I DNF at 60% this was just too immature for me. Orie is 23 yet she acted a lot younger. I totally get that she is a crossroads with her life with breaking up with her high school sweetheart and this is the first time she is doing something on her own. She just had a lot of growing up to do and this survivor game type place was not the place to do it.

The surviver game setting is fun but doesn't give you too much background with all the contestant and didn't have the depth at the point I stopped reading.

I am probably not the right target audience for this book.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but the farther I got into it, the lower my rating of it went. The overall plot of the game show and all of the challenges was actually quite interesting and really the only part of the book I enjoyed.

The dialogue was cringey and very millennial-esque. The writing was very juvenile and almost felt like a Disney Channel movie, especially with the ending. There was also an absurd amount of pop culture references that pulled me out of the story. The main character was insufferable, incredibly whiney, and constantly yelling. The names had me eye-rolling constantly; like what kind of name is Osprey!? Don’t even get me started on “Piccadilly”.

As a long time supporter of Christine through her YouTube channel, I was really disappointed with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of Attached at the Hip and hoped it would be just as good, and it absolutely was! I ate this book up, it was SO good.

When I say I could not put this book down, I mean it! I lost sleep 3 nights in a row devouring it. The main character was great. I see lots of reviews calling her a “random girl”, which I guess I understand, but don’t really agree with. She was quirky but also seemed pretty normal to me? Maybe that also makes me a “random girl” which is apparently an ick, but oh well 😅
Her life felt real, her family was flawed, she had flaws and realistic fears and dreams and hobbies.
The cast of supporting characters were great. I loved Orie’s family, I loved what we got to see of the other competitors. The bonds and alliances formed were interesting to experience and the twist was so suspenseful I couldn’t stop thinking about it until I was able to finish.
This book was also just so FUNNY. I thought Orie was funny, personally. The banter between her and all her competitors and family was fantastic. I laughed out loud so many times I woke my husband up while reading in bed.
The way the show was written in was FANTASTIC. Christine Riccio is a huge Survivor fan and it shows. The thought put into the game aspect of the book was outstanding. It genuinely felt like I was watching a game show competition on a page, it was so suspenseful.
I also really loved all the pop culture references included. I love being able to connect to a book through things like that.

This book was absolutely everything I hoped it would be when I read the synopsis. I genuinely loved it and am excited to read more of the author’s other work.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for this ARC.
Publication date 5/21/24

I was really excited to receive the arc of this book! I love a good reality show in book format and I love Survivor, but this wasn’t it for me.

I ended up DNFing around 20%. The FMC was insufferable. It was painful to read. Lots of whining inner monologue, referring to people by the entire full name (Remy Orlando Lasorsa a million times, it was so cringy to read), and putting the blame on everyone but herself. I am hoping she started to mature by the end but I could not bring myself to continue reading.

Thank you NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the free arc of this book for an honest review.

Attached at the Hip is such a cute rom com and I loved it! As a big Survivor fan I enjoyed trying to pick up on all the references, both subtle and obvious. This has been a book where I really wish I would talk to the author and ask them lots of questions! I was excited to get sucked into the story of it all and I wanted to know more, just like when watch Survivor. For example, did she mean to make Osprey and Orie kind of look like Franny and Matt from season 44? Did she put in the Sherlock Holmes quote because she likes Sherlock Holmes or because that’s what Tarzan always said in Season 24 and it’s the name of a challenge? I also felt like I really resonated with the main character and really enjoyed her character development aside from any romance aspects of the book. Definitely recommend!

Not sure why but this one just didn't do it for me. It was just lacking something for me. I think maybe some of the characters were just a bit, blah, in my mind.
Also, I think the ending kind of killed it for me. It was a "happy-for-now" kind of ending (which is fine), but I just don't think I bought the love story too much.
I really wanted to love this one.

This was a really cute, quirky, easy read! I loved the subject and how different the plot was! I am a huge survival/game show fan so this was very interesting to me. The only only thing that I wanted more from was more of an explanation on Remy at the end. I felt like part of that was left open for interpretation and I wanted more of an explanation. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Ohhh boy I have a lot of thoughts on this book.

Let me start by saying that honestly, I was not at all sure I would get through it. I love Christine Riccio and have been following her since I was probably around 14, but I really did not enjoy this book for a good majority of it. I liked the beginning and the end, and that was about it.

Orie drove me NUTS. I was dying and begging for her to have some character development, and she definitely did grow into a better version of herself, but getting there was ROUGH. At the time of writing this, I am the same age as Orie, and I know VERY few people who are as naive and whiny as she is. This is touched on a little during the show, as lot of her costars pick on her a little for the way she acts, but god she felt SO YOUNG. And she was so loud. I still don’t understand all the yelling. Why were we yelling so much? And saying things like “Mental Gasp” ?? I don’t know. It felt like she was trying to be SO quirky and different and cool, and it got old Very quickly. I don’t know anyone who actually says the things that Orie says out loud.

That said, I kept reading for her costars. I loved Kennedi and Osprey, and I saw myself a lot in Lark. They seemed to be more interesting to me than Orie was, which is hard when Orie is literally the main character.

