This book is a mix between Survivor and Bachelor in book form. It has lots of cool components and likeable characters. It's fairly entertaining and has for me the HEA, which is a must. That being said, I know why these are shows and not books, because at times it read slow and farcyoo frequently things went exactly as the protagonist needed or wanted them too. Overall solid read and feel good fun. Thanks #netgallry for the ARC copy and great job Christine Riccio.

Cute story of a survivor spin-off with a romantic twist.

Orie is half of a Acroyoga influencer duo with her sister, Lark. Orie is very much a go with the flow people pleaser, afraid to break up with her high school boyfriend of ten years, or make any other independent decisions. After a fight with her sister, she rashly decides to audition for this show. And she’s selected!

Orie is extremely quirky and has some difficulty expressing herself clearly when flustered, which I found to be a bit over the top. Also, the surprises that were uncovered about one of the contestants (and lack of vetting by production) was unrelatable. Otherwise I can see the story and characters having a broad appeal for YA audiences.

Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books and Christine Riccio for the arc.

*4.25 stars

"But in those moments of despair when you mess up, you need something to interrupt the doom spiral!...Remember that whatever's happened, it's going to teach you something, make you wiser, and you're going to use that new info to build a stronger, happier life."

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving out so many free e-ARCs!

As a Survivor fan, I was so excited to finally read a novel inspired by one of my favorite shows. This was definitely an exciting take on the show, with some unforgettable moments towards the end.

Orie "Piccadilly" Lennox has a fairly simple life. She lives at home with her happily married parents, does AcroYoga influencing with her older sister Lark, and has a steady boyfriend. Everything is fine, until it isn't.
A fight with her sister inspires Orie to apply for their favorite TV show, Survivor (of course). But after arriving in Fiji, Orie discovers that she has actually been cast on a spin-off called Attached at the Hip, a series that sees players connecting, committing, and conquering friendships and romantic relationships as they compete to win a million dollars.
To make things even more interesting, Orie's high school crush, Remi Orlando Lasorsa (what a name) has also been cast on the show as Orie's "missed connection" and potential love interest.
Over the course of the next month, Orie must fight her way through off-the-grid living, difficult immunity challenges, and complicated alliances to win the million dollars and save her family from imploding.

This book was such a pleasant surprise, and ended up being a grower. I had trouble getting into it at first because of Orie being an unlikable main character. She was loud, awkward, and unrealistically quirky. However, the development she had during her time on Attached at the Hip was a joy to witness. Slowly but surely, she came out of her shell and became a fiercely independent and strong competitor. I also found myself relating to her quite a lot. Her reluctance to fight for the things she wanted and reliance on what others' wanted for her was very real. She might be one of my favorite main characters in a while, which says something because of how much I disliked her in the beginning.

When it comes to the actual concept of Attached at the Hip, I found that the pacing was a little off at some parts and some aspects seemed random and rushed (such as the different ways of voting someone out). I wish we'd gotten to see more of how everyone interacted together instead of just in pairs. That said, I loved the story so much. It truly felt like watching a chaotic episode of Survivor, complete with fast-paced challenges, sketchy alliance members, and budding lifelong friendships. I loved Orie's relationships with Kennedi and Osprey, and how she played the game with her heart on her sleeve. The last 100 pages were especially exciting, and are what led to me giving this book a 4.25 star rating instead of 3 like I'd originally planned. Overall, this was a surprisingly enjoyable read with lots to love, even if some elements fell flat.

This romance book is Survivor meets reality dating show, which are two of my favorite things to binge watch! The main character Orie was so lovable and amazing and going through a mid-20s crisis about how her life was going and decided to apply for her favorite show Survivor, and she was picked as a cast member! But to her surprise she’s actually cast on a Survivor spin-off show with a more dating-show twist. This season will have contestants attached to each other with an 8 ft tether around their waists, and the show is called Attached at the Hip.

The plot line is incredible, it definitely gave off true Survivor elements that I appreciated as a show superfan. But the romance was also unique and easy to root for. Overall, this was an incredible book, so easy to read that I flew through it in a few days, with great characters and plotlines. I highly, highly recommend!

I was very excited for Attached at the Hip because I LOVE Survivor. This book is about a girl who signs up for Survivor but ends up being cast in a spin off show where they are literally *attached at the hip*. The writing was very direct and youthful, which makes sense after I found out it’s YA!

I enjoyed the story line, it really does follow Survivor pretty well with a few tweaks. Overall I liked it but it’s not a new favorite.

This does seem like a good book for aspiring young romance readers in my classroom.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 (3.5/5)

Attached at the Hip by Christine Ricco is about Orie whose sister has just confronted her with the fact that she can’t do anything alone and is entirely codependent, so Orie decides to prove her wrong and sign up to go on a reality TV show that is loosely based off Survivor, but with a romantic twist bringing in competitors from the contestants past and others that they think they might have a romantic vibe with.

