I wanted to like this book more than I did, the set up seemed like so much fun and I love books set in reality TV, but the main character just didn't work for me. She was too much (which I hate saying about women characters) but it just didn't work for me.

This was a quick fun read, definitely something good in between books that are heavy or very detailed. If you enjoy reality tv then you are the right audience for this book. It’s like a behind the scenes of the awkward ways that people meet, communicate, date, etc. in today’s world which is run by social media

Fan Favorite is the kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place. It’s witty, heartfelt, and full of that delicious page-turning energy that makes you want to cancel your plans just to keep going. The characters feel alive in all their messy, flawed, lovable glory, and the author strikes a perfect balance between sharp humor and genuine emotion. I found myself laughing in one chapter and unexpectedly misty-eyed in the next. I loved how the story wove in the unfiltered reality of celebrity life—public meltdowns, social media storms, and the quiet moments no one sees without losing its sharp comedic edge.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Grand Central Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The cover of this one is perfect and truly sets the tone of the book. Edie is a mess, and I love her for it, she's got big dreams for a major romance, but instead keeps finding herself on dumpster fire dates with men on Hinge (and all other dating platforms). Then one evening after yet another disastrous date; she learns that her high school sweetheart, Charlie, is going to be the lead on the biggest reality dating show. She's immediately convinced that it's a sign and the producers love it and so there she goes - being on the show. Charlie isn't impressed and well, Edie isn't entirely prepared for the ins and outs of reality TV.

Adrienne Gunn does a really great job at keeping the book light but still touches on how the desperate need to be loved isn't always the best as you truly need to love yourself first. It's really great to watch Edie discover this after looking for love for so long. The self-esteem struggles and just her struggles with her body/self image as well was really done without being overly deep and heavy. Her growth is really highlighted and I absolutely adored that and how genuine it was.

This book has some great other features such as "memos" and it really gives you a different perspective into reality TV which makes it standout from other books with a similar premise. Overall, this book is really well done and has really great messaging overall.

"Fan Favorite" goes behind-the-scenes of a reality TV dating show, a la "The Bachelor," in this fast-paced romance novel. There's elements of second-chance romance (with Edie and her high school sweetheart, who is now the lead of "The Key" and looking for his future wife) as well as enemies-to-lovers in this book (with the lead producer of "The Key" who is initially rather begrudging of the idea of bringing on a normal person like Edie onto his show).

The unique conceit of this book is that Edie, a 35-year old copywriter from Chicago, learns that her high school boyfriend has landed a role as the lead on "The Key" and she decides that this must be a sign that she needs to go on this show to reconnect with him. I thought it was interesting that the book shows us 3 perspectives -- Edie (our leading lady), Peter (the show runner), and also Charlie (the show's lead Romeo). It was helpful to get all 3 of their perspectives, but since only 2 of the 3 voices were fully fleshed out, it did quickly give away the HEA pairing.

Ultimately, this book didn't work for me. I found Edie's internal monologue frustratingly one-note. While we do see a lot of growth in Edie, the baseline place where she begins feels a little bit like an archetype of a single 35-year old woman who hasn't yet found love, rather than a very specific perspective of this one particular woman. Edie's conviction that obviously she needs to go on this show because she and Charlie are meant to be felt a little childish and immature. I also wasn't a huge fan of Peter at the beginning, as he is not written to be particularly likable. He's well-aware of how manipulative he has been his whole career and while he does show some growth by the end, I'm not sure we see enough growth to warrant fully rooting for him throughout. Finally, while I'm glad we got to see Charlie's perspective too, his voice also felt a little immature and young, lacking nuance that one would expect from a full-grown man.

While this book wasn't my favorite, it was still a generally enjoyable romance that did meet the beats of the genre. For those who enjoyed "One to Watch" by Kate Stayman-London or "The Charm Offensive" by Alison Cochrun, this is a novel that falls in that same genre... but I will say I enjoyed the other two novels considerably more.

I adored Fan Favorite! A quick fun and funny read. This felt like being thrust into the middle of a reality TV show in the best way. Hilarious!

This was a fun and easy read. Several parts made me laugh out loud. Not beautiful prose but a quick and breezy story.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.
This was a really fun and quick read and I love a good reality tv show adaptation.

If you enjoy most dramatic seasons ever, this is the book for you. It really felt like a real season of The Bachelor with exclusive behind the scenes access to making of the show and the characters. I really enjoyed it and the different POV. It was a little crass at times and it surprised me because the rest of the book didn't seem that way. I suppose it was for some shock value while reading! Overall if you are a Bachelor fan, pick this up. If you are not skip it.

This was the cutest book and an absolutely perfect summer read. From beginning to end, this book kept me laughing and giggling. Because the amount of romance was perfect, I didn’t even miss the spice (there is a little, but not much).

