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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the premise of Fan Favorite. It hooked me right away. The story was fast-paced, fun, and full of energy, making it a quick and entertaining read. Gunn's voice has a fresh style, and the book balances humor and heart in a way that works well. While some moments felt a little light on depth, the momentum kept me turning pages. Edie was relatable with a bit of hysteria built in. Bennett Charles was exactly what you would expect from a contestant on a show like the Bachelor. Peter was a fun addition to the mix. Definitely one to pick up if you’re in the mood for something lively and smart with a pop-culture edge.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn was such a fantastic read!
I was totally hooked from the first few pages and I every time I had to sit the book down to do things like cook for my kids, take a shower or go to bed I thought about this book the whole time. I couldn't wait to get back to it and see what happened next.

The Bachelor meets Rom Com

This was such a fun little read! If you love reality TV and the absolute ridiculousness of it all then what better read than a love story set in the world of a show like The Bachelor. Trust me this will not turn out how you think it’s scripted. This was a perfect view on how the grass isn't always greener and sometimes it's best when things don't work out how we would like.

I really hope that this will be a series bc I need Lauren’s love story.

Thank you so much to Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley for this gifted copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Adrienne Gunn, and Grand Central Publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Edie Pepper is down on her luck. After her last serious relationship ended, she's been struggling on dating apps trying to find a steady relationship. When her high school boyfriend and first love, Charlie Bennett, suddenly appears on a dating show called The Key, she makes the impulsive decision to try to get on the show and win him back. He's changed over the years, and he's no longer the nerdy, scrawny band kid she knew in high school. Suddenly, Edie is thrust into the world of the reality TV shows she watches, and has to navigate catty girls, a new wardrobe, and find love where she least expected to: on national television. With America's eyes on her, will she make it to the end to get engaged to her high school sweetheart? Or will the show's frontrunner, Peter Kennedy, throw a wrench in those plans?

The entire book is written from 3 POVs: Edie's, Charlie's, and The Key's showrunner, Peter Kennedy's. With that said, I thought the use of the third-person narration was kind of odd. Normally, I don't mind whether or not a book is written in the first or third-person, but with the fact that the POVs would change in the middle of the chapters and wouldn't tell you (aside from a paragraph break), it made the entire book feel very impersonal and difficult to follow with at times. This was one of the biggest issues I had with the book overall, and I feel like having distinct chapters or POV changes would've made my experience a lot better. Obviously, there are a ton of people who seem to enjoy the book overall, judging by the ratings, so I'm fully aware that this is a me problem and not necessarily a book problem. It was so hard for me to connect with the characters, and I felt the writing made me feel super detached from everything. I was waiting for the moment that the book would suck me into the story and make me feel invested, but that moment never came.

I also think that for me, I came into the story with the wrong expectations and then was disappointed that it didn't end up being what I thought it would. For one, I went into the story thinking that we were going to get Edie's, and maybe Charlie's, perspectives on the whole experience of being on The Key, and I figured it would be all about Edie trying to win Charlie back. Like...look at the cover. Edie's there. Charlie's there. Then I started reading the book, and then started reading Peter's perspective, and he just gave me the absolute wrong vibes the entire time. I get that he's divorced and has a jaded view on love, but his POV did him no favors in getting me to like him. Coupled with the third-person POV, I felt very disconnected when his relationship with Edie started to build. It felt like it came out of nowhere and didn't have a whole ton of deep, intimate interactions.

In addition, it was also VERY confusing as to what time period this takes place in. I genuinely don't think this takes place in 2023-2025, if we want a general range of what I thought the time period/time frame was. There's little snippets of TV interviews that Charlie does before the season of The Key launches, and there's a snippet where he goes on The Ellen Show, whose last episode was in May of 2022, but then they're talking about Selling Sunset which started airing in 2019? It's such a small part of the story that I'm sure most people will gloss over but as soon as I saw the reference to The Ellen Show I knew that this didn't take place after May 2022. I remember reading the snippet about The Ellen Show and I had to do a double take. Like...I thought that show was over and done?

Add in the fact that there's Kanye West references in the story, a minor plotline of Charlie getting onto the show because the previous star was forced out of the closet and had to come out as gay/queer while ALSO having JKR and HP references in there at the same time, not to mention that one of the contestants on the show is also in the closet was....something else. AND THE BOOK CAME OUT DURING PRIDE MONTH. Be so for real.

(As a side note, the entirety of Chapter 8 almost made me DNF. It was just so utterly cringy I wanted to give up, but I wanted to push through and give a full review considering it was an ARC.)

When it comes to Charlie, he was just a massive horndog the entire time. I'm sorry, I said it. I get that he's the show's star and his goal is to date physically attractive women in an attempt to find his future wife, but all he could think about was their breasts and butts and trying not to get a hard-on and it was just so....bad.

