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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
3.5 a very precious buildup and HEA; extra points for a neurodivergent demisexual main character AND a main character with mental illness ✨
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
Not this book making me cry! I was bamboozled by it, but in the best way.
When I first started The Charm Offensive, I thought it was just going to be a cutesy little romcom, full of reality tv shenanigans. And we had all of those moments, but also so much more.
I’m not formally diagnosed with OCD but I’ve suspected it may be something I have alongside my anxiety and depression for a while. I had no idea that would be part of one of the main characters (Charlie) storyline. Despite not having a formal diagnosis and not as intensely as Charlie, I felt so reflected by him. There really is a constant internal struggle of feeling “crazy”, alongside the external struggle of being perceived that way. So much of OCD grapples with feelings of shame and I loved reading Charlie become more confident and self-accepting.
And if that wasn’t enough, I also understood Dev. As someone with “high-functioning” mental illnesses, it can be so hard to truly feel seen and then on top of that, give yourself the freedom to truly be in the moment with how you feel. There’s always that mentality of “this is just a hiccup, this doesn’t define me, I just have to keep going” before the inevitable crash. The crash we pretend no one else can see but really, everyone does but is too afraid to acknowledge it because we ourselves won’t acknowledge it. Oof.
Those stories alone honestly would have been enough but to add the icing on the cake, we got a beautiful love story in which the main characters saw each other but the author held space for them to grow both together and individually. It can be so hard to find romantic stories where physical and mental illness isn’t “cured” or suddenly made so much easier or better by dependency. There was a slight moment where I thought this story was going to head that direction but then the author surprised me and let things get really messy in order for BOTH of the characters to find their own strength, in their own ways.
The chemistry between them was amazing, so sweet, I surely have cavities now. I loved their gentle banter, their cute moments, and of course, their spicy ones. I feel like every stereotype was broken when it came to how the characters were written and the author did an amazing job at avoiding potentially problematic dynamics and instead wrote something that feels so real while still having the elements of romantic fantasy we all dream of.
TW: I should warn you that this shows the UGLY side of reality tv. As someone who studied mass media, I was eating it up like I was back in a college class. But there are definitely moments of dubious consent (between Charlie and the other contestants) and manipulation. It eventually gets addressed with consequences but the characters brush it under the rug and morally distance themselves from it for a large part of the book. Also there’s a lot of throwing up so proceed cautiously for those with emetophobia.
When I first started The Charm Offensive, I thought it was just going to be a cutesy little romcom, full of reality tv shenanigans. And we had all of those moments, but also so much more.
I’m not formally diagnosed with OCD but I’ve suspected it may be something I have alongside my anxiety and depression for a while. I had no idea that would be part of one of the main characters (Charlie) storyline. Despite not having a formal diagnosis and not as intensely as Charlie, I felt so reflected by him. There really is a constant internal struggle of feeling “crazy”, alongside the external struggle of being perceived that way. So much of OCD grapples with feelings of shame and I loved reading Charlie become more confident and self-accepting.
And if that wasn’t enough, I also understood Dev. As someone with “high-functioning” mental illnesses, it can be so hard to truly feel seen and then on top of that, give yourself the freedom to truly be in the moment with how you feel. There’s always that mentality of “this is just a hiccup, this doesn’t define me, I just have to keep going” before the inevitable crash. The crash we pretend no one else can see but really, everyone does but is too afraid to acknowledge it because we ourselves won’t acknowledge it. Oof.
Those stories alone honestly would have been enough but to add the icing on the cake, we got a beautiful love story in which the main characters saw each other but the author held space for them to grow both together and individually. It can be so hard to find romantic stories where physical and mental illness isn’t “cured” or suddenly made so much easier or better by dependency. There was a slight moment where I thought this story was going to head that direction but then the author surprised me and let things get really messy in order for BOTH of the characters to find their own strength, in their own ways.
The chemistry between them was amazing, so sweet, I surely have cavities now. I loved their gentle banter, their cute moments, and of course, their spicy ones. I feel like every stereotype was broken when it came to how the characters were written and the author did an amazing job at avoiding potentially problematic dynamics and instead wrote something that feels so real while still having the elements of romantic fantasy we all dream of.
TW: I should warn you that this shows the UGLY side of reality tv. As someone who studied mass media, I was eating it up like I was back in a college class. But there are definitely moments of dubious consent (between Charlie and the other contestants) and manipulation. It eventually gets addressed with consequences but the characters brush it under the rug and morally distance themselves from it for a large part of the book. Also there’s a lot of throwing up so proceed cautiously for those with emetophobia.
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
i don’t have much to say. just a super cute queer romance, especially for someone who loves all kinds of reality tv
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you liked the tv show unREAL than you’d like this book. unREAL was a tv drama about the inner workings of reality tv shows (like the bachelor) and how not only the contestants are manipulated, but so are the workers. Well, this book did not disappoint and felt very similar to unREAL and I found myself totally engulfed by the drama and the romance. I don’t want to spoil anything, but this is about a guy named Charlie who is unbelievably hot and rich and just your picture perfect “prince” for this reality show called Ever After. He gets casted to find his “princess” who he will get engaged to at the end of the season, but things don’t go as planned when our second main character, Dev, who works on Ever After, is assigned to produce him. Typically Dev only works with the ladies, and since he just got out of a rough breakup from his long term boyfriend Ryan (who also works on the show) he was excited to produce his girls, have fun producing them, and ultimately help one of them fall in love with Charlie.
.
Things take a turn when Charlie is seemingly helpless and an awkward mess. Fun Dev is told he has to produce Charlie and he isn’t thrilled. On the outside Charlie is a cologne model, but on the inside he’s a totally different creature and Dev is at a loss on how to produce him. Initially, he’s very upset by this reassignment, but this journey ultimately leads to a lot of self discovery.
.
For Dev, Ever After is the real deal. He’s helped people actually find true love on this show, for Charlie, well he’s not exactly there to find love. Even though they bump heads and don’t see eye to eye at the start, the story ends up going in a totally different direction than Dev or Charlie could have ever imagined.
.
Read this for yourself to find out more
.
Things take a turn when Charlie is seemingly helpless and an awkward mess. Fun Dev is told he has to produce Charlie and he isn’t thrilled. On the outside Charlie is a cologne model, but on the inside he’s a totally different creature and Dev is at a loss on how to produce him. Initially, he’s very upset by this reassignment, but this journey ultimately leads to a lot of self discovery.
.
For Dev, Ever After is the real deal. He’s helped people actually find true love on this show, for Charlie, well he’s not exactly there to find love. Even though they bump heads and don’t see eye to eye at the start, the story ends up going in a totally different direction than Dev or Charlie could have ever imagined.
.
Read this for yourself to find out more
emotional
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:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes