Read if you like:
🏝️ Tropical Vibes
🌊 Survivor
💋 Dating Shows
🔺 Love Triangles
🧼 Clean/YA romances (only kissing)

If you love a wacky MC, Orie is your girl! She was definitely wacky, especially with her nervous talk and nickname requests, but that also made her a lovable weirdo!

I really enjoyed the slow burn aspect to the book and how it was written to experience from pre to post show with the days of filming included in the meat of the story.

I also loved how the love triangle worked out and how the ending wasn’t super obvious like many romances where you know exactly who the MC will end up with.

I had so much fun reading this it makes me want to start watching Survivor again and some of the beach dating shows to scratch the itch this book is giving for those vibes.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ALC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Song Pairing: Firework - Katy Perry

💭What I thought would happen:

I’m guessing it’s not about Siamese twins 😂 I’m thinking either super kinky or an odd predicament

📖What actually happens:

Orie has spent her life severely codependent on her parents, sister and boyfriend. When the opportunity comes to be a contestant on Survivor off to Fiji she goes.

However, when she gets there she finds out it’s a spin-off dating like show where she is tethered to another. That other happens to be her high school crush. Mmm

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

I LOVE being surprised. You’d think I’ve read all the romances and no longer experience woah from one but I indeed have and it worked for me!

If you love the reality tv trope then this one is for you. It’s easily crushable and chalked full of drama.

I found the mc to be a bit of an odd duck/idiot but she did grow on me!

Read if you like:
🔥Survivor
🌴Tropical settings
😉Scandal
🩷Katy Perry

I thought I was going to read a love story between two people, and what I ended up reading was a love story for the main character learning to love herself, AND I AM HERE FOR IT! All of the turns this book took led in exactly the right direction. The plot of a romantic twist on Survivor was very clever. I would not hesitate to recommend this to a YA reader because it was not overly detailed on romance. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Title: Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio
Publication Date- 05/21/24
Publisher- MacMillan
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is narrated by the one and only Brittany Pressley so you already know the audio version is good. I highly recommend the audiobook.

The way I went to write this review and noticed it’s filed under YA, I was surprised. This very much feels adult or at least new adult. Not because there is any explicit content, it just felt way more new adult, in a positive way. I really enjoyed my time with this story. More so than most romances these days, this book holds up to exactly what it sets out to do. We actually get a game show, and tasks for the contestants to complete. The characters are so relatable, entertaining and hilarious. I have never read anything by Christine Riccio but this will not be my last. The characters were well developed, this is the story of an experienced writer.

If you enjoy reality tv or that as a setup for a book, you don’t want to miss this one. The writing is fun, the main character is fun, it’s just such an enjoyable story. Also, there are heavy hitting topics that are believable, don’t feel like too much for a romance novel, and just make the story even more complete. The characters do things that make sense, I didn’t find it cringey at all (this has been a recent problem for me and romance novels). I really, really enjoyed this story. I can’t wait for her next novel.

4 ⭐️

Attached at the Hip is a funny rom-com getting heavy inspiration from Survivor and Love is Blind. We follow Orie, a bubbly, goofy, anxiety ridden girl who lives in her sister's shadow. To prove herself, she signs up and gets accepted to be a contestant on Survivor... only she finds that it is NOT Survivor after she arrives.

We get all the dumpster fire fun of reality TV mixed with a bit of mystery and the challenges of young hot people stranded on an island. I had a good time - it wasn't extremely memorable or deep, however, I had a blast. The characters were a bit obnoxious (looking at you Orie!), but they leveled out as you saw more of their personality. Definitely a great audiobook - the narrator did a great job leaning into the emotion and I burst out laughing on more than one occasion.

★ Straight to jail for the character names ★


📖 Survivor + Love is Blind
📖 YA Contemporary Rom-Com
📖 Goofy, awkward FMC
📖 Love Triangle
📖 Lots of pop-culture references


Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for the eARC & ALC of Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio.

When I saw an advanced audio copy of Attached at the Hip by Chritine Riccio land in my inbox, I knew I had to give it a listen! I’ve known about Chritine Riccio since her original YouTube days but didn't find too much interest in her first few novels so when I saw that this was a mashup of Survivor and The Bachelor, I knew I had to give her writing a try!

Attached at the Hip was unexpectedly so much fun! our FMC Orie Lennox is going through a (near) quarter-life crisis and signs up for what she thinks is Survivor, but ends up being a Survivor spin-off with a romantic, Bachelor in Paradise type twist.

At first I thought Orie as a main character would make for a cheesy listen but her personality just simply MADE sense. She really gave off the same energy as Christine Riccio herself. Typically I hate following a main charcter/ trope like this as it always seems to give me second-hand embarrassment but in this case… it worked.

The friendships Orie builds through this book are so refreshing and heartwarming to read about. OSPREY had my whole heart and definitely quickly became my favourite character. We love a long-haired king with a little pirate mustache in this household.

The only thing that I was questioning is the target audience. Our main character is 23 and she’s one of “the oldest” characters. This book is pushed as Young Adult but the age of these characters, alongside with the constant drinking of wine every night LOL, kept tripping me up.

