Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

As a fan of the bachelor franchise and someone who watched Colton's season, I was excited to get the opportunity to read his book. As you can imagine, it is a very casual, easy going read with a behind the seasons look at what really goes on when the camera's are off. It was interesting to learn how much he interacted with Tia and how they all kind of know how to "play the game" to get more camera time or more opportunities.

I do appreciate how Colton set his own path when it came to his season of the bachelor and did something that had never been done before, eliminating two girls during the fantasy suite episode because he already knew who he wanted to be with.

I’ve read most of the bachelor/bachelorette memoirs and this was exactly what I expected it to be. The writing wasn’t good, but I didn’t expect it to be. It was nice to hear some behind the scenes drama, but I would’ve liked a bit more about what happened after the show aired. I’d recommend to anyone who watched the show.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Bachelor franchise is the guilty pleasure I don't feel guilty about---it's a phenomenon around the country and some fascinating entertainment. And so, when I found out that Colton Underwood, the famous "virgin Bachelor" with the epic fence jump was writing a book, I was super excited to read it, and anxious to get a jump on it as soon as my e-ARC came in--thanks Edelweiss.

The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV is on-sale everywhere March 31, 2020.

Unfortunately, Colton's book was scheduled for release right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he himself tested positive for the virus! There goes his press tour--but I hope this book doesn't get swept under the rug completely, because it has some real merit as a Bachelor memoir. Colton was on all three shows--Bachelorette (Becca Kufrin), Bachelor in Paradise, and the Bachelor. He's also still with his girl, the girl he jumped the fence for, so I think that goes a long way. I'll admit I was not on the Colton train at first--he just wasn't compelling to me--and I don't follow him and Cassie because they come off as very pre-planned to me, but I became a much bigger fan of them both throughout this book. They felt like real people, people who made mistakes and had personalities and all that jazz.

One of the things I didn't like about Colton was the sports emphasis--so color me shocked when I didn't hate those chapters of Colton's book. He was honest--he was on the practice squad, facing injuries, trying to better himself. The chapters weren't bad, and it was interesting to learn just how fickle the NFL is.  Another thing that I knew about Colton pre-Bachelor was that he had dated Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman--and I was super confused about how that happened--but this book clears it up (He played football with Shawn Johnson's husband and that was the set up) and that also helped me feel better about Colton as a person and not necessarily a fame whore. I do still think he is looking for fame, but not necessarily in the worst ways. I don't think he's trying to get rich quick or anything, he's just someone who likes attention but isn't necessarily doing the worst thing in the world with what he gets--though his foundation still confuses me a bit.

What I loved most about this book was the behind the scenes stuff on the Bachelor franchise--packing lists, the slow filming process, how they get groceries in the mansion, who he liked and who he didn't on each show, the real deal with the Tia situation, how he fought with producers to get more time with Cassie, et cetera. I enjoy the show, a lot, but I also have a healthy skepticism about it all, and this book helped me get that behind the scenes honest I was craving--I think it's pretty clear that Colton is thankful for his time with the show in that it gave him Cassie, but he's been honest about how he felt pressured by the producers.

Overall, I liked this book a lot more than I thought. It wasn't a literary classic, sure, but it felt honest and there was humor and insight and I appreciated it. I read it pretty quickly, which we all know is a sign I liked a book, but I can't wait to hear what other Bachelor fans thought of the book.

Ok, so I'm a secret Bachelor Nation member. My husband and I have become completely obsessed with the overly dramatic nonsense of the show. After 10 years of marriage, we love picking apart dating life and the millennial idea of "love." When we watched Colton's season, I was impressed with his ethics and his strength in sticking to being genuine in all of his actions.

I picked this book because I wanted some "inside baseball" about the series and maybe some gossip or drama that we hadn't gotten on TV or from post-show interviews. Perhaps some words on how hard adjusting back to real life was following the show. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much of that as I desired.

The book is an easy read but doesn't really stray far from what we saw on TV. Colton holds true to his nice guy image and has nary a bad word to say about anyone. It's a good narrative, albeit one clearly written by a millennial, and if you didn't watch the show it fills you in on everything. If you did watch the show and just want some base feelings Colton had throughout, then this is the right read for you.

I didn't finish this book with the greatest impression of Colton. Admittedly I had watched all his seasons but never really thought about him as he was just another generic contestant. He came across as entitled and manipulative. It seemed he cared more about optics than feelings. It's one thing to complain about production after one season but he went back three times and even contributed to the manipulation. The writing style was simple enough and easy to follow but nothing new or insightful was really learned.

I got into the Bachelor during Colton's season because the guy who I was seeing at the time kept telling me about the constant virgin jokes. Against all my animal instincts, I binged his season in one night, and anxiously awaited for the fence jump that gripped the nation. I may not have a ton of experience to say who my favorite Bachelor is, but Colton is my number 1. So when he announced his book, I was so excited. Thank God, it lived up to my high expectations. I was absolutely gripped by this book. Biographies and memoirs are my favorite genre, but still, it’s hard to find a good biography or memoir that makes me want to keep turning the page, but this did it for me. It’s currently 5:30 AM right now. I’ve kept my eyes peeled open the past two nights to binge read this, it was that good. I sat down to read at 11pm at page 90, thinking I would read a little bit before bed. I was distracted by some wine around 1 AM, then sat down to read again, and the next thing I knew I was on page 224 and four hours had passed. The last book I binge read like this was Fight Club, two years ago. And since then, I haven’t felt this much of a connection to a book until now. I would recommend this book to any fan of the Bachelor franchise, and anyone who may be interested in trying to get into the franchise. I genuinely don’t have a bad word to say about this book. I just absolutely loved everything about this book, and it made me like Colton that much more.

I am a huge fan of the Bachelor/Bachelorette, so I was really excited to read Colton's book. I enjoyed the parts where it talked about the show, but felt like all of the stuff about his football career was unnecessary for the point of this book. I liked getting to read about the behind the scenes Bachelor stuff, but most of it wasn't anything new or groundbreaking.

3 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

Where do I even begin? This is arguably one of the best books put out by someone in the Bachelor World. Colton Underwood owned his story, was brutally honest with his childhood moments of questioning, his parents divorce, football woes, being a homebody, and the entire Bachelor experience. I loved getting to read the love story of Colton and Cassie that I don’t feel like the shows fairly portrayed. Also, this book gets major bonus points for spilling the tea on some Bachelor secrets!

I am a huge Bachelor Nation fan, and I have read many autobiographies of other franchise contestants. I really enjoyed Colton's season, so I was anxiously awaiting reading his book. Overall, it was a great book, lots of behind the scenes details and fun stories of things not shown on television. I do feel like he held back a little bit, and it wasn't as much of a "tell all" as I would have liked. That being said, this book does give you some fun stories and inside information about our favorite Bachelor Nation contestants! I think you really get a sense of the strong values Colton has, and how these strong values have impacted him throughout his life, which was really refreshing and enjoyable to read. Definitely recommend this book to my fellow Bachelor Nation fans!