It is so charming that it actually hurts...how can it be so sweet and endearing and amazing and heartwarming? I laughed and cried and laughed while crying!

The Charm Offensive by debut author Alison Cochrun is a sweet and endearing romantic comedy of an awkward tech wunderkind, Charlie Winshaw, and a TV producer, Dev Deshpande on a reality dating show titled Ever After.
The story itself is quite trope-y and predictable, there are no earth-shattering plot twists and the climax is as cheesy as it can get, but what stands out and essentially makes this book phenomenal, are the characters themselves. They are so well-fleshed out and throughout the entirety of the book, the character growth is remarkable. Charlie - beautiful, brilliant, awkward, anxious tech genius, while Dev - charming, big-hearted, irrepressibly romantic, clinically depressive reality show producer...both with their own struggles to endure and challenges to face, but the tenderness with which they make space for each other’s issues and pains while motivating each other to take better care of themselves, is a joy to read. The chemistry between them extends beyond the physical, and it is beautiful to see the way they bond together, as they learn to understand each other. It is also quite refreshing to see for once, the absence of graphic and copious descriptions of on-page sex, especially when the main character is questioning his sexuality and sexual preferences.
The author is particularly skillful and compassionate in her portrayal of neurodiversity and mental health in this novel, and the way they are seamlessly blended with the fairytale-type romance story is heartwarming, to say the least.

4.75 charming ⭐