Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

4/5

I had high hopes for *Attached at the Hip*, but unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark. The main character, Orie, was challenging to connect with, and her life choices felt a little too contrived to be relatable. The premise of the reality show could have been a fun twist, but the way it played out just didn't hold my attention. The challenges, the romance, the tension all felt a bit forced, and I couldn't help but feel like I was reading more of the same.

The romance with Remy seemed promising at first, but their dynamic never really evolved in a way that kept me engaged. The game of "human chess" was an exciting idea, but the stakes never felt high enough to make me care. There were moments when I thought the book would pick up, but by the end, I had just been waiting for something to click that never did.

Overall, the story was underwhelming. There were too many surface-level relationships and not enough depth to make me truly invested in the characters or the plot.

I thought this was okay. Nothing special and it felt a little weird to me with these characters on this reality tv show setting. I have another book by Riccio though that seems to be more firmly YA and I think that will be more my speed!

As someone who reads quite a lot of romance, this premise and execution swept me off my feet!

In combining so many contemporary favorite shows, plots, and tropes, Attached at the Hip leaves the reader hooked. Orie Lennox, our main character sits in an uncomfortable in-between, deciding whether to end her loveless relationship, navigating sister dynamics, and pondering what she wants to do with her life, getting cast on a Bachelor x Survivor show was probably not on her bingo card. Orie is an extremely relatable character, and this book does a great job of balancing rom-com quirkiness alongside more hard-hitting topics. I was engaged all throughout and it was a very difficult title to put down. I was a bit hesitant towards the premise at first, but I was sorely mistaken with my initial assumptions. Personally, I think that this premise requires a great amount of tedious writing, and can walk a fine line between brilliant and objectively bad. Between the writing, banter, character arcs, and silliness this book really did it for me in a sea of meh reads this year.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was a miss for me. I felt the strong was all over the place and I couldn’t focus on it to save my life. The characters were also insufferable.

This book was so freaking fun. Honestly I would watch a reality show with this exact premise. It was cute and so enjoyable and the character growth was superb. My first book by this author but definitely won’t be my last.

survivor meets the bachelor is def the best description of this cute little romance type book. reality show fans, rejoice.

This book was OK but I don’t think it was that great. I had some trouble getting into the main character, because sometimes it was pretty cringey what she said or did, and it made it some of the romance and the rest of the survivor plot feel a bit forced. I think the effort was there and the pitch is a good idea but the execution didn’t really work out as well as I’d hoped.

This book was everything I needed to read this summer. As a long-term fan of Survivor and reality shows, this book was an enjoyable read. Contestants are put on an island, tasked with surviving but also attached to a love interest. Yes, please!

I have never been a fan of reality tv shows as a plot for books so I was pleasantly surprised by Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio.

I loved how flirty and cute this read was. It’s a perfect book for curling up at the beach or snuggling your coziest blanket while you spend your entire evening laughing at the shenanigans that play out during this story.

The pacing was a little off key here and there throughout the story but I think that’s standard for the reality show plot point. It seems hard to carry a good pace all throughout a story especially with the onscreen off screen hype moments of a reality show. Otherwise this was such a good book. Christine Riccio has made it on my Authors to Watch List with this banger!

Orie Lennox is an influencer, she is one part of a sister duo acro-yoga group on instagram. After a fight with her sister, who claims she is co-dependent, she decides to apply to Survivor. Next thing she knows, she gets a call from the producers claiming she has been cast on the show. When she arrives to film her intro, she discovers that she will be on a Survivor spin-off show called Attached at the Hip. Along the way, she makes some connections all the while competing for a 1 million dollar cash prize.

This was my favourite of Christine's books, I thought it was a lot of fun. I flew through this book in a few hours and I became invested very quickly. I listened to it on audio, and the narrator did such a great job with the story! I've heard that on page, the book can be a bit jarring with it's writing, so I would definitely recommend the audio version instead. I really enjoyed the characters - for the most part. The characters were silly little gooses, but that made them more endearing. Orie was a great character who went through a lot of growth by the end of the book. I liked how she was still trying to figure out what she wanted in life after college, but she definitely did not feel like a 20-something year old. I think a lot of people will find her relatable. At times, she was a bit annoying... especially with the insistence on being called Piccadilly... Also, she used far too many pop culture references for me. Osprey was my favourite, what a sweet cinnamon roll, we must all protect him. I was also a fan of Kennedi, and thought she was a great addition to the story as well. I loved the competition aspect of the story, and I like how we got to actually see the tasks they were completing.

