I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to enjoy Geekerella by Ashley Poston. The idea of a fairy tale retelling with a fandom twist sounded too good to be true. My lack of trust for retellings got the best of me and I went into this story expecting to hate it. Jokes on me though, I loved this book.
Here is the official synopsis from Goodreads:
Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck and her dad’s old costume, Elle’s determined to win – unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons – before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he has ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake – until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?
Part-romance, part-love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom
Ashley Poston wrote one of the best contemporaries I have ever read. The first thing I adored about this book was how well developed Starfield was. By the end of this book I could tell you plenty about Starfield and I felt just as involved in that fandom as Elle and Darian were. Starfield was fully flushed out and wonderful, I almost wish that Ashley would pull a Carry On and write a book about Starfield (side note, I have yet to read Carry On) The stories intertwined perfectly.
I also found myself slowly falling in love with all of the main characters. Elle was quirky and funny. She was a proud nerd and had a heart of gold despite her Cinderella esc upbringing. Elle was so sassy and took nothing from anyone (not even her stepmom near the end of the book!!) and overall she was a great main character. I enjoyed reading in Darian’s point of view as well. Compared to other books that take place in celebrity’s point of views, I liked this one much better. Darian was funny and was a real person beneath his facade. He was a perfectly three dimensional character with multiple sides and lots of issues. Together these characters were wonderful and awkward in all the best ways.
The story was so quirky and memorable. From the giant pumpkin food truck to the starfield fandom, this book was full of unique aspects that I won’t quickly forget.
My only complaint about this book was that it was a bit predictable (in some aspects) and included a few cliches. Since this was a Cinderella retelling a lot of the plot was predictable, but the story is very unique and defiantly worth a read.
Rating: 4 stars
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