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A review by decklededgess
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Trigger warnings: depression/depressive episode, OCD triggers, anxiety and panic attacks, harassment and manipulation, homophobia, racist microaggressions, sexual content, alcohol, sexual harassment
My opinion of this book treads a fine line. As a Bachelor franchise fan, I was thoroughly entertained by the producer manipulation exposé this book was attempting to be. Not to mention, I'm guessing this was likely inspired by Colton Underwood's season and what it could have been had he been given the chance to explore his own sexuality instead of a pre-written hetero fantasy. Since one of the producers was a romantic lead, I felt this book was a bit more sympathetic to the producer side of things. In the show, it's evident that the producers err on the side of abusive and manipulative instead of listening ears and while that's evident, the more toxic producers aren't even given a name. Instead the cast of characters are all queer folks who get a bit of a redemption arc. So overall, the Bachelor behind the scenes aspect is a bit more rose coloured glasses than I would expect but otherwise it's not too shabby.
As for the romance, I wasn't a big fan? It's pretty bland in the line of most romances. The author was balancing a forbidden romance, mental health issues, and critique of a reality tv show so it was perhaps too many eggs for this one basket.
I wasn't a big fan of Dev's characterization even if I did like his character overall. He's South Asian but there's no context for his identity save one paragraph about his parents' immigration to USA. And while South Asian folks can vary in their attachment to identity, I found that in Dev's case it was more a side effect of the white author writing a Desi character for the sake of having a non white lead.
The author's attention to mental health was probably the most successful aspect of this book. Charlie's OCD was written well and with respect, Dev's depression was also addressed appropriately. I'm not personally familiar with the nuances of these mental illnesses but I found at times that Charlie teetered the line of autistic and Dev was showing more signs of bipolar disorder than just depression alone. From a place of rudimentary familiarity with all four those were my observations.
Overall, fine.
My opinion of this book treads a fine line. As a Bachelor franchise fan, I was thoroughly entertained by the producer manipulation exposé this book was attempting to be. Not to mention, I'm guessing this was likely inspired by Colton Underwood's season and what it could have been had he been given the chance to explore his own sexuality instead of a pre-written hetero fantasy. Since one of the producers was a romantic lead, I felt this book was a bit more sympathetic to the producer side of things. In the show, it's evident that the producers err on the side of abusive and manipulative instead of listening ears and while that's evident, the more toxic producers aren't even given a name. Instead the cast of characters are all queer folks who get a bit of a redemption arc. So overall, the Bachelor behind the scenes aspect is a bit more rose coloured glasses than I would expect but otherwise it's not too shabby.
As for the romance, I wasn't a big fan? It's pretty bland in the line of most romances. The author was balancing a forbidden romance, mental health issues, and critique of a reality tv show so it was perhaps too many eggs for this one basket.
I wasn't a big fan of Dev's characterization even if I did like his character overall. He's South Asian but there's no context for his identity save one paragraph about his parents' immigration to USA. And while South Asian folks can vary in their attachment to identity, I found that in Dev's case it was more a side effect of the white author writing a Desi character for the sake of having a non white lead.
The author's attention to mental health was probably the most successful aspect of this book. Charlie's OCD was written well and with respect, Dev's depression was also addressed appropriately. I'm not personally familiar with the nuances of these mental illnesses but I found at times that Charlie teetered the line of autistic and Dev was showing more signs of bipolar disorder than just depression alone. From a place of rudimentary familiarity with all four those were my observations.
Overall, fine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts