Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Published by: Quirk Books
Released: April 4th, 2017
Source: Won from a Goodreads FirstReads Giveaway for Review
Summary: Look to the Stars. Aim. Ignite!
(please forgive my long-winded, and not that great summary. I really had trouble trying to condense what this book was about, while at the same time trying to explain all the things.)
Elle Wittimer is a fangirl for all things Starfield. Her mom and dad met because of that show, so Starfield holds a very special place in her heart. Her dad also started Excelsicon, a convention for all kinds of fandoms.
Now it feels like Starfield is the only thing she has left of her mom and dad, since they both have left her in the hands of an evil stepmother and stepsisters. With her parents dead, Elle is left all alone in the world. Her Stepmother hates her, her Stepsisters are pains. Elle works on a food truck called The Magic Pumpkin and longs to escape.
Elle then finds out they are doing a remake of her beloved Starfield. Elle posts all the news she learns on her blog Rebelgunner. The biggest piece of news comes from the casting of Prince Carmindor, a pretty boy actor, who stars on the teen drama Seaside Cove. Elle is not pleased. Elle decides to enter a cosplay contest in the hopes of winning tickets to the premiere.
Darien Freeman just got the part of Prince Carmindor, and has been flooded with Starfield fan backlash. He must prove to the fans, and himself, that he was meant to be Prince Carmindor.
My Thoughts: This was adorable! It was such a fun read. I won this book in a Goodreads FirstReads Giveaway for Review. My review and opinions are my own, and not in any way influenced by my winning an early copy. I can 100% honestly say that I really enjoyed Geekerella, and I would have enjoyed it just as much if I had bought it or checked it out from the library. But, ENTER THOSE GOODREADS GIVEAWAYS! There is no better feeling than waking up to an email saying you won a book!
Anyway...
This book was super cute. I had such a good time flying through it. It was a no stress, fast-paced, enjoyable read. As a Cinderella inspired story, it works really well. The elements are there, they are recognizable, but they don't feel cheesy.
One of my favorite parts had to be the illustration of fandom life in general. It was so nice getting a book that represented what it's like to be a geek. To understand what it's like to love a world, a show, a book, a franchise so much. I could just really feel the genuine heart of a fangirl in this novel.
This novel was also kind of sad. Thinking back to other Cinderella tales, I always just kind of forget about the dead father, but this story really illustrated Elle's pain. It was sad, the way she missed her father, how alone she was in the world. It made me appreciate having my dad around even more, and wanting him around for a long time to come. What was also sad was the suddenness with which he was gone too. I did wonder how her mom died. I assumed she was ill, but it never came out and told me, which I kind of wanted.
I thought it was interesting including Darien Freeman's story too, and having alternating chapters. It made for a quick story. It also helped flesh out the prince character in this Cinderella Tale. It was also sweet to incorporate the texts between Elle and Darien. I don't know if it was necessary, but it made for a sweet, cute little romance.
I couldn't necessarily pity Darien though, because he's living that movie star life, but I did find his story interesting. I liked how it included scenes where they were making the movie and filming it.
I did feel like there were some weaknesses. Darien's photo leak and the whole Elle/James debacle were made into these really big deals, life altering deals, but they weren't really all that major. With the number of times they were alluded to, I was expecting ultimate betrayal, high stakes, shocking sorts of situations, but they just felt mundane.
I also didn't buy into the good twin/evil twin thing. When I think of identical twins, I think of this real bond that normal people can't understand. They have built in, life long partners, that just understand each other on a level that I can't even begin to comprehend. So, I couldn't really buy into that twin thing. I think it could have worked much better if they were fraternal twins and they played that angle the book went with.
Chloe and Elle's Stepmother were pretty freaking awful. At one point, Chloe became a garbage person to me. The Stepmother, I just had more questions about. She was awful, but why the excessive hate? It just felt like an unhinged lady. And how could she sell Elle's parent's house if it was left to Elle? The level of betrayal there just made me mad.
I really, really liked this book. I thought it was adorable and a lot of fun to read. I would love to know what the future holds for these characters. What happened with Darien and Elle? This was a good time, love letter to fandoms, sweet like candy read. I really enjoyed it, and definitely recommend it!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Adorable!
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