but you don't need to love someone to be happy. Happiness can be found when finding yourself and being comfortable in who you are and having someone to love is just a really good bonus. Now I will take off points because the ending did seem a bit rushed compared to like the middle angst that was given. I wanted a little bit more resolution. Even the epilogue of sorts seemed a little bit short and I don't know if that's because they're setting up for a sequel but it felt a little like more was needed especially about Dev’s script and Charlie’s job.

This is the best book that I have read all year. I fell in love with the characters and the premise, we need more love stories like this! We need more characters like this! Thank you so much, Alison Cochrun!
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

THIS BOOK WAS SO IMPORTANT TO ME! Holy man thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am so grateful that I got the chance to read this! I can already tell that this is a book that I will read over and over again.

I was hooked from the start and read this all the way through in one sitting! As a queer person who loves reality TV dating shows, this premise was exactly in my wheelhouse and Alison Cochrun DELIVERED with the romance, the excitement, and the well-rounded characters!

I was rooting for Dev and Charlie right from the they were introduced to us. Cochrun does a great job of developing a DYNAMIC relationship between two very real-feeling characters. There is some great representations of various queer identities, racial diversity, and neurodivergences. The compassion that Cochrun extends to her characters comes through in the way that they treat each other.

This book was an absolute delight! I will absolutely be purchasing it when it comes out :)

Alison Cochrun is a new author to this reader and this "The Charm Offensive is a first time story read. Where to start...I wasn't sure whether or not to read this ARC as my typical genre is historical romances . I decided to give it a try and was quite surprised to read a delightful romance comedy. I loved the banter between the characters and frankly, Dev was annoying to me at the beginning but I warmed up to him as the story continued. This was a new and refreshing story that did not take me long to read because it kept my attention to the end.

Although I like reading stories where the characters have flaws to overcome, however this one had more than I anticipated. I do believe both characters had to fix quite a bit in their lives and had to come to the realization that it must be you as the person to work through them to get you to your happiness. Not much into same sex romance stories, however this debut by Ms. Cochrun was heartfelt and a nice comfy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Love it.

I really like this story, it was so fun and sexy and cute. Charlie was definitely my favorite character, I was very pleased to see how he changed throughout the book, how he began to say what he thought and to feel more comfortable with himself.

Dev only started to like me in the middle of the story, at first I couldn't understand his liking for the show or his idea of being a "romantic" but not really being one.
It was interesting to see how with the passage of the pages the other characters, which initially I did not like, began to be more real, a bad work environment can really change a person in a radical way and that is what we see in the book .
This story is about a reality dating show to find a future husband and as is expected of many shows like this, it is much more toxic than we think.

I loved the book.

This was such a refreshing read and I finished it fairly quick since I couldn't put it down. The representation and the diversity among the characters was awesome to see and it was written beautifully. The love between Charlie and Dev was so sweet and how the book portrayed both romantic and platonic romance and the importance of both was enlightening. I recommend this to everyone who wants a fun but significant read.

The Charm Offensive is a perfectly executed achillean romantic comedy featuring two main characters with mental illnesses and a super quirky feel with just enough pining and a refreshing perspective on diverse queer identities.

The novel follows Dev, a twenty-eight year old gay Indian man who just six months ago got out of a six year long relationship with a coworker, and also happens to be a very successful TV producer for the reality show Ever After. Dev has believed in happily-ever-afters as long as he can remember, and he fell in love with the show he would eventually work for at age ten in his parent's living room. He is convinced that Ever After is actually capable of creating real love stories, despite the fact that his own love life has been a disaster that triggered a major depressive episode.

When Charlie Winshaw is chosen as the star and one male romantic lead for Ever After's latest season, the network begins to worry. On the surface Charlie is incredibly handsome, however he is romantically inexperienced and also quite anxious and it shows on screen. Charlie has obsessive compulsive disorder as well as two anxiety disorders which have caused him to display symptoms that people in his past describe as "difficult". Charlie is incredibly socially anxious, and doesn't believe he will fall in love on the show, preferring to use it as a kind of last-ditch effort to fix his image. When Dev is assigned to be Charlie's handler and tasked with making him and the show look good, he is determined to get Charlie a real happily-ever-after. Dev dedicates all his time and effort to helping Charlie become comfortable with the show's girls by "practice dating" with Dev himself.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were flawed but not to the point that they were unlikeable. The mental health issues were handled with care and I very much enjoyed the ever-present message that a relationship will not fix someone, that you are required to do the work for your own happiness. I loved Charlie's exploration of his queerness, and how the asexual spectrum was discussed in such depth, as well as romantic love not being presented as the be-all-end-all of life and love itself. This was a witty and heartfelt debut and I hope to see more from Alison Cochrun!

