The Charm Offensive
Alison Cochrun
Dev Deshpande believes in fairy tales and crafts them on a reality dating show. His own love life is a bit of a nightmare, but he can prepare his contestants for a happily ever after like no one else. His latest Prince Charming is a bit of a problem though – Charlie Winshaw doesn’t believe in true love, doesn’t want to love and is on the show to prove he’s normal. What does the happy ending look like for Dev and Charlie?
Charlie, you’re completely oblivious, and I love it! However, I really think you overestimated your chances of surviving on reality TV. Have you ever seen any of it? Are people really that oblivious? Dev, buddy, you weren’t doing yourself any favours either, and sometimes you really were a bit of an ass, even if you apologised for it later.
How on earth did Dev’s parents keep that a secret? Why didn’t they tell him? Yes, relationships should not fill holes in your soul. But, nothing wrong with having another human to share your life with. The depiction of mental illness was quite sensitive and it was nice to have something in adults (not young adults). Some aspects didn’t quite sit right for me, but I was willing to let it pass.
I’m not sure I really get the title of this novel, but ok! Maybe because Prince Charming is a thing? But why is it offensive? Is it offensive as in it smells, or that people are battling things out? Maybe the latter. I’m also not sure why I jumped into reading this novel, except that I find it hard to resist a gay love story with sufficient queer and diverse supporting characters! A novel set on a TV show where the contestants are supposed to find ‘true love’ in 3 months isn’t new (see Here for the right reasons and Can I steal you for a second).
I’m not going to reread this novel in the same way I do Helen Hoang’s romances, but I give it bonus points for addressing the importance of therapy. Having read several Alison Cochrun novels in a row, it’s getting a bit same-old, but that’s a me problem. 4 stars from me.
This book could have done with some ruthless editing. It takes FOREVER for anything to happen, and there’s a fair few things that don’t add anything to the plot line. I don’t find Arjun’s business trip to be relevant, nor is his boss’ somewhat insensitive behaviour. Did I honestly care about how many choc chip scones he bought? No.
Woah. The character development in this novel is exceptional. I’m actually ok with both of them acting like teenagers initially because there’s a lot of background to their behaviour. Logan goes from being an ass to being a bit less of an ass, and Rosemary goes from being tortured to being a little less tortured. Also, the final scenes of this novel almost made me cry. Joe buddy! I love you!
I’ve loved the movie adaptation for years but somehow never thought to check if it was a book – until I heard there was a sequel being released. Brooklyn was super short – I finished it in two evenings – but pretty weighty. I was moved by the compassionate portrayal of so many ordinary people with unimportant lives, for whom the little things that happen are the big things that make up a life. Toibin wove a lot between the lines; even though these characters leave most things unsaid, you can feel the tug of desires and duty, motivations malicious or sacrificial, as an undercurrent to most interactions. Though it was written with a light hand – deft and funny, it felt real and complex. 
Many reviewers hated this book for the same reason I liked it! Thankfully, a lot of the text was dedicated to how the venture capitalists could support Stella’s Signature Scent start-up. There aren’t too many loooonnnngggg sex scenes that have them going at it like bunnies all night (and getting a blow by blow of the action). Does anyone read those $3X scenes and actually enjoy them? I’m also very over people saying ‘is it spicy?’ No, there’s no delicious cooking in this novel, just home-made mac’n’cheese.
Sooo, it’s kind of like Hunger Games but a little less predictable because it’s not always obvious who needs to be the survivor, and who is going to win. I enjoyed the various powers that Kai got to play with, and I think more could have been done with it. Also, as if you’d fall for the illusionist twice…
The blurb promised me twists and turns, but it really was exactly what I expected it to be (including Noah’s delay at various crucial points). I think it still counts as a ‘meet-cute’, and apart from the sex scenes (pretty tastefully written, nothing too racy) it doesn’t have that much new to offer. I did read it pretty quickly, just to see if it would turn out as expected. It did.
I really enjoyed this novel because it portrays life as a polyamory thruple that isn’t just about having mind-blowing and random sex all the time! Instead, it delicately probes what it looks like to be in a committed relationship with more than two people. I was plesently surprised by the whole book.
