While the idea was intriguing, the execution was lacking a bit. Personally, I love books that have reality tv in them, but this one fell flat.

I found myself unable to root for the characters and found the dialogue to be a bit cringy.

The setting was definitely cool and whimsical, but it couldn’t save the lack of connection I felt towards the characters.

Christine Riccio's Attached at the Hip is a super sweet, fun and adventurous novel where the main characters go on a Survivor-like TV show. Between surviving, competing and reuniting with someone she knew from HS our leading lady finds a romantic connection. This novel is beautifully written and is quite engaging..

Since Survivor is one of my favorite shows this novel was especially interesting to me. I was engaged and loving the storyline through the entire novel.

What a quick romance read. I am so eager to see what this author puts out next. I was hooked from the first page.

Not always a fan of reality TV show plotted books, but I had high hopes for this one. However, it fell short.

Would recommend for fans of…
🏝️ Survivor
🏝️ The Bachelor
🏝️ The Paradise Problem

Attached at the Hip is the latest title in a slew of reality TV-focused romances that follows Orie, a yoga influencer who is figuring out what she wants her life to look like. At the urging of her sister, she applies for and lands a role on a Survivor-like reality show, only to find the upcoming season is a romantic version.

The thing I liked most about Attached at the Hip was the ages of the characters. There’s just not enough books out there with characters in the 18-22 age range and I really liked that Riccio chose to focus on this group and the feelings that come when you're stuck in the middle of adolescence and adulthood. I think older teens/younger adults will really connect with a lot of Orie’s struggles – I know I would have at that age. Riccio also nailed the reality TV competition aspects of the story, and you can really tell she’s a fan of the genre.

That being said, I did find the writing style to be a bit grating. I crave authenticity and realism in most of the stories I read, and the dialogue felt a bit twee and unrealistic for my liking. (Don’t get me started on “Piccadilly”). I get the sense that this is just Riccio’s writing style, so if you like a bit of whimsy in your stories, you’ll absolutely eat this up.

Attached at the Hip is out now. Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

this survivor meets love island style romcom is interesting at first glance for me personally. As someone who only watched one season of survivor i still found then had that spend to it intriguing, but it lost me me with one love interest. He came across full of himself and very conniving to stay the least. over all with out staying to much if you love realty tv and romcom style books this one for you

I thought I only get my reality show fill on TV. Apparently not! This is my second Christine Riccio book and she has good and not so good style of writing. The plot is like a reality TV show, therefore, the friends to lover's trope is cute. Close proximity and some love triangle for conflicts. I agree with most of the reviews that I have seen that it's a little bit confusing as the whole plot seem to be like a YA/Coming of Age but yet, the adult content is very eminent.
South Pacific location is very romantic touch! Remy's character was packaged okay, but Orie was a little insane and can get to my nerves sometimes. The ending was good as expected for rom-com with HEA. It is a fast read; one you can start when sitting at the airport or at your backyard having coffee and can definitely finish within the day. Would I recommend it to a friend? Sure! Will I read it again? Umm. No.

Christine's books are always so charming. They make me laugh and feel better inside. They're kind of like a literary hug? The characters in this book? Fantastic. The storyline? Fantastic. Come on, dating? Survivor? Exotic island? All of this is perfect to love. I recommend this to everyone. This isn't my favorite book by Ricco, but it is still lovely and well written.

This YA adventure by Christine Riccio is so much fun. When Orie gets accepted as a contestant in a romance version of Survivor, she feels a bit of her identity slipping away. She's recently broken up with her longtime boyfriend, she and her sister have built an Instagram empire with acro-yoga that she has to pause, and her parents have earth-shattering news...landing on a remote island with just the clothes on her back is quite the time to reset. This is a really fun romance for older YA audiences (not because of the content, but the main characters are in that post-high school/pre-college stage of life). This book will have extra appeal for any readers who enjoy reality television.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

As a fan of the survivor shows, I really enjoyed this book. With the added romance part made it even more enjoyable for me. Our main character Olie grew so much by the end of the book from the overly co-independent sister who cannot make her own decision to someone that is ready to go our on her own and persue her own passion and dreams.


Thank you to Macmillian Publishers and Net Galley for this ARC.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the advanced reader copy. This review contains some spoilers.

I had a lot of mixed feelings with this book. On the one hand, I was invested and wanted to continue reading but did not find myself “rooting” for any of the characters. I genuinely did not see some of the plot twists and character development either which kept me engaged. As someone who does not watch Survivor, I found some of the dynamics of the set up of the reality show to be a great back drop for the character development, especially with alliance building and character development through the challenges. But sprinkled in were very haphazard plot twists in the show that really had no consequence (e.g., changing number of winners, MVP award, etc.) that took me out of it.

Orie was a grating main character though she had an incredible journey through the book. She really came into her own and did a lot of “unlearning” and confidence building, but I think some of the eccentric qualities were overly caricature. For example, her codependence on others at the beginning of the book was written overly whiny and clingy when I think there could have been more subtleties about the fear and not having the opportunities to branch out on her own. I was really invested when she was piecing together the deception in the book and strategizing her win but some of her overly dense moments took away from that journey.

All and all, it was enjoyable and the overall trajectory of the book and characters turned out well. I think a few tweaks and tightening of the story and characters could have gone a long way.

While I loved the “Survivor meets The Bachelor/Bachelorette” storyline, I didn’t love the book. It was fairly predicated, and as much as I wanted to love Orie’s character, she was a bit much.

This was a fun book! I have never seen Survivor but I still really enjoyed the book. The whole premise of the show was fun and different, and Orie was a lovable character. The drama was fun and at some times frustrating, but not in an overwhelming way. The other characters were funny, and I kind of with we had opportunities to get to know some of the other contestants better, but I understand why we didn't. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!

I thought this book was a fun read. As a Survivor fan, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the fictional spin-off show, Attached at the Hip, that is the base of the story. It really did have that Survivor feel to it, with the unique twist of being tethered to another player. In the beginning, I found the main character, Orie, to feel very immature, but that also allowed for a lot of character growth along the way. I really enjoyed the relationship building between Orie and other contestants from the show, and how complicated it became when they had to routinely vote someone out. The book kept me engaged, and it was hard to put down... I was always excited to see what would happen next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of Attached at the Hip! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

This was so much fun! I loved the gaming aspect of this makeshift reality tv show. The characters playing the game with Orie were a great mix of personality types and I liked seeing each one of them finding their person. It was a classic you can't trust anyone scenario that makes these dating games so additive. We all want to see what alliances are going to take place and who will double cross and betray who. This one definitely helped up to the expectations I look forward to when watching reality tv.

Orie ends up with two potential love interests and I enjoyed watching her falling for each one of them. The banter was so so good! I was thoroughly entertained. I need to get to reading Christine Riccio's backlist! This was so good!

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in to ATTACHED AT THE HIP was I was drawn to the comparisons of The Bachelor meets Survivor.

This was a cute YA romance based around a reality game show that is great as a summer read. I enjoyed the characters and their developments and am glad I grabbed this on NG ☺️

A fun, fast-paced rom-com. The applicants thought they applied for Survivor, but they actually were accepted to be on a new spinoff - ten people - three of who are romantically matched based on information collected. Pairs, challenges, strategies, back-stabbing, drama, family situations are all wrapped up in this story!

I am not an automatic rom-com reader, however, this was fun and smart. As a fan of Survivor, I feel I have a deeper insight into the characters.

Definitely for someone who wants fun, romance, competition and happy endings!

(Actual: 2.75⭐, rounded up) Ack— whelp. I really wanted to like this one, but it was just..... ugh, I just couldn't. And the fact I couldn't probably partially stems from the fact that this is marketed as being YA and it *definitely shows* 🥴 While the premise sounds interesting enough, it ultimately just came off as very.... silly and completely improbable? That being said, the reality [survival/dating] show aspect was the only thing that really ended up piquing even a modicum of my interest; I really did enjoy the games/challenges and how they were written from a narrative standpoint— it really did feel like I was watching this type of show at home (though admittedly I don't watch much reality TV in general, so.... lol). However, this book obviously tried its d*mn hardest to be ~quirky~ and funny, what with its bit-joke dialogue (that fell flat) and its the endless stream of pop culture references (that also just felt so dated and cringey and just UGHHHH).... also the FMC giving herself a "more unique" nickname (and a dumb one at that) to stand out - despite her name already being pretty f*cking unique......... I tap, I'm out 🤠🔫 I'm sorry, but despite seeing some glimmers of its potential, this book as a whole just ultimately wasn't for me. I'm sure others may enjoy it though, especially perhaps those who fall under its preferred targeted demo, so I'd still say to check this one out if you feel so inclined and find out for yourself!

Christine Riccio gets better with every book! Attached At The Hip uses a reality game show to create a fresh and addictive romance. I loved the uniqueness of each character, the competitive elements of the plot which strengthened character motives and the twisty ending. Riccio is excellent at making you connect emotionally with her characters and I felt conflicted as she took me on an emotional journey throughout the novel. I cannot wait to see what she does next and I'm already looking forward to re-reading AATH!

ARC of this book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I love survivor and struggled to get into reality tv, so I was really exited for this book! The concept was really exiting and like nothing I have ever seen before, which is why i stuck it out till the end. Unfortunately, the main character was very RanDoM and *Not Like Other Girls* in a way that was a little off putting. The premise was really fun and i enjoyed the novel, but the main character was just insufferable.