Thanks to NetGalley and Avon / Piatkus for my ARC.

I absolutely ADORED this book!

We follow April, a 30-something geologist who has a passion for writing and reading fanfiction for the made up show 'Gods of the Gates' and Marcus, an actor in the show who also enjoys reading and writing fanfiction for the aforementioned show, under a pseudonym.
The pair are best friends online but don't know each other's true identities. Marcus doesn't want April to know he's a famous actor and also, as he doesn't agree with the shows direction for the characters, his fanfiction could get him in a lot of legal trouble with the show runners.

April has kept her love for the show (including her fanfiction and cosplaying) a secret as her job is very strict about appearances. However, as she is starting a new job with much more liberal and supportive co-workers, she decides to bite the bullet and post her cosplaying her favourite character in the show (Lavinia). Another reason this is a big deal for April is that she's fat, and upon posting her picture she receives a lot of trolling online. One of the trolls tags Marcus to try and get him to join in with the jokes, he however, thinks she's beautiful and decides that he's not going to let these small minded people win and publicly asks her on a date on twitter. (He is unaware that this is his fanfiction bestie 'UltimateLaviniaStan' or 'Ulsie').

At their date, April reveals her username and Marcus freezes. He wants to tell her who he is but he's too terrified of ruining his career. Another issue is that Marcus has created a 'persona' that portrays him as an unintelligent preening puppy dog because it's easier to deal with the press. This obviously causes problems and as with all good romances, we have the 'lie / omission of truth' situation. In this case, Marcus' secret online identity, that is just waiting to come out and ruin the couple's happiness.

I really enjoyed the POV of both characters and I am obsessed with both of them. April is a total badass whilst also being extremely vulnerable and Marcus is an absolute sweetheart who just wants to be loved. They both have terrible relationships with their parents and no siblings, but also have found family with their colleagues and the GOTG community which I loved.

The book & show, God's of the Gates, to me, seemed very much like a Greek God parody of Game of Thrones. The book does actually also reference Game of Thrones as a parallel.

This book has great disability rep and portrays Marcus' dyslexia in a very accurate and positive light. I also loved the fact that it showed how much he loved audiobooks and the workarounds he uses for reading things digitally (i.e getting the device to read the text aloud).

This book obviously also has fantastic fat rep. The way that April has come so far in loving herself but still has insecurities due to how people have treated her in the past and how some people still treat her now.

And let's not forget the STEAM. OH my. The sex in this book was fantastic. Very focused on making each other feel sexy and comfortable. I also loved seeing Marcus' POV and how much he adored April.

I also loved the fanfiction references to pegging as it's not something that's mentioned often. Alex (Marcus' costar) could've been precious and hyper masculine about it but instead he embraced the direction of his character in fanfiction and even decided to write his own. And I'm super excited to read the next book which is kind of a sequel but focuses on Alex and is called 'Slow Burn'.

I could just ramble on about this book for ages but if you love open door romance and are familiar with the fanfiction community I'd 100% recommend this book.

CW: fatshaming, toxic relationships, insecurities, eating disorders, mental illness, body shaming, ableism, emotional abuse, child abuse, bullying, sexism

Spoiler Alert is a wonderfully cute read that pays homage to fandoms, social media and just the love fans have for their faves. It's full of humour, fun fandom references and lots of heart and love. It's a really comforting, warm and heartfelt read that will leave you smiling.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. I loved the extracts from fanfics, movies and the fan pages that appeared between each chapter. The movie scripts, which had been referred to in the story, were extremely tongue in cheek and amusing and several of the fanfic extracts were hilarious, especially those from Alex. I also enjoyed the thinly veiled comparisons to Game of Thrones and its shoddy final season!
I also liked the message of body positivity, though the words “soft” and “round” were used a little too often at one point which took me away from the story a little. Overall, I liked the book’s message of “be who you are”.
However, the characters didn’t quite feel fully formed to me, especially Marcus. I also struggled to reconcile some of his actions, particularly the whole fake persona of his, with the fact that he was supposed to be late thirties. It just felt a bit immature and the main characters ages had specifically been pointed out. I also found the resolution a little too cheesy for my tastes.
It was an easy and light read overall but better characterisation would have made it more memorable for me. 2 1/2 for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a complimentary eARC for review purposes*
After the first chapter, I really thought I was going to DNF this book.
I didn't (obviously) and while I didn't end up loving the book I did enjoy it. It was very cute, if a little cliched.
I will say that I did spend a lot of time crying as I read this, it was a combination of loving the feel-good parts and realising that, as an overweight person, my self-esteem is nowhere near Aprils, so bear that in mind if you think that might be an issue for you too.

