Lefty's Lowdown: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella by Ashley Poston
(standalone)
Published: April 4, 2017 by Quirk Books
Source: I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley, but this has in no way influenced my opinion of the novel.

Summary from Goodreads: 
When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.

Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

 Last year, I read Ashley Poston's lesser-known We Own the Night and absolutely ADORED it. It gave me so many feelings. So when I heard that she had another book being released that was a modern-day, contemporary, geeky Cinderella re-telling...well, I just HAD to get my hands on it. Plus, everyone who'd already read a galley of it was singing its praises. I'll admit, I don't like it as much as I liked We Own the Night, but I still devoured Geekerella. It was fun, cute, and--yes--GEEKY!

This novel is told from two different points of view: Elle, who is completely stomped all over by her step-family, and Darien, who is famous and completely controlled by others. I really enjoyed both of these characters while I was reading them, but I don't think I connected to them the way I wanted to. A couple weeks after finishing this book and I don't feel the same pull to them that I feel when I really fall in love with characters. I felt sympathy for them, and I rooted for their happiness, but I didn't fall in love with them.

I thought their relationship was super sweet and I was all for it. I am a sucker for the trope where two characters hate each other in real life but meet each other online and don't know the other's true identity and so they hate each other and love each other at the same time, if that makes sense??? Probably not lol. But I am into that trope. However, most of their relationship developed through text messages, and I would have liked to see a lot more of them interacting in person. While I wish that their relationship had a bit more depth, I still really liked them together. 

Also, I just need to talk about the re-telling aspect of this book. I loved the way it was done. I thought it was ADORABLE turning the famous ball into a convention and the beloved ball gown into cosplay!! Also, the food truck was The Magic Pumpkin! All the little Cinderella aspects were so fun and charming and breathed so much life into this story. While I had issues connecting to the characters, these little re-telling details made this story something special.

The nerd in me was absolutely delighted by this book. Yes, Geekerella has it's flaws, but it's still something I'd recommend for fangirls everywhere. This book was a delightful little distraction from reality, complete with sweet a sweet romance and genuine friendship and camaraderie. If you're looking for a quick read that will undoubtedly make you smile, then this is the novel for you!

My rating: 

Actually closer to 3.75/5