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A review by imme_van_gorp
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
4.5
This book is what I would describe as just a whole bunch of adorableness in the form of Charlie Winshaw. He is sweet, caring, honest, loving and loyal, but he also deals with OCD, generalized anxiety and panic attacks. In other words, he is not your standard main character, yet he is so inexplicably adorable, it makes you wonder why there aren’t more characters like him. I genuinely love Charlie and I am obsessed with the love he has for Dev. It was so intense, so complete and so real. He fell for Dev in a very natural and believable way. He also refused to let go: the minute he decided he loved Dev, he was willing to fight for him. Do anything just to make him happy and be with him. It was swoon-worthy to the max.
My love for Dev, the other main character, does not run as deeply as the one I have for Charlie, but I do understand where his more unlikable behaviour comes from. Dev has clinical depression, has obvious issues with emotional intimacy and is scared of abandonment, which can sometimes lead him to act out against and pull back from Charlie. I do believe, however, that his love for Charlie was very real, and although it wasn't as committed and longingly as Charlie's love for him was, Dev was still able to help, respect and understand Charlie in so many ways no one else had before. Their relationship has a great foundation and it was very cute to see their friendship turn into a romance.
Apart from these interesting and different love interests, the side characters were all very likable as well: Dev and Charlie's friends are so supportive, and I really appreciated them. I even grew to like the ex-boyfriend, who I thought was such a douche at the beginning. Truly, I think everyone in this book (aside from one person in particular) was humanized in a way that they felt like real and caring characters.
The setting of this rom-com is very entertaining as it centres around a Bachelor-type reality program where the star falls for his producer. Of course this means they cannot truly be together and thus, cue a lot of pining for each other. It was awesome. I do like that the story did not wait until the end for them to get together though, but rather have them be together in secret for a while, as it makes their relationship more believable and not a spur of the moment thing.
Then again, that is also why I was so disappointed with the ending as I feel it kind of ruined their whole perfect love story (and also all of Dev’s friendships). Gaping plot-holes aside, the ending was such an anti-climax. It cheapened Dev and Charlie's love and made it seem like they just as well could have not ended up together. It might be realistic, but that's not what I'm looking for in a rom-com: I want romance, I want true love, and it’s frustrating because this entire book was exactly that, aside from that ending. So yea, I was a bit disappointed about that, but I'm just going to ignore it and fangirl over the rest of the story and mainly over Charlie freaking Winshaw: Such. A. Cutie.
My love for Dev, the other main character, does not run as deeply as the one I have for Charlie, but I do understand where his more unlikable behaviour comes from. Dev has clinical depression, has obvious issues with emotional intimacy and is scared of abandonment, which can sometimes lead him to act out against and pull back from Charlie. I do believe, however, that his love for Charlie was very real, and although it wasn't as committed and longingly as Charlie's love for him was, Dev was still able to help, respect and understand Charlie in so many ways no one else had before. Their relationship has a great foundation and it was very cute to see their friendship turn into a romance.
Apart from these interesting and different love interests, the side characters were all very likable as well: Dev and Charlie's friends are so supportive, and I really appreciated them. I even grew to like the ex-boyfriend, who I thought was such a douche at the beginning. Truly, I think everyone in this book (aside from one person in particular) was humanized in a way that they felt like real and caring characters.
The setting of this rom-com is very entertaining as it centres around a Bachelor-type reality program where the star falls for his producer. Of course this means they cannot truly be together and thus, cue a lot of pining for each other. It was awesome. I do like that the story did not wait until the end for them to get together though, but rather have them be together in secret for a while, as it makes their relationship more believable and not a spur of the moment thing.
Then again, that is also why I was so disappointed with the ending as I feel it kind of ruined their whole perfect love story (and also all of Dev’s friendships). Gaping plot-holes aside, the ending was such an anti-climax. It cheapened Dev and Charlie's love and made it seem like they just as well could have not ended up together. It might be realistic, but that's not what I'm looking for in a rom-com: I want romance, I want true love, and it’s frustrating because this entire book was exactly that, aside from that ending. So yea, I was a bit disappointed about that, but I'm just going to ignore it and fangirl over the rest of the story and mainly over Charlie freaking Winshaw: Such. A. Cutie.