Geekerella

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction 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 has 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’d heard really good things about this book, so when I finally got a copy from the library, I was really looking forward to it.

I read this while I had some sort of stomach bug over the holidays, and it was just the distraction I needed.

I love fandom stories, and this was a good one. I’m not usually big on fairy tale retellings/reimaginings, but this one worked for me.

I really liked getting both Elle and Darien’s perspectives, and their text relationship was super cute.

At times, I felt like the awfulness of Elle’s stepmom and stepsisters was a bit over the top, but overall, this was a delightful story about fandom, friendship, and romance.