Okay, so the immediate beginning of this book hooked me, but then it kind of got a little slow. Also, in the beginning, Orie is INSUFFERABLE. She feels like one of those girls who constantly has to mention how tiny she is and tries to hard to be quirky. But once she’s in the show for a couple days, she became WAYYYYYYY better and I actually ended up loving her at the end LOL

The pacing was just ok to me, I thought some parts could have been sped up and then felt raced through other parts that I would have liked to see kind of unfold a little more.

There’s a pretty good love triangle here, and I found myself actually being thrown back and forth not knowing who was best or what I should believe, which I thought was really well done!

All in all, a REALLY unique concept that I enjoyed!!

Okay, this book. Holy crap. What do you say about something that blew your mind and took your breath away?? I haven’t read a story that’s made me feel this tuned in and excited in…maybe forever?? Compelling does not begin to describe this!!! It’s a romance but it’s also EVERYTHING. LITERALLY. ALL ROLLED INTO ONE. I am positively stunned in the best way.

I grew up watching survivor religiously, and I requested this book from NetGalley because, way back in 2014, Christine’s videos taught me that there was a community and shameless joy in books && also because Boston Rob and Amber are one of my OTPs. It seemed like a perfect match. And then I read the first few chapters, immediately in love with the arc of Orie learning to live and thrive independently as a new adult. And then I read the next few chapters and became suspicious that this book was a lot smarter than me. AND THEN I COULDNT STOP READING IT BECAME A FRENZY AND I CANT SAY MORE BECAUSE I REFUSE TO SPOIL A SINGLE MOMENT OF THE MOST FAST PACED READ OF THE YEAR. BUT THIS BOOK NAILS IT. EVERYTHING. I FREAKING LOVED IT.

You don’t need to love Survivor to read this. You just need to be a person who loves puzzles, heartfelt characters, and/or ROMANCE. Seriously. Add this one to your TBR. You will not regret it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.

Survivor meets Love Island in this YA contemporary romance novel. Orie has struggled to figure out what she wants in life, from career path to partner everything feels off. That's until she gets the call to be on her favorite TV show. As she begins the casting process, she discovers that things are not what they seem as she gets attached at the hip to her high school crush. Through challenges and alliances, Orie grows personally and forms strong connections. But the one thing about reality TV is that you shouldn't believe everything you see... I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a fun and quirky FMC, reality TV, and a unique plotline!

Life has a funny way of not going how you planned…you can either stay stuck in a rut or roll with it. When Orie’s life is not going according to her plan, she decides to test her limits and roll with it - right off to filming Survivor…or so she thinks! In the ongoing theme of rolling with it, it turns out to be a spin-off show about finding relationships. Although her life implodes before filing, Orie becomes the poster girl for the saying “the show must go on.” Through the fear, nerves, and turmoil, Orie shows us how to push personal boundaries and manifest independent strength, even when literally attached at the hip to someone 24/7. Attached at the Hip is such a fun read…and a powerful reminder that we can be a hopeless romantic and dreamer and still not settle for anything less than we deserve!

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on Instagram late March/early April!

This was a fun, unique read. Attached at the Hip is the story of Orie, a young woman who pushes herself outside her comfort zone to apply for a Survivor-style reality show, only to discover that it has a romantic twist.
The style and structure felt pretty immersive which suited the setting - I could see it playing out as a reality show. The characters were all pretty distinct and interesting, but I wasn’t emotionally invested and the main character felt a bit juvenile, which was grating at times. The twists and turns were an unexpected bonus, and added some interesting layers to the plot.
I wouldn’t necessarily classify this book as a romcom since the central arc seemed more about the main character’s personal growth. It felt more fitting as a funny contemporary fiction pick.
It was an enjoyable read, and some readers will likely love it. 3/5 stars

I grew up watching Survivor and The Bachelor, in fact it’s the only tv shows I still watch!

There’s something about reality tv (and this book) that has me hooked.

We follow our main character after she realizes her life is not what she thinks. So she does the unthinkable…a romantic survival competition.

What I loved:
-the love interest was unclear for the first part of the story
-That as the show went on, I couldn’t put the book down
-the premise of the plot obviously

What drew me back to ~MY~ reality:
-the main character got whiney at times
-I got anxiety FOR the characters in conflict
-I wanted that one month reunion episode transcript as an epilogue SO BADLY to see the characters reunite and prevail

Rating: 3/5 stars
Thank you @ and @netgalley for an advice e-copy of this book!
It is available for pre-order NOW!
RELEASES: 5/21/24

So let me start by saying I use to be a reality tv show junky. With that being said, I was all in from the description and let me tell you……Christine Riccio delivered. This was a fast read. Like I literally read it in one sitting. The perfect rom com in my opinion. I could see this as a great get out of a slump review. Honestly I will probably reread it that’s how much I enjoyed it.

