The Bachelor meets Survivor in this exciting romantic comedy. I couldn’t put it down and absolutely devoured the story. The character growth was the main plot of the story which made it so compelling. The romance was juicy and ever evolving.

We follow Orie who has stumbled into AcroYoga influencing and doesn’t have a “thing” of her own. So obviously she applies for survivor and gets it! Or so she thinks. She’s brought on this wild ride of self discover and love that connects you to her. She is quirky and annoying but so self aware about it all it’s refreshing.

The reality survival aspect was so fun to read about and has quenched my thirst for survivor in between episodes.

The pacing was well done. I loved that we got some “before the show” and all throughout the show where Ories character growth is. I would’ve loved an epilogue of maybe 1 or 2 years later but I’m imagining it went well for her :)

If you love survivor (like me) then you’ll for sure like this

A quirky summer YA read about a survivor spinoff. Note this is a dating show with survivor esqe challenges, it is not survivor.

Attached At The Hip has an incredible premise - I was so intrigued by the idea of a dating show set in a more Survivor atmosphere and it really made me want to read it.

But Orie was impossible to like and it was honestly the hardest thing for me to read around. I think the author leaned too much the trope of codependency - I had a hard time believing the character was an adult rather than a ninth grader. It really ruined the atmosphere of the book. Overall I wouldn’t recommend without major revisions and rethinking.

If you are a fan of reality tv competition shows, this book is definitely one you are going to want to read this summer! Even though it is based on survivor, it will give you all of the Big Brother, Too Hot to Handle and other summer love shows that you need in your life! And just when you think you have it figured out, there is a twist and a love you will be cheering for! Oh, and this is surprisingly a YA book, but it does not feel like it at all!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy!

This is probably my favorite of Christine Riccio’s books, followed by her first book Again, But Better. I was drawn into the characters and the relationship dynamics and the story concept so quickly, and I just wanted to keep reading….which is why I have read my e-galley of this MONTHS before it is to be released. There were plenty of other galleys I should have prioritized, but the concept of Attached at the Hip just intrigued me so I couldn’t resist it as soon as I realized I had been approved for it on NetGalley.

Okay, so that was what I wrote as my brief thoughts on Goodreads when I finished reading this book at the end of January…yes, I read my e-galley of this book roughly four months before it was to be released.

And I want to say, in the moments after closing the file and opening up Goodreads to update my reading status, I definitely felt like this book was a 5 star read. So I want to explain why I only have it as a 4 star read now. I also want to state that this is just my personal thoughts on it, and I don’t expect this to apply to everyone else who reads it.

There is a scene where Orie is talking to a fellow contestant named Kennedi and talking about relationships and romance and desire, and Kennedi brings up Asexuality. Orie basically agrees that it’s something to consider and then….that’s it. Of course, we the reader can look back to the beginning of the book when Orie was still dating Wes and talking in the narration about how she wasn’t really attracted to him, and they were just together because it was expected or whatever. And I just….I was excited about the possibility of Orie looking more into Asexuality, perhaps after the show’s filming wrapped and she went home. But that didn’t happen. I don’t think it was intentional to be so queer-bait-like in this story, but that’s how it felt to me. And that is especially disappointing for me as an Ace person, because there is not a whole lot of Ace rep out there, not yet anyway, and it would have been great to have that representation gaining a bigger foothold for Young Adult/New Adult/Adult readers.

Aside from that, I honestly enjoyed the fun, chaotic, drama filled romantic-“Survivor” spin-off. There was the challenges and alliances and backstabbing that a fan of “Survivor” would expect from this kind of story.

While I have seen a number of other reviewers criticizing Orie’s decision/attempt to use the name Piccadilly on the show “in order to be more unique” when Orie is already a perfectly unique name, I understand that part of the reason Orie decides to do the show is because she’s trying to prove that she can do things without her sister or her family or her boyfriend…..and most know her online as Orie because of her social media work with her sister…so the attempt to be known as Piccadilly instead on the show is supposed to show that she’s trying to do it without the influence of being Orie. Or, at least, that’s how I view it.

I do think that certain sections of the story could have been drawn out a little more. It felt like the set-up took way longer to get through than the actual “Attached at the Hip” show filming portion.

