The Charm Offensive By Alison Cochrun Book Review

The Charm Offensive By Alison Cochrun Book Review, Plot, Representation, Trigger warning, Quotes & Ending (Spoilers)!

Page count:- 368.

Publishing date:- 7 September 2021.

Genre:- Romance.

Content on this page:-

Plot Of The Charm Offensive
Book Review
Trigger Warnings
Representation
Ending of The Charm Offensive (Spoilers)

Plot Of The Charm Offensive:-

Dev Deshpande has had an obsession with Ever After– A dating reality show ever since he was 10 years old. Watching the season at the age of 10, he fell in love with the fairy-tale romance, grand gestures, marriage, and a dream of having kids. Now that he is 28 though, His love life doesn’t look like what he had envisioned. Ending a 6-year old relationship with a co-worker is never easy. Add clinical depression and work- where he is now the producer of ‘Ever After’ –the same reality show seems ironical and punishing. Let’s not forget that Dev helps couples get their happily ever after, even if his own love life is in shambles. It has been three months since his breakup, and he now has the next season to produce. And this year’s prince charming is surely not easy to handle.

Enter Charles Winshaw, the enigmatic tech millionaire, with impressive six-pack abs, and a cold and unapproachable personality. Charles had been outed from the tech company he founded, and the only way to revive his image is by taking a part in the reality show. With 20 contestant nominees fighting to win his love, the lead producer of the show wants him to look a tad bit personable. And Dev, who is the best handler in the production team, might be the only one to bring Charles back on track for the show.

Book Review OF The Charm Offensive By Alison Cochrun:-

The Charm Offensive does not feel like a rom-com novel. While the book starts with some satirical elements, it dives deep into discussions on sexual identity, and familial issues. We see both main characters struggling with mental health, while still keeping it less triggering and easy to read. Our author takes great care to portray her wide cast of LGBTQ+ characters with representation and sensitivity. She also tests our characters through situations that trigger their mental health.

Dev and Charlie, our main characters form a bond that progresses into a relationship, giving it a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance trope.

There were many hiccups in their romance, but these characters find their way towards each other. The ending does take away from the credibility of the novel, As it feels far-fetched and not probable, however, the book does promise a swoon-worthy romance, and it does deliver it till the end of the novel.

Representation:-

Indian American gay main character – Dev
gay main character with generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and OCD – Charlie
Chinese American bi side character –Jules
lesbian side character –Daphne
gay side character -Ryan
Muslim pan side character
Black bi side character.

Trigger warning In The Charm Offensive By Alison Cochrun:-

Panic attacks, biphobia, homophobia, vomiting.

Ending Of The Charm Offensive (Spoilers)

Charlie and Dev could not control their attraction towards each other, which lead to them hooking up during the show. But Dev has to leave the show- as a result of Charlie confessing his feelings in front of the production crew. A fall in Dev’s mental health led him to seek therapy. In the end, Dev’s and Charlie’s footage are included in the episodes, and Charlie shows his true feelings in front of the audience of Ever after. The book ends with Dev rushing in the live show of ever after, where he confesses his love for Charlie and they end up together.

The Charm Offensive By Alison Cochrun Quotes:-

1.” I realized my happiness can’t be contingent on another person. I have been learning how to be healthy on my own, And wherever he is, I hope Dev’s doing the same thing”

2.” I learned I deserve love–Both platonic and romantic.”

3.” I’m not even a prince anymore” he argues. “I’m just a man about to talk to another man about how a third man broke my heart on national television”

” You can do that in a f**king crown”

4.” I’ve learned it’s possible to be so in love with an idea of something, you can be blinded to the reality. And I have learned I want something real. ”

5.” I would tell her to stop chasing someone else’s idea of love. And I would tell her she deserves the kind of love she truly wants.”

6.” I don’t think happily ever after is something that happens to yourself, Dev. I think it’s something you choose for yourself.”

7. ” Most people don’t fall in love in two months, but sometimes you meet people and you just know. And then we put them on a boat in Bali, Because who can resist falling in love on a boat? ”

8. “You deserve the love you have been orchestrating for other people for the last six years. You deserve a happily ever after”

9. “You are deserving of my love just as you are, and you are deserving of his love, too”

10. ” You don’t need romantic love to be complete or to be happy. If you don’t want those things then you don’t want them. But I want to make sure you’re giving up your old romantic ideals because you don’t want them. Not because you think you don’t deserve them.”

11. ” Why have I let the world convince me I’m not enough without romance?”

12. “They were the person who helped me figure out I’m biromantic, the person who helped me feel okay about being sex-repulsed. They see me exactly as I am while also helping me become a truer version of myself”

13. ” I fell in love with Charlie, I fell in love with Daphne, who has become one of my closest friends, It’s not romantic love, but I think it matters as much.”

14. “Fairy tales aren’t real. Happily ever afters aren’t real. I’ve been clinging to these false romantic ideals about marriage and monogamy and domesticity–my entire life, maybe it’s time to stop basing my ideas of love on these fabricated narratives. I’m happy now. I’m healthy. I’ve signed with an agent for my script. I’m pursuing my goals. Why have I let the world convince me I’m not enough without romance? ”