This book first caught my eye when it was published last year. When I saw it was on Netgalley to get publicity for the upcoming paperback release, I immediately requested it. I'm a fangirl, so why wouldn't I love a book that worships fandoms?


The writing is delightful. Beautiful, simple, and so easy to lose yourself in. It's such a wonderfully quirky story, and all the fluff, cuteness, and hilarity is there - just what you expect and love from a romantic contemporary.

The plot is a rollercoaster ride. It's ridiculously entertaining, and the pace is perfect. I couldn't wait to turn the page and I was never disappointed. The story never lags, never loses its dazzle, and you devour the magic of it. It's so immersive.

But there are two aspects of the plot I'm still not sure about. They're kinda confusing, and I'm not sure if it's just me or if anyone else felt this way?:
1: The whole texting back and forth between Elle and Darien is...well...kinda weak? It's not really the texting that's weak, I guess, it's the whole mysterious identity behind the texting. See, they don't know each other, and Elle assumes that Darien's this fellow cosplayer, and I just feel like it's unrealistic because sometimes Elle treats him as if he's more than just a cosplayer: it's like she expects him to be one of the judges, too. And the fact that he called her dad's phone when her dad's been dead for years and she's so quick to assume he's a just another cosplayer...
Ugh it's so hard to explain and I'm probably making zero sense! But that aspect just bothered me. I had a hard time buying into Elle buying into who Darien supposedly was.
2: Elle's costume making is very confusing. At first it's like she's going as Prince Carmindor, but then some of the scenes between her and Sage seem to indicate she's going as Princess Amara, and UGH it's kinda all over the place and never specific enough. I was so confused.


Awww the characters are great. Their personalities are so dynamic and vibrant, and they're all so vivid and flawed and human. I love their relationships with each other - I especially love Darien's friendship with Gail; that's an amazing part of the story. I love platonic guy and girl relationships.
Elle is a lovely heorine, and someone I could relate to a lot. She's a writer, a blogger, socially awkward, and rants and gushes about fandoms she's passionate about online instead of in person. I GET YOU GIRL. I TOTALLY GET YOU. And when she says this: 'I think something and my mouth says something completely different', I was like YAS THAT'S ME.

The romance is super cute and so shippable. I got to the point where I just wanted to shout "Kiss already"!" and I haven't felt that about a book couple in a while.


Geekerella is unashamedly geeky, romantic, and quirky. It pays homage to fandoms and fangirls/ fanboys everywhere, and you'll lose yourself in a magical whirlwind of a story. It's a fairytale, but it's also real life, and when the two collide in this gorgeous little book, amazing things happen.

My rating: 4.25/5
Yessss! YES! A cute story that captures the magic of being in a fandom!

No Spoilers!
Thanks to Quirk Books for allowing me to read a free e-ARC of this book!

This book publishes on 15 May 2018 in the UK!

This book, (I hate to say it) does what Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell failed to do. It creates a complex set of relatable, connectable characters that draw you into the magic of fandom and of loving fictional characters so much they become more important to you than real people. This book had all what I felt was missing from Fangirl. It is a great book for experiencing the whole fandom experience from another point of view. In short, I loved it. 



This book follows a girl called Elle in a Cinderella-esque plot. She has an evil stepmom and two mean stepsisters. She's an aspiring scriptwriter and a fangirl a TV show called Starfield. Meanwhile, Darien Freeman is the actor cast for the main role in a reboot of Starfield. Elle decides to enter a cosplay contest for Starfield and there she meets Darien Freeman. Will sparks fly? Will this Cinderella get a happy ending? (Oh dear, I'm horrible at writing synopses no wonder this is not my job. I really don't know how anyone puts up with me). 

This book stays pretty true to the fairytale it's based on. However, that doesn't mean it's predictable. On the contrary, it's a really charming and cute and I loved it despite the similar elements. The pacing was really good and I eagerly gobbled up this book. I really don't think that anyone will struggle with getting into this book either. 

The characters are pretty excellent. Sometimes I feel that in contemporary teen fiction the characters suffer in terms of development (I'll always be a fantasy girl at heart), but I really don't think that happened here. Elle and Darien were both pretty interesting and their relationship was adorable. Okay, maybe it was a bit cheesy, but I don't mind.

I've seen a lot of fangirling over this book online and I think it definitely lives up! If you want a heart-warming, cute little read to take you back to fangirling at its best, here you go. Treat yourself. 

