Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

20 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.5

I have heard AMAZING things about this romance and have been waiting for the perfect time to pick it up.
"The Charm Offensive" follows Dev and Charlie. Charlie is a super sweet, kind of awkward guy that needs some good publicity. So, his team gets him to be the new Prince Charming on the latest season of the tv show "Ever After". Dev is a producer on "Ever After" and absolutely believes in true love and happily ever afters. He has spent his entire career working on this show because he wants everyone to see real love come to life. Dev is tasked with working with Charlie to get him camera ready during the duration of the show, and he quickly develops a crush on the gorgeous Charlie.
Not only does this story have an amazing, queer love story, but it has some of the best anxiety representation I have seen in a long time. Charlie suffers with crippling anxiety, along with OCD, and it really hinders all aspects of his life. Dev suffers with depression that sometimes makes it difficult for him to get out of bed. Despite these two fighting different battles, they are able to support each other and know what the other needs when they are really going through it. I loved seeing characters that did not question mental illness, and just silently picked up on the clues so they knew how to make the other fell more comfortable in the moment.
Charlie and Dev are both so pure hearted and I loved them together. They have so much in common, but they have a lot of differences. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and this makes them a force to be reckoned with when they stand together. Their love story was 100% believable from page one because they have amazing chemistry.
One thing I really appreciated about this story was it was not an easy love story for the characters. They faced real challenges (not strange made-up scenarios used for a plot point). They had to work at their love story, but it was not because they did not want it.
I 1000% recommend this story, and I look forward to reading more from Alison Cochrun in the future.

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axel_p's review

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challenging emotional funny sad 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

4.0

The way that Alison wrote about depression in this book hit close to home.

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bruhbruh's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0


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frantic_vampire's review

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emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

Wow…. Just, wow. Holy crap did I love this book. I loved Dev and Charlie. I loved the blatant aspec rep, the queer rep, and the mental health rep. All of it was so good! Not to mention all the commentary on reality dating shows. I honestly don’t know what else to say about The Charm Offensive other than I really, really loved it. I want to dive back into it and start a reread. If it’s not already clear, this book is getting a solid five stars. And I’m just gonna go scream over this one  in a corner.

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cady_sass's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

Absolute perfection. Chefs kiss. Change nothing. The representation?! Immaculate. Multiple types of neurodivergence across multiple characters, people across the entire spectrum of sexuality across multiple characters, racial diversity throughout and a mixed race couple at the forefront? Oh, and of course a heart melting queer romance to boot. This is unREAL (rest in peace 🙏🏼) if it was remotely heartwarming and had any happy storylines. I can’t ask for more. 1000 stars. 

I will actually fight someone over this book, don’t you dare come over here with your slander 🤣

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-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

Title: The Charm Offensive
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: September 7, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Delightful • Heartfelt • Witty

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales and happily ever after. His job on the hit show Ever After allows him to write the perfect love story time and time again. However, his own love life is exactly the opposite.

The latest season casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as Prince Charming. Charlie is far from a romantic and only agreed to do the show in order to salvage his own image. Dev is tasked with being Charlie's handler, and must help him connect with the women. As they begin to spend more time together, they open up to one another.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Charm Offensive was one of my 12 recommendation from 12 friends for 2022, and it didn't not disappoint! Alison Cochrun has delivered a heartwarming rom-com with so much depth.

What I like:
- Charlie and Dev. Individually - they were both flawed and realistic. And together - their supportive relationship was a breath of fresh air.
- the mental health representation. I felt seen in a variety of ways, and for that alone I appreciate what the author has done.
- the queer representation. The conversation on sexuality is everything. It is open, it is honest, it is inclusive.
- wit. The banter between not only the main characters but the secondary ones as well had me laughing out loud at various points.
- character growth. I am here for rom-coms with depth, and this one has it's fair share and then some.

What I didn't like:
- the reality show backdrop. I definitely could have done without it, but understand the appeal.
- the chapter length. In my opinion, the chapters could have easily been shorter.

The open conversations on mental health and sexuality are what make this book a pure gem. The theme of embracing who we are is one I don't find often enough in my reading life. Sometimes there are stories that are a hug in book form, and this was certainly one of those. Highly recommend this one, and I cannot wait to read Alison Cochrun's upcoming release Kiss Her Once For Me

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of The Bachelor/Bachelorette
• readers looking for queer and/or mental health representation
• anyone who likes rom-coms with Disney vibes

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Sexuality isn't always a straight line from closeted to out-of-the-closet. You can take time to explore and evolve and figure out exactly what kind of queer you are, if that even matters to you."

"Labels can be nice sometimes. They can give us a language to understand ourselves and our hearts better."

"He doesn't often try to explain his mind to other people. On the rare occasions he does, other people don't tend to listen." 

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natpa1ge's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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kshertz's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was lighthearted and fun. It’s the bachelor but the bachelor realized he loves his handler not all these gorgeous ladies. It’s 1,000 % cheesy but I love this gorgeous self diagnosed as ocd programmer finding himself and falling in love with this quirky sweet handler struggling with depression. You root for them all in this book. I loved it. 

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ibjilln's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

This book!! 
I don't even know where to begin. 
What a stunning novel that has so much more charm and depth than the pop cover suggested. 

I truly was not expecting this roller coaster ride of everything from warm-fuzzies to heart-wrenching, but what a ride it was. I almost want to go back to the start to go through it all again. 

The characters and their struggles felt so real and were so wonderfully depicted that I don't even know where to begin. This book has every kind of representation you could want and none of it comes across as gimmicky or falling back on tropes or stereotypes of sexuality or mental health. 
It is sad that that is such a treat to read but I am so glad that everything was touched on so thoughtfully and with a genuine sense of understanding and respect. 

This book is an absolute treat to read from start to finish and I want everybody to read it and love it. 

It's got its forever spot on my bookshelf.

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jenny_librarian's review

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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

4.75

This is what One to Watch tried to achieve, with way more diversity at every level, and so much better done!

I loved absolutely everything about this book except one thing: the miscommunication. I know this is how this kind of book is supposed to go, but I just hate when conflict stems from the fact that the main characters won't just sit down and talk. And that's saying a lot, considering a lot of the time Charlie and Dev spend together is them talking...

But apart from that, the sheer amount of diversity in this book was so refreshing for this kind of romcom. We got multiple queer identities (including a whooping TWO characters under the asexual umbrella!!!), neurodivergence and mental health issues being discussed, characters of colour in the forefront of the story... It just felt so good to read!

I have to say, however, that the trigger warnings for OCD, anxiety/panic attacks and depression are major in this book. If this is triggering, better skip it altogether. They hit quick and they hit hard. One of Charlie's panic attack almost caused me to have one. Good writing, but very much triggering.
Everyone else, though: READ. THIS. BOOK!

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