Reviews with content warning for Grief - Geekerella

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

19 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

Finished reading: August 9th 2024

"My dad said that the impossible is only impossible if you don’t even try. So I want to try."

After enjoying her most recent adult fiction, I decided to dive into Ashley Poston's backlist for more books to read. While it's true that I don't read all that many YA books anymore, there was just something about this Cinderella retelling with a geek vibe that I couldn't resist. And I can't deny that I ended up having a lot of fun reading Geekerella! The retelling itself is really well done; the references to the fairytale were incorporated in a way that felt natural. My favorite part is the whole geek vibe though, with the fandom and ExelsiCon. This was so much fun to read about, and I could especially appreciate the connection both main characters have to the event. Geekerella uses a dual POV structure, switching between Danielle (Elle) and Darien. I did much prefer Darien over Elle, as it took me a little while to warm up to her and she could be quite stubborn. I liked her friend Sage a lot more, although I can't deny that I was rooting for both Elle and Darien with everything they had to go through. The text messages between them were a nice touch! The writing style itself was engaging, and it was really easy to keep turning those pages. The way everything was wrapped up in the end was also very satisfying... All in all a more than solid YA retelling, and I will be continuing the series in the future.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

While this book started off slow, I really enjoyed this cheesy YA retelling of Cinderella! I loved the sci-fi fandom aspect and how thoroughly the author created the fandom. It felt new and fresh and I wish I could watch the TV show! The FMC’s relationships with her step sisters and step mother were abusive and honestly made me really uncomfortable, to the point that they took away some of my enjoyment of the book. The FMC made a lot of poor assumptions about other people that also weren’t very fitting for a Cinderella-type character. I love the shenanigans at the very end of this book too! I wish we got a more in-depth look at the epilogue for these characters.

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nat_alley's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad 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

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bzliz's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Oof. I like Ashley Poston and I was looking for something light to read but this was insubstantial in every way. The characters were flat and the plot was like a Disney Channel movie but even less intelligent. There was zero nuance about anything. It borrowed heavily from A Cinderella Story with the anonymous texting and the main character (Danielle aka Elle, in this case) being heavily invested in her dad’s passion (a nerdy sci-fi series and convention here instead of baseball and his diner) but the evil stepmother takes everything away. I half expected her to find a secret will that showed everything went to her instead of her stepmother.

The only positive I can point to is the love shown to fandom. It’s the only good thing in Elle’s life and was a way she connected to her dad and explored the world socially. If you ever had a tumblr phase, this aspect will resonate with you.

Unfortunately, everything else is jam packed with all the emotional abuse Elle endures, seriously oversimplified aspects of the entertainment industry (Darien’s big budget sci-fi action movie is filmed in 23 days and is completely edited and premiered within the year… there’s no universe where this could happen), and some minor drama about gatekeepy geek boys and bad dad manager behavior.

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rafacolog's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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theonlybaillie's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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cait's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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bookishwithsarah's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Why I waited this long to read this book is beyond me - not only was it fun, adorable but also an interested taken on Cinderella.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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"

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