Highly recommended this book. Had me laughing with certain lines said in it. Such an easy read and I finished it within 2days

Spoiler Alert was so much fun!
The story of April and Marcus is a love letter to fan fiction but not knowing much about that world before going in didn't really detract from the fun. It's interspersed with snippets of fics along the way (I had to look up the odd acronym) and these were a delight. We get some good rep - fat, dyslexia, crappy parents - and it's lovely to watch the main characters help each other heal. I also loved that they're not so young, I think both in their mid-late 30s? So often in romance, everyone is fit and youthful and doesn't seem to have been around long enough to pick up any real scars - not the case here! I'm excited for the next in the series and can't wait to read more from this author.

A beautiful love story with two characters that grow so much on me throughout the book.
Two different worlds collide, two different personalities that are brought one to each other just like a magnet.
It’s beautiful written, very steamy and interesting banter and family drama and relationships. Each one has their own secrets and a past to overcome as well as a future full of opportunity.
I loved it and couldn’t stop reading from the first to the last page.
Highly recommend it for any romance lovers.

‘Spoiler Alert’ was such a cute, feel-good rom-com about April and Marcus who both write fanfiction based on the TV show that Marcus stars in, except April does not know that her online friend is actually the guy from the TV show that she writes fanfiction about. April and Marcus then go on a date after an interaction on Twitter, even though neither of them know about them being online friends, and they start falling in love with each other.

This book was so cute!! I loved April and Marcus so much and their relationship was so adorable right from the beginning. I loved how at the beginning of some chapters we would get snippets of their online conversations from the past two years of their online friendship. I enjoyed every single page of Marcus and April’s relationship and couldn’t help but root for them the whole way through.

I loved how this book dealt with some deeper topics, like the in depth discussion about Marcus’s dyslexia and how he has had to struggle his whole life because of the lack of support he was given by his family and how his family and the rest of the world perceived him as a ‘dumb, pretty boy’ because he struggled with things like reading. This book also dealt with fatphobia and discussion around how fat people are treated different and are hated on simply for being fat. My heart broke for April whenever she talked about how her parents had treated her awfully throughout her whole life simply because she is fat, but the scene where April finally stands up against her mother and tells her that she won’t be in her life if she keeps trying to get April to lose weight made me so happy because April was finally able to put herself and her own feelings above her family.

One of the only things I didn’t like about this book was the little book/fanfiction snippets at the beginning of every other chapter. At the beginning of the book I did read them but they did not interest me and bored me so by the end of the book, I found myself skipping them because I was not interested.

I absolutely loved Alex. He was one of my favourite parts of this book and every time he appeared in the book, I kept thinking to myself ‘I hope there is going to be another book about Alex falling in love’ and then I got to the end of the book and found out there’s going to be a book about Alex!! I’m so excited and need this book right now!!

I loved ‘Spoiler Alert’. It’s such a cute, fanfiction-based romance with an adorable couple who you can’t help but root for the whole book. It is definitely a book I can see myself going back and rereading whenever I need an adorable book that will make me smile.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing, it was so refreshing to see a plus sized heroine who was loved and adored for being exactly who she was. I was also absolutely delighted by the way fandom and the tv show going off the rails in its final season was woven in - very on point and very funny. This was such a warm and wonderful story, with amazing characters, and a world that I've missed since I finished. It The depiction of fandom was wonderfully on point and it felt like coming home to read about it here. I loved this.

BOOK REVIEW: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

4.5 stars

TW: Fatphobia, emotionally abusive parents.
Rep: Body positivity and dyslexia

I did not expect to love Spoiler Alert as much as I did but WOW, it really blew me away!

The story is about 2 characters, the first is a plus sized geologist named April who is smart, funny and confident. She is hugely into writing fan fiction for the book and tv series Gods of the Gates. The second is Marcus, the lead actor in that series who has a public persona of being rather dumb and only concerned with looks. This could not be further from the truth of his real hidden personality that also writes fan fiction for the series. Both characters are so interesting and I loved learning more about them and seeing how they grew through the book.
I don't want to give away any spoilers but I would say this book is like an adult version of geekerella.
Definitely not for anyone under the age of 16 as there are intimate sex scenes (which are written really well!).

