Yes hello, I have been utterly charmed by this book. I haven't read anything this charming and genuinely heartwarming in a very long time. "The Charm Offensive" works as intended.

The description immediately caught my attention when I first read it. The bachelor on a dating show that is supposed to have a fairytale romance with one of a whole cast of beautiful women falls for a producer of said show instead? Yeah, this was SCREAMING at me loudly and I couldn't resist.
"The Charm Offensive" is a wonderfully written romcom, hilarious at times but serious and emotional when it needs to be. Is it completely 100% tropey, relying on classic tropes of romcom literature? Yes, it sure is. Is the plot very formulaic for its genre? Yes, absolutely. But it adds so many sweet new things that I honestly didn't mind how predictable the story was in the end, and quite frankly, it excels at the tropes it chooses. The setting, the writing, the story, the romance alone deserve a high start rating - but it's the characters that make this an easy 5 stars for me.

Dev and Charlie are complex, beautiful, lovely, relatable and I fell in love with them so easily it's like I've known them all my life. Charlie might just be one of my favorite romcom characters of all time. But what makes them extra special is the way Cochrun treats their respective mental illnesses. I haven't read a story of this genre that talks so frankly and honestly about mental health, be it OCD, anxiety disorder or depression. Some of it wasn't easy to read because I'm sure many readers will find themselves in it, but it's so well done and important and it made me appreciate the characters even more.

They weren't entirely consistently written sometimes (especially in the later parts of the book) and the "antagonist" of the story is less of a character and more of a caricature, and as I mentioned before this is a tropey and predictable read. Still, I had such a BLAST reading this, I couldn't put it down and I will most definitely reread because I'm so in love with the characters. I'd rate this a 4,5, but happily round up to those sweet sweet 5 stars because of the pure joy this book caused me.

Please read it, even if it's just to feel pure happiness for a while.

This is a sweet book. Dev is producing a reality show, wherein a man finds his true love among the 20 female contestants. When Charlie is cast as the bachelor, the show takes a different turn. Charlie doesn't believe in fairy tales and happily ever after, so can't find any redeeming qualities among the 20 women. He eventually discovers, and admits to himself, that Dev is his future. A quick, satisfying read.
thank you NetGalley for providing me with this copy, in return for my unpaid, honest review.

This was great. Dare I say charming.
I loved everyone and how inclusive the cast of characters was.
I want to call Dev's and Charlie's relationship adorable because it was. But also mental health, in many forms, plays a very prominent part in this story and their relationship. Both have ups and downs and both are great at giving the other exactly what they need.
I'm not one for reality shows, especially something like The Bachelor. So I did go in a little skeptical on that aspect. But I ended up enjoying it because we're following the behind-the-scenes and how scripted it was. And then the girls finding friendships with each other.
Overall, I just really enjoyed this cute romance. Looking forward for my finished copy to appear next month.

The Charm Offensive is an adorable and precious romcom that made me smile so much that my mouth started to hurt. You can tell Cochrun has filled this story with love from the get go but also managed to seamlessly weave in serious themes of neurodivergence, anxiety, mental health, sexual identity, to name a few. Expect tropes galore with this predictable reality show story but also many likeable and charismatic characters. ⁠
⁠
One thing to note: Dev is an Indian-American and I am sad that we really didn't get much about his culture and heritage. I would've loved to hear Dev describe his perfect wedding and the reality show could've taken them to India (such a missed opportunity). Dev's name could've been switched out and wouldn't have made much difference.

I could not put this book down and flew through it in a couple hours. It was such a refreshing and honest read. I loved how sweet the two main characters were and I loved how naturally their relationship progressed. A new fave author for sure and I cannot wait to read more of her stuff.

I am a huge reality TV/bachelor fan! I loved this book! So much! The story pulled me in right away and I loved watching Charlie grow and become comfortable in himself thanks to Dev.

This book just gave me all the feels and I cannot stop gushing!

Utterly predictable in the absolute best sort of way. Predictable in the ways you want a romcom to be, and yet unpredictable in the way that it gave more than expected.

As the story progressed I knew every major plot point that was coming down the road but it was exactly the story that I wanted to be reading. The characters are charming, and funny, and sweet, and loveable. You want their happiness, and are happy to take the journey with them.

I very much appreciated the diversity of characters throughout the story. The fact that they all felt natural and seamless to the story and at no point ever felt like they were being reduced to caricatures of their race, sexuality, or type of neurodivergence. This is what representation should look like.

This book surprised me as it progressed. I came in thinking it would be a cute romcom and got so much more bang for my buck. It is absolutely a cute romcom, but it's also a beautiful story about people learning to be true to who they are and to love themselves as they deserve to be loved.

