I received this book for free from Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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.
GEEKERELLA is everything it promises to be. It is incredibly cute and adorably nerdy. Did you grow up kind of obsessed with the Another Cinderella Story movies? Do you want to read a book that is at least the first movie in book form? YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. GEEKERELLA is everything you will ever want from a modern adaptation of a Cinderella retelling. It reminded me so much of why modern retellings of fairy tales are some of my favorite things to read.
Elle grew up watching Starfield (a Star Trek-esque show) with her father. It is one of her few connections to him now that he is gone and it is also one of her only form of escapes. It has allowed her to connect to a bigger community out there who lives and breathes Starfield in the same way it does.
Poston pays so much attention to detail in this book and creates the Starfield fandom with such care and with so many details. Social media is also incorporated into this book in fun ways.
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, here are 4 reasons to read GEEKERELLA
1. The romance. I LOVE THIS OTP so much. Darrien and Elle technically don’t like each other (she isn’t happy with him being cast as the lead for this adaptation and he is mad at her for shit-posting about him on the internet) but they don’t really know each other. When a ~kind of~ wrong number incident puts the two in touch, they get to be their true selves without all these barriers in between. They have no idea who the person on the other end is, but they do in that they get to know each other really well. They are the nerdiest of nerds but also cutie pies.
2. FANDOM. To be entirely honest, I don’t consider myself part of any particular fandom but I am a fan of MANY things so I REALLY enjoyed seeing the way fan culture was incorporated into the book. This book truly is a love letter to nerd culture. It incorporates all the good and bad things.
3. An original take. In my opinion, GEEKERELLA is the best of both worlds. It retains a lot of the original tropes of the fairy tale but gives them an original spin and changes relationship dynamics in ways that works and makes the story even more enjoyable.
4. The characters. Good characters are the backbone of any good story and Geekerella has them aplenty. From the wonderful second characters who Elle befriends to Elle and Darrien themselves. They are all complex and fun to read about.
Don’t get me wrong – despite my three-star rating, this has got to be the most refreshing Cinderella reimagination I’ve read.
I’ve always wanted more fairy tale retellings in a Steampunk setting. It’s new, it’s unique, and visualizing all the gears and machines around characters who are based on our favorite tales from childhood simply gives me the warm fuzzies. All the possibilities! All the unique things our character can do with herself and with her surroundings!
In that aspect, this book certainly delivered.
Do you remember how Disney portrayed our favorite fairy tale heroines in the early 90s (and well before that) as ladies who needed a man in order to be happy? Remember how romance was the be-all end-all to their Happy Ever Afters?
Giselle is a wife and mother who lives on books and coffee - what else is there?
She's known to be sarcastic and rarely serious. She loves reading books, blogging
about books, chatting about books, and smelling books. Although YA is her current
favorite she has a wide variety of genres that she enjoys. She likes her characters
bad-ass, her plots full of action and her fair share of gore - though she will
indulge in a chick-lit here and there. In short, she'll read anything. She's
also the mind behind Xpresso Book Tours.
Rashika
Rashika has been tired since 2013. There are very few things that spark joy for her besides a nice cup of tea, warm, baked goods, good books and good TV shows. She is here to pile onto your giant TBRs and to-watch lists. Offer her a cookie and she might be nice to you.