What I wasn't expecting from this book was the emotional aspect that had me laughing one second and crying the next. The writing was spot on, with loads of quoteable lines and Olivia Dade had me hanging on her every word.
The theme of body positivity, fatphobic bullying and life as a plus size woman was at the forefront of the book. April was a fantastic character to bring these issues out as she is confident, loves her body and knows she deserves love just as much as anyone else. Usually it is the opposite and so this book was a breath of fresh air and so inspiring.

I loved the romance. It was beautiful to see both April and Marcus be loved the way they deserve. Their relationship was cute and loveable as well as very sexy and intimate. They brought out the best in each other and worked as a team which was refreshing. Their banter was also brilliant and the great wit had me laughing.

I loved the side characters as well and cannot wait for the next book to come out! Thank you Olivia Dade for such an inspirational, beautiful book.

Please note that I was #gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this book, I thought it was a great read, I loved the fandom, geeky aspects of this story, I thought the characters and writing was so cute, I loved the elements focusing on body positivity and the romance, overall it was just a fabulous story


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I really loved this and thought it was super cute in places. The character development was done well and i liked seeing the story from both sides. The fandom and story aspect was done well. The touching moments were handled well and i liked how they talked about. The romance was lovely and it was exactly what i wanted. I'd read more by this author in a heartbeat.

I received an ARC of this book via Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description

Marcus has a secret. While he may be the star of the biggest show on TV, he’s also a prolific fan fiction writer. Through his stories, Marcus releases his frustrations with the show, but if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April has secrets of her own. A hardcore fan of Marcus’s show, she’s long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobby from her ‘real life’ – but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her critics, truth officially becomes stranger than (fan) fiction . . .

On their date, Marcus quickly realises that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But with so many secrets between them, can they ever stop hiding, or will a match made in fandom never make it in real life?

My Thoughts

As a former writer of some (admittedly pretty poor) fan-fiction, and a lover of another book which incorporates the world within – ( and outside of)- fan fiction (Fangirl, if you must know), Spoiler Alert immediately appealed to me – without even reading it.

When I did look past the description, and the cute pink cover, I saw the book for more than just an exploration into a genre of fiction that a lot of us don’t pay attention to (but definitely should, because there are some great works out there!), it was about two people, who they are on the outside and who they are on the inside – as well as the struggle to be themselves.

Ok, so it feels very story-I’ve-tried-to-write-on-Wattpad in its premise because, let’s face it, it’s not every day a celebrity falls in love with us normal folk (I wish, though) but this doesn’t take away from this being a very sweet story. It was interesting to see, through conversations both online and off, the relationship between April and Marcus develop. It took me a while to process their relationship but, when I did, I fell in love with them and their love.

There’s more to this story than love and fanfic writing, though, you’ll find as you read on. Both characters go through complicated family dynamics and really have to figure out who they are, which was honest and raw and real.

I’m all for different people being represented in fiction. I’m used to – and quite frankly tired of – seeing the same person in the narratives. April is plus-sized, and whilst her size is important to the plot at times and the relationship, I’m glad Dade gave her more than just being the “fat girl”. She’s funny, knows what she wants but she isn’t afraid to be vulnerable either. I think Marcus, once the layers of fame were unpicked, fit her character perfectly.

Another thing I loved about this was the sex. I don’t mean to sound perverse when I say that but I did. Usually, I skip those bits or squirm through them (don’t know why I just feel dead awkward reading sex scenes!), but I didn’t with this one. The sex was intense, sometimes a bit clumsy and honest – plus I like the turn in fiction now that writers focus on both people getting pleasure out of sex. Very important!

The only thing that spoiled my reading is I thought the characters were younger. This isn’t anything to do with the author, or against her, it was just me being stupid! It didn’t ruin my reading experience exactly but I did confuse me a bit at times.

A light, fun read – perfect for fans of Fangirl – which is available to purchase right now (I actually finished the ARC today, just a day late of the publication.

You can buy Spoiler Alert on Book Depository (also available from other booksellers)

This was the body positive romance I had been waiting for. This featured all of favourite tropes in there or the tropes I love in a novel anyways. We had characters who were thoughtful and intelligent. Characters who were relatable and lots of lovely consensual hot sex.



April is a great main character because she is confident about her body and proud of being fat and beautiful but she also has the same kind of hang ups and insecurities that we all have. I loved the fact that she had a separate online persona to her real world persona and I found that very very easy to relate to. She is also confident in herself and her beliefs and it is clear that she doesn't need a partner to validate who she is or where she is in life. She was an intelligent breath of fresh air and I was rooting for her all the way through the novel.



