Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Charm Offensive

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

29 reviews

saeruh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

So GOOD. So funny that I actually laughed out loud more than a couple times, so sweet and romantic, and so simply charming. I loved how both of the main characters dealt with mental illness and it never made them less than or undeserving of them. I thought it was a really great of depression and anxiety (i personally have both so can only speak to those) as well as OCD and panic disorder! Loved the casual non-binary representation. I’m still not the biggest fan of the third act breakup in romance books so that would be my only dispute but I’m pretty sure I’ve never read one without that trope. Dev and Charlie were just so sweet together together, they really cared about one another. did make me cry at work 👍

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bialves's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative 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

4.5

I think this book would've been a favorite if

Dev didn't do some thing that clearly triggers Charlie OCD, and the obsession with Charlie beauty, like it was all that matters sometimes. I was worry this wouldn't have a happy ending, but it did and it's cute (I maybe expect more)

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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

2.5

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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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readandfindout's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 2.5 stars

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ariam's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I really liked Charlie and Dev as main characters and their production cast of the show. I liked the twist at the end and how the show was revamped. I liked how the characters separated and that Dev got help for his depression before they got back together. I definitely thought this could have been 100 pages shorter because some of the reality show plot definitely could have been skipped over. And for the amount of "sex" scenes there were, can't believe they were so PG-13.

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fromjuliereads's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

I really loved this book! The story was so cute and wonderful, and I absolutely loved the mental health representation. I felt so seen with the rep and it was wonderful to see my mental health represented.

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