Brittany Pressley was the perfect narrator for this story. She embodied Orie’s character just like I would’ve imganied if I was reading physically.

Thank you Macmillian Audio for an advanced listening copy! #MacAudio2024

When you read a description like Survivor meets The Bachelor, who wouldn’t want to read this? Attached at the Hip is my first read by Christine Riccio but it will not be my last. This is a great love story with strong female characters. Orie Lennox may be one of my most favorite characters ever! I seriously laughed out loud reading this book and read it in a day. Go get this book/audio!!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, & Macmillan Audio for the ARC copy of this book.

♡𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
4 🌟
-
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•survivor game vibe
•social experience
•speed dating
•rom-com
-
I am a sucker for books with chapter names; love, love, love, them to infinite and beyond! If you enjoy the Survivor game, you will enjoy this book. It's definitely Survivor, meet The Bachelor. lol, it's a nice little twist on things. Orie was a very relatable character. She is searching for her happy ending . . . I mean, what girl isn't? But since she has graduated, she is wondering what she is doing with her life. Everything she has is not what quite she envisioned it to be. So she signs up for a show, and the story takes off.
The narrator did a good job with this story! I enjoy how she changes her voice for different characters to the point you know which character is which. Which is a major plus to me.
♡𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 May.21♡
-
Thank you, Netgalley, MacmillanAudio for the (ALC)-Audiobook and St. Martin Press for the (eArc)-eBook for my honest review.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I absolutely adore reality shows so when I saw the opportunity to read a book that was a survivor-esque dating show... sign me up immediately. When I had to take a pause in reading this one, it was sad because I wanted to be in Fiji on Attached At The Hip with Orie, Kennedy, Osprey, and Remy. The character dynamics in this one were fantastic. Orie could be really annoying sometimes but I felt like I could see bits and pieces of myself in her and that's why she would drive me nuts. I absolutely adored Osprey and LOVED the banter between him and Orie. I had a feeling the book would pan out like it did and I love that it did. The best part about this is that it really read like you were watching a reality show. It was captivating from start to finish.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers at St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio. Reading the e-galley of this while listening to the audio book was a supreme experience. The narrator did a fantastic job! 10/10 would recommend both formats!

This book was soooo good I want to buy a physical copy of it. I loved the Survivor aspect and all the new day references. I adored the FMC and her character development and there were so many side characters that I want more from. I will say I was blind sided about the twist in this but so proud of Orie for how she stood up for herself. Honestly, I can’t wait till this comes out and I can put it on my shelf.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily.. I loved this survivor style dating show esque book. Loved the characters lived the themes. Huge fan. Perfect summer beach book.

4.5/5☆

🎧Attached at the Hip🎧
By: Christine Riccio
Narrated By: Brittany Pressley
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Why Was This Book “Just Ok”?
I loved the idea of this book. A Survivor like show that is centered on Romance, with characters LITERALLY tied together? Sounds hilarious. In the end, though, this book was too disjointed for me. Orie is too “quirky” for me, and honestly, I find her ability to survive in a game like that hard to believe. Additionally, the book was way too long. The ending also felt unnecessary, as there was a more natural end point to the story that would have been better.

Do I still recommend it?
Yes, I think it is a good beach read that others will enjoy.

————

When we meet Orie, she is a bit lost, aimlessly following in her sister’s shadow, dating a guy she doesn’t really love, and not knowing what she wants to do in life. She then applies for the show Survivor, and gets accepted.

All of this sounds like fun to me, but it just didn’t come together for me. I think others would like it, but it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

So when the first words of the synopsis were “Survivor meets The Bachelor”, I was ready for chaos.

I devoured this almost entirely in 1 day. Was the FMC nuts? Yes, but in an endearing way. Did she make up the most hilarious nickname for herself? Yes. But us Survivor fans know that nothing will ever be as bad as Dragon Slayer and therefore this book had me cackling 😂

Internal dialogue is so hit or miss for me - but it was some of the funniest parts of the book in this case. She actually had me laughing out loud at Target at one point! And as a regular of that establishment, I wouldn’t make a fool of myself for just anything. I had no idea which way it was going, all I knew is that I was rooting for Orie (Piccadilly) the whole time.

Read this if you love:
🏝️Survivor
🌹The Bachelor (think, Survivor themed one-on-ones)
🏝️reality TV shows
🏝️pseudo love-triangles
🏝️endearing FMCs
🏝️character growth 👌🏼
🏝️beach settings

🎧 You absolutely must listen to this one! Brittany Pressley has probably never voiced a character so perfectly - and she is one of my favorite audiobook narrators so now you know how good it is. If I had read with my eyeballs, there is no doubt I wouldn’t have been as enamored with Orie - she really was the perfect narrator for this book!

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

4.5 stars
I’ll be honest that I went into this book with some skepticism. I’d recently listened to a book based on The Bachelor with two of the female contestants falling for each other and it just didn’t hit any marks for me. I started Attached at the Hip with trepidation because it was either going to be a hit or miss, with nothing in between. I love Survivor-based books. I’ve never watched Love Island but was ok to give the hybrid plot a chance. I’m glad that the “attached” part of this story established some questions early on (how do we go to the bathroom, etc) but otherwise didn’t let that aspect bog down the plot. The pacing was great— we got to the final core fairly quickly. I was 😒 when it looked like it would be a triangle but that whole aspect was very well handled, with lines and boundaries intact so it won’t trigger people (like me) who don’t like cheating plots. The narration was perfectly pitched so the whole thing was a definite hit for me!