Marcus is an interesting character because he has that celebrity about him. I have found that I actually really like when we get a little look into celebrity culture in a book and this is really well written because his character isn't just his celebrity lifestyle. We get to hear about his past, his hidden geeky side and his learning disability. All of these things should be normalised and well done to this author for taking massive steps in that direction..



Then we have the sex. The sex in this book is wonderful and sexy and hot and I was here for every sexual act on the page. I love the way this writer described her characters right down to the feeling of their skin and the smell of them and that added to the quality fo the build up and the romance before the sex itself. This book also features some convention action and I have realised that I love a convention in a novel. It bring back memories of Book Expo in NYC and it makes me happy so I really enjoyed those scenes in the book almost as much as the sex scenes.



If you're looking for a romance with a realistic fat heroine and a bit of celebrity gossip then I highly recommend this novel.

I loved that body positivity message this book had, which is rare in rom-com books. I really related to the character of April and thought she was a well-thought-out and well-delivered protagonist. I can see this book becoming viral through Bookstagram and being a really popular title.

Spoiler Alert was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020 – and for good reason. It’s a feel-good romantic comedy. Super body positive. It’s just so good. But the main reason I was drawn to it is because it falls under fandom related fiction which I love.

To be upfront: this might just be my favourite book of the year. It gave me all the feels. I laughed, I cried, I felt my heart swell. And the representation in here was amazing. I could relate to both April and Marcus equally and really felt their vulnerability throughout the story. I loved their relationship. I felt that the character development, both in terms of self-acceptance and setting boundaries, was fantastic.

But I think my favourite thing was the vulnerability. Spoiler Alert had me crying on multiple occasions that you might miss if you’ve never been criticised for a part of yourself that you can’t change. But as a chronically ill plus-sized woman, it really hit me hard. And I think that this book would appeal to anyone who has ever felt like that.

Personally, I wasn’t too keen on the fan fiction parts or the sex scenes. But that’s just me, I can see how both are necessary for the story that’s being told. These aspects didn’t affect my overall enjoyment in any way.

I can’t wait to read Alex and Lauren’s story - super excited for that!

A romance novel for nerds, with a plus size female lead that deals with hot social issues like fat shaming, prejudice and childhood emotional trauma. Yes, this isn’t your average chick lit romance!
For all of the above reasons I loved this book. I really liked April and Marcus and found myself rooting for them throughout the story. I also totally related to their insecurities and how those affected their reactions to each other.
I did however, think the book could have been a bit shorter and I didn’t always understand some of the fan fiction entries and wondered if, at times, some of them were really bringing anything to the story.
That said, it was still an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group and Olivia Dade for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

Spoiler Alert is a wonderful, warm romance full of heart that satisfied my geeky side and my romance lover’s heart in one go. It’s the ultimate wish fulfilment fantasy – let’s be real, who among us allosexuals hasn’t dreamed of getting it on with the sexy star of our favourite show? – and it comes with a side-order of body positivity, explorations of boundaries, all wrapped up in a love letter to fandom and fanfiction.

I absolutely loved that this book revolves around fandom and an adult’s experience of it. I’ve read a lot of YA books that feature fandom culture and explore online fan communities and fanfiction, but this is the first time I’ve encountered it in an adult novel and I was absolutely delighted. I think there tends to be this weird perception that fandom is for kids and teenagers and that once you hit some arbitrary cut-off point, the fun police come storming in to take away your AO3 password and kick you out of the fandom. Getting to read an adult novel where the characters are in their thirties, have careers and use their disposable income to pay for conventions, unwind from stressful days by writing fanfiction… it was excellent.

Because of this fandom connection, the book also incorporates mixed media elements that I love to see in these kinds of stories, including excerpts of fanfiction, movie scripts and other stories that help to build the characters’ world and provide a valuable (and often amusing) breather. This is one of my favourite parts of fandom novels, and it’s especially enjoyable when it provides nods to popular cultural phenomena, which this definitely delivered on.