Thanks,

Yomna

This book was so adorable. We have a modern day version of Cinderella. This book follows Elle who is living with her mean stepmother after her father has passed. He was a huge fan of a space show called Starfield, and she grew up watching it when him. They are making a movie remake of it. Darien Freeman is the lead role, but not loved by many fans. Elle works for a food truck called the Magic Pumpkin. Her and her coworker Sage decided to go to the ExcelsiCon but are forced to take the Magic Pumpkin after Elle stepsister rips up her tickets. Ellie has been texing with an unknown number who originally texted her trying to get a hold of her dad. she calls him Prince Carmindor. She is hoping to meet him at ExcelsiCon. She must get back by midnight to make her curfew. This book is very witty and charming.  I think many teens would love this read.

A re-telling of Cinderella and geekiness... What's not to love about the concept of this book. I am a geek. I am proud of being a geek and if anyone calls me one, I'm like 'HELL YEAH!' Cinderella isn't my favourite Brothers Grimm or Disney story so I didn't think that I would absolutely love it. But I did... I really did.

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi 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’s 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?

I mean, the story line is predictable for obvious reasons. You know that Disney is always 'happily ever after' and that the girl always gets the boy; but for some reason, when I was reading this book, I was genuinely rooting for the love interests to find each other. Even though I knew that the boy would get the girl, I was still like 'COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT!'

What I loved about this book was that we got to read from Darien Freeman's perspective as well which I thought was really interesting because we never get to see Prince Charming's point of view in the Disney films. It was also interesting to read how PR for actors works - I know that Poston may not be conveying the most accurate description of an actors/actresses life, but hey, it was still interesting to read about how certain things are set up. It made me think about what certain things to do with films in the past have been publicity stunts.





“I'm half of my father. Half of my hero. And I am half of my mother. Half soft sighs and half sharp edges. And if they can be Carmindor and Amara--then somewhere in my blood and bones I can be too. I'm the lost princess. I'm the villain of my story, and the hero. Part of my mom and part of my dad. I am a fact of the universe. The Possible and the Impossible. I am not no one. I am my parents' daughter, and then I realize--I realize that in this universe they're alive too. They're alive through me. Fashioning my hands into a pistol, I point it at the ceiling, lifting my chin, raising my eyes against the blinding stage lights, and I ignite the stars.” 
― Ashley Poston, Geekerella





I thought that Geekerella was just so cute and awesome. I also loved how Poston changed a couple of things (I mean obviously the theme of the story stayed the same), but she changed things to do with a few characters that I thought was amazing. There is a very small lesbian relationship in there with a couple of the side characters which I thought was a good change to the story and I also loved how Elle was a blogger and was just so passionate about Starfield - I could 100% relate to her. She wanted the reboot of her favourite TV show to be spot on and I know exactly how that feels. Especially with the latest film adaptation of Beauty and the Beast - spoiler: I didn't really like it.

Overall, this was a really really good book  and I enjoyed reading it! I devoured it. The writing flowed beautifully and I thought the characters were also brilliantly written. I can't wait to read more from Ashley Poston! I thoroughly recommend this book to any geek out there as you will see yourself in this book and love how geeky it is!

I will start this review off with saying that I have never read such a clever fairytale retelling before, with it staying so close to the original storyline while still feeling like a completely new book of its own rights!
This book was a lovely mix of contemporary, geeky, and romance, and had me smiling all the way through. 
I also really loved the amount of representation which occurred within this book, including LGBT characters which truly felt real. 
Overall, my love for Elle and all the other characters, as well as a great plot and lovely writing, this novel was a 5 out of 5 read for me!
I would advise you all to pick it up as soon as you possibly can!

5 Words: Fame, family, fandom, fun, friendship.

Well yes, I am now part of another fictional fandom. Starfield sounds amazing, I want it be real.

It was pretty obvious straight off the bat that this was a Cinderella retelling. The title is a bit of a hint after all. But the story itself adds its own fantastic twist to the tale. This is a fun and quirky story, with such enthusiastic characters that you can't help but want to join the fandom yourself. And you start googling for fanfiction and where to watch the series online before you remember that it's not real... Whoops.

I loved Ella and how feisty she was, how determined and sure of herself. I love how passionate she was and that she was completely unashamed about it. I was a little unsure about Darien at first, because I could hear Ella's judgement running round my head, but by the second part I was smitten.

If you have even the tiniest bit of geek in you, you will love this.