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Thanks to @atriabooks for sending me an advance copy of this book for review! I’m sorry it took me so long to read it. 🤣 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The hype surrounding this book? It’s real. This queer rom-com ticks so many boxes for me: it’s deeply funny, it has great friendships, and it has a couple that’s both sweet and sexy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I loved every minute of Dev and Charlie’s story. It was such a treat to watch these two fall in love, and they must be protected at all costs!!! Their journey to finding acceptance in themselves and each other deals with mental illness, sexuality, and coming of age in ways that feel authentic. The conversations about representation and whose love stories get told in Hollywood was skillful. I appreciated seeing people in their late twenties struggling to figure their shit out — something that I don’t think we see enough of in storytelling. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A story that centers a variety of LGBTQIA+ rep, that satirizes the heteronormative reality show everyone loves to hate, that openly addresses mental illness, medication, and therapy? I already can’t wait to see what Alison Cochrun writes next. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Speaking of which, I would also like to add that the author’s note made me 😭 and that I got ridiculously excited when I realized that this book was written by a high school English teacher! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ TW: OCD, panic disorder, anxiety, depression, homophobia ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ID: I’m holding up a kindle displaying the ebook cover of The Charm Offensive, and you can see a wooden dock, lake, trees, and sky in the background. via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CWGRvTnrJ01/