A review by kayla_thebookishmama
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0 

This book filled all of my dreams of what I hope Bachelor Nation will someday bring to our screens (are you reading this producers?) and it brought such a big smile to my face.

Charlie is casted for a reality TV show, Ever After, to find his princess, but really he is there for reasons that are not about finding love. Dev is one of the producers of the show that unapologetically believes in true love and fairytales (just not for him), and after a turn of events he becomes Charlie’s handler, and starts working with him to try and get him to open up and really connect with the women on the show. Only, Charlie seems to be connecting a lot more to Dev…

This story had amazing representation and themes. Some of my biggest takeaways were that everyone deserves love, you don’t have to fit into a box, self-discovery can be liberating, and that we can work to build our own happily-ever-after. The mental health aspect was amazingly done. The way the de-stigmatization approach was addressed was perfect. I also really appreciated that consent was such a large theme in this book. 

I will say that as a cis, white-identifying woman, I learned a lot from this book. I have not read any romances where the main characters identify as anything besides gay, lesbian, bi, or trans, and it was wonderful to see so many others who identify their sexuality in different ways brought to the page, and seeing the sexuality spectrum explored by these characters.

I will just be over here hoping for a sequel that will explore another certain character who was on their own journey for love at the end of this book.

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