{"id":18400,"date":"2021-10-24T10:03:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-24T14:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=18400"},"modified":"2022-10-04T21:12:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T01:12:45","slug":"the-charm-offensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18400","title":{"rendered":"The Charm Offensive"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Charm Offensive<\/a><\/em> (2021) Alison Cochrun<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>I am having a really hard time writing this review. Because I keep diving back into the book and reading passages an getting sucked back in.<\/p>\n

Charlie Winshaw was forced out of the company he helped found, and now he’s hoping to rehabilitate his image by appearing on a reality dating show.<\/p>\n

Any annoyance Dev feels about the vomit disappears when he looks up into Charles Winshaw\u2019s enormous eyes. He\u2019s like a terrified baby bird. Like a two-hundred-twenty-pound baby bird with crippling anxiety and a fairly intense germ phobia who can\u2019t navigate his way through a complete sentence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dev is good at his job–very good–but didn’t expect to suddenly be the handler for the Prince after filming has already started.<\/p>\n

Dev wants to call bullshit. A reputation of being difficult isn\u2019t enough to blacklist you from any industry when you\u2019re as white and male and traditionally handsome as Charlie, not to mention a certifiable genius.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because Charlie is terrible at this.<\/p>\n

But Dev and Charlie together?<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t usually sit still for this long.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t noticed that about you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWas that sarcasm? What, you\u2019re capable of sarcasm now?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMy system must have upgraded.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the best thing about this story is all the representation.<\/p>\n

So much mental health rep.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus this\u201d\u2014 Charlie adopts Dev\u2019s frantic hand gesture\u2014\u201c this is for my mental health. All the exercise, I mean. I don\u2019t do it because I care what my body looks like. I do it because I care how my brain feels.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cDev doesn\u2019t have depression,\u201d he corrects. <\/p>\n

\u201cTake it from someone who has been in a committed relationship with Lexapro and cognitive behavioral therapy since she was eighteen,\u201d Parisa says, \u201cyour handler is in the midst of a major depressive episode.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHow can I help when it gets like this?\u201d <\/p>\n

Dev folds himself tighter against Charlie, all those lovely sharp points digging in. \u201cYou can just stay,\u201d he says, at last. \u201cNo one ever stays.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And all the LGBT rep, PLUS asexuality rep.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone who is asexual is. Asexuality is a spectrum.\u201d Parisa holds her hands two feet apart like she\u2019s measuring for a very small Ikea bookshelf. \u201cOn one end, you have allosexual people, or people who experience sexual attraction, and on the other end you have asexual people, who do not. But there is a whole range between those two things.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Part of the story are hard to read (because there are so many difficult subjects here) but the hard parts are so well done I keep rereading them because they are so real<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for a comp for Boyfriend Material<\/a><\/em>, this might be the book you’re looking for.<\/p>\n

And even if you’re not, I still highly recommend it.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Atria Books
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Charm Offensive (2021) Alison Cochrun I am having a really hard time writing this review. Because I keep diving back into the book and reading passages an getting sucked back in. Charlie Winshaw was forced out of the company he helped found, and now he’s hoping to rehabilitate his image by appearing on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,189,292,204,207,608,148,26,56],"tags":[210,197,211,544],"class_list":["post-18400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-ace","category-ebook","category-good","category-mental-health-rep","category-neurodiversity","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-anxiety","tag-demi","tag-depression","tag-mm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-4MM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5976,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5976","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":0},"title":"To Charm a Naughty Countess","author":"Michelle","date":"July 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"To Charm a Naughty Countess (2014) Theresa Romain Set in England in 1816 I wanted to love this story. Instead, I just liked it, despite often feeling irritated at times. Michael Layward, the Duke of Wyverne has learned that his estate is out of money, and no one is willing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"To-Charm-a-Naughty-Countess","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/To-Charm-a-Naughty-Countess.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20776,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20776","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":1},"title":"Lucky Charm","author":"Michelle","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lucky Charm (2019) Chace Verity Set in Hollywood in 1928. Gilbert's director and lover takes him out to dinner--and dumps him. \"I need an actor who can go to the future with me. You can talk, but it doesn\u2019t sound right.\u201d I got tossed because there\u2019s no longer any place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lucky Charm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17713,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17713","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":2},"title":"The Lawrence Browne Affair","author":"Michelle","date":"September 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in England in 1816 Lawrence Browne is waiting to go mad. In the meantime, he's trying to be useful, putting his efforts into various inventions, but refusing to let anyone get close to him, for fear of taking them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lawrence Browne Affair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Lawrence-Browne-Affair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18324,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18324","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":3},"title":"After the Scrum","author":"Michelle","date":"October 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After the Scrum (2016) Dahlia Donovan Francis Keen is perfectly happy living in Looe with his grandmother. He doesn't want to leave her alone, and if it helps his anxiety, that's not a bad thing either. And since he is a somewhat successful interior designer, it's pretty good. He hated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"After the Scrum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/After-the-Scrum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1726,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1726","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":4},"title":"Butcher Bird","author":"Michelle","date":"May 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Butcher Bird (2007) Richard Kadrey Spyder lives just on the edge of being a deviant. He's a tattoo artist and owns a shop with his childhood best friend, Lulu, who does piercings and body mods. He drinks and smokes and enjoys the company of women of questionable morals, but underneath\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Butcher-Bird.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10830,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10830","url_meta":{"origin":18400,"position":5},"title":"A Case of Possession","author":"Michelle","date":"April 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A Case of Possession (2014) K.J. Charles (A Charm of Magpies) The second Charm of Magpies books finds Stephen and Crane the subject of blackmail. Crane, being an Earl, would be fine ignoring the blackmailer, but Stephen, being poor, could easily be arrested for their relationship. 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