This book was actually so funny and ridiculous. Orie in the beginning is very naive and ridiculous but she really goes through some growth throughout the story. And I loved the competition bachelor/survivor cross over aspect of the story. I like that each character on the show had a distinctive personality and voice. I was worried with so many characters it would get muddled.

This book had me at "Survivor meets The Bachelor." I am a Survivor junkie through and through, so I was really intrigued by the synopsis of Attached at the Hip.

Imagine applying for and thinking that you're going to be on Survivor, to then being quite literally attached to a potential love connection - all while trying to survive on a deserted island. Much like Survivor, there are competitions, blindsides, and even a version of Exile Island. The end game is to win that cash prize, with the added bonus of connecting with the partner of your dreams.

If you like reality TV shows, competition, forced proximity, missed love connections, self reflection, friends to lovers trope - then this is the book for you! I think some of the scenes where contestants were voted out could have benefited from some more drama, but overall this was a fun read that I enjoyed.

ATTACHED AT THE HIP follows Orie Lennox as she competes on a brand new Survivor spinoff show, doing challenges, surviving on an island in Fiji, and maybe finding love along the way.

I loved Orie as a character and I enjoyed her journey of finding her strength throughout this book. I loved that this book made us feel like we were ON the show with Orie, I experienced all of the highs and lows of watching Survivor as I read!

My one minor issue with the book is that I’m not sure who this book is supposed to be for. Orie is 23 but a YOUNG 23 and acts as if she’s 16 in terms of maturity. The reality show had mostly very young contestants (one is 18??) which felt off for a dating show full of people trying to find love. I was also confused because this is a YA imprint so it feels like the MC should be younger? I was totally able to ignore these things to just enjoy the Survivor vibes of it all, but something to think about if you’re someone who is thrown off by things like this.

Overall this was a really fun read that got me into the Survivor spirit! Is it the best book of the year? Not at all. But did I enjoy my time with it? Immensely!

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Attached at the Hip! All opinions in this review are my own.

I don't know what it is about the reality TV show frame but I love when characters have to compete on them! Attached at the Hip is centered around a Survivor-like series, except the players are tethered to each other in pairs and there is the promise of romance for them.

At first, I was a bit thrown off by the fact that the main character is 23 but this book is labelled as YA. Orie does read very young so I'm not sure if this was a late change in the writing process. There are also some plot lines that aren't fully flushed out or are fixed a little too conveniently.

However, while it is not perfect, Attached at the Hip still had me cracking up at various points. So much so that I actually woke my boyfriend up one time from reading it.

I recommend Attached at the Hip if you are looking for a Survivor-esque plot with truly hilarious moments!

I unfortunately couldn't get past the first few chapters.

But I think the problem is me, not the book.

I loved Christine's first book - Again, But Better - and then hated Better Together. This one fell somewhere in between for me. Not my favorite, but I didn't hate it. It was cute and quirky, a fun read, but a little weird. I really enjoyed the reality show aspect of it. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Attached at the Hip was a fun mix of Survivor and Bachelor in Paradise. I loved the reality TV aspect of the novel. Most of the novel takes place during the filming, which I enjoyed. The balance between playing the game and developing the relationships was great. I also liked the inclusion of the contestant interviews, it gave an interesting peek into what the other players are thinking (and how they are strategizing).
The beginning almost made me drop the book, the pacing felt so off. It took some time to get into the interesting part (the TV show). I wished the family situation was dropped as flashbacks rather than a long bit at the start.

The writing was fine, a bit better if compared to the other Christine Riccio novel I've read, but I don't think I'm vibing with her comedy. The macaroni is my favourite colour? why? The quirky main character with 🤪random🤪 humour is not my cup of tea. Her obsession with being called Piccadilly for no reason was too much and for what?
However, I quite enjoyed the other contestants (that Orie befriends). They felt fleshed out and the vulnerable moments they shared with her made me root for them. The reality TV scheming and twists were fun and kept me engaged. I liked the romance, though I feel like the ending was a bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a fun ride. I was drawn as soon as Orie entered to be on the reality show Survivor. It was set up well to show the different points of view from the show and as you read the book it was like you were watching it. There was funny banter and it all played out as a reality show would. If you don’t have a love for reality tv this book isn’t for you. But if you have enjoyed watching the reality shows that vote people off and form alliances then you will find some joy in this book.

The FMC reads as more immature than what I’m currently used to reading but I did enjoy her character arc