The Charm Offensive

Books | Fiction / Romance / General

(4.5K)

Alison Cochrun

A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE! A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

Romance

Lgbtq+

Romantic Comedies

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More Details:

Author

Alison Cochrun

Pages

368

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

2021-09-07

ISBN

1982170719 9781982170714

Community ReviewsSee all

"HOW!! This is my favorite romcom!!! Hands down the best romance I've read. The writing and the pacing was perfect. This was a very sweet story that explores some tough topics (mental health and sexuality) and it was very well executed. Not a fan of the bachelor or any kind reality TV but it doesn't take me out at all. All I can focus on is their chemistry. And let me tell you, their chemistry is chef kiss! LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! Read this if you're looking a good romance."

Tram Ly

"WOW!! This is my favorite romcom!!! Hands down the best romance I've read. The writing and the pacing was perfect. This was a very sweet story that explores some tough topics (mental health and sexuality) and it was very well executed. Not a fan of the bachelor or any kind reality TV but it doesn't take me out at all. All I can focus on is their chemistry. And let me tell you, their chemistry is chef kiss! LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! Read this if you're looking a good romance."

Tram Ly

"Rtc - lovely!"

haven

"YEAHHHHHH BOY!!!! This is the queer representation we have been YEARNin for! So wholesome and raw and exciting and sweet and all things good! Sweetest boys 🤍 excellent lil rom com 10/10 for me "

Bethany Gill

"Finished this book in one day because it absolutely charmed me (hehe). Accompanying a compelling and sweet romance were discussions of mental health, misogyny, and media representation and I felt it was all beautifully done. I can’t wait to see what this author does next!"

Connor French

"i really liked this book! the ending tho 🥺🥺 it was a little predictable but i really enjoyed it! i definitely would have watched this season of ever after and the following ;) if it were an actual show. for some reason dev did not get on my nerves even tho i thought he would, and charlie was literally so amazingly sweet. read this rn if u wanna feel something, break it apart, then put it back together and wish you had someone who loved you "

kounsie

"Loved this book. Charlie and Dev are just so perfectly imperfect that you have to fall in love with them, they have perfect chemistry. Even the other characters are really loveable, and it shows some really good friendships. This book addresses some hard to talk about topics, sexuality and mental health, and does it very gracefully. Really happy I read this one."

"i think this will be a book that i read over and over, just as i do with "red, white, and royal blue". though their plots are vastly different, these books gave me the same warm happy feeling. they are both incredibly fluffy queer stories with emotional centers. i love them in the same way. while reading, i kept comparing this book to "red, white, and royal blue", yes, but also to "if the shoe fits". it was hard not to think of "if the shoe fits" when reading "the charm offensive", with the premises, or at least the settings, being fairly similar. but where "if the shoe fits" felt hollow, this book was full of life. while i felt "if the shoe fits" wasn't able to fully complete its points, "the charm offensive" did so very well. of course, their respective themes differ quite a bit, but one certainly conveys its meaning much better. that being said, i truly appreciate all that this book said about mental health. i think the representation will make this story deeply valuable to those struggling with mental illness. in summary, i read this book in one day, and i'm so sad it's over. i can't wait to read it again."