So good, so funny, so sweet! I love a contemporary romance with a little bit of substance, and this book checked all of my boxes. I loved it's frank portrayals and discussions about mental health, it's send up of "fairy tale" romance and what romance really means away from the fairy tales.

It's fun, it's sexy, I read the whole thing in one sitting.

WOW. I'm obsessed. This is the best book I've read in 2021. It's going to become an instant hit. The Charm Offensive is EVERYTHING you want in a queer rom com. It's funny, charming and full of amazing reps. Dev has wanted a fairy tale romance all this life but never believed it was for him. He works on a bachelor type reality show, he helps people fall in love all the time. Insert Charlie who is the shows next 'Prince Charming', he's trying to rebuild his reputation. Charlie and Dev form a friendship. They confide in each other and eventually realize their bond goes much deeper. I loved Charlie and Dev so much. Their intimate conversations felt so real and vulnerable. I don't wont to spoil too much of this story but I couldn't have loved it anymore. I loved the OCD, Mental health and other representations. The author handled these topics with ease and grace. I loved how easy this book was to read. It was like you were hanging out with your best friends. I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it! LOVE!!!!

I absolutely adored this! In this romance novel we follow 𝗗𝗲𝘃 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲 & 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘄. Dev has always liked "Ever After," a reality TV show which he goes on to help produce. His job for the newest season is to act as a handler for Charlie. Dev started liking the show in the first place because of it's happy ever after endings so Charlie not believing in love made for quite a challenge. Dev does everything he can to help Charlie with his anxiety. As Charlie opens up more he notices the emotional bond he has created with Dev. Soon both of them have feelings for each other and they aren't sure what to do.

This entire novel made me so happy oh my god. I really wouldn't change a thing about it. The pacing was perfect. There's such a wonderful and diverse cast with LGBTQ+ and mental health representation which amazing. The mental health rep actually did make me feel seen. I hadn't expected it being talked about in the book but it was lovely to find out.

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴."

I really loved the characters. They each have their own flaws and it made me appreciate them even more. The characterization was wonderful. The romance was delightful, they had incredible chemistry, and the banter was enjoyable. The rest of the cast was also lovely. I really hope Daphne gets her own book.

Overall I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a fun romance novel with a diverse cast, forbidden love, or dating shows!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 & 𝘈𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

It's not often I set down a book when I'm two-thirds of the way through it simply because I don't want it to be over so soon, but that was the case with "The Charm Offensive." I didn't want to say goodbye to Dev and Charlie! (Of course, my restraint didn't last very long, because I couldn't resist the urge to find out what happened.)

"The Charm Offensive" has been compared to an LGBTQ+ "One to Watch," another romance which was set in the world of a "Bachelor"-like series. "Ever After" is a long-running show in which "Prince Charming" searches for his princess. Like "The Bachelor," most of the contestants are not there for the Right Reasons (i.e. to find love)--they're seeking to parlay their appearance on the show into social media fame. Charlie Winshaw also has an ulterior motive in agreeing to step into the role of Prince Charming: he's a wealthy tech genius whose career imploded (we find out why later in the book), and is hoping "Ever After" can help rehabilitate his image.

Dev Deshpande is a producer on "Ever After" whose job is to help guide Charlie along his journey to True Love (including a contractually-mandated proposal). He just broke up with his boyfriend Ryan, who also works on the show, and the last thing he was expecting was to start having feelings for the new Prince Charming. Dev reasonably assumes Charlie is 100% straight--I mean, he's starring on "Ever After," where kissing a lot of women is part of the job description--but Charlie doesn't feel attracted to any of the beautiful princesses. He's falling for Dev.

Both Dev and Charlie have some mental health struggles which are dealt with sensitively and empathetically. This book made me smile and swoon from beginning to end.

This book was wonderful. Characters dealing with complex issues like depression, anxiety, and OCD, struggling with identity all while trying to be on and run a bachelor-esk television show? Yes! The complex issues don't make this book too heavy, and the romance and humor are definitely still central to the book. There are elements of this book that definitely did remind me of red white and royal blue, especially in struggling to feel like you can be who you are in public, but I dislike making too many comparisons because this book is its own. LGBTQIA+, romance, set in a reality television backdrop, the Charm Offensive is both charming and a winner in my book. Can't wait for this book to be released in September of this year. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for letting me read this ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. Loved this book! A tech guy who needs to rehab his image goes on a Bachelor-type show. I don’t want to give away anything, but I LOVE the references to sexuality as a spectrum and how it’s all normal. Lots of characters to love, and I hope the make a reappearance in a sequel! -Mindy


Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this ARC.

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