“I don’t think happily ever after is something that happens to you, Dev. I think it’s something you choose to do for yourself.”
Out of all the books I have seen pitched as “perfect for Red, White and Royal Blue fans,” The Charm Offensive was the first one I felt like actually delivered on that comparison. In all honesty, I just want to sob about how much I love this book and how much it meant to me and come September 7th, fling copies out of my window until everyone I know has read this phenomenal story. But before I do that, let me convince you why you need The Charm Offensive in your life.
Meet Dev Desphande, producer of the long-running reality dating show Ever After, who believes in true love conquering all. With each season more elaborate and emotional, Dev knows how to craft a good show. That is, until Ever After casts Charlie Winshaw, disgraced and awkward tech genius, as their prince and all of Dev’s plans go up in flame. Charlie is a stiff and anxious mess in front of the cameras. Ultimately, Dev is ordered to make Charlie loosen up—whatever it takes—and soon, the two of them find themselves attached at the hip, going on practice dates and sneaking the occasional practice kiss and maybe, accidentally, falling in love in the process?! But reality TV has a formula to follow that doesn’t include the prince falling for the producer…yet to find their happily ever after, Dev and Charlie might have to go off-script.
If that synopsis doesn’t convince you to pick this book up, here are more reasons…
For one, The Charm Offensive offers an outstandingly nuanced depiction of mental health and the stigma attached to mental illnesses. Dev lives with depression and though he has a handle on things most days, there are those where he can’t get himself out of bed and where his symptoms are just too overwhelming. Charlie notices when Dev suddenly disappears and everyone at the dating show seems to accept that Dev is “under the weather,” not bothering to look deeper into Dev’s disappearance. This was such a raw and explosive depiction of how mental illness is just glossed over, not only by the ones dealing with it because of the stigma, but also in workplace settings. There’s still so much stigma attached to living with a mental illness and glamorising ‘the grind’ of overworking oneself instead of actively trying to change the narrative, and I loved how Cochrun exposed this in The Charm Offensive. Cochrun really showcases what a toll mental illnesses can take not only on individuals but everyone around them and also offers the readers ways to combat the stigma. Charlie and Dev’s discussions about their mental illnesses and what it means to take care of your body and your mind, their different coping mechanisms and their stance on therapy were fascinating to discover over the course of the book and made for fantastic food for thought.
Additionally, the way sexuality was discussed in this novel made my heart ache in the most delicious way. Cochrun takes such a delicate and careful approach to Charlie figuring out his feelings and I loved how this became part of the story instead of being rushed by slapping on a label that maybe wasn’t quite the right fit. Beyond showcasing the casual homo- and biphobia individuals have to deal with in a reality dating show setting (though we all know it’s a much farther-reaching issue), this book also included a relevant discussion of the asexual spectrum and how there is no ‘right’ way to be asexual. As someone who’s panromantic ace, I can’t really put into words just how much the exploration of Charlie figuring things out meant to me because usually when these kinds of things are included in books, it often includes casual acephobia or a disregard for the + in the LGBTQ+ acronym. Not so in The Charm Offensive: here, Charlie gets the chance to explore his identity without fear of judgement from his partner and I think everyone can learn something from those moments between Dev and Charlie.
The highlight of the book, of course, are the two main characters Dev and Charlie and their journey to finding love. Beyond a hilarious meet cute and undeniable chemistry, I was also hooked by the “opposites attract” trope. Give me a romantic cynic and a romantic at heart falling in love and I’m a goner. Watching Dev, who truly believes in the power of their dating show bringing people together while also being in the midst of his own post-breakup downward spiral, was incredibly relatable. Pair that with Charlie, who only goes on to the show to save his reputation in the tech world and promptly foregoes all the women competing only for him to fall in love with his producer and you have the forbidden romance of your dreams. Dev and Charlie’s romance arc was wonderfully paced and there were so many moments where I was just overwhelmed with feelings. Charlie and Dev help each other out in these grand ways, but they also do it in the tiny, everyday things, and above all: they stay. They listen. They try to be there for the other in whatever way they can. Rarely have I seen two flawed characters find their perfect match in such an intriguing way. I loved how we got to explore both Dev and Charlie’s past and present individually and then watched as their genuine support, funny banter and sizzling chemistry came to a head behind the scenes of the show. Both characters come with emotional baggage, but together, the load felt a bit lighter.
Despite the amount of important topics tackled in this story, the pacing never dragged, which is a testament to Cochrun’s writing. The dialogue and descriptions flowed incredibly well and thanks to a great, fleshed-out cast of secondary characters (that is super diverse), there was no dull moment to find in between these pages. All in all, I couldn’t put this book down. From moments of outright laughter to chapters that ripped my heart out and had me tearing up, The Charm Offensive certainly delivers all the feels.
With The Charm Offensive, Alison Cochrun delivers a pitch-perfect debut filled with a fantastically diverse cast, an intricate look behind the curtains of reality shows and a forbidden romance that will defy all obstacles. Tender, laugh-out-loud funny and masterfully woven, you won’t want to miss out on this one!
The Charm Offensive is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