If you’re looking for a quick and easy read that will make you giggle, this one is for you.

A very special thank you to Net Galley and Grand Central for the advanced readers' copy in exchange for an honest review.

While not a huge reality show fan, I am a sucker for any book that centers on one - go figure! Fan Favorite was such a cute debut and I loved watching Edie come into her own - what a character she was!

Thank You to NetGalley & Grand Central Publishing for this arc! This is definately for fans of reality tv especially dating shows. Edie, is a single 35 yr old and goes on "The Key" to see if she can win back her high-school sweetheart. It is told from multiple POVS which did keep it interesting. It personally, did not catch my attention as much as I would have liked. I was also a bit confused as to when this book was set. A lot of the references that were pop-culture related took place in the early 2000s, I would recommend this to fans of reality tv and if you enjoy reading about how messy it can be.

I have never read a book quite like this one!! Typically third person omniscient annoys me but I loved how the author executed this so we could get deeper insights into the characters and their motivations.

I felt that the plot was so unique as it wasn’t a classic MMC and FMC that you know are going to end up together. You end up with three big characters in this story without it feeling like a love triangle either. Edie is down on her luck with love and after the most recent break up she sees her high school boyfriend on TV as the bachelor on a reality show looking for his one true love. She decides that she is going to go on that show and win him back.

Once there, you meet the showrunner Peter, who has been working on this reality TV show way longer than he ever planned and feels like he has stopped living life as much as he has just let it happen to him. In walks Edie and he feels like he has encountered the first “real person” in years. He watches as she attempts to win the heart of Bennett, the star of the show, and for the first time finds himself truly caring about the outcome of the season.

This story wraps up beautifully but I still see ways they could make a second book and I would love to read that! Thanks NetGalley & GrandCentral Publishing for the ARC :)

Adrienne Gunn’s Fan Favorite has a simple premise: what if you drunkenly DMed your way onto a reality dating show to win back your high school sweetheart… and accidentally fell for the show’s cranky producer instead?

35-year-old Edie Pepper is messy, millennial, and mourning another failed relationship. When she sees her high school boyfriend—now rebranded as globe-trotting, camera-ready “Bennett Charles”—take center stage as the lead of The Key, a Bachelor-style dating show, Edie makes an impulsive grab at her "One Who Got Away." The producers love the twist, and Edie is suddenly a surprise contestant, competing for the heart of a man she barely recognizes—while sharing screen time with a crew of model-perfect rivals and a very off-limits (and increasingly irresistible) showrunner named Peter.

This novel is bursting with absurd antics and commentary on the constructed chaos of reality TV. Gunn’s background as a pop culture lover shines, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses into the manipulated magic of romantic “reality.” The premise has undeniable appeal for fans of The Bachelor, Love Island, and UnREAL.

Where the book shines:
+ Fast-paced, bingeable writing with no shortage of cringe-comedy and chaotic charm.
_ Edie is refreshingly unfiltered, and her emotional arc—questioning past love, cultural expectations, and what she really wants—is relatable to any reader who’s ever spiraled post-breakup with boxed wine and bad TV.
+ The send-up of the reality TV machine is clever, capturing both the drama and the damage behind the scenes.

Where it falters:
+ The multiple POVs (Edie, Charlie, and Peter) can feel disjointed and limit emotional depth—especially in third-person. The romantic tension, particularly with Peter, lacks the buildup and vulnerability needed to truly land.
+ Characters at times feel like exaggerated tropes—the nerd turned hottie with a chip on his shoulder, the hardened showrunner with a secret soft side, the quirky mess of a heroine—all more concept than character.
+ The romance suffers from "insta-love" syndrome, with key emotional turns that feel rushed or unearned.
+ Some readers may find the pop culture references excessive or dated, with moments that feel more like social media name-drops than character development.
+ For a book releasing during Pride Month, the portrayal of queerness and feminism felt underbaked at best.

Final verdict:
Fan Favorite is a fun, fizzy romcom that’s self-aware, dramatic, and campy—in both the best and occasionally most frustrating ways. If you enjoy romcoms that lean into reality TV chaos, millennial mayhem, and messy love triangles, this might be the popcorn read you’ve been waiting for. Just go in for the spectacle, not the slow-burn romance.

Recommended for fans of One to Watch, The Charm Offensive, or anyone who's screamed at a rose ceremony.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the review copy! Fan Favorite had such a fun, promising premise—behind-the-scenes drama on a reality dating show à la The Bachelor is totally my thing, especially when paired with romcom elements and social commentary on the genre’s flaws. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite land for me.

