Reviews with content warning for Grief - Geekerella. Cenușăreasa la convenția SF

Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Series: Once Upon a Con, #1
Genre: YA Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: April 4, 2017

T H R E E • W O R D S

Simple • Familiar • Modern

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Elle grew up watching Starfield with her late father, it's still the connection she shares with him. When she comes across a contest for the new Starfield movie, she knows she has to enter and win, unless her step-sisters get in the way. Darien, who plays the new Carmindor (something he has always wanted), has been written off as just another heart throb. An anonymous set of texts will change things for both main characters. Geekerella is a modern day retelling of the classic fairytale, Cinderella.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The whole reason I picked up this book was to fit the "fairytale retelling" prompt for a TBR challenge I was participating. Fairytales are not typically my cup of tea, so I chose this one since it seemed like a quick, easy read - and it was. Told in alternating perspectives, there isn't a whole lot of surprise, in fact, the plot is quite predictable (especially if you know the story of Cinderella), with typical YA romance vibes. Of course, I wasn't a fan of the insta-love aspect, but there were other things I really liked. Firstly, the fangirl, sci-fi and cos-play additions were a lot of fun, and the showcase of female friendship was well drawn out. Overall, the plot is quite obvious and a little cheesy; it is still a light and fun read.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• die hard Cinderella fans
• self-proclaimed geeks

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Maybe everything does die, but maybe, somehow everything that dies someday comes back"

Content Warnings

fatima_ff's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Okay color me impressed. I don’t like Cinderella or any fairy tale retellings but this one was great. I’ve so much to say. Firstly this book did a great job at characters. No one felt cartoonish or unrealistic. We got a Prince Charming perspective and his own unique story. There were decent supporting characters as well. And everyone was handled well.
Secondly the actual plot and the fairy tale connections. Naturally we need the step family but I hate every retelling making them seem like they’re just cardboard cut out evil creatures. Give them motive. This one did have somewhat a reasoning. Sometimes the reasoning was simply that they’re bullies. And bullies are bullies. Some people are born entitled and cruel and it’s true.
The way the plot and modern day life was cleverly twined together with the original Cinderella story was well done. I mean the little animals, fairy godmother, the pumpkin, the ball, the dress, the slippers, and the happily ever after resolution was very well crafted. And I’m glad the prince had a personality it’s VERY annoying to read these retellings when the male love interests exist to just be love interests. I’m also glad no love at first sight nonsense happened.
I’m pretty satisfied with the resolution as well. Sometimes you need more than just the ‘and the guy took her away’. Pls it’s the 21st century do more.

There were issues with this book like the writing really did just fall off in some places but the plot and pacing more than made up for it. If the writing was better it would’ve just been that extra oomph to the novel.

I’m so excited about the rest of the books!

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Thanks to Quirk Books for the free copy of this book.

- GEEKERELLA is just about one of the cutest and sweetest books I've ever read. Not only is it a clever CInderella retelling, but also a love letter to fandom and feeling seen by the stories you love. This is definitely a book to read when you want a cozy hug.
- Occasionally the villians were, well, over the top villain-y, but would it even be a fairytale retelling without that?
- I'm very much looking forward to reading the other books in this series, especially since book two is sapphic!

Content Warnings

nanniclover's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

theespressoedition's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I'll always be a fan of a good retelling - and of course, Cinderella is a classic. The way the nerdy/geeky theme was woven into this modern version of a tried-and-true fairytale was really cute and clever.

I think what made this particular book stand out was the way it gave us both perspectives - one from the "prince" and one from "Cinderella," which obviously isn't something we see most of the time (and certainly not something we got from the Disney animated film). It helped me appreciate the character growth way more and it grabbed my attention better this way as well.

There was great diversity, which was a huge plus! I think that made me want to read the rest of the series more than anything else about this particular book.

Now that I'm looking back, really the only aspects that lowered my rating were how drawn out certain things were and how I didn't relate to the age group - but of course, that's not the book's fault, I'm just an adult reading YA ;-) It made it all more cute than fantastic if that makes sense?

Overall, I enjoyed it and definitely recommend it - I'm just not totally head over heels obsessed.

Content Warnings

lovelybookshelf's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The first book in Ashley Poston's Once Upon a Con trilogy, Geekerella is a Cinderella retelling set around a sci-fi TV show, Starfield, and its annual convention.

This story will resonate with teens who feel the angst and frustration that comes with being mature enough to determine their own futures, but trapped because their parents still make most of the big decisions in their lives. Darien and Elle are both in situations where the adults in their lives are excessively controlling, and they're both almost, but not yet, old enough to escape it.

The characters feel authentic, and their friendship and budding romance is super cute. Honestly, all of the friendships in this book are wonderful!

"You don't have to always do everything alone, you know."

Geekerella is just geeky enough—perfect for readers who are major sci-fi fans (and cosplayers) without alienating readers who enjoy sci-fi more casually. I loved the book's themes on friendship, letting others into your heart, being brave enough to go for what you really want, and autonomy. Overall a very wholesome, happy, comfort read.

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