Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Standalone
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 320 pages, Ebook
Published: April 4th, 2017 by Quirk Books
Source: Purchased
My Rating:
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.
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. 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 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.
When Elle’s favourite fandom, Starfield is getting a brand new movie, she is over the top excited but it quickly dies down because her favourite character is going to be played by none other than Darien, the rich and spoiled teen star. Despite the fact, she still wants to visit ExcelsiCon where the price money of the cosplay competition might be her way out from her evil stepmother. And on top of that, she can’t stop thinking about the mysterious stranger she has been texting lately. When all goes up in flames, what will Elle finally do?
I really, really enjoyed this book but ultimately there was nothing new. This book was too similar with my all time favourite book Cinder and Ella by Kelly Oram (which was soooo good, it even had a sequel which released a couple of months ago) which follows the same theme and even the execution and frankly, it had more depth. That’s why I was kinda disappointed with this book because of the so freaking similarity! That’s why I cut off one star. Anyway, the writing was the saving grace of this book, I loved the voice and the humour in this story and the characters definitely lived up to my expectations. Starfield had a great role in Elle’s childhood, it was her and her dad’s thing and her mother was quite involved too. So, when they announced a new major movie for the franchise, she was over the moon but she didn’t trust Darien to do justice to her favourite character.
“Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite.”
Elle and Darien were both so different from each other yet kind of similar. Elle had to face the wrath of her step-mom and step-sisters every single day while Darien struggled every moment to prove himself he was worthy of the role he got and not because of his family background. He was seriously dedicated to his work and he wanted to bring the character of Prince Carmindor to life so that the whole would finally believe he was a different person than what the press led on. Anyway, the actual adventure began on ExcelsiCon which was such a fun adventure. My favourite scene was the entry one where the guard was like get out and then she walked in with the free pass and stuff and he was what the… That was a freaking awesome scene!!
“I’ve met my doom, and it isn’t even breakfast yet.”
The texting between Elle and Darien started accidentally but they continued texting even when they resolved the initial confusion of texting the wrong person. Somehow, they felt connected over their shared love of Starfield. Their first face-to-face interaction started off as hate which slowly melted into something much more. I loved these two together but I wanted more. The ending was a bit (well a lot) unrealistic but I did enjoy it. The grand gesture was indeed really sweet. Among the minor characters, I did enjoy Cal, Elle’s step-sister but Chloe (the other step-sister) was a nightmare along with the step-mother. Elle’s friend (whose name for the love of God, I can’t remember right now) was a major support for her and yay for diversity!
Overall, Geekerella was a fun read. I enjoyed the plot although it was too predictable though the characters won my heart. I enjoyed the banter between Elle and Darien. The writing was beautiful and laced with wit and humour and the pace was even throughout the book. I definitely hope to read more by this author.
Recommend it?
Yes.
Title: Words in Deep Blue
Author: Cath Crowley
Standalone
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 254 pages, Ebook
Published: August 30th, 2016 by Macmillan Australia
Source: Purchased
My Rating:
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Love lives between the lines.
Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.
Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.
Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.
As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.
Rachel and Henry used to be best friends before she moved away and broke off all contacts with him. She tried to confess her feelings towards him once but when she got no response, she gave up hope. Now, after a few years, she’s back in town but she’s not the same person anymore after she lost her brother. Seeing Henry brings up old memories which Rachel wants to forget but Henry is not ready to let her go again. What will happen when the truth about everything comes out?
“The past is with me; the present is here. The future is unmapped and changeable. Ours for the imagining: spreading out before us. Sunlight filled, deep blue, and the darkness.”
I had seen mostly glorious reviews of this book everywhere and this book was about books!! So obviously, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. I LOVED the books part of this book but the romance was where it all went down. Henry had always fancied Amy and they always had an on and off relationship, despite this fact Rachel decides to confess her feelings for him but when her confession letter goes unanswered, she doesn’t try again. I loved Rachel but I honestly didn’t care for Henry, even a bit. I mean, he put Amy first before everything else, even his family’s bookshop when it was pretty clear to the whole world that Amy just cared for herself but his obsession with Amy knew no bounds. I seriously hated how he wined for Amy throughout the entire book and just clearly ignored what was in front of him.
“Words do matter. They’re not pointless. If they were pointless then they couldn’t start revolutions and they wouldn’t change history and they wouldn’t be the things that you think about every night before you go to sleep. If they were just words we wouldn’t listen to songs.”
Now, onto the good parts. The letter library!! It was seriously such an epic thing. I so wished something like that existed where I lived because it just sounds so intriguing and mysterious. All the different and unique stories conveyed through the letters were just so beautiful. Another part that I loved was the letters between George, Henry’s sister and Cal which was really heartbreaking since we understand from the very beginning that their love story is doomed. Despite everything, Henry had redeeming qualities but it was already too late for me to completely care about him but I was glad he was there when Rachel needed him. I enjoyed the other minor characters too. I also enjoyed the family aspect of this book.
Overall, Words in Deep Blue is a story about love, loss and grief. This book has its moments but it majorly falls short where the romance comes in. Nonetheless, the writing was beautiful and easy to read and the pace was even throughout the book.
Recommend it?
Yes.
So guys, what are your opinions on these two books? Have you read them yet or are they still in your tbr? What were the best thing and the worst thing you felt about these two books?
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