The other thing I had an issue with was the SHEER AMOUNT of pop culture references. I understand that sometimes it’s hard not to reference things like, I don’t know, Titanic, for example. But this felt like there was a pop culture reference on every page. How often do you have to mention Taylor Swift or Katy Perry? And you bet your bottom dollar I also wasn’t expecting to see anything about DIVERGENT in this story. It feels weird to me to reference such popular stories in your own story, but I guess inspiration has to come from somewhere. I just think there’s a way to include that inspiration that doesn’t mention it so directly on every single page.

The ending did make me feel like it had all come together though. Aside from the plot being pretty predictable, in my eyes anyway, seeing Orie finally come into herself and be confident in her own decisions and actually do things for herself rather than whining and relying on other people - that was very refreshing. It just took like.. 350 pages to get there.. so, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of reality shows such as The Bachelor, Love Island, and The Circle, I was super excited to read this one! When Orie spontaneously applies for a reality show, she thinks she is signing up for one of her all-time favorite shows, Survivor. However, she soon finds out that she’s actually been casted onto a brand new romantic version of the show instead where she is literally attached at the hip to another person. What’s even crazier? That person just so happens to be an old high school crush of hers. Over the next few weeks she is competing for a million dollars while simultaneously forming new friendships with her competitors and possibly a new romance…

I thought this book was so so cute and fun! The characters are likeable, and the bonds that Orie forms with her castmates are heartwarming. The reality show aspect also keeps things interesting. I found myself having a tough time putting this one down once I got into it.

However, there are some moments that are maybe a bit on the cheesy/quirky side, which I know isn’t for everyone. But I still think the story was worthwhile. And it was definitely a quick and easy read!

⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️

This was a fun concept, but fell a little flat for me. I'm a huge fan of survivor and thought a little romcom twist would be fun, but ultimately the compete priorities of mashing two games was a little rough for me.

But! I do think it would be appealing to a broader audience that isn't me. There was a lot to love and a decent build up of tension. I definitely giggled a few times and rolled my eyes (in a good way) at others.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I love reality tv and was excited for a fun light read set in that world, but this read like fan fiction. The characters were flat with too much forced quirk. The writing was juvenile and needed an edit from top to bottom.

This was so cute and really funny in some parts. I loved it! I loved the concept of the reality show our FMC is on and the fact that she’s awkward and clueless at times was super relatable.

So when I started this book and the storyline of survivor came up, I was thinking come-on. But Alda’s this is a good storyline. So glad I read it It’s a fast paced book. My daughter wants to read it now, she was in the room as I was reading and heard the giggles as I was zooming along

First of Remy!!! Secondly Osprey 🥰

Glad how this book built up and would highly recommend

Orie Lennox, the FMC is passively floating through life, unable to make any decisions or take charge of her own destiny. An argument with her older sister, spurs her to apply to be on the reality show survivor. She is selected to be on the show, the only catch…. It’s actually a survivor dating show hybrid instead. However, she is determined to win the reality show and save her family with the cash prize.

This book was an entertaining rom-com, and the reality show aspect with all the unexpected twists and turns was entertaining. Orie is likeable, and has some major personal growth during the filming.

Overall, this is a cute light read. As fun to binge as your favourite reality show.

Thank you to St.Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

This book was a lot of fun! I am a huge reality TV competition fan and when I heard about this book, I couldn’t wait to pick it up. Sometimes I get nervous when a book comps a reality tv show, but this book hit all of the things I wanted. The show aspect of this book really delievered, the game was fun, the challenges were entertaining, and the production part of the show was carried throughout—all of which are exactly what I wanted. The pacing of this book was also great. Christine is really good at making each scene/chapter interesting withe tension and intrigue. I will, say, there were a lot of cheesy bits in here. Orie is a very unique character and while I can completely understand how she might not be for everyone, I don’t think I’ve read a book with a similar voice before so I did find that it didn’t bother me too much. Overall, though, I found this book to be a lot of fun. And as mood reader, it hit me at the right time.

What a fun premise! Definitely a nice change of pace from standard romances and it was funny! I do think this book missed the mark on a few points. First the references seemed a little outdated for folks in their early 20s, and second, no epilogue with a check in on the shows contestants?? Missed opportunity! But only because I loved the show and characters and wanted to see what was next for them!

Are we seeing a trend with reality TV show tropes? Because I am here for it! I liked the element of the reality TV show as the main backdrop, but I found our characters to be funny, the chemistry was palpable and overall this was a great read.

I am what you call a survivor super fan and was ECSTATIC to read this, but I simply could not get into it. While the idea was neat, the constant attempt for the characters to be so quirky really annoyed me. I think this would have thrived if it this book followed the typical game of survivor and depicted a showmance instead of this weird twist of survivor. While I get this book is fiction, I could not believe that a change to the game of survivor like this would happen.

Due to my low rating and dnf of the book at 80% I will not be sharing my review on Goodreads or Storygraph.

This was such a fun read. I’m a huge fan of Survivor and reality tv so I was really excited to start this. The main character is HILARIOUS. I laughed out loud more times than I can count. I will definitely be recommending this one to upper YA readers.

I needed a few days to gather my thoughts about this book because what a rollercoaster it was - and sadly, I don't mean it in a good way. While the premise was promising I knew from the start this book isn't gonna hold up to it. The writing, the characters and the plot - especially the plot twist - felt like a Wattpad story I would read in the middle of the night when I was 15. And while that definitely would appeal to some people (even me at some point), it was simply not what I wanted from this book. However, I have to admit that even though the romance was cringy, the characters did have good chemistry and made a believable couple which many romances lack.