Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Charm Offensive

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

136 reviews

knitsandnovels's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ziggyreadz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i really enjoyed The Charm Offensive. it was subversive in centering mental health and in its core message — that everyone is deserving of love.

i really liked charlie, it was so nice to see someone neurodivergent and anxious (like myself) grow into himself and become more comfortable with time. i wish he had stayed a bit truer to the beginning of the book — when he had more strict boundaries around overstimulating things — because i feel like that would have honed in on the themes of the book better.

dev i was a little more unsure about. in the first half of the book he was great, but his denial of his feelings/charlie and his’ relationship got old after a while. i have complicated feelings about him (and by extension the ending) because on one hand, i feel he should have been punished more by the narrative for being kind of shitty (and that would have made a more realistic and interesting ending), but on the other, i couldn’t tell what was him vs. his mental illness, and i also found his arc to reinforce the core message of the book.

i thought the premise was really fun and i enjoyed learning about the girls on the show (i definitely cared less about the other producers, but that may be because i listened to the audio book and dev’s reader would do incredibly obnoxious voices for those characters).

the ending made me very emotional, though exactly what emotion, i’m not sure. it was a mix of frustration, excitement, relief, anger, happiness — i consider it a win.

i know this is sort of par for the course for these kind of modern rom-coms, but some of the quippy dialogue was grating, though i felt it was kept at a minimum (comparatively).

the way the book talked about mental health was definitely better than the standard, but not the best it could have been — it was a little simplistic. still, i felt it was subversive and interesting.

would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good lgbtq rom-com!

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quillyreads's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This sounded promising based on the premise, a contestant on a reality dating show having a forbidden romance with a showrunner.

Sadly, it just wasn’t for me. 🫠

There were some nice elements, but a lot I couldn’t forgive. Porticularly the portrayals of Charlie’s anxiety and panic disorders, and Dev’s depression. I know these are complex, varied conditions. But to me, it felt stereotyped and unrealistic. But, it was good to see some representation for two guys that struggle with mental health conditions, support each other, and eventually seek the help they need to start recovery.

It just feels a shame that so much of the plot relies on miscommunication (or complete lack of communication), and there is little character development until the close. 🤕

Felt like a bit of a slog tbh!

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courtsport's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Devoured this adorable queer romance filled with all the tropes. You can see the plot coming from a mile away and I was HERE for it. Everyone was gay, plus a full serving of ace rep, and three (3) they/thems. We love to see diversity within queer experiences the intersectionality of race and mental illness. Highly recommend to anyone who wants The Bachelor to be hella gay. Spiciness level: 3/5

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albasapri's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Ah. I just can't. I'll come back to it later but this it's what it's all about. THIS is what I want to read about in queer books, all the wonderful differences that exist within the human experience and having them all be okay, no matter how different they are.

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