I could not put this book down! It is everything I have ever dreamed of in a romance book — 1) Survivor/stranded on an island, 2) characters you cannot help falling in love with, and 3) a love triangle. It was the perfect blend of romance and dialogue, without being overly graphic. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves popular romance books!

LOVED LOVED LOVED!! I love survivor and this is so so fun. I loved the romance and the characters. Christine has done it again

Pushed by her sister to do something for herself for once, Orie Lennox applies for Survivor. Once cast, she learns that this is new spinoff, one focused around romance that starts with her tied to a former crush from high school. Carrying more baggage than she’d like to admit to, Orie fights to win the cash prize and to find out if she is capable of love.

The premise of this book was enticing. I like the idea of game based romances with all these other moving pieces at play and opponents who can become friends. The survivor aspect of the show is something that Christine seemed very familiar with and excited to build off of to create her own version. There was care built into those moments and they created actual tension. I found those scenes to be by far the most entertaining.

The relationships carried this book as well. We have a variety of characters, all vying for a prize, while still attempting to make friends or even fall in love. The most enjoyable parts were with Osprey, which felt like a requirement, but I enjoyed watching Orie and Kennedi interact. For a story that required extended periods of waiting between the trials, it helped to forge the relationships necessary.

However, the relationship with Kennedi did put a microscope over Orie and her extreme childishness. This is both because Kennedi states it outright and also because of the age gap between them, with Kennedi being the younger of the pair. Orie seems young throughout the whole book, even called out by Osprey for being the youngest sibling. There’s a few times where it’s difficult to deal with her, and she’s the main character that we can’t escape.

There’s a few moments that are pivotal to understanding Orie’s character, likely the few that could have fixed the above mentioned problems, and we never get to see them on page. Christine is willing to use flashbacks for other moments, and I understand why they were chosen, but these bigger, more impactful moments are nothing more than her remembering them while sitting on an island. It reduced the emotional impact and created a distance between the reader and Orie that couldn’t be repaired.

Unfortunately, the chapter titles are spoilers. If you don’t look at them and go in blind, which Christine wants her readers to do, it’s mostly okay. Even still, it’s distracting. Things are still up in the air as we go into the chapter but it’s confirming our expectations, thereby eliminating any chance for surprise.

THE WRITING ITSELF

Christine as a writer put herself out to the world relatively early in her journey. She seems to learn about writing as she goes, attempting to piece together stories without the help of craft books or outside help that isn’t her doting friends. This is fine, I’m happy for her, but I think her writing could benefit from further critique.

Her reliance on media and other books to build up her characters personalities and create the world around them feels like a crutch. She’s made up of books and movies, so she doesn’t know how else to get people to understand her characters. It’s wildly distracting, especially when she’s referencing things that I personally don’t enjoy while attempting to make her main character more relatable or the love interest more lovable. In real life, I reference things all the time. I devour movies, tv shows, and books. However, I know how to write without pulling from other sources to support my world. It would be interesting to see her challenge herself into avoiding references in a future book.

There’s also an obsession with capitalization. I understand that she likes having her characters yell, Christine herself is loud and boisterous, but it losing impact on the page. Eventually, I wasn’t even processing it anymore. There was also a few that I caught that seemed out of place, where I paused to consider if that character was actually yelling or if Christine didn’t know how else to put emphasis on that word. A few times she capitalized AND italicized a word, which was wildly annoying.

I’m aware that Christine often writes dialogue first, using that as the basis of her scenes, but then there often isn’t anything else to fill in the gaps. It’s page after page of uncomfortable dialogue. This is especially obnoxious when Orie forgets how to speak and we are forced to watch her word vomit for a bit. I think a solid course on dialogue, action, and description could improve all of this.s

ROMANTIC COMEDY?

I don’t know if I’m comfortable categorizing this as a romance. That’s not to say that it doesn’t contain a romantic plot line and that Orie doesn’t find love, but more so that this love story is very much a B-plot. This is fine, I enjoy that, as it provides more space for Orie to figure herself out and grow as a person, but it does mess with the marketing a bit. Much of the romance is pushed aside for us to play the games, and then it’s avoided for a bit so that all the fallout can be handled.

That being said, the romance itself was fine. Emphasis on fine. It didn’t take my breath away, make me swoon, or give my goosebumps, but I liked them together well enough. Overall, the story could have benefited from spending more time on the pair who end up together. It also desperately needed for them to not fix their one and only problem immediately at the end of the book. It was introduced, solved, and done in less than 30 pages.

