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I rarely do themed reviews on purpose, because I typically review books as I read them, but sometimes I fall behind, and so this post gets to have a theme, for once (contemporary romances revolving around geek conventions). Woot!
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
This is definitely one of those "it's not you, it's me" reading experiences. Theoretically, Queens of Geek had everything I liked—racially diverse characters, an autistic character, and geekdom/a fandom convention...and yet my reaction was just "meh."
The romance between Jamie and Taylor was sweet, but—and I feel like a total Grinch for saying this, but this is my honest feeling—Jamie felt too perfect and thus somewhat flat as a character. I know I probably sound terrible right now, but Jamie was so supportive, so perfect of a match for Taylor, that he felt more like a wish fulfillment boyfriend to me than a real, living, breathing person. (Because Jamie basically fits the model of my wish-fulfillment boyfriend.) I dunno, maybe I haven't met enough supportive and uncomplicated guys (or people generally) in real life.
Taylor's autism was well-portrayed, though I kind of felt like the book's portrayal of her autism had more to do with anxiety than autism, per se. I know autism and anxiety are intertwined for some/a lot of people, but they aren't for me (my anxiety is more the social anxiety flavor, and not really panic attacks), so it wasn't a portrayal I could totally relate to.
Here's another Grinch-y thing of me to say: I liked the friendship between Taylor and Charlie, but it also felt so perfect that it didn't feel realistic to me. And yeah, this is probably my bitter autistic self coming through, but: My personal experience (and also what I've noticed with my mother, who is also autistic) has been that I've often been ostracized or thrown under the bus by allistic girls/women, and the only allistic girls/women with whom I've been able to maintain lasting friendships with are very particular kinds of people...and don't exactly resemble Charlie.
So, yeah, this book didn't really mesh well with me.
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Another contemporary romance about a geek con, and unlike Queens of Geek, I enjoyed Geekerella thoroughly and was completely hooked. In fact, it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book so much. Geekerella is (as you might've guessed) a retelling of Cinderella. I thought this retelling was incredibly creative—I loved the way classic Cinderella story elements, like the "pumpkin carriage," the "fairy godmother," the ball, and the glass slipper were cleverly and seamlessly woven into this story about geekdom and fandom. Oh, and the book is also diverse (LGBTQ side characters and a Prince Charming of color, hell yeah!).
Elle and Darien were both amazing characters with strong individual character arcs. I loved their romance, seeing them bond over their shared love of Starfield (a fictional TV show/franchise). There were multiple layers to their relationship that made it pretty complex (Elle and Darien dislike each other by name/reputation, but they bond through anonymously texting each other), so the way their relationship developed felt incredibly fresh and compelling (not an easy thing considering I've been reading a lot of genre romance over the past year and often feeling critical about those storylines). I also loved the story's commentary on the power of story and fandom, which was something I completely related to.
Speaking of Starfield, it's often hard to have a book about a fictional franchise/fandom and convey the fictional fandom passion to the reader, but Geekerella managed to do so in a stellar way. I actually got invested in Starfield, its characters, story arc, and lore. ("Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite" is such a catchy tagline, too!)
The pacing was strong and I honestly don't have anything to criticize about the book. Basically, Geekerella is one of my rare 5-star books and for sure my favorite take on Cinderella ever. Highly recommended!
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
This is definitely one of those "it's not you, it's me" reading experiences. Theoretically, Queens of Geek had everything I liked—racially diverse characters, an autistic character, and geekdom/a fandom convention...and yet my reaction was just "meh."
The romance between Jamie and Taylor was sweet, but—and I feel like a total Grinch for saying this, but this is my honest feeling—Jamie felt too perfect and thus somewhat flat as a character. I know I probably sound terrible right now, but Jamie was so supportive, so perfect of a match for Taylor, that he felt more like a wish fulfillment boyfriend to me than a real, living, breathing person. (Because Jamie basically fits the model of my wish-fulfillment boyfriend.) I dunno, maybe I haven't met enough supportive and uncomplicated guys (or people generally) in real life.
Taylor's autism was well-portrayed, though I kind of felt like the book's portrayal of her autism had more to do with anxiety than autism, per se. I know autism and anxiety are intertwined for some/a lot of people, but they aren't for me (my anxiety is more the social anxiety flavor, and not really panic attacks), so it wasn't a portrayal I could totally relate to.
Here's another Grinch-y thing of me to say: I liked the friendship between Taylor and Charlie, but it also felt so perfect that it didn't feel realistic to me. And yeah, this is probably my bitter autistic self coming through, but: My personal experience (and also what I've noticed with my mother, who is also autistic) has been that I've often been ostracized or thrown under the bus by allistic girls/women, and the only allistic girls/women with whom I've been able to maintain lasting friendships with are very particular kinds of people...and don't exactly resemble Charlie.
So, yeah, this book didn't really mesh well with me.
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Another contemporary romance about a geek con, and unlike Queens of Geek, I enjoyed Geekerella thoroughly and was completely hooked. In fact, it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book so much. Geekerella is (as you might've guessed) a retelling of Cinderella. I thought this retelling was incredibly creative—I loved the way classic Cinderella story elements, like the "pumpkin carriage," the "fairy godmother," the ball, and the glass slipper were cleverly and seamlessly woven into this story about geekdom and fandom. Oh, and the book is also diverse (LGBTQ side characters and a Prince Charming of color, hell yeah!).
Elle and Darien were both amazing characters with strong individual character arcs. I loved their romance, seeing them bond over their shared love of Starfield (a fictional TV show/franchise). There were multiple layers to their relationship that made it pretty complex (Elle and Darien dislike each other by name/reputation, but they bond through anonymously texting each other), so the way their relationship developed felt incredibly fresh and compelling (not an easy thing considering I've been reading a lot of genre romance over the past year and often feeling critical about those storylines). I also loved the story's commentary on the power of story and fandom, which was something I completely related to.
Speaking of Starfield, it's often hard to have a book about a fictional franchise/fandom and convey the fictional fandom passion to the reader, but Geekerella managed to do so in a stellar way. I actually got invested in Starfield, its characters, story arc, and lore. ("Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite" is such a catchy tagline, too!)
The pacing was strong and I honestly don't have anything to criticize about the book. Basically, Geekerella is one of my rare 5-star books and for sure my favorite take on Cinderella ever. Highly recommended!
