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.
