Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn: A Hilarious Reality TV Romance

In Fan Favorite we meet thirty-five-year-old Edie Pepper, a reality TV obsessive who is nursing the wounds of a bad breakup and a string of terrible dates. When her high school flame—now glow-up model Bennett Charles—stars on his own dating show, Edie takes it as fate calling. One impulsive tweet later, she’s on set competing with dancers and influencers for Bennett’s heart. Behind the scenes, showrunner Peter tries to manufacture drama while secretly rooting for Edie as she navigates fame-hungry rivals and on-camera mishaps.

My Review

Reading Fan Favorite felt like gossiping with your funniest friend over cocktails. Gunn’s sharp humor had me laughing at every reality-TV trope—from staged tears to hidden cameras—while I cheered for Edie’s awkward charm and Bennett’s sweet awkwardness. I loved Peter’s protective instincts; his off-camera encouragement made me cheer each time Edie found her footing. Expect pop-culture references on every page, a cast of quirky secondary characters, and a romance that proves love can thrive even under the harshest spotlights. This book will leave you feeling amused and hopeful, convinced that sometimes the best love stories unfold when the cameras are rolling.

You can get a copy of Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn on Amazon or Bookshop.

If this has you intrigued, read an excerpt from Fan Favorite below.

Excerpt Preview

Now Edie felt the tears coming in hot, so she turned her attention back to the TV, and that’s when, out of nowhere, the answer to all her questions—to where her life was truly headed—appeared.

Because right there on Edie’s TV was her One True Love. But then the connection dropped, the television went black, and Edie was left rubbing her eyes, wondering if she’d passed out and entered some peculiar dream. But then the screen flickered and he appeared again, inexplicably wearing a free tibet Tshirt. He was standing next to, of all people, Ryan Seacrest. Edie sat up quickly, and the coffee mug of rosé she’d been balancing on her stomach plunged to the floor.

“Hey, guys, I’m Ryan Seacrest and this is E! News Now. The hunt for love is on as twenty of America’s most eligible bache lorettes descend upon Los Angeles to meet Bennett Charles—”

Edie felt dizzy as she crawled toward the TV. Starring in a glossy montage of extreme sports and whitesavior philanthropy was her high school boyfriend. It seemed strange that Ryan kept calling him Bennett Charles when his name was Charlie Bennett. And he was nothing like she remembered— her Charlie was shy and nervous and chewed his nails and read fantasy novels and wore weird clothes and was sort of chunky and splotchy all over. But this—this was an unbelievably grown up, Us Weekly cover version of Charlie. There he was on Edie’s TV, skiing off the top of a mountain, hanging from a rock face by one hand, kayaking down a waterfall, photographing children in Nepal with prayer flags flapping against temple walls, playing an acoustic guitar for tribespeople in Africa, and, with his eyes closed and a beatific expression on his gorgeous face, taking an outdoor shower?

Edie, rising to her knees, was suddenly selfconscious. She adjusted the elastic of her giant underpants, which despite their ample coverage had ridden into her butt crack.

“—activist, adventurer, entrepreneur, amateur photographer, musician, wow, this guy does it all!” Ryan continued. “Bennett, after scandal rocked The Key’s incoming suitor, Wyatt Cash, it looked like this season might be canceled. But then your popular Instagram @Sherpa4U came out of nowhere and landed you the job! Are you ready to find love on this epic tenweek journey?”

Wait, WHAT?

Edie’s eyes went huge, and she put her hand over her mouth. Charlie Bennett awshucks smiled, just a humble everyman with an active CrossFit membership. “Listen, Ryan, I’ve rappelled into active volcanoes, summited the world’s tallest peaks, even ridden a yak across the Nepalese tundra to deliver life saving medicine to victims of the Tibetan diaspora. And still, nothing’s prepared me for this! Being on The Key is by far the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I know”—he looked directly into the camera, and Edie felt her stomach flip—“I’m going to find my soulmate on this adventure. And that I’ll give her the Key to My Heart. Forever.”

Their eyes met. He smiled, revealing that one crooked tooth she’d always adored, and suddenly Edie understood that their connection transcended space and time and knew, with absolute certainty, that Charlie Bennett was, and had always been, her One True Love.

“Holy shit.”

Adapted from FAN FAVORITE by Adrienne Gunn, published on June 24, 2025. Copyright © 2025 by Adrienne Gunn. Used by arrangement with Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved.

Ready for More?

If Edie and Bennett’s journey has you hooked, grab your copy of Fan Favorite today. When you’ve finished reading, come back and share your thoughts in the comments—I can’t wait to hear which reality-TV moment had you laughing the most!

You can get a copy of Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn on Amazon or Bookshop.