The Charm Offensive

This book was a fascinating, humorous, and emotional look inside the reality TV industry while also being a wonderful queer romance and serious look at mental health and overworking.

I particularly liked that the main characters were flawed and fallible but also loveable, a hard mix to achieve. The story features a bisexual awakening, which is often tricky to pull off well in queer fiction but was handled in an excellent and believable way. While queerness does come up as an issue, since the Bachelor-like contestant is supposedly straight, the topic is handled with grace and rarely dominates the story.

We love a deconstructed fairytale, and even better if it’s RE-constructed right afterward! 

Who doesn’t love an anxious Prince Charming who falls directly off his horse? Let alone his slobby yet sexily competent True Love. This book was a heartwarming character study of the two leads, as well as a swoony romance that scratched all the reality TV itches we had. We loved the tropes, the wit, and the earnestness of a happily ever after that truly believes in itself, no matter how fantastical the odds.

This gay rom-com packs a serious punch about panic disorder, OCD, and depression. Neither Dev nor Charlie believe they deserve love, but they show up for each other constantly. And yet to survive as a couple, they have to learn, independently, how to manage mental illness. There are no shortcuts.

This is a warm, comforting hug in book form. Our heroes, Charlie and Dev are awkward, delightful, loving people that stole my heart and never let go. Charlie is staring on a bachelor-esque reality dating show, and Dev is his handler. We see the sometimes challenging reality of anxiety and panic disorders through Charlie’s journey, and the tenderness and care of his mental health, both in the narrative and through Dev, made for a gorgeous novel. To top it off, this book is clever, hilarious, and delightfully unique. A must-read!