But I read this very quickly, and it held my interest. I suppose I should say that I did miss some of the cameos of previous Christine Riccio character’s (like I noticed Shane’s cameo, but totally missed out on most of the characters from Better Together because I didn’t enjoy that book as much.

Anyway…it was an overall enjoyable story…and part of me hopes that Christine Riccio will address the Ace queerbaiting from her story, I doubt it will happen.

Perhaps this is just more reason for me to focus on getting my own Ace novels finished. I can’t say that my representation of the Ace community will be accurate for all on the Ace spectrum, but it will at least be accurate for my lived experience.

The dialogue was cringey, the characters absurd. I was a fan of Christine's YouTube videos but it seems she hasn't matured past that stage of her life. 2 stars because the action did keep me going.

Attached at the Hip is a great summer read! I loved the journey Orie goes on from starting as an insecure younger sister who feels a bit left behind by her older sister's passions. Then when she finally makes her own decision to apply for a reality TV show and does something on her own, Orie breaks free and becomes a new woman. Having read Christine Riccio's previous novels, it's been lovely to see her writing style evolve over the last few years - and this was by far her most enjoyable story yet! I'm a huge fan of all things reality TV competition shows, and this book nailed it on all fronts. I definitely recommend this for a fun summer reading list addition!

3.75
Christine Ricco's new book gives exactly what it promised. The story is a survivor themed rom-com, with a dating show twist. Personally, I think Riccio's writing style is very hit or miss- people either love it or hate it. It's a more young adult, spoken style, rather than trying to go for dramatic prose, and I enjoy it for what it is. The largest issue I had with this book was that sometimes this style or tone would get to be a bit much, with things such as excessive stylized all-caps. But if I'm being honest, that is exactly how my brain thinks, and it was represented well in written form. The romantic twists and turns of Orie's life were so real and relatable, and I love the calls to Riccio's other books hidden in Attached at the Hip. As a fan of reality TV, the drama of these shows comes across so well in this story, which I enjoyed as well. Overall, this book was fun and when it hits about the halfway point and the real plot starts to be revealed, I think it hits its stride and becomes addicting. I would absolutely recommend this to my audience!

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoyed the Survivor aspects of this book. The different challenges and the cast of characters working together and forming alliances were right up my alley. Unfortunately, I didn't vibe with the characters at all. I normally love a good quirky main female character but Orie on a 10 scale was like a 50 at all times, and for me, it got annoying fast. I enjoyed parts like when Orie first arrives on the island blindfolded and tethered to her partner, game challenge aspects, and some parts towards the end where we get to see how much Orie has grown throughout the story. But the rest of the time I was kind of going huh? that's really what's happening tight now? okay?.
All in all this book was just okay for me, but a lot of others seemed to have really enjoyed it, so if it sounds interesting you should definitely give it a read.

Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was a delightful story revolving around a Survivor spin off reality show. I am a huge survivor fan so I was actually all for this, but it might not be ideal for anyone who isn’t a fan of it or other reality competition shows.

I thought a lot of it was absolutely hilarious, had me laughing out loud multiple times.

There was plenty of cheesy parts and I’m not entirely sure if it was YA or not as the characters were quite immature but they were adults. I didn’t completely buy in to the serious parts of the characters back story either.

Was it a brilliant book? No. But was it fun? Absolutely.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the audio and @wednesdaybooks for the ebook!

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #canadianbookstagrammer #bookish #bookthoughts

Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio follows Orie Lennox through her adventures in a reality tv show. It’s a fun coming of age story, that caught my self laughing out loud in all the right parts. I will say it did take me few chapters to commit to the book. I found myself annoyed with Orie more often than not. As the book went on thought I could see a shift in writing tone that really brought the characters to life for me.

This was my first read by Christine Riccio and I will definitely give her another go. Her writing style really made me feel like I could really sense the characters growing as the book progresses. Not something that I normally feel in such a “fun” book.

This book is a great read for fans of Kasie West and Jenny Han. Although this book is classed as Young Adult don’t let that label stop you. It definitely felt more new adult and trying to figure out the post college life.

You cant make claims like SURVIVOR meets the BACHELOR and expect people not to be disappointed when it doesnt hit. I feel misled.