The other girls on the show....I wanted to punch them all, especially Zo. I get that that's the whole point of reality TV and everyone's catty and competitive to build drama and keep viewers entertained, but they were body shaming Edie and calling her fat and all these other sorts of rude things that I felt was just totally unnecessary. The only girls I liked were Bailey and Max and that's only because they were the nicest to Edie and they were all friends. I wish we got more interactions with them!

With all of that being said, if you're a big fan of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Love Island, or any of those other reality TV shows, you might LOVE this book! I'm not the kind of person who watches reality TV, but I figured I would enjoy reading about all the behind the scenes action during the book. I think if you come into the book with an open mind, zero expectations, and just let the book take its course, you might enjoy this a lot more than I did.

A dating reality show in the pages of a book? YES PLEASE! This book was so much fun. Great writing, a fun premise and LOL humor. It doesn't get better than this!

Thank you so much for the arc, I absolutely devoured this book!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bachelor/bachelorette, so this book was right up my alley. I loved the fun aspect of Edie getting herself on the show for an old flame. The direction the book took was pretty easy to spot; however, I can’t say that I’m mad about it. I was rooting for Edie’s love story the entire way through the book, and I couldn’t put it down. I finished this book in just a few hours. I can’t wait to read and explore anything Adrienne writes, she’s so well written and makes her books really entertaining.

If you live for the over the top drama of reality dating tv shows, this debut will be right up your alley! Newly single, Edie manages to get herself on The key which is featuring her childhood crush and celeb bachelor, Charlie Bennett. While believing Charlie is the one for her, Edie finds herself falling for Peter, the show runner and producer. Fans of The bachelor nation franchise won't want to miss this romcom full of hijinks and heart. It was also great on audio narrated by Patti Murin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, steamy, engaging, action-packed and charming. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 379 / Genre: Romcom
Release Date: June 24, 2025
🥳#HappyPubDay!🎉

Edie Pepper is a 35-year-old copywriter who desperately wants to find her soulmate. She optimistically goes on dating apps looking for Mr. Right. After a particularly disappointing date, she turns on the TV to see that her high school boyfriend Charlie is the latest bachelor to star in the hit reality dating show, The Key. In a box wine-induced stupor, she tweets one of the show’s producers and sends her an old picture of her and Charlie, telling her who she is and that she’s still in love with him and to give her a chance on the show. To her surprise, she wakes up to a DM inviting her out to LA to interview for the show! What follows is a hilarious set of events as Edie is pit against a cast of supermodel-type contestants all vying for the love of her Charlie. But is he really still her Charlie? Or has the last 17 years changed him into a completely different person?

This was such a fun, hilarious romcom! The characters and the situations were all so delightfully ridiculous and romantic. It’s the perfect beach read for the summer.

Thank you, @Real.Adrienne.Gunn and @GrandCentralPub for my free advanced copy.

🧡 30-somethings
🗝️ divorce rep
🧡 forbidden & hidden romance
🗝️ he falls first
🧡 he’s jaded, she’s unhinged
🗝️ third-person POV
🧡 workplace romance

A normal, messy girl joins a fictitious version of The Bachelor to try to win back her high school sweetheart. He’s nothing like she remembers, but reality TV is nothing if not scripted. Complicating matters, the show’s cranky, hot producer finds himself drawn to her.

Fan Favorite is hilarious. The FMC is a little cringy and crazy at first but once I looked at the book like a satire, it became amazing and I couldn’t stop reading it. The writing was flawless. The main characters were likable and flawed, and each character was nuanced and well-developed. Adrienne Gunn wrote a treasure.

Don’t let the third-person POV get in the way! If you only read first-person books but ever wanted to make an exception, make it for this one. Trust.

If you feel messy and off-track with your life, want a romance with characters who embody the chaos that is being in your 30s, love reality tv and/or Bridget Jones’s Diary, or just want to laugh, Fan Favorite will hold the key to your heart. 🗝️

Thank you so much to Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

I was really excited about this book because it was an older character. However, I feel like she was made to appear immature and that is where my struggle is. While parts of this book made me laugh out loud I feel like it was just ok.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

i want to thank netgalley and the publisher for an arc in excahnge for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book as someone who is obsessed with reality TV. All the references made me happy and made me feel like I was in on the inside joke. The characters were very likable as well, but the one thing that bothered me with this book was the humor ... some parts had me staring at my Kindle straight-faced, and I wished that it wasn't as cringy at times.

Edie Pepper is looking for love. At 35 years old, she’s more than ready to find “the one.” Too bad the men of Bumble, etc. all seem to be the absolute worse. Following another tragic date, Edie is shocked to see Charlie Bennett, her high school sweetheart, stepping into the role of America’s most eligible bachelor on reality dating show “The Key.” Edie knows this is fate - she and Charlie are meant to be!

