The Charm Offensive Audiobook By Alison Cochrun cover art

The Charm Offensive

A Novel

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The Charm Offensive

By: Alison Cochrun
Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Graham Halstead, Cassandra Campbell
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Buy for $19.49

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A 2022 Audie Award Finalist

A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“Will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar

In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and Heated Rivalry—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. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romantic Comedy Feel-Good Funny Heartfelt Witty Romance Comedy Multicultural

Critic reviews

"Adam depicts Dev as a mix of dreamy and dramatic, showing his idealistic side and his love for the show. Adam’s flowing narration smooths out the author’s occasional didacticism. Halstead voices Charlie Winshaw, the show’s star and a tech genius who suffers from OCD and generalized anxiety. Halstead accurately represents Charlie’s stilted TV performance, hesitant speech, and withdrawn manner. Cassandra Campbell delivers the daily script updates, her voice creating needed contrast among the sections. With meticulous attention to Dev and Charlie’s singular romance, Adam and Halstead paint a lively picture of reality TV."
Lgbtq+ Representation • Mental Health Exploration • Excellent Narration • Emotional Depth • Unique Premise

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This is a sweet, funny, stand-out story that’s well written, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Really, REALLY good

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I really enjoyed this book. The characters are complex and show real growth throughout. They act and react in ways that make sense with their presented histories and their actions through the story. Granted, the premise is a bit cheesy, but it’s handled well, and the overall story is exactly the kind of modern fairytale I read romance fiction to see.

Better than I’d hoped.

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ok so I found this book recommended to me in multiple places since I’ve been on a gay romcom binge recently. I wasn’t sure about the premise but decided to finally give it a try

I was so blown away, and highly highly recommend. the story plot is solid and really well written. there’s a lot of good slow-burn relationship and character development, and it goes into a lot of the delicate interweaving of upbringing, identity, sexuality, and mental health.

one thing that really resonated was how the two main characters had so much in common despite being so different. it mirrors my own marriage closely as well, even with the types of mental health struggles they each deal with.

one comment; while charlie is clearly described as having OCD and his mannerisms and mindset definitely reflect that, dev is only described as having occasional touches of depression. after hearing in a lot of detail and living his thoughts and reactions throughout the story, I would suggest he might actually be bipolar type 1. there are less extreme forms of bipolar that people don’t always get a diagnosis for at it can just be misdiagnosed as periodic major depressive disorder.

what stood out to me as being uniquely type 1 bipolar was dev having weeks on end of lots of energy, having to severely crash in a deep deep depression for more than a few days on the other side of it, plus obsessive and impulsive features like leaving out of nowhere and the repetitive intrusive thoughts about not being deserving of a normal healthy life etc.

anyways that’s more than aside and has no bearing on the amazing news of this book

highly recommend - definitely give it a listen and it’s an enjoyable experience all the way to the end

super cute - loved every second

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This book made me so happy and left me not wanting more in the best way. It’s the perfect mix of predictable and leaves you hanging on to the end. The book sets the standard for what I’m looking for next, and I’ll absolutely be coming back to it. I love the character development, just enough steam for the imagination, and lots of LGBTQIA+ representation. Fantastic all around!

Charming and unforgettable

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It’s a sweet love story with up and downs. At times you want to shake Dev and somehow move things on a bit faster. While mental health issues and sexual orientations are well addressed I miss sometimes a little “more” like addressing the alcohol as a covering mechanism. But altogether it is a really nice book to listen to and the performance is great! Would recommend

Entertaining and well presented

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