A very big thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book, and an even bigger thank you to Alison
Cochrun for putting this book out into the world.

HOLY MOLY THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD.

Okay, I got that out of my system. But seriously, so good. You know it's good because I read it in two sittings in eBook format (and that is never my favourite format). It follows Dev (a producer) and his seemingly difficult lead (Charlie), and a beautiful queer love story... taking place during a reality TV dating show.

This book is for all of us Bachelor fans, who wish there was an LGBT+ twist. I loved it. I laughed out loud at the Bachelor jokes, I swooned at the love, and I wish there was more (spinoff, please?).

I requested this book at the glowing recommendation of my friend Ian. So thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book for review!

This one will be out in September - I highly recommend getting a copy!

The Charm Offensive is a charming story that denounces the toxicity of reality television. It also does a wonderful job of depicting mental health and its struggles. Both Dev and Charlie are extremely charming characters and their banter is humorous The blossoming relationship was adorable but their story was very predictable. This story is cute but I wanted to be able to laugh in this story. I found that the humor in this book didn't match mine and for that, I had a hard time laughing at this story.

During the story, the characters go to different countries and I felt like those weren't well detailed. It was hard to visualize those scenes and I'm a person that loves to emerge myself in a setting. So I was disappointed in the descriptions. Overall, this is a cute story but I wanted more comedic moments and a better description of the settings.

This was close to perfect. I loved the diverse characters, the romance, the setting, the conflict. It was unique and beautiful and even though it was predictable it was still addicting. I kept reading long after bedtime. The rep is great! Would definitely recommend to any rom com lover!

The Charm Offensive is an adorable, feel-good romance that invites us to expand our notions of happily ever after. More, it invites us to dare to dream of achieving it for ourselves, regardless of the cis-heteronormative, conventionally 'attractive', and white 'ideals' often touted on mainstream media.

Ever since getting hooked on reality dating show Ever After (a very thinly veiled stand-in for The Bachelor) as a child, Dev Deshpande has believed in fairy tale romance. He gets his dream job of actually working on the show, but after breaking up with his boyfriend of six years, Dev has come to accept that a fairy tale romance may not be meant for him. This season's prince, tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw, is more anxious and awkward than charming. He joins the show to rehabilitate his professional image, but physically recoils whenever a contestant tries to touch him. As one of the show's handlers, it's Dev's job to turn Charlie into the kind of prince viewers will swoon over.

From the moment Dev opens the door to Charlie's limo, and Charlie literally comes tumbling out to land at Dev's feet, it's obvious where the story is going, and it's an absolute delight to follow Dev and Charlie on their journey. There's even a fun meta-wink at the audience when Dev asks his fellow producer Jules to take Charlie on a pretend-date to make him more comfortable around the contestants, and Jules jokes that because she isn't hot, rom com convention dictates that Charlie will likely fall in love with her instead. To head off that risk, Dev takes Charlie on the pretend date instead, and as they get to know each other over a 1500-piece puzzle and the sci fi show The Expanse, Charlie begins to realize why he isn't at all attracted to any of the beautiful women vying for his affections.

Dev and Charlie's romance is tender, slow burn, and filled with all the feels. I absolutely love how their mental health conditions come into play, and how part of their romance involves how much they give each other the space and understanding to be fully themselves. I also love how much they push each other to be better -- Dev by encouraging Charlie to step out of his comfort zone and actually let loose once in a while, and Charlie by calling Dev out on how he loves the idea of love but really pushes away the real work and risk of actually being in love. By working with and through each other's discomfort, they give each other the support they need to grow as individuals. And the ultimate message -- that you're worthy of love no matter how much family, friends, and society may tell you otherwise -- is beautiful.

I also appreciate the diversity of approaches to, and experiences of, love represented amongst the side characters. Even purported 'villains' like Dev's ex-boyfriend and the contestant viewers will love to hate are treated sympathetically, and provided with enough complexity in their motivations that they're not truly evil. That being said, the novel does have its full-out villains -- Charlie's ex-business partner, who stigmatizes Charlie's mental health needs, and the Ever After showrunner, who takes a narrow, homophobic approach in maintaining a particular version of a happy ending for the show. One can perhaps explore sympathetic motivations for these characters as well, and their need to conform in order to achieve success, but the novel deliberately withholds its sympathy. In doing so, its message is firm: intolerance is intolerable. The ways in which this ultimately plays out, particularly for Ever After, is perhaps fairy tale-ish in its improbability, but it's certainly a happily ever after to aspire towards, and one can only hope that mainstream media is indeed beginning to catch up.

