Alison Cochrun - The Charm Offensive

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.

Comment: I had seen positive reviews on this book and decided to try it myself. Finally, I got the opportunity to start it.

Since he was a little boy that Dev Deshpande has enjoyed the reality show Ever After and as an adult he is overjoyed to be part of it. In this new season, all seems to be set for one more fairy tale, but the new protagonist isn't quite what the producers had in mind... 

Charlie Winshaw only accepted to be in this to clear his public image but he is shy and unsure and feels out of his depth in the silly situations he sees himself in while trying to interact with all these women. His handler, Dev, seems charismatic and fun and he is a tremendous help, even if it means he is having weird thoughts about him...

As these two learn about one another while dealing with such an exhausting environment, will they realize who they are at heart seems to be so easily complemented by the other?

I thought this would be one more silly rom-com, especially since it's set around the idea of a reality show, very similar to The Bachelor, which I have never seen to be honest, but contemporary media and similar shows have been enough exposure to know pretty much all about it. The cover also seems to suggest fun and cute vibes, but this story turned out to be way more romantic than I imagined, and it also featured a lot more serious themes than what it seemed at first.

The plot is full of ridiculous things but what else can one expect from a reality show based story, in which is as silly to see the characters "act" and it is to imagine the real and serious work behind the scenes. I can imagine that these shows are rather fake to most viewers but they still have a big audience ratings, and there is something about making these shows feel special that can also feel captivating. I think the author did a good job setting up the story as part of a reality show and the usual ideas around it.

Of course, things come alive due to the main characters. Both Dev and Charlie are interesting guys and while they present a certain personality, there is depth to them and to who they are inside. It's interesting that both face some psychological issues and that contributes to their individual behavior, while still maintaining them as a cute couple. Clearly, the author wanted to highlight the awareness of mental illnesses and the need for therapy if people need it, and in that regard, this story did feel to be set on a stronger goal, showcasing Dev's and Charlie's struggle to be who others expect of them.

The romance has many funny moments and even more serious ones. To my personal taste, I think the balance was well done and there was the exact amount of information and angst between them, although, to be fair, there is a slight conflict close to the end, I suppose page count demands or something, because I felt the way things happened was a little unnecessary. Nevertheless, the guys were cute together and my favorite part of the story was probably the dynamics and scenes between them.

There was drama, as one had to expect, and the time it took for them to deal with their issues seemed to last a bit longer than what I think the plot merited, but the overall result is one of interesting conversations, heartfelt sharing and a constant reinforcement that therapy should be something people can use to help themselves. I think there were many positive messages here, and that helped me appreciate the novel more. Plus, it also had some funny scenes. I will look for something else by the author in the future.

Grade: 8/10