I loved the concept of this book, especially because I have watched Survivor from the beginning. I also love a good dating show, so the fact that this book combined those two things was so much fun to read. I liked the growth shown by the FMC throughout the storyline. Thank you to Macmillan for the free audio. #MacAudio2024

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🏝️ Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio🩷

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I actually received this about a week before it came out on the 21st but I didn’t get a chance to read it until a few days after it released!

This is the first audio from NetGalley that I listened to and I really enjoyed it! As someone who listens to over 150 audiobooks a year I know what a difference the narrator can make. I really enjoyed this narrator! She was easy to understand even sped up and the inflection in her voice kept me interested at every turn! Inflection is the narrators voice can make all the difference and she did a great job!

My only complaint has nothing to do with the narrator and is an issue with NetGalleys platform. The rewind function only goes back to the beginning of the chapter so I have to go into the app and select the previous chapter to change it. Which is slightly annoying when listening on the go. Additionally, some variation in the speed over 2x would be nice!

I am 1000% the target audience for this book and I ate this shit up 😍

In this survivor meets the bachelor with a twist, we follow our main character Orie as she gets more than she signed up for. After a blowout fight with her sister, Orie decides to apply for Survivor. But she should have read the fine print when she discovers she’s on a Survivor spinoff series where she is tethered to another person for several days 😮

This book really has it all. Forced proximity? They are literally TIED TOGETHER! One bed? Again literally tied together! One blanket, one pillow I mean they had to go to the bathroom in the wild together! This seriously had all the best tropes! ❤️

At first I was not a huge fan of the MC, Orie. She seemed a bit like a spoiled brat who just wanted to be an influence and not deal with real life. But I can happily say I was so wrong! Orie suffers from what most recent graduates struggle with, what the hell do I do with the rest of my life? Which felt super authentic and real. We see so much growth in her character throughout the book as she becomes more independent and really finds herself!

This book really took me by surprise by how addicted to it I was! I had a really hard time putting it down 📖 I absolutely recommend this if you like competitive shows like Big Brother or Survivor!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I was drawn to this book from a TikTok I saw from the author, the reality show premise intrigued me. Admittedly, I didn’t know this was a YA novel, which I tend to avoid just because they’re not usually my cup of tea. However, this book surprised me! It was definitely YA but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment. I loved the characters and the reality show & competition setting kept things fast-paced. The FMC definitely grew as an individual and matured, I loved her dynamic with her family and their bond.

This was such a great story, I read it in just a few hours. Brittany Pressley did an excellent job with narration, she’s become one of my favorite audiobook narrators and I tend to gravitate towards her work as she has a way of bringing the characters to life and gripping the listener. This would be a great Summer listen! Highly recommend!

Thank you to Macmillan for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

If you're looking for a really fun summer read that will make you want to simultaneously binge Survivor and the Bachelorette, look no further!

I'm conflicted about this book because there were times where Orie was almost unlikable to me because of her sheer outrageousness (and that's coming from someone who is chaos herself). She became so ridiculous that she felt overly immature even past the point that people were trying to make to her about her co-dependance. Which I loved reading about because I feel like I was the same as her as far as the dependance goes. But it felt over done many times.

I loved the setting and how unique it all was in building up the romance and the friendships along the way. The romance was by far the best part, and I won't say too much to give it away, but I loved the way that this turned out. I was so uneasy at first, but here he came, swooping in to save the day and the entire book.

This was definitely a fun read and one that I would recommend as a beach read for sure!

A fast-paced, fun story set during a reality TV show.

What worked for me:
- loved that this was on a Survivor like TV show
- I liked Orie's sister a lot. She was a great supporting character.
- I really liked the 2nd love interest, Osprey. Loved that they connected over books.
- the plot was fast paced, moved along in a way that made sense and it was fun

What didn't work for me:
- Orie annoyed me as a character for most of this story. I didn't like how flighty she was.

3.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed this book overall has a reality tv fan. We are a “MTV Challenge” family, so it was easy to enjoy the “survivor” games of this storyline/plot. It was a new adult book/characters with a good twist to the finale of the “show”. The narrator was good and enjoyed it overall.

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

I literally could not stop listening to this one - it made driving all over Massachusetts a breeze! Brittany Presley did a fabulous job narrating.

If you like reality tv shows (✔️), beach locations (✔️), romance (✔️) and a story that keeps you guessing (✔️) - this one is for you!

I absolutely loved the character arc for Orie and her finding her confidence and voice. I also love that this romance show doesn’t just have M and F couplings! Also, I normally pick dual POVs but this was perfectly written as a single POV so you see the game play out from her perspective!

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. Having said that, the character herself is an odd one with unusual choice of words and actions- her nickname, for one, so maybe the narrator was actually doing her justice. Overall, it was lackluster. From the setting to the cover, I was hopeful. I was unfortunately let down.

I am truly so disappointed. I am a huge Survivor fan and yes, I still watch the entire Bachelor franchise - so I was so excited for the premise of ATTACHED AT THE HIP by Christine Riccio. And honestly, I was actually really enjoying it. Yes, our main character is chaotic and one of those lost *quirky girls* (think Poppy in People We Meet on Vacation), but the premise and action itself was compelling.