Overall, this is a beautiful and sweet fairy tale of a love story, that is deliberate about incorporating into the fairy tale realities such as mental health, uncertainty about where one fits on the LGBTQ2SIA+ spectrum, the social stigma that is often encountered with both, and the recognition that such stigma hits particularly hard for women and BIPOC folks.  

+

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So cute!!! I loved watching Dev and Charlie's relationship grow and deepen, and really appreciated the way the book handled figuring out your identity and learning to cope with mental illness. It was especially refreshing to read a story about people in their twenties grappling with these issues in a way that was compassionate and understanding. There were times, though, where the book felt a bit didactic, like the characters were trying to teach the reader something through the dialogue, rather than speaking the way two people would actually talk to each other about mental health, sexuality, etc.

I also wish we got a little bit more of Dev and Charlie before the end! The last few chapters felt rushed, and I would have liked to see a bit more of our boys before the ~grand gesture.~ And while I am all for diverse characters, Dev's identity as an Indian, save for a few moments, felt like more of an afterthought than like something that shapes him, and also made it kind of evident that this was a white author writing a brown character.

All in all though, this was such a a fun read — I love Dev, I love Charlie, I love them together, and I love all the other secondary characters (and I would love for Daphne to get her own book??!!) <333

Five stars for positive mental health representation. Frank discussion of mental health in the forefront of a sweet novel like this?? Love to see it. I truly think this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I can already feel myself recommending it to everybody I know and really, excitedly reading it over and over again. I will also certainly be preordering a copy.

Dev and Charlie were both such wonderful, complex, fully realized characters and seeing their connection with each other and the world around them was really lovely and exciting. I loved the diversity in conversation, the travel. the places that they got to explore together and seeing their relationship blossom. This book has so much heart, so much joy.

As a longtime fan of the Bachelor and The Bachelorette, I really enjoyed the funny nods to the show, the creative ways that they made light of it, and the way they shifted the narrative to be inclusive and exciting without feeling false.

I truly can't believe this is a debut novel! Alison Cochrun will definitely be an author I follow from here out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada/Atria books for the ARC. Can't wait for my purchased copy to arrive.

Okay, wow, this book. All the feels, all the heart eyes, all the swoons. The Charm Offensive completely stole my heart with its romance, humour, and openness about sexuality and mental health. It made me laugh and cry - sometimes both at once.

I truly loved everything about this book. Dev and Charlie were such fantastic, complex characters, and I rooted for them so hard. I loved watching them slowly open up to each other and learn more not only about each other but about themselves too. Their banter and chemistry were on point, and they quickly became one of my favourite literary couples. I loved how diverse and inclusive this book was, and how mental health - and the stigmas around it - was talked about openly and honestly from beginning to end. I’m always grateful to see mental health rep in romance, and it was done so well in The Charm Offensive (for reference/anyone curious, the rep includes depression, anxiety, and OCD, with lots of talk about therapy).

Other things I loved about this book: the side characters, the friendships, the travel (New Orleans, Germany, South Africa, and Bali, which aren’t places you see often in books), and the reality TV setting. I gave up on The Bachelor a long time ago, but it was fun to read about a similar show and just how ridiculous, scripted, and fake things often are behind the scenes.

I know without a doubt The Charm Offensive will make it to my list of 2021 favourites. It’s been a while since I connected with a book on such a deep level, and this story and its characters will stick with me for a long time. A story about love in its many forms, belonging, self-acceptance, and so much more, The Charm Offensive is hilarious and heartfelt, and it’ll make you laugh and swoon even as it pulls at your heartstrings.

This book constantly blows my mind.

This book is going to be a favourtie for so many people this year, I just know it. This is my second time reading this gem of a book and I'm convinced that no matter how many times i read it, I will fall in love with it more and more. I can't believe this is a debut novel, because this is written with such heart, and the commentary on OCD, depression, self discovery and so much more is so well thought out and represented beautifully. I already have a full review of this book but I just wanted to show my appreciation for it again.

It's already pre-ordered for me and Alison Cochrun is now a auto-buy author for me, and I believe for so many others. I will shout from the rooftops how much I adore this book and Dev and Charlie. They are now a part of me and I love them so dearly.

This book can teach us so much about different people and how we think about certain things. It makes you stop and think, to not judge, to have an open mind towards people, and it's done in the setting of a reality show that is the cherry on top of the cake.

Read this book!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the earc in return for an honest review.

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. As the most successful producer on the long-running reality dating show Ever After., Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestant. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image.

As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other. Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. Will there be a HEA for Dev and Charlie?

I love the winks to the Bachelor and Bachelorette. Dev and Charlie aren't perfect people but they are wonderful together. I especially love how the book handles Charlie's awakening of his feelings for another man. It's very sensitive, funny and sweet. The book manages to be realistic AND hopeful at the same time.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an arc.