We also briefly get a discussion surrounding the idea that Orie may be ace. This appears in one chapter and never returns. I appreciate that Christine wanted to share this identity with the world, but this isn’t how you do it. If this was going to be part of Orie’s story, something that seemed apparent in the beginning, then it should have continued throughout the book. We never see her realize that she’s not though it could have easily been a few lines thrown in to some of the romantic scenes. It was disappointing to see.

As for the comedy aspect of this book, I’m aware that Christine and I have different senses of humor. I try not to hold it against her. It’s fine for the most part, often times over focusing on something that wasn’t funny to begin with or relying on the “quirky girl” aspects of her main character to force it, but it’s fine. I never laughed out loud or considered sharing a joke with a friend, but I wasn’t miserable. This may more have to do with the adjustment period. By this point there’s enough out there by Christine that I know what to expect and can temper my expectations accordingly.

OVERALL

Attached at the Hip was just okay. I wish I could give it a more glowing review. Christine’s writing playlist was a great motivator while writing first drafts of my various stories and I wish that I could walk away saying that all that effort and time she put in created a masterpiece. Really, all that matters, is that she likes it.

It’s a quick, easy read with some fun adventures based on the survivor like game play. Sometimes that’s all a book needs to be.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc.

I've read Christine's debut Again, But Better and while that one had a charm to it I enjoyed, this book has to be my favourite of Christine's so far. There's no magical elements like her previous books but being set on a Survivor-style TV show was gripping enough.

Ori was hard to like in the beginning but she does really grow throughout the book and I genuinely found myself rooting for her. I loved the suspense created between the other players of the game show and Ori worrying who she could trust. Honestly, the entire setting was killer good.

It was a fun rom-com and would 100% recommend this.

Christine has really improved her craft with each book. This one was funny and engaging and so creative in its premise. I thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to cover.

This book wasn't a favorite for me, it was probably closer to a 2.5 stars but I rounded up. It was a fine book and the premise was fun enough, it just wasn't a favorite. It was a light read with a lot of reality tv and such scattered throughout. It went fine and the characters were good enough, just not a lot of depth to all of it. It was still a light read, the writing style wasn't my favorite as a whole, it seemed a little lackluster. It was a fine enough read, just not a favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley & Edelweiss for the ARC!

I’m having trouble summarizing a blurb for this book. It’s marketed as “Survivor” meets “The Bachelor”, but I have grievances with that.

When I first saw the tagline for this book, I was foaming at the mouth. I. LOVE. SURVIVOR. It is THE best reality TV show (next to Love Island, but that’s because it’s the best kind of trash) and there are some high expectations with that. I was tempted to do a search to see just how many times “Survivor” was mentioned in the book. (Hint: a lot) And, yet we find out early on that our MC, Orie, has not been cast on “Survivor”, but on an offshoot called “Attached at the Hip”. Also, it’s less “The Bachelor” and more generic reality show. I truly believe it would benefit to change the marketing. Maybe a new experimental dating show on the beach?

Hidden in this book is a good story, some legit misdirects, a hint of romance, and a journey of growth. It is sadly greatly overshadowed by how unlikeable and immature Orie, the MC, is written. The dialogue is atrocious. At one point, Orie wonders if her crush “likes words”. Sorry, what? That’s after asking his favorite color. She’s twenty-three years old. There are conversations like this in the first 50% of the book that are so jarringly unnatural it made me look up from the book in shock. The meme/pop culture/music references are overwhelming and dated, more the authors actual age than Orie’s. I almost DNF’d but I was determined to finish what I started. The story picks up after the halfway mark, but it’s too little too late. Overall, I felt pretty let down.

Attached at the Hip is out May 21st, 2024.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a cute book. I'm obsessed with the inspiration from Survivor. I've been following Christine Riccio for years and am always captivated by her quirky writing style!

LOVED THIS BOOK!! I loved the Survivor/Bachelor aspect and I loved the characters. Orie was the perfect MC. She was so relatable and going on this journey with her was the best time. This book gets all the stars.

I bounced back and forth on this book. Orie was not a main character I really liked. I enjoyed the premise of the book and I liked all of the side characters we got to meet. But the fmc just kept making me want to pause and not come back.