Attached at the Hip initially sold me on the premise of the book: Orrie is a Survivor spin-off show that tethers contestants together. Players have been selected based potential compatibility, so romantic connections are bound to happen. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the idea of the book was more enticing than actually reading it. I think I might have enjoyed watching this as a 1 hour special instead of an entire book. I did persevere and read the entire book, but I really wish I could get my time back.

The FMC is a codependent influencer who is incapable of making her own decisions, which made it really difficult for me to root for her. She has YA book and movie quotes tattooed on her body, is an attention seeking 23-year old, and tries to reinvent herself on National Television for likes.

I was really looking forward to the romance, but was supremely disappointed. Every interaction she had with a member of the opposite sex had me cringing and rolling my eyes. Zero chemistry. I can’t in good conscience recommend this to anyone. 😬

The writing itself was so not for me. There were pop culture references every chapter, which took away from the story. I really did not like reading so many capitalized proclamations and felt the dialogue too aggressive.

The FMC had some character growth, but still fell into familiar patterns that I didn’t enjoy reading about.

“I was so eager to find my person, I latched on to the first prospect of a happy ending to wander into my trajectory.”

Either way, I’m thankful to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I hate to DNF a book. However in this instance I could not go further than a quarter through.

The writing style was not for me. It grabs from culture to try to make it current and relatable but too much so. The main character was annoying. I couldn’t build the relationship requires to read the remaining 75%

Read this book! I read a lot of books and Attached at the Hip felt unique and fun. It captured my attention from the first few pages and I couldn’t put it down (read it in a day!). I loved the character development of Orie and all of the unexpected twists and turns. Don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the slow burn romance really hooked me in. The author did a masterful job of weaving in realness, despite the reality show premise. I also loved the humor. Would definitely recommend you read this book!

This book was good I know it would have been better if I read it when it was hot outside it was cold at the time of me reading this book but it was still good. I don’t see myself buying this book but I’m happy I read it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Attached At The Hip was SO cute. I loved the unique premise of a Survivor- adjacent game show that was focused on love. I felt the main character went through real growth and I was majorly rooting for her by the end. The supporting characters were also fun and compelling, and I really
Loved the ending. I’m excited to see what’s next from this author!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Attached at the Hip had me wheezing with laughter. 😂 This is my first time reading one of Christine Riccio's works; I thoroughly enjoyed her voice and look forward to meeting her other characters.

The storyline was interesting. The main character, Orie, has a tendency to jump to outrageous thoughts. These led to some funny interactions with her competitors while they built relationships. While I love the plot, the end of the book felt rushed. I would have liked to see a little more about the characters in between the show finale and The End.

💬Favorite Quotes:

Osprey serves me hard look. “Orie—”
“You can call me Piccadilly.”
“I can call you Piccadilly? Why would I do that?”
🤣😂🤣
--------------------------------------------------
I want to be a person who does the thing. Who helps people. I want to be someone other people can depend on.

Where are all my reality tv fans at?

“I’m on a dating show you considered titling FML?”

I absolutely adore this book! I laughed out loud so many times while reading it -- a hallmark of a great book in my opinion -- but it wasn’t only that, this story was also heartfelt and intriguing and I loved every minute.

Orie has been in love with the show Survivor ever since she can remember so when she sends in an audition tape one day on a whim and gets cast, she has to take her shot -- especially since her current life is not really bringing her joy. Orie has never done anything solo before so this is her chance to prove to everyone, including herself, that she can do hard things. Little does she know that she is about to participate in an experimental romantic edition of the show and she is required, at times, to be literally bound to another person. In a game of cutthroat survival and risky alliances, Orie has to navigate new relationships as well as a high school crush in her quest to win a million dollars for her family.

Orie has lots going on but she is such an endearing character that I one hundred percent fell head over heels in love with her. I don’t want to give anything else away because following all the twists and turns of the story is the absolute best part but Christine Riccio is an amazingly talented writer and the way the story unfolds is just masterful. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to predict how the game would go and yet in the end, I found that this book is so much more than just a story about a reality tv show.

I couldn’t only pick one quote this time because while the first quote hooked me, the following quote sums up why I love this book so much. “In the end, it’s not about messing it up or knocking it out of the park, it’s about getting up off the couch and doing it in the first place”

I really hope you check out Attached at the Hip! I think that it is fantastic and so much fun!