Bless This Hot Mess

KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Our verdict: Get it!
A performance that amplifies this audiobook’s chaotic humour. Author and narrator Charlie David’s rom-com is a rollicking, laugh-out-loud listen."

BOOKLIFE PRIZE - 2026

"Charlie David’s dialogue has the timing of a television comedy, especially during group scenes where characters interrupt, misunderstand, or build absurd metaphors together. Musical numbers appear throughout the narrative, giving the book the rhythm of a stage production and allowing emotional breakthroughs to arrive through performance. Beneath the outrageous comedy is an unexpectedly gentle treatment of faith, sexuality, shame, and belonging. The result is a novel with a voice all its own, unapologetically sincere and delightfully eccentric."

Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 10 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 9.00 out of 10

CANREADS BOOK REVIEW
“Hilarious, clever, and heartfelt, Bless This Hot Mess never misses a beat. Charlie David’s ability to layer energetic camp with thought-provoking questions of faith and identity demonstrates an incredibly impressive command of tone.”

SOUNDTRACK. WAIT...IS THIS A BOOK? OR A MUSICAL?
Make this story interactive! Find the Bless This Hot Mess soundtrack on all major music storefronts including Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube and more. Read, listen and sing along. '90s nostalgia never sounded so good.

SYNOPSIS (Buckle-up Buttercup!)
Hilarious, campy, musical and moving, this book provokes you to ponder: If I steal a few hearts, can I still get into Heaven?

When a failing radio station’s morning show starts stealing, sampling and remixing ‘90s pop songs in a Hail Mary attempt at attracting an audience, virtuous virgin Japheth is forced to team up with Rino, a dangerously charming Italian car dealership heir with advertiser dollars to spend and maybe-mafia vibes, and their enemies-to-lovers romance threatens to become the station’s biggest scandal and its only salvation.

At WWJD Radio in Greater Napanee, salvation is off script. The phones are ringing off the hook, the fax machine is spitting out cease-and-desist letters from every boy band of the ’90s, and Trinity, the trio of accidental evangelists, are stealing pop songs “for the Lord.”

Together they’re keeping WWJD barely afloat.

Until it burns down. Literally.

Scandal, suspicion, and undeniable chemistry collide in a rom-com where faith is flexible, temptation is tailored, and the guy you’re supposed to hate is the one who makes you feel alive.

Outrageously funny, shockingly tender, and just heretical enough, Bless This Hot Mess will jump-start your heart.

PRAISE AND COMPLAINTS FOR BLESS THIS HOT MESS
“Big laughs, bigger heart, and just the right amount of 90’s nostalgia—Bless This Hot Mess is pure fun. This book sings, (Literally!)”
— USA Today Bestselling Author Ella Frank

“A fresh, funny take on love, faith, and finding your place—messy, meaningful, and totally entertaining.”
— USA Today Bestselling Author Brooke Blaine

"Bless This Hot Mess is a book filled with joy, love and toe-tapping fun. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart."
— Felice Stevens, Lambda Literary Award-winning author

“Charlie David's voice is irreverent, affectionate, and fiercely self-aware with a deep, abiding belief in the power of community. The entire cast crackles with charm in the bracing comic stylings of the author, a clever Canuck who mines this terrain for heavenly metal. Why isn't this already greenlit as a TV series and rushed this into production in Hollywood North?”
— Damon Suede, Author of Hot Head

Charlie David is the author of the novels Mulligans, Boy Midflight, Fatal FX, Bless This Hot Mess and Shadowlands-works that blend heartfelt storytelling with wit, honesty, and emotional resonance.Mulligans was adapted into a feature film distributed by Warner Bros., HBO Canada, Sundance Channel, Hollywood Suite, and MTV/LOGO, while Shadowlands became a TV miniseries on Amazon Prime in 14 languages worldwide. Through these adaptations, Charlie's fiction has reached a broad international audience, establishing him as a distinctive voice in 2SLGBTQ+ literature and screen storytelling.Whether on the page, screen, or digital platforms, Charlie's work consistently champions stories of identity, love, and resilience with both humour and heart. Visit https: //www.border2border.ca Instagram @mrcharliedavid