Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - The Charm Offensive

General disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. Thus, no stars doesn’t indicate that the book wasn’t worthy of any starred system. It just means I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all, even if the lesson is that I’m a ho for the smut, recognizing a genre/book/author is not for me, or confronting my own mommy/daddy issues lol. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Happy reading! Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial

If you know me, you know I am a slut for reality tv, ESPECIALLY shows about dating or love. I fully recognize the problematic & heteronormative aspects of them, but also… I like mess 😂 This book is a fun queer romp if you’re like me & wished there were more queer shows or representation in that world! The way Are You The One? & Ultimatum: Queer Love made me absolutely insufferable heheheheeh😅😇

I adore these characters!!! Alison has such an impressive gift of developing a rumbling, but gentle build ups towards a quiet romance & I eat every second of it up😭

Her books & characters have easily become my comfort characters, not only for the queer representation/experience but for the mental health discussions too. The way that Charlie & Dev navigate their depression & anxiety, not only for themselves but for each other, are so tender & powerful. Even though they both deal with mental health struggles, they experience them differently & I deeply appreciate the portrayal of that. They don’t dismiss each other with “that’s not how it is for me” or “that’s not how depression works”; they believe each other & patiently try to figure it out together along the way.

I got my copy of this & Kiss Her Once for Me signed at LA Festival of Books & I have been floating on cloud nine since then.

Anyway, there’s truly nothing I can say about this that hasn’t been said already but read if you like:
💜reality tv settings/premise
🧩queer awakening
🪴forced proximity
🩶fun cast of characters
🎬grand gestures
🌍dual POV of love interests
✈️coming of age stories for adults
👑mental health & queer representation

Content Warnings

seraphimgt's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

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

4.5

When is it going to be my turn to be happy???

My biggest issue with the book is that often times the characters felt like caricatures of "liberals who be doing too much." As a bisexual woman of color with clinical depression, severe anxiety, and body dismorphia, it got pretty exhausting to read about how hard it was to be queer, poc, and/or a woman and how hard it was to have mental health issues and not feel conventionally attractive. But for people who don't have that same experience as me, I can definitely see the value of explicating on those issues.

Overall, the plot was good and the characters were cute. I found it to be a really enjoyable read. Also

I really love how Ryan's charcter was used. It was a detail I was pleasantly surprised about. I was super prepared and excited for the evil ex boyfriend confrontation, but I like the reveal about him just being a guy who was trying his best in a dysfunctiona relationship so much more.

Content Warnings

alexandramcgrew's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.25

it means so much to me to see such a big cats of queer characters

Content Warnings

angelangle1004's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

robin_reads's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

A Bachelor-show setting, the Bachelor and his producer falling for each other and changing the show.

It was nice (mental health, learning about yourself and your sexuality..) and all but the way they got back together was not it for me unfortunately

Content Warnings

melizto's review against another edition

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lighthearted 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

3.0

Content Warnings

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