This book had no business being so funny. The post-graduation party scene was so ridiculous and vivid that I choose to believe it is based on a true story in this author’s life (and I have so many questions). I love a trashy reality tv show and I think the author did such a great job in capturing all of these big personalities. The other women competing on the show felt like women who would appear on my screen every Monday night. However, my main complaint about this book is that I really didn’t believe the love story between Edie and Charlie or Edie and Peter. I’m glad Peter does redeem himself in the end, but I still had trouble buying that he was able to so completely change in such a short period of time. We love a man who goes to therapy though!

I did end up having a lot of fun reading this despite my problems with the romance and I really liked Edie as a main character. I think if you’re a fan of The Bachelor and all of the drama that goes on behind the scenes you will enjoy this even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an early copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This book was hard for me to get into. While I was interested in Edie as a main character, I found the authors writing semi childish and immature. I was rooting for Edie but then things took a turn for the worst and I just couldn't anymore.

This started off great. Loved the funny tone to the writing and I could definitely see a clever love triangle brewing. But with time, it became increasingly childish & mean.

Sorry to say but this wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing the ARC.

Wooo boy, this book is a chaotic mess and I am not here for it.

The combination of the author's somewhat juvenile prose and Edie's unattractive and desperate mannerisms made this a hard book to get into. Add in the messiness of the reality TV aspect, and this book comes across as a very disorganized mess. I disliked Edie so much as a character, that the rest of the story didn't even matter to me. I had absolutely not interest in knowing her story.

This one is a big no from me.

I'm not a fan of reality dating shows like The Bachelor(I know, gasp!) anymore. It can too messy and you wonder if people are there for the right reasons. This book kind of felt like that to me. Most of the characters were not the best.

I did like Edie as a lead but she came off as being younger and naive. Peter was okay and redeemed himself at the end. Charlie/Bennett was so odd. He said he wanted love but the actions were not like that at all. The last 1/3 of the book was a hoot, though. I loved the wackiness and sincere feelings that it showed.

I think if you love the messiness of reality dating, this is a great book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

2.5 stars

I think this book might be for either someone who loves the messiness of a reality dating show or for people who hate them with a passion. But if you're very meh or think they are actually real, maybe you won't enjoy this. At times, I really wanted to DNF this book but at the same time I couldn't put it down? I'm not sure what that was about so I added a star for that.

I can't imagine this book was written or set in 2025 for so many reasons. A lot of references and some of the timeline information made me think this should have been set in 2015. For example, they talk about The Ellen Show appearances for the lead of the show (this stopped airing in 2022). At one point this 39 year old showrunner mentions after years of trying to be a tv writer he almost ended up working on The Anna Nicole Show which went off air in 2004 which would have made this guy 18 at that time? And he said he went to LA at 22? But also it can't be earlier than 2021 because there was a 17 year past flashback referencing Maroon 5. Then there were other concerning things for this to be set in 2025 like Kanye references, talking about Harry Potter (come ON we know that author is horrendous as a person!), ditching a now out queer man as the lead instead of making a more progressive show, constantly talking about weight and looks, girls bringing others down constantly, calling a 35 year old woman middle aged (and the man that said it...was OLDER), saying the 35 year old male lead was better matched with women a decade younger instead of someone the same age, the list goes on. I also felt like this author hates EVERYTHING about reality TV because it was a constant tear down of the whole premise. The manipulation throughout was disturbing.

The characters were all pretty horrible. Edie wasn't bad but incredibly naive for being 35. Both Peter and Bennett were superficial and shallow. Peter was cruel at times and Bennett was just a nasty hornball and also a complete idiot. The other girls on the show were mostly just horrible to Edie for much of the book. Bennett having completely changed everything about himself and ghosting someone who truly loved him yet her wanting him back was a bit unhinged. I found having Bennett's POV was also distracting and unnecessary because it made him out to be more of a creep. And it took away from the actual romance to the point I wasn't sure where Peter's feelings actually came from.

The last 25% of the book was kind of fun so I added another half star.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Edie Pepper is 35 years old, is never been married, and has just been dumped when she turns on the TV and finds out that her childhood best friend and high school boyfriend Charlie is the lead on a “Bachelor” type show. So what does she do? She drunkenly tweets at the producer, and then suddenly finds herself a contestant on the show. In fact, the oldest contestant the show has ever seen. Except she can’t tell if she has feelings for Charlie, or for hot divorced showrunner Peter.

Y’all, I ate this book up. This is everything a summer read should be!! Summer should be fun! Reading should be fun! The plot was not always incredibly smart. The book was a little longer than I needed it to be. We didn’t get as much time with some of the other contestants/side characters as I would have liked. But I didn’t really care.

I am very picky with romances and this one just worked for me. It reminded me of one of my favorite romances, Kate Stayman-London’s “One to Watch”.

I highly recommend this book for fans of “The Bachelor”, 35 year old single women, readers who love books about reality TV, or any lightly spicy romance readers. Great fun!