Orie Lennox is feeling stuck after graduating college. She doesn’t feel like she’s fitting in and that aspects of her life are not what had hoped they would be. As a Survivor superfan, she applied for a casting call and was shocked to get a callback. She agreed to join, only later discovering that it’s actually a spin-off dating series! Think Survivor meets The Bachelor. There’s competitions, alliances, perfect matches, and liars. How far will Orie get?

This was SO fun! I love reality tv competition shows, so I knew I had to check this one out. One thing I will say is that this is posed as a YA Romance, and while romance was not the focus, I still very much enjoyed it! I felt like I was listening to a real reality show. I usually struggle with audiobooks, but I could not put this down. The narrator was fantastic and kept me engaged the whole way through! And the live finale at the end? Sheeeesh, this was a fun one! Super quick listen, I basically binged in one day.

I don’t think I could have loved this book more. The narrator was amazing. I think she made the book even better because I don’t think I would have gotten Orie’s aloofness. It made her freakouts so much more entertaining. And the book in general is already entertaining and, oh, so funny. The whole time, I truly felt like I was watching someone on a reality show. Thinking to myself, “There are cameras and microphones!" It truly captured everything so freaking well. The reality TV aspect. The love triangle. The drama. The not-knowing part of life. Absolutely amazing! I am absolutely buying this for my shelf.

A pleasant surprise that was utterly ridiculous but OH SO FUN!

Survivor meets The Bachelor, follow influencer Orie Lennox as she embarks on an adventure of a lifetime on a reality tv show where she finds a little love, a little fun, and a little bit of herself

I truly did not expect much from this read, but boy was I WRONG! This was delightfully fun.
Yes, there is some suspending belief, but honestly, I was wrapped in this fictional drama from start to finish and HIGHLY recommend the audiobook which sold this story even more.

Orie has to be the more naive and ridiculous FMC I've encountered in the beginning, but she's endearing and funny and her growth throughout the book is admirable and realistic. She's quirky and young and just figuring it out and I can get behind that!

I found the reality tv plot to be fun and engaging. The cast of crazy contestants were a great addition and each brought their own individuality to the story. The romance aspect in this kept me on my toes. I truly did NOT know how it was going to end. Truly a roller coaster, but well worth the ride.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Go in blind if you can and enjoy the ride!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I loveeee a good reality dating show story and this was no exception especially with the survivor aspect thrown in there. Orie thinks she is going on survivor when she ends up on a new show called Attached at the Hip. This show has similar storylines to survivor with it basically being a human chess game, but the kick is, each contestant has a missed love connection from their past and other people they are compatible with competing. Her high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well and they end up forming a great bond but she starts to wonder if everything he is saying is true when things start to not line up. Will she be able to spot the truth from the lies and how will she fit in with the other contestants?

Orie wanted to prove to her sister that she could be on her own and find her purpose and this show was perfect for that. There was a love triangle with Orie, Remy, and another contestant, but I really enjoyed the way that played out. There were so many points in this story that I was laughing, and quite a few points that I was mad at Remy for just being a jerk and still thinking he did no wrong. The narration was great as well!

I loved everything about this book! I found that I related so much to Orie with her anxieties and fears. Once she got that push she needed she really thrived. Her brains getting through the competition was awesome.

I typically don't like love triangles but this was done in a way that I didn't mind. I thought the story was going in one direction just to be thrown for a loop with the little twist. I enjoyed that this book didn't really have spice but a great HEA sometimes that's just what you need.

Also, the narration was fantastic. Even though Brittany was the only narrator she did a great job bringing all of the characters personalities out there. I felt there was a clear distinction between them. Her enthusiasm was wonderful!

If you love survivor and dating reality shows this book is for you!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted advance listeners copy.

I saw that this was like Survivor meets The Bachelor, and the reality TV junkie in me had to request it immediately!!

I had both the eARC and the ALC, and spent most of my time on the audio. This was hilarious and had me laughing out loud repeatedly.

Orie and her sister are Survivor lovers and had talked about applying. She signs up and gets picked.

Once she gets there she realizes it will be a new show, Attached at the Hip. She first finds herself paired with her old high school crush, Remy Orlando Lasorsa. The fact that she called him by his entire name at all times cracked me up.

Orie is such a fun and quirky character. She decides she wants them to call her Picadilly on the show and really pushes for that. She has an unrational fear of bugs and other critters. She struggles to do things on her own and is very codependent on her family. She, like all of us, is a huge lover of books and reading. And watching her journey of growth was delightful.

There were twist and turns I didn't see coming. Founds myself doubting and disliking almost everyone, except Orie obviously. I ended up loving Osprey far more than I thought I could early on.

Definitely recommend this one, both for the humor and for Orie and her life journey.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press for an eARC and MacMillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.