Overall, I would probably try to read another book by this author. I liked the writing and the pacing.

4.5 ⭐️

The suspense in this one! I was on the edge of my seat just as if I was watching a real reality tv show and watching all the twists and turns. The deeper I got into this the more that I wanted to read and I couldn’t put it down!!!

I loved the whole bachelor in paradise meets survivor concept. It was so fun to read! And Orie’s character development throughout the book was so good and natural. The pacing of it all was just really on point. Orie was a littleee annoying at first but you really do grow to love her, and she’s EXACTLY like Christine.

I also loved the ending, and all the themes of family and sibling relationships. This was just a super well-rounded, super balanced, and super fun rom-com that gives you everything you could want in a book.

As someone who just recently got into watching Survivor, the concept of this book immediately pulled me in! I’ve been following Christine for years and have read both of her other books. I can say, for certain, that this is her best work yet!

I am not going to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil anything. Christine does a fantastic job setting up the story without feeling too info-dumpy. But just enough to make you not want to put the book down.

Going into the aspect of Survivor, she nailed it! During the challenges and daily life of someone living on an island, it felt just like I was reading an actually season of Survivor with a mix in of the bachelor. You can 100% feel her love of both of these shows.

Each character felt like they were different, and fleshed out, in their own unique way. Introducing as many characters as Christine had to, I was nervous that they each wouldn’t have their own “voice” but that fear was quickly overcome as she introduced each one.

Overall, if you love a good RomCom or enjoyed either of her previous books, I would recommend picking this up as soon as it’s released!

This book was bachelor nation but better than bad reality tv....it gives an interesting mix between Love Island and The Bachelor.

I liked it tho.

I loved this book with my entire being. I think this is the best book Christine Riccio has written so far, and I thoroughly enjoyed her previous two books. This book made me laugh out loud, sweat with anxiety, and cringe at the same things Orie was cringing at. I feel like I went through the entire spectrum of emotions. As a person who has a sister, I LOVED reading the dialogue between Orie and Lark. As a person who has family members who struggle with addiction, I related so strongly to the emotions Orie was grappling with. As a person who loves reality shows and books, I got a lot out of this story. I think anyone who is trying to figure out who they are, what they want to be, loves reality TV, and just fun romance books as a whole, then I think they will love this book.

Wow I absolutely devoured this book. This book is about a survivor spin-off in which characters and connected to each other and must compete to win 1 million dollars. Orie is the main character, competing with Remy, her long-lost high school crush.
Honestly this book read just like a season of a reality tv show, and for that I loved it!
I understand some people’s negative feedback of the main character, Orie, she’s kind of quirky, but it didn’t take away from the story for me! She has some moments where she says some “random” things but it wasn’t overwhelming.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book! I

I'm not a fan of dating shows, but I love watching Survivor. The idea of a combination of those two types of reality shows could only lead to some hilarity. I laughed out loud several times as I read about Orie, with her lack of self-confidence and fear of spiders as she braved the adventure. As much fun as watching her compete in the game was watching the relationships and alliances develop and play out.

Funny and romantic, this book belongs on your shelf. I can’t wait to read more by Christine Riccio!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I wanted to love this and just...couldn't. I thought the survior mixup forced proximity could have been interesting, and I love the idea of an influencer trying to find herself was a really interesting concept. But man...the portrayal of asexuality here was weird? I felt like everything was mansplaining....even if it wasn't by a male figure? The entire pacing just felt strange and really disjointed.
Most importantly, I read later that the author does a lot of self-insertion into characters, and after some googling I realized how much THAT is what influenced me to not like the female lead. So for me this is just...meh.

A new Christine Riccio book? Say no more. Vibrant, swoon-worthy, and voice-driven, Attached at the Hip offers everything we've grown to love about Christine's books from the very first page. This is a perfect summery read (or wishing for summer!)

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down. It’s Survivor and The Bachelor mixed together. There’s nothing I love more than a romantic comedy that’s also a reality show. The characters were easy to follow and I was rooting for them all. I was sad when the book was over.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the eARC for an honest review

I really liked the idea of this book hence why I requested the arc. But I could not get past how annoying and cringy the main character was. She kept saying how she was independent but then her actions proved the exact opposite. Also there was no chemistry between the love interests and she fell head over heels for them. The book also dragged for a while and was a little boring.