I was excited for this romantic reality TV-inspired trope. Unfortunately, the execution fell short, and the book struggled to find its footing. While the concept was fresh and exciting, the story suffered from a lack of genre identity, making it hard to market and connect with readers. Despite some enjoyable moments, the book ultimately didn't live up to my expectations. The 2 MCs lacked chemistry for me. I kept reading hoping that this would change or there would be a AHA moment, but there wasn't.

I think the primary reason is that the synopsis really hyped it up too much and when it did not deliver it made it all much worse

i absolutely LOVED this book! it’s about Orie, a mid twenties lost in life girl who thinks she’s going on Survivor but it’s actually a survivor romantic spin off show- designed to have atleast 3 people she will connect with. I loved Orie SO much- she’s so freaking relatable, and literally every single one of her inner thoughts and freaking out is EXACTLY how i would have been in her place LOL. the format of the book (post show, pre show etc) was well written also!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so good!! Romantic take on the show Survivor. Remy… I love him but now I just want to punch him! Not only was this funny, it also kept me engaged, wishing that I didn’t have to sleep so I could keep reading it

Meh, it was okay. Like a cold breakfast sammie. You eat it because you are hungry but you don't really enjoy it. Maybe a bit or two but def not the whole thing,.. If that makes sense.

I enjoyed reading Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio. . You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

This book came out at the perfect time. Right at the end of the latest season of Survivor, one of my favorite reality shows! And I was hooked on this book! Now it is billed as a YA/Teen story, but it’s more new adult, as the characters are mostly college grads. Yes there are one or two high school age, but I still am classifying it as new adult. Not that it was crazy steamy or anything like that, I’m just going on age of characters and that it’s not a YA story. I saw some reviews saying it was totally YA in how the characters acted, but then I want to know if those people watch Surivor? Because the behavior and alliances were just like those people.

So much of the story had me laughing out loud, but also totally understanding some of the things and ways that Orie was feeling. The challenges of the game were totally over the top for some of the comparisons to the real tv show. But of course you’d need that for a fictional story! The story had me wondering who to really like and feel like Orie could trust. I loved the shipping and all the alliances as I said as well. Even having the romantic interests fall out the way they did was perfect.

I’ll just say if you like Survivor and a bit of romance, you will enjoy this book in my opinion. My only complaint is not knowing what exactly the final “villain” meant when they said they got what they came for at the end. But anyway, loved this, and can’t wait to read more from this author! (As well as for the next season of Survivor after the crazy season we just finished where I finally was thrilled with the winner!)

This was such a fun book. I am a big fan of Survivor so loved the concept. It was ironic this publishing the day before S46 finished and also soon after Jeff Probst's comments they do not press the romance but if it happens it happens. Loved all the shout outs to books and movies that I like. There Were so many great scenes that connected but I do not want to give away any spoilers. You will not want to put it down and will finish with a smile.

Attached at the Hip was lacking in several ways, unfortunately. The main character isn’t entirely likeable- a bit annoying, to be frank, and it’s hard to root for a relationship in a rom com when you can hardly root for the one person. It also lacks in simply being a rom com, because despite the characters being on a survival love story spin off, it didn’t feel like it really allowed the main couple to grow in a way that made sense for them to be together in the end. Thirdly, I just wasn’t a fan of the writing itself and thought some choices did not help to elevate the story. The only reason I gave it two stars is because I am a Surviver and reality show fan, which is of course, a large part of this novel. In addition, the narrator didn’t do the character any favors, as it was a bit annoying to listen to. Overall, it was lackluster. From the setting to the cover, I was hopeful. I was unfortunately let down.

ATTACHED AT THE HIP by CHRISTINE RICCIO

This book is perfect for reality. Show fans as it blends Survivor and The Bachelor. It is a new young adult romance.

I thought the book was entertaining. I do not watch Survivor or other reality TV shows, but you don’t have to enjoy this book

This was a fun read, and I was actually having trouble putting it down .

I was not a fan of the way that the final decision was done, because it seemed a bit off

Overall though this is a fun and interesting read.

Thank you you to @WednesdayBooks and @XtuneMay for the gifted copy.