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The Charm Offensive: A Novel by [Alison Cochrun]

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Alison Cochrun

The Charm Offensive: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Alison Cochrun (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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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.

Print length

361 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Atria Books
Publication date

7 September 2021
File size

2655 KB
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"The Charm Offensive is a heartwarming rom-com with unforgettable characters who will challenge you to see love in a new light. Set behind the scenes of the fictional TV show Ever After, Alison Cochrun is unafraid to flip reality TV's tired tropes into fresh storylines. With entertaining insight into how the happily-ever-after sausage gets made and nuanced discussions about mental health and sexuality, this witty, moving page-turner is nothing short of delightful. Networks would be wise to take cues from Cochrun's ode to reality TV romance."
--Hannah Orenstein, author of Head Over Heels --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Alison Cochrun is a high school English teacher living outside of Portland, Oregon. When she's not reading and writing queer love stories, you can find her torturing teenagers with Shakespeare, crafting perfect travel itineraries, hate-watching reality dating shows, and searching for the best happy hour nachos. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1. The First Night of Filming
Story notes for editors:

Season 37, Episode 1

Story producer:

Dev Deshpande

Air date:

Monday, September 13, 2021

Executive producer:

Maureen Scott

Scene: Opening montage of contestant confessionals about Charles Winshaw

Location: Shot pre-carriage exits at the Beverly Hilton’s ballroom

Lauren L., 25, Dallas, professional cat cuddler: When I heard Charles Winshaw was going to be the next Ever After prince, I knew I had to audition to be a contestant. He is literally everything I’ve been looking for in a man. I mean, he’s strong, but you can tell he’s also sensitive.

Megan, 24, Tampa, spray-tan technician: Why did I come on this show? I’ll give you eight reasons, and all of them are Charles Winshaw’s abs.

Delilah, 26, Los Angeles, software engineer: Charles Winshaw is a legend in the tech world. This will be like dating the Michael Jordan of app design. You know, if Michael Jordan were notoriously private and mysterious. My friends are going to be so jealous.

Lauren S., 23, Little Rock, former student: I’ve had my heart broken in the past, but I’m older and wiser now. I’m ready to find love again. I’m ready to be a wife. I’m ready to be a mom.

Whitney, 31, Kansas City, pediatric nurse: Did I think I’d already be married at thirty-one? I mean, yeah. But it’s given me extra time to get to know myself. I’ve spent years taking care of sick babies. Now I’m ready to take care of a man.

Sabrina, 27, Seattle, travel blogger: My life is pretty rad, honestly. I’m just looking for a partner to make it even radder.

Daphne, 25, Atlanta, social worker: Why did I come on this show? Gosh, um, you know, the same reason as everyone else. I’m here for love—the kind of love you see in movies and hear about in songs. Love that changes you, love that conquers all. Everyone talks about that kind of love, so it must be real, right?

Maureen’s note to editors: Please create the bio chyron for each contestant based on the provided details. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VJLM49X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books (7 September 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2655 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 361 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 4,069 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 104 in Multicultural Romance (Books)
- 110 in Gay Romance
- 595 in Romantic Comedy (Books)

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1,999 ratings

About the author

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Alison Cochrun

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Alison Cochrun is a high school English teacher living outside Portland, Oregon. When she's not reading and writing queer love stories, you can find her torturing teenagers with Shakespeare, crafting perfect travel itineraries, hate-watching reality dating shows, and searching for the best happy hour nachos. You can find her on Instagram or at her website www.alisoncochrun.com

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Sarah

More depth than I expected

Reviewed in Australia on 13 December 2021

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This book was such a fun delicious read which lots of laughs but also a surprising amount of depth. The mental health exploration was written beautifully- sensitive and honesty I could really empathise with both the MCs and their love story was just beautiful. This book really touched me and will definitely be a re-read.

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Gorgeous

Reviewed in Australia on 21 June 2022

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Loved it. Loved it so much.

It's humourous and kind and sweet and sad and just so human. I think a lot of people will feel seen reading it.

Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2021

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An amazing, heartfelt and unique queer love story. A story which has a nuanced discussion about anxiety and depression that leaves the reader hopeful. A breath of fresh air and a pleasure to read!

Reviewed in Australia on 4 December 2021

Oh my god I ADORED this story so much! I almost read it in one sitting, and had I not started so late at night, I would have totally finished it in one go (damn it being 4:30am and my brain screaming at me to get some sleep)! I knew I’d enjoy this story, but I wasn’t expecting it to suck me in so much.

There’s something so interesting about being on the set of a reality TV show – we all know that there is drama going on behind the scenes of these shows, so I really enjoyed getting a look behind the curtain, even if it just for a fictional story. Alison also shines a light on the toxic side of reality television, which is a refreshing spin on stories that tend to glorify or gloss over the dark side of this industry.

On their own, Dev and Charlie’s stories are really interesting and both dive into mental health with a look at anxiety, OCD, panic disorder and depression, as well as coming to terms with one’s sexuality. Together, they’re friendship-turned-relationship is super sweet, and honestly couldn’t get enough of them.

This book NEEDS to be adapted into a TV series because I need to see this relationship unfold onscreen – all romance fans need to put this book at the top of their TBRs and fall in love with Dev and Charlie’s story. I’m already excited for Alison’s next book, and I lowkey need a sequel to follow the next Ever After season.

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Tony Nguyen

A cute read with a cute romance.

Reviewed in Australia on 23 October 2021

I could relate to Charlie's character a lot. So happy to see the author exploring mental health through Dev and Charlie's characterization.

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Cee Bee

The Charm Offensive -A Novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 April 2022

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Dev works as a producer on a reality TV show called “Ever After” with a Prince Charming and a bunch of ladies looking to marry him, just like the real TV show called “The Bachelor”. His assigned role is to take care of the Prince Charming. Dev suffered from depression but tries to hide it by being “FunDev” all the time. His boyfriend Ryan who also works as a producer on the show broke up with him a few months ago having been together for 6 years. He wasn’t at all supportive to Dev when he had bouts of depression. This book opened my eyes to what goes on behind the scenes in these reality shows and how fake they can be in their premise. Even though the story is MM Romance it’s not “steamy”, it certainly raises issues relating to Mental Health and also the wide spectrum of sexual identities that we haven’t heard much about. One outcome within the storyline has “Ever After” starting a new season with a Princess looking for her own Princess. I’d be interested to watch a REAL reality show like “Ever After” based on same Sex participants. This is the first Alison Cochran book I’ve read but I think she only has one other on Amazon. “The Charm Offensive” is a novel rather than a short story.

One person found this helpful

Frankie

A wonderful read, up until the very end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2021

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I’ve never seen an episode of The Bachelor but I love a funny, witty read that’s filled with genuinely lovable and relatable characters so it was no surprise that I adored this book. I immensely enjoyed the author’s writing style and even the side characters quickly became close favourites of mine. I really appreciated the portrayal of mental illness and how it fit into the characters’ growing bond.
All that said, the ending really didn’t sit right with me. I don’t like big Hollywood endings when all is glitter and glitz, especially when it seems so nonsensical and out of place. But that’s just personal taste for you, I guess?

KH

A real Ever After

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2022

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I just happened I upon this book in the kindle library and downloaded the sample….I have just finished the book after a non-stop read. And I can only say brilliant. Absolutely enjoyed it from start to finish. And without too much of a spoiler; I wouldn’t have minded a bit more audience participation at the Finale.

Fantastic Read. Thank you Alison Cochrun.

Leaboy

Charming and not at all offensive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2022

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Loved this. Such a gorgeous pair of characters in a crazy situation. Well written and plotted, this has to be on someone’s desk at Netflix. I’ll be watching.

Jonah

Loved this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 July 2022

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I really enjoyed reading this book the development of charlie and dev’s relationship and characters was sooo good. I felt like the book lost momentum a bit in the middle but the ending was great

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The Charm Offensive: A Novel Kindle Edition

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Alison Cochrun

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