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

Lefty's Lowdown: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
(Book #1)
Published: June 7, 2011 by Quirk
Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

 The second I saw the movie trailer for this book's adaptation, I knew I wanted to read it. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably have seen my struggle with this book. I finished the last page with very mixed feelings, and, even a week later, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book, so this review is going to be a little bit different than my usual reviews.

PROS: 

+ The writing - I enjoyed the style, and I loved Jacob's voice.

+ The photos - If a book has mixed media, I instantly like it more. And these aren't just photos; they're creepy af photos. And probably my favorite part of this book!

+ The peculiarity - I really enjoyed reading about the side characters and what their peculiar trait was. Some of the traits were more common (invisibility, fire balls), but some were much more unique (controls bees, back mouth)! It was a lot of fun!

+ The second half - I became pretty damn hooked when Jacob started unraveling the truth about his grandfather's past, and the truth about the peculiar children, and the truth about himself. It became exciting and fast-paced! Not to mention there was a little twist that I hadn't seen coming (even though I probably should have).

CONS: 

- The first half - It was so hard to make it through the first half of this novel. While I thought the writing was good, it just didn't hook me in. It was slow and drawn out. I really think Ransom Riggs could have cut out a good chunk of the first half and got to the good stuff quicker.

- Lack of connection - I liked Jacob's character. He grew a lot over the course of the novel, and, like I said above, I loved his voice. However, I didn't really connect with him the way I would have liked to.

- The romance - It felt rushed and, yes, WEIRD. If it developed more slowly over the course of the series, I'd probably be a bit more into it, but it felt a little forced this early on. (But it wasn't insta-love or anything, I promise.)

- The world building - I'm still just a bit confused about it all? This is probably more my fault than the book's fault, I just didn't think some aspects of the world were explained sufficiently enough. Maybe I'll understand it more as I read the rest of the series.


As you can see, I'm pretty torn. There were some aspects I thought were great, and some that made it really hard to get through this book. It took me two weeks to read this book, and for a little while, I began to feel slumpy, and I debated DNFing. I'm glad I didn't DNF, though, because by the end of this novel, I was hooked enough to want to continue the series! And I am unbelievably stoked for the movie!

Actually 3.5/5