And then the ending just tore all that down. (Semi-spoilers ahead - without naming specific characters.)

The author spends all this time building up a certain relationship, only for a quick and all too convenient twist to create an enemy of one of the characters for an entirely unreasonable and unhinged reason/backstory. Then, the secondary relationship in the novel comes full circle and just concludes way too conveniently.. It's just so frustrating when you're enjoying the ride, only for the end to leave you bitterly confused and disappointed.

I honestly think it would be more satisfying if this was only a "quirky woman has a reality TV experience and finds herself" novel - with maybe the hint of a potential romance at the end - versus the conclusion really focuses on those romantic connections.

I just...I can't. (But great narration who definitely was giving their best Jeff Probst energy while narrating the Survivor-inspired bits!)

I enjoyed every second of this one. I laughed out loud so many time with all the pop culture references, reality show shenanigans and the character relationships = *chefs kiss*
I am going to have to give this one 5 stars because, again, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Did I mention I’m a reality show junkie/book nerd? I’m pretty sure this was written for me.

What a fun, wild ride this book was! I was so excited to see how this sweet love story was going to fall together! I was wonderfully written.

Attached at the Hip was a fun, interesting and entertaining story. This was a new to me author and I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing, it flowed nicely. The amount of character development was nice, since this novel took place 'Survivor' tv show style the world building was not vast but still enjoyable.

Following Orie Lennox and her time on a TV show mash up of 'Survivor' & a dating game was thrilling. I often do not follow reality TV shows anymore but I found this novel extremely enthralling and was able to visually see the games and the schemes and votes.

The narrator Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job at capturing the authors novel and all the emotions that came with the plot.

I highly recommend this audio book if you love game shows, love, finding yourself, internal growth and a quick paced plot.

Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Wednesday Books, & NetGalley for the free audiobook. #macaudio2024

Blurb:
Survivor meets The Bachelor in an irresistible, romantic adventure.

✨My thoughts:
A fast audiobook listen with a fun concept! The beginning books you and will keep you listening. There’s a lot going on in this story and I thought the narrator did a marvelous job and definitely kept me listening. I ended up landing right on the middle as far as a star rating goes because although I mostly* enjoyed it… with everything going on, it didn’t quite hit all the stars for me. This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author but I’d check out more books.

Happy reading 📖

Ori's family is her everything, her partner in her full-time career is her sister, and other than that, her only friend is the boyfriend she's had since eighth grade. At 23, her sister wants to start doing more separate things, and Ori is wondering if she even loves her boyfriend. When Ori applies for a survivor like game show and is accepted, she jumps in feet!
Such a good little Rom-Com! Loved the game show vibes, coming of age, slow burn🔥 everything!
(It is rated YA even though the main character is a new adult, but the vibes are definitely high school.)
5 Stars!
Thank you to MacMillan Audio, Wednesday Books and Netgallery, for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book is fun, fast-paced, and extremely entertaining. For those that adore reality shows like The Bachelor or Survivor, this one is for you!
I adored Orie and all the learning and growing she had to do. And the romance was delicious! With a few twists I didn't see coming, I flew through this book in 2 days. It absolutely helps that it's narrated by Brittany Pressley, who is a favorite of mine!
The steam and character growth are exactly what I expected from a NA novel and I would definitely read more from the author.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary ALC. All opinions are my own.

For someone that doesn’t watch reality television, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I did find parts of it cheesy and the FMC was immature but given her age that was expected…her character growth was well done. I did like that she was quirky and so carefree. I did like the tv show aspect and felt some of it was silly but fun. Overall this was an enjoyable read.

I listened to the audiobook of this and felt that Brittany Pressley did an amazing job of bringing all of the characters to life. She did great at portraying each character differently to make them stand out.

I devoured this book!🩷🥰

The banter
The plot
The FMC
The AUDIO!

There is no spice in this book. But it is very swooning!
This is a young adult book 📖

I hope you love this read as much as I did.

This was just a fun read once I picked it up I didn’t want the fun to end! Piccadilly was amazing and I am so glad I got this ARC!

Here is the amazing news: you don’t have to wait, this book is out now and ready for you to read it!

Thank you @author_alyse_palsulich for telling me about this author and ARC!

Thank you @netgalley and @xtinemay for this amazing book! I loved it so much!

I really LOVED the Survivor elements of this book even though I have never seen it. Whenever a book portrays a TV game show, it is always interesting and for me, this went well. I could tell Christine's love of Survivor really lent itself well into this spin-off type show in this story. I also loved what she did with the love interest for Orie throughout the story - I was really expecting something typical and basic to pair well with the game show plot, but this surprised me in a good way! I found myself really wanting to stick to the game and the strategy rather than the romance, though. I also felt this read sooo much like YA and some of the writing, plot and character voice seemed too young for an adult stakes game show. This was my favorite book of Christine's so far and I hope she continues writing about topics she's as obsessed with as Survivor!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I was excited to read this after reading the description. It did not disappoint! Although at times I kind of thought the FMC was a little naive and juvenile, it was overall really good! The relationships building and all the little details that lead to a pretty surprising twist at the end, kept me interested and reading! Great book and I’ll keep an eye out for more from Christine Riccio!