A review by taelights
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

emotional funny 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

3.0

This book was pretty fun and cute but way too overhyped. With all the 4 and 5 star reviews and hype around this book I expected a lot more and was kind of disappointed because of it. 

The writing style of the book is very YA and the whole plot of the book requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Like I still have no fucking idea why people thought putting Charlie on basically the Batchelor would fix his reputation and get him his job back?? Literally makes no sense and there seems to be a lot better ways to fix a reputation before jumping to a dating show of all things??? It especially makes no sense when Charlie is a painfully socially awkward man who has never dated before and has OCD and anxiety. 

Speaking of which I know this book is praised for it's mental health representation but honestly I don't think it did a good job at it. 

The conflicts in the book were most of the time unnecessary and annoying because it. And the final source of angst was just so…. ugh. 

Also can I just say the sex scenes in this where really bad? Like they could have been omitted because they were badly written and boring. 

But for some positives the characters did have some moments of good chemistry where I really enjoyed them together and I thought the ending was cute. 

The book was cute but predictable and unremarkable. It's definitely not one I'll reread or think about after this. It was fun while I read it but it's not a book that will stay with me or one I'll recommend to a lot of people. But it was cute enough I won't talk someone out of reading it either. 
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