The plot had great potential, but it felt like the execution didn’t do the concept justice. With multiple POVs, none of the characters felt especially developed; they often came across as surface-level or a bit cringey, which made it hard to root for them. I appreciated the satirical tone aimed at reality TV manipulation, but the “glow-up” storyline and insta-love arc felt a bit forced, and the repeated emphasis on the FMC being “just a regular girl” started to wear thin. One early chapter from the male lead’s perspective, in particular, was a turn-off for me and pulled me out of the story.

That said, I think others might have more fun with this than I did—especially readers who enjoy heightened, dramatic takes on reality TV tropes. This may have just been a case of wrong book, wrong timing for me, but I’m still glad I gave it a shot.

3.00 stars
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Edie Pepper is 35 years old and newly single once again. After a few too many glasses of wine, she finds out that her high school sweetheart is looking for love on The Key - a public "live" television dating show. In a drunken state, she emails the producers wanting to reconnect with her one true love. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes aspect of the book; it was interesting to get a glimpse at what goes on behind the camera during reality TV. The scenes are so absurd, I think the contestants had me laughing out loud the most! The author does a great job at poking fun of reality tv shows.

While Edie tries to win over Charlie's (Bennett) heart, she starts to realize that he isn't the same person he once was. The Charlie she remembers is geeky, dorky, and not experienced in dating at all. To her surprise, he doesn't seem overly excited for her to be there in the first place. I disliked that he only showed interest in her once she got her makeover; she had previously been perceived as a joke. All while.e she's on this journey to win Charlie's heart, she finds herself growing closer to the show's producer: Peter.

The writing is witty and bingeable. I had a hard time connecting to the characters; a lot of them are unbearable, self-centred, and just not fully fleshed out. We're supposed to love Peter, and fall for him just like Edie does, but he's really rude and far too serious. If you're looking for a wacky read, that pokes fun of trashy tv, and has a predictable love story, I would recommend this book. It was easy to read in one sitting.
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I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing, Adrienne Gunn, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of Fan Favorite in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Fan Favorite was published on June 24th, 2025. You can get your copy today!

I want to give a huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Unfortunately I just don’t think this book was for me. I nearly DNF’d this book at quite a few moments. I do think there are people who will absolutely love this book but I am not one of them.

Reading the blurb for this book had me very excited, I love love-triangles and second chance romances. I think that reality TV is so silly and fun. I was really looking forward to it.

Edie Peppers high school boyfriend and childhood best friend is on a dating show and she wants him back. However after some experiences with the show runner and how Charlie has changed she must decide which man she truly wants.

I think this book struggles to build unique characters. Every character feels like a caricature of a trope. Edie is a quirky millennial woman who trips on her own feet, only wears old college sweatshirts and is desperate to be loved. She feels like a millennial woman stereotype that is perpetrated over and over and over.

Charlie is the nerd turned hot guy that changed his whole personality, I honestly think he might have had the best chance for redemption from his trope. I wanted to see more growth from him as a character.

Peter is your jaded divorced man that believes love doesn't exist anymore. He felt very flat to me. They all lack chemistry.

I think having this book written in 3rd person made this book even harder to connect to. I think this book would have benefited from a 1st person pov or making the entire book from Edie’s perspective.

Since finishing this book I have learned that the author admittedly loves to write in “pop culture infused romcoms”, while I am not a hater of a modern reference in a romance novel and even think that a modern pop culture reference can add a lot to the story, this book has far too many.

I do not think you could go more than 3 pages (I fear it was even less but i’m giving it the benefit of doubt) without mentioning some kind of modern celebrity or pop culture moment, at one point across 2 pages there were at least 10 different mentions with almost no crossover. If you don’t like modern references this book will not be for you.

My final problem with this book is the way that feminism, and queer people are discussed. Feminism in this book is used to shit on Edie for wanting to get married. One of the characters states that “Marriage is oppression” when asked who even says that the character says “Literally every feminist thinker ever” which is fundamentally untrue. It really sat poorly with me.

The same problem arises when the original man on the dating show is outed for being gay and then they make it out to be the worst thing that could ever happen and it just feels really slimy. Especially given this book having a Pride month release.

I think there are people who will love this book. I hope those people find it. What might not be my cup of tea will be the exact book someone needed.

Edie Pepper has just survived another bad relationship, and she is ready to give up on love. As a 35-year-old insurance copywriter in Chicago, she’s tried all the apps and knows how much they all suck. She wants to find love and start a family, but she just hasn’t managed to find the right guy.

Or has she?

One night of wine and reality television, and she is certain that she has found the one. The new bachelor on the popular reality dating show The Key is none other than her high school boyfriend Charlie Bennett. Now he’s calling himself Bennett Charles, and his Instagram feed is filled with photos of him on all of his travels. He’s climbing mountains, he’s surfing in the ocean, he’s been all over the world and he is showing that off, sometimes without his shirt.