The romance between April and Marcus was brilliant. Though its conception requires a little bit of suspended belief, these characters really worked well together. They had a great rapport, and I loved how they worked around speedbumps in their relationship instead of just giving up. There were lots of little incidents of miscommunication, hurt feelings, and tactless remarks, but they were all resolved with refreshing speed. If ever you’ve read a romance novel and yelled “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!” then this book will provide a breath of fresh air, because these characters won’t put up with that nonsense. While they do make frequent missteps, they actually do the work to tackle them and strengthen their partnership, which made it so much easier to root for them even when I was frustrated by their screw-ups. I also loved the exploration of boundaries here – both Marcus and April have difficult relationships with their parents, but they end up navigating them brilliantly and provide an exemplary illustration of how to set good boundaries that was an absolute joy to read. I was so pleased to see them stand up for themselves and refuse to keep being damaged by their parents’ issues.

It’d be remiss of me if I failed to mention that this book is steamy as hell, and I was absolutely here for it. Marcus and April have truly great chemistry – they’re electric together, and their sex scenes reflect that connection brilliantly. The steamy moments also help to build on the characters’ dynamic, which is great – I’m not opposed to sex for the sake of sex in a romance, but this really was a textbook example of how to use sex as development tool to advance the story, so props to the author for that.

In terms of issues, I had very few problems with this book. I will admit to finding the conflict a bit hard to swallow – it can be a fine line in romance novels, because the thing that triggers the break-up in the third act needs to be serious enough to throw a real spanner in the works of the relationship without being completely unforgiveable, and I thought Marcus had put his toe a little too far over the line for my liking. It didn’t help that you could see the problem coming from a mile off, and so there was this constant frustration because there was never any doubt about where the conflict would come from. You were just waiting for the inevitable to occur, which kind of killed the tension of the thing. It just made me irritated with Marcus, to be honest. Like come on, the guy reads and writes fanfic, he had to see where this was going, right? It’s a trope as old as time.

My only other issue was a relatively small one, and that was a case of characters sharing the spotlight when perhaps they shouldn’t have. It’s a common thing in romance to encounter ‘standalone series,’ where a side character we meet in one book will get their own story later on, as we see what happens when they fall in love too. That’s clearly the case in this novel , where we can see the set-up for a new relationship for one of Marcus’ co-stars. However, I personally felt like there was a little too much focus on this secondary relationship, which ends up taking a pretty big role in the final act of the story. If these characters are getting their own book, I feel like they don’t really need to take page time away from the existing couple. I ended up feeling like I’d read half of their story already. I just didn’t feel like they needed to be at the forefront, especially at what should have been the peak of Marcus and April’s story when their conflict should have been centred. Like come on, I know you’re actors, but take a step out of the spotlight for a second.

In general, though, I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and fun, not too heavy on the conflict, and just the kind of laid back romance I love to pick up when I’m feeling down. April and Marcus well and truly won me over, and as with all the best fandom books, I’m kind of sad their show isn’t a thing. Unfortunately, the closest you can get is Game of Thrones, and… no. I’m a romance reader, thanks. I like my endings properly resolved.

4/5 stars 😊

I really enjoyed the start and the ending but found myself feeling bored and like the middle was dragging.

I loved the plus-size representation and the steamy/chemistry side of the romance but I struggled to connect with the characters even though I did like April’s personality.

The fanfic and online posts felt distracting and I found myself wanting to skip them the majority of the time. The miscommunication did end up slightly annoying me as it lasted so long but I did enjoy how it resolved and the romance was cute!

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and Net Galley for providing me with an e-Arc.

3 stars!

I want to start by saying that I don't really know how to feel about this one. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler Alert follows April, a Geologist with a love for writing fan fiction about her favourite tv show and Marcus, the biggest star of the tv show which just so happens to secretly enjoy writing fan fiction too.

I adored the idea of a novel focused around fan fiction and how the 'normal' girl ends up getting the 'famous' guy anyway. It's a favourite trope of mine and I was really looking forward to this take and to relive my very long lost fan fiction years. However, I found that this was overall very negative and heavy whilst trying to maintain a superfluous image of fluffiness. I was expecting exciting fan fiction writing come to life whilst Marcus and April discover they have feelings for each other but instead it all felt a bit rushed and meddled.

I do care for April and for Marcus and I am glad that their characters had good self development. This ended up being what I rooted for until the very end - for Marcus and April to let go of everything that was negative in their lives and to make something more for themselves, to make choices for themselves and to just stop caring so much about everyone else.

I'm finding it really hard to categorise my feelings for this novel because whilst I did like the characters and their redemption arcs, the beginning of the story and the throwbacks to their early conversations, I struggled with the convoluted writing and constant repetition.

Overall, this will probably be a favourite read for many and whilst I can see why, it just wasn't the right thing for me. I still enjoyed it and I still recommend it, but it just didn't wow me as much as I thought it would.