Book Review: Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel
Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: January 13, 2026
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Georgia Rose is not going on the hit reality dating show Love Shack to find love. She’s there to write a killer exposé on the producers, which will guarantee the journalism job of her dreams. But when Georgia’s unforgettable one-night stand from the year before, country singer Rhett Auburn, steps into the Malibu mansion as the season’s new host, all of her carefully crafted plans unravel.
Caught up in the drama of backstabbing contestants, producer blackmail, and death-defying dates, Georgia must keep her identity―and history with Rhett―a secret. Despite the lies between them, it isn’t long before Georgia and Rhett’s heated behind-the-scenes moments start to feel more genuine than the romance Georgia’s faking for the cameras. But with her assignment unfinished and the executive producer on her tail, a second chance with Rhett could be her riskiest move of all.
Most Eligible follows Georgia Rose, a reporter who wants to write an expose on the reported misconduct perpetrated by the producer of Love Shack, a reality show that is a fictionalized version of The Bachelor. She auditions to be a contestant and luckily is chosen.
The “bachelor” is Roland, a tennis star who is taking time off from tennis to heal a knee injury. He seems like a nice guy who is genuinely looking for love.
There are twenty girls competing to win Roland’s heart. The author includes a character list of all of them, which I appreciated. It helped to keep them all straight.
When Georgia arrives on set, she is horrified to learn that country singer Rhett Auburn is the host. They had a very steamy one night stand a year ago that she thought would lead to something. However, he never contacted her afterwards and that makes things awkward.
In the acknowledgments of this book, the author thanks a Bachelorette contestant for speaking with her, so I’m assuming that Most Eligible is a fairly accurate portrayal how things are behind the scenes of The Bachelor. I knew that reality TV is somewhat fake, but I didn’t realize how much. Contestants are fed lines that they need to say at certain times and the producer prods and agitates people to try and get the most dramatic response for TV. That said, I didn’t think the atrocities committed by the producer of Love Shack were that scandalous. Maybe because I recently watched the documentary about America’s Next Top Model. The way Tyra Banks and crew treated those girls was truly horrific compared to what this book’s producer did.
I chose this book because I like books set in the entertainment industry. I wish this book would have expanded that storyline and left out the romance between Georgia and Rhett. I found in inauthentic that Georgia and Rhett could have such and intense connection after one night where they barely spoke to each other.
I appreciate what this book was trying to do but I wanted more.