Since Edie decided that she was meant to be with Charlie, she DMs one of the producers of the show to let them know. When she wakes up the next morning, sober, she remembers what she did and is happy to think that she will probably never hear from that producer. But the producer sent Edie a DM right back saying that she loved the idea. Edie flew out to L.A. to talk to the producers, and suddenly she finds herself as a surprise contestant on The Key.

The producers had been struggling with this season. Bennett was a perfect pick for the show, but their last star had been caught making out with another man at a gay bar, on camera, and they had been under a lot of scrutiny about how real their reality show is. This season, they need a squeaky-clean bachelor and a story that the entire country could get behind. And Edie Pepper is someone the country can get behind.

But as soon as they surprise Bennett on air with Edie’s entrance, the chemistry in the house changes. The other women are all immediately jealous. Bennett is thrown off balance. And Edie starts to doubt her idea of Bennett being the guy for her. He’s not the Charlie she knew as a kid anymore. But she was brought on the show to be his perfect match, to redeem them all. So when she starts developing feelings for the showrunner who hired her, Edie finds herself in an impossible situation, where all of America is wanting her to be with Bennett and prove reality show romance is real. But for her to stay true to herself, she has to leave all that behind and take a chance on someone she just met.

Fan Favorite is a hilarious send-up of reality dating television, specifically that one show with all the roses. It’s a debut novel from a reality television show addict who wanted to write about what would happen if a real person joined a reality show, and I thought her experiment worked like a charm. I loved this novel, from the first page to the last.

I am not a big fan of reality dating shows (my mother is, though, so I have watched more than I wanted to). But I am a fan of novels that skewer the reality television tropes. and this one does just that with a masterful hand. Like the rest of the country, I fell in love with Edie Pepper, and I was rooting for her to find her happy ending. To me, this is the perfect summer read, smart but with a character-driven story that just keeps those pages turning. I loved Fan Favorite, and I think anyone who has watched reality dating shows, either because they wanted to or against their wills, will devour this book too.

Egalleys for Fan Favorite were provided by Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🗝️📺🎥❤️

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This hilarious debut follows 35-year-old Edie Pepper as she stumbles through a string of post-breakup dating disasters-until she spots her high school best friend, Charlie, starring on The Key, a reality dating show. Seizing the moment, she joins the cast, hoping to reconnect-and maybe stir up a little chaos. Instead, she unexpectedly finds herself bonding with Peter, the show’s grumpy but lovable producer.

While mostly set in the present, the book weaves in just enough backstory to show Edie and Charlie’s messy history-including a laugh-out-loud scene where teenage Edie accidentally breaks his nose during their first hookup. In a perfectly absurd full-circle moment, she manages to break it again during a volleyball scene on the show. These callbacks added humor and emotional depth without overloading the narrative.

Told through multiple third-person perspectives—Edie, Peter, Charlie (now going by “Bennet”), and other contestants-the book captures the behind-the-scenes drama and manipulation of reality TV. It moves at a fast, cinematic pace, making it feel like you’re watching a season of your favorite guilty pleasure unfold in book form.

While Charlie is all image (think Ryan Reynolds in Just Friends), Edie and Peter’s enemies-to-lovers arc brings heart and substance to the story. Their late-night hangouts and quiet moments off-camera were especially sweet, and Peter’s personal growth was a nice surprise.

A sharp, funny, surprisingly touching read. Fans of One to Watch (novel) and Love Island-style chaos will love this. I’ll definitely be picking up whatever Adrienne Gunn writes next!

Fan Favorite is a debut romance novel about Edie, who is a bit of a mess. Coming off a terrible date, Edie turns on her television and sees her high school boyfriend, Charlie Bennett, is the newest bachelor on America's favorite dating show, The Key (essentially The Bachelor with keys instead of roses). And he has had a major glow-up. Desperate to find her one true love, Edie messages the show's producers and is cast as a surprise to Charlie. Will Edie's big risk payoff or will she end up alone?

I enjoyed Fan Favorite although I did not read the full synopsis beforehand. I originally thought Edie was going on a reality TV show and not much else. So I was a little disappointed to find out that it was yet another book that piggybacked on The Bachelor's concept. But that is on me and not the book. After finding out that this show was this premise, I hoped for some snide and snarky comments criticizing the show, its depiction of contestants, and its patriarchal roots. Adrienne Gunn never quite went there though.

Edie is a likable character despite her messiness and desperation. If you have dated recently, you will surely sympathize. However, I do think this novel borders on instalove. There was not enough development of either relationship in the book's middle. Characters' romantic feelings were just a given after two to three scenes together. From the number of romance novels I have read in the last year, it is clear that building believable emotion is the most difficult part of writing.

Overall, Fan Favorite is a solid debut novel perfect for fans of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. I recommend it if you are looking for a good time and do not mind poking fun at the dating pool.