Be Still, My Shipper Heart! : Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

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 the Starfieldfandom 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.

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."

GUYS. THIS BOOK.

(Am I even using this meme right?)

Geekerella has been on my radar because of the praise it has been getting from my Goodreads friends. Normally, I’m not one for famous-people-romances, but it was becoming harder and harder for me to dismiss the praise, so I decided to give it a go. And OMG. I’m so so thrilled I decided to read it because this book made my shipper heart indescribably happy. It’s such a sweet Cinderella retelling, which manages to not only be fresh, but memorable in every way.

I honestly thought every aspect of Geekerella was fantastic, but for me what really stood out was how well-developed the characters were. Ashley Poston may have been inspired by an old fairy tale, but she takes her time to flesh out her characters so that they are so much more than their fairy tale counterparts. There’s Danielle, our Cinderella, who I almost immediately connected with because she’s so likeable. She’s pretty much living in hell with her step-mother and the evil step-sisters, but she still manages to have hope, courage and kindness for those around, much like the original Cinderella. I found her exuberance for her favorite show, Starfield, that she bonded with her father over, to be infectious. Just as the title indicates, she was a total geek and an adorable one at that. We are also luckily privy to Darien’s, a teen heartthrob, who is set to play Prince Carmindor in a reboot of Starfield, voice. I thought it was great that the author added his POV to the book because it added an extra dimension to Geekerella. I loved this boy so much. He may have been a famous celebrity, but he was humble, slightly tortured, and such a genuinely good guy.  His complicated relationship with his dad, his desire to want to do a good job as Prince Carmindor even though the fandom wasn’t rooting for him, and his sweet demeanor made him easy to fall for.

His and Danielle’s relationship was the perfect slow burn kind that develops through text messaging – I’ve come to realize just how much I love it when book characters fall in love via letters and texts. It makes everything extra swoony, especially when they finally get around to meeting. I was nervous that when Elle and Darien would meet, there would be unnecessary drama and separation given how Elle wrote a scathing blog post about Darien being cast as Prince Carmindor, but the author manages to keep the romance surprisingly drama-free. It’s a sweet romance with so many deliciously shippy moments, and I 100% felt the connection between the two as they found solace in one another. Besides the romance, we also get a great friendship in the form of Elle’s budding relationship with Sage, her co-worker at the food truck. It was lovely to see a great positive female friendship here.

I also loved how effortlessly diverse Geekerella was. Darien was of Indian descent, and there was also a super sweet f/f ship that I LOVED – seriously, I legit flailed and squeed when it happened because it just was so unexpected, but also I didn’t realize how much I wanted it until it happened. I thought the fandom elements were also written beautifully. It’s an amazing feat, in my opinion, that Ashley Poston was able to make me feel like this fandom was actually real and that I, myself, was part of it. I also really loved how she incorporated elements from Cinderella into the story. The great thing about it all was how it remained cheese-free! I loved all the homage the book pays to the Disney version.

Yeah so, if you’re looking for a book that you will devour from start to finish, that will give you all sorts of swoony feels and make you giddy with all the fandom references, then what are you waiting for? Buy Geekerella ASAP. You will not regret this purchase!

Are you part of any fandoms? What’s your favorite fairy tale retelling?
Let me know in the comments below!

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The post Be Still, My Shipper Heart! : Geekerella by Ashley Poston appeared first on Nick & Nereyda's Infinite Book List.