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thepoieszedlife's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.75
This is the best bi rep I’ve ever read in a book (although admittedly I haven’t read that many books with bi characters so far so take that as you may). The anxiety and panic disorder reps are also really freaking good (I have both & never once did I not understand where Ellie was coming from.. although it did make me think about how hard it’s gotta be to be on the outside of it all.)
Overall this was a fantastic book. Definitely worth the hype & I’m immediately moving The Charm Offensive up on my TBR.
Overall this was a fantastic book. Definitely worth the hype & I’m immediately moving The Charm Offensive up on my TBR.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity
bookwormsandcoffeestains's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Abandonment
morbach's review
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.25
A queer Christmas story — what does it look like to be loved? To have family? Very good holiday read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, and Abandonment
lorali123's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Classism
frantically's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
2.75
I loved the concept of this but the execution was just too riddled with miscommunication for me. Also, the way Jack didn't even pretend to understand in what different situations she and Elle were in — of course 200 thousand dollars would've changed her life. That's not something you easily say no to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Outing
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Classism
joensign's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Outing and Alcohol
skudiklier's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
I didn't know almost anything about this book going in, and wow was I pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. I read almost the entire book in one sitting, because I couldn't put it down. The romance was perfect, and also it was weirdly and unintentionally relevant for me, as someone who just moved to Portland less than two months ago. I loved the bi rep, the anxiety rep, the demi rep, the nonbinary rep, the way they try (and fail) to not fall victim to unnecessary miscommunication as horribly as the straights always do in romances. (Also is it just me or is Ellie also autistic??? I both have anxiety and am autistic so sometimes it's hard for me to tell what social anxiety things are related to which haha. But idk she felt extremely autistic to me and I'm gonna say I also loved the (maybe unintentional) autistic rep as well.) This was a perfect book to start the year with, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a lovely queer holiday romance.
Edit to add: I actually kind of forgot what The Charm Offensive was about, and now that I went back to look at my (5 star) review for that book, I'm even more convinced that Alison Cochrun is one of my new favorite romance authors. In both books, I was super sucked in and read them basically in one sitting. But even better, in both books I felt like even the parts of romances that I don't like (e.g., when they have a fight and break up near the end, usually over some miscommunication) were handled much better in these books than in most romance novels. Like, Cochrun clearly puts a lot of effort into making sure the relationships are as healthy and realistic as possible, while still giving us all the normal pieces of a romance and keeping the drama amped up. I'm just so impressed! And I can't wait for Cochrun's next book.
Edit to add: I actually kind of forgot what The Charm Offensive was about, and now that I went back to look at my (5 star) review for that book, I'm even more convinced that Alison Cochrun is one of my new favorite romance authors. In both books, I was super sucked in and read them basically in one sitting. But even better, in both books I felt like even the parts of romances that I don't like (e.g., when they have a fight and break up near the end, usually over some miscommunication) were handled much better in these books than in most romance novels. Like, Cochrun clearly puts a lot of effort into making sure the relationships are as healthy and realistic as possible, while still giving us all the normal pieces of a romance and keeping the drama amped up. I'm just so impressed! And I can't wait for Cochrun's next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Toxic parents, cutting off family membersellenr272's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
The charm offensive was one of my favorite books of last year, so I was very excited for Alison Cochran's next novel. It did not dissappoint!! I adored it; it was funny, witty, heartbreaking, relatable, hopefully, and many other adjectives. This is the first new book I've read this year and I'm already predicting it will stay close to the top of the list
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
smasson13's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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 love Alison Cochrun. Her books are some of the only honestly and well written representation I have seen when it comes to mental illness. As a teacher, it is also soooo easy for me to imagine where she got this wealth of understanding, empathy, and depth from. As a result, this book was almost difficult for me to read due to how close to home it hit.
I really connected with Ellie and loved her character. While I also enjoyed Jack and the host of other characters, I did find more difficulty connecting with them as I found them flatter than I was expecting. Andrew specifically was a character I wanted to love deeply but just didn't know enough about in the end.
What I think was most amazing about this book was that the author did a perfect job at following up her first novel. They both touched on deep and important themes, had soft characters filled with feelings, but still felt wildly different. Alison Cochrun will continue to be a favourite author and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!
I really connected with Ellie and loved her character. While I also enjoyed Jack and the host of other characters, I did find more difficulty connecting with them as I found them flatter than I was expecting. Andrew specifically was a character I wanted to love deeply but just didn't know enough about in the end.
What I think was most amazing about this book was that the author did a perfect job at following up her first novel. They both touched on deep and important themes, had soft characters filled with feelings, but still felt wildly different. Alison Cochrun will continue to be a favourite author and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
modernmatilda's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
An absolutely incredible, warm, magic romance that will leave you believing in the magic of snow days.
Ellie spent last Christmas falling head over heels for a woman in the bookstore. They spent an incredible day together in the snow. But when morning came, everything fell apart. This Christmas, desperate for money, hope, and an escape, she agrees to be fake engaged to her coffee shop's landlord, Andrew, in order for him to inherit family money (and share a portion of the funds with her). But when she arrives at the cabin to spend Christmas with Andrew's family, she meets his sister... the woman from last Christmas.
Seeing characters in romance novels struggle and grow through their mental health challenges is MY FAVORITE!!!!!!
Ellie spent last Christmas falling head over heels for a woman in the bookstore. They spent an incredible day together in the snow. But when morning came, everything fell apart. This Christmas, desperate for money, hope, and an escape, she agrees to be fake engaged to her coffee shop's landlord, Andrew, in order for him to inherit family money (and share a portion of the funds with her). But when she arrives at the cabin to spend Christmas with Andrew's family, she meets his sister... the woman from last Christmas.
Seeing characters in romance novels struggle and grow through their mental health challenges is MY FAVORITE!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia