Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston – RELEASE DAY!

Title: Geekerella

Author: Ashley Poston

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Published on: April 4^th 2017 by Quirk Books (today!)

Pages: 320

*I received a free e-ARC by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

(via Goodreads): “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?

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.”

“I thought you said that if someone likes something, then it’s not dumb.”

Happy Geekerella release day!!!!!!!!! 

I have been anticipating this book for WEEKS and I got so incredibly excited when my request on Netgalley got approved! Like you don’t even understand how happy it made me!

This was, hands down, one of the cutest books I’ve ever read! It gave me ALL. THE. FEELS. My heart almost couldn’t take it ❤

Just to let you know, this review will mostly consist of me geeking out, internally squealing and gushing about this book. Also, this must be the longest review I’ve ever written so that might give you a hint towards my feelings for this wonderful book 😉

Geekerella is a modern day Cinderella retelling about a nerdy geek girl called Elle. She lives together with her stepmom and –sisters who try to make her life as miserable as possible. The only happy thing in her life is Starfield, a TV show that she grew up watching since she was a little girl. The show is being made into a movie and there’s a contest that Elle desperately wants to win as it is her only chance to escape the unhappiness that she experiences at home.

The story is so intriguing right from the start and I couldn’t help but get lured in. I don’t know what it was, I just felt so incredibly connected to the story and the main character from the beginning!

Elle is such a loveable character and I could relate to her on so many levels! She is a proper fangirl and geeks out over her favourite TV show like any other person who is passionate about something! I can’t even express just how much I could relate to her! Personally, I am a part of a lot of fandoms, some book-related but mostly artists/boy bands and TV shows. What Starfield means to Elle is what One Direction (or The Vampire Diaries, if we’re talking about TV shows) means to me.

Let’s get real personal for a second… 😉 I have been a fan of 1D for almost 7 years now and they have played a big part in my life for years. I met some of the most amazing people through them, some of which I get to call my best friends :’) I still consider myself a part of the fandom and they will always have a special place in my heart, no matter what.

So when Elle fangirls and gets passionate about her favourite TV show, writing and reading fanfiction, being part of the online community and exchanging thoughts and feelings with other fellow fans, I TOTALLY GET IT! ❤

There were some sentences and scenes in the book that really made me tear up. There were times where Elle tried to explain to “outsiders” the sense of unity and community that you get when you’re in a fandom, alongside people who all love the same thing as you do and I could totally relate. More often than not people would look at me funnily or not take me seriously when I talked about online friends that I’ve never met and they wouldn’t even try to understand! Elle was bullied for her Starfield passion so often in this book and I could really sympathize and it almost broke my heart.

“Why does it have to be stupid or childish? It taught me a lot of things. Like about friendship and loyalty, and how to think critically and look for all sides of a narrative.”

Geekerella is told from two points of view. The first POV is Elle’s (obviously lol) and the second one is Darien’s.

Darien Freeman is a young, teen actor and heart-throb who just landed the lead role in the movie reboot of Starfield. In a way, you can compare his situation to Elle’s as Darien isn’t taken seriously a lot of the time either. For him, it’s the lack of respect from his actor colleagues and the media. Having successful parents, people think that he got everything handed to him on a silver plate. On set he is being treated like a kid by people who don’t feel like he deserved to play the lead role.

Darien has to take on the role of Carmindor, a character that is well-loved by the very passionate Starfield fanbase. The fans have very high expectations and being a young, insecure actor whose career is basically just starting out, it puts a lot of pressure on him.

I really liked Darien as a character. Since we see the story from his point of view, too, you really get to know who he really is and how he feels about the fame, the pressure and everything that comes with it. Deep down he is a normal boy, like you and me, who has been thrown into fame and is still trying to figure out how to deal with it. And what the media doesn’t know is that he is an actual Starfield geek himself! I have grown very fond of him, as he does and says some things that are just sooo sweet! ❤

Geekerella was your typical hate-to-love trope/story but I am a sucker for these kinds of tropes so I was bound to love this book.

I especially loved how the author incorporated all of the original Cinderella elements; we had the evil stepmum with her evil daughters, the pumpkin carriage that wasn’t a carriage but a food truck called The Magic Pumpkin where Elle was working with her newly found friend Sage, we even had the glass slipper that gets lost! (and later found by the prince himself). The retelling has been done in such an adorable way and I couldn’t help but get sucked into the story. It was very well done, in my opinion, and sooo cute!

What I also really liked is that Geekerella has some diverse characters. Our loveable prince Darien Freeman is a man of colour and there is a side-story involving two LGBTQ+ characters! Kudos 🙂

I will DEFINITELY purchase this book and read it again and again and again. It was my favourite read of the month!

I would totally recommend it to all the fangirls out there! If you are/used to be part of a fandom and/or like a good hate-to-love (fanfiction) trope or you’re looking for a super adorable, geeky contemporary read then Geekerella is the book for you! 🙂

 (5 out of 5 stars) and a special place in my ❤

The book is out TODAY so go out there and buy it immediately! 10/10 would recommend! Geez, I need to stop freaking out about it 😀

Goodreads /Amazon (US) / Amazon (UK) /  Barnes & Noble

Would you consider yourself a fangirl? Or did you use to be one? What did you fangirl about? Let’s chat in the comments, I’d be happy to meet fellow fangirls and fanboys, too! 🙂