The Charm Offensive

Title: The Charm Offensive
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria
Release Date: September 7, 2021
Format: Advance reader copy
Pages: 368
Source: Free from publisher

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.

As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find the happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

Yes, I did just rate another book based on The Bachelor franchise five stars (see also One to Watch and If the Shoe Fits)! As I've said in my reviews for all three of these books, I'm not a viewer of this reality show (except in the very early seasons), but I think the timeline and setup just works for me. Not to mention, I have fallen hard for the main protagonists in every book! Charlie and Dev are no exception. While the previous two dealt with body positivity, this book deals with a gay romance, and also does a great job addressing mental health issues in a sensitive, but not overbearing way. Poor Charlie was so out of his element, and you could feel his anxiety ebb across the pages as he tries his best to be the perfect star of the show. There are so many sweet scenes in this one, but it doesn't come across as cheesy in anyway. The side characters are just as lovely as the main ones, and the portrayal of the "show must go on" cliche rings true each and every week.

I adored this cross between last summer's huge hit Red, White, and Royal Blue (which I also recommend) and the two books mentioned at the top of this review. I am predicting this to be the sleeper hit of the year, and I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next!