The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun – Book Review
What happens when you take a rom-com style book, throw in a BTS look at a reality TV dating show with characters that make you unable to put your Kindle down? You get THE CHARM OFFENSIVE by Alison Cochrun! I absolutely adored this book from start to finish!
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.
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.
I Love Reality TV
I can’t help it. I am a sucker for anything reality TV related, and when it’s in a storyline, 9 out of 10 times I will read it. This story takes place on a Bachelor-inspired reality TV show (even down to the following season being The Bachelorette), called Ever After. We meet Dev, who is a producer who is in charge of the talent. You know the ones you’ve always heard about but ignore? The ones who poke poke poke to make good drama, but are there to console when things go too far? That’s Dev!
Then we meet Charlie, who is our Prince Charming – only he lacks the charm. He’s not so polished and camera ready as you would expect. And right away? I began to feel protective of him, and wanted him to succeed in everything he ever set out for in life.
As I turned the pages, I just wanted MORE. More Dev. More contestants. More Charlie. More production. All of it together was story magic. And then Dev and Charlie get together and I LIVE FOR THE SECRET RELATIONSHIP DRAMA OF IT ALL!
I Love Love
This was so much more than just a secret growing relationship while contestants try to “fall in love” with Charlie. This book dives into LOVING YOURSELF and making sure your mental health is taken care of. Some have anxiety, some have depression – whatever it is, this book helps shine the spotlight on making sure that you take care of yourself first and foremost.
There’s also LOVING OTHERS – but it’s not always the linear man on a white horse riding in to save you type of love. Who you love, when you love, how you love – they can be fluid and ever changing. This story highlights people finding themselves and trying to figure it out. But it’s not just romantic love – there’s also the love of friends that help you through. And friends always know more than you think they do!
But we can’t forget LOVING A GREAT TV SHOW – and let’s be honest. The best reality TV show has a perfect blend of drama and romance in locations you may never see unless you are watching. Unfortunately, we do see the dirty underbelly of how the show can get there, complete with those that don’t care about your mental health, do not care about who or how you love, as long as they get what they want.
I Love This Book
I cannot wait to see where Alison Cochran will go next. The way that all of these important messages were crafted so well together in a book that is fun, fresh, and with a little bit of *spice,* is a skill that many would hope they could achieve. I highly recommend this story to anyone and everyone! I give this all the stars, every rating you can and will be telling everyone I know to READ THIS BOOK!
Thank you to the publishers for providing a free copy of this book – I cannot thank them enough for introducing me to this! I will be buying a copy for my bookshelf as well!
