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“The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—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.
So! I'm going to rewrite this review.
I reread this book after purchasing it physically - it was glorious to read again, simply put. I remembered quite a bit, but a lot of things I didn't remember made me fall in love with the book and its characters just like before.
This book goes there with its mental health conversations and the discussion of the toxic parts behind reality TV shows and even the relation with work culture. Dev is truly so relatable to me and Charlie? I am not at liberty to discuss, because I would actually go feral.
I once didn't give this book the 5 stars it deserves, but I'm tired of pretending: this is one hell of a book, completely capable of making me cry and it deserves each of the 5 stars. I will die on this hill.
ON ANOTHER NOTE: I've seen people DNF this book because the writing is fanfiction-like? What? I have read some fanfiction, and I'm tired of pretending fanfiction doesn't set the standard for romance.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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27 July, 2023:
Finished reading
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27 July, 2023:
Reviewed
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Started reading
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Finished reading
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27 July, 2023:
Reviewed