Geekerella (Once Upon a Con, #1)

by Ashley Poston

[Julie @ Struck by Stories]

I have never ever in my entire life been as heavily mixed about a book as I am about Geekerella.

Okay, so the first thing you have to know about me is that I'm usually very forgiving with books. I always try to see the very best qualities in them, which is why you'll rarely ever (if at all) see any reviews below 3 stars.

But Geekerella, while being a fantastic novel, is making it very hard for me to keep to that same policy of forgiveness.

Why? Because I have reason to suspect that the author potentially copied the storyline for this from Cinder & Ella, my near all-time favorite novel. (side note - you can read my full review for that book by clicking here!)

And okay, I know that is a super-bold accusation. But I can asssure you that I'm not making it lightly.

Before I begin going into the similarities, I would just like to first note that due to the strong similarities between the two books, I almost suspected Cinder & Ella of being the one knocking-off Geekerella until I checked the publication dates of both and found that Cinder & Ella was published 2 full years before Geekerella.

Anyways, I would like to begin by briefly listing all of the similarities (which slowly progress from maybe, potentially coincidental to very, very weird). I promise you by the end that hopefully you'll see where I'm coming from!

1.) Both are YA contemporary romance retellings of Cinderella.

2.) The lead females for both are geeky girls addicted to a specific series/franchise.

3.) The male love interests for both are closet geeks who end up getting the lead role in the newest remake for said series.

4.) Through chance, both girls end up connecting with the male lead online without knowing his true identity.

5.) Both girls are popular bloggers online who aren't afraid to share their opinions on books/movies.

6.) Through their blog, both girls HEAVILY criticize the choice of said male for the lead role due to their "playboy" status.

7.) Both girls even go as far as to mention their passionate criticisms directly to the actor (but don't know that he's the boy they're communicating with.

8.) Both girls have really bitchy stepsisters, but one of them ends up becoming "good" by the end of the novel.

9.) Both girls end up at a con specifically for the series they are addicted to and dress up as the female lead.

10.) The con ends up being the location in which both girls realize the identity of the boy they were communicating with online (with the boy being the first to realize the connection).

So, at this point, after coming to the realization that there were just too many similarities for it to be considered coincidental, you would think that I would be full on HATING on Geekerella for copying off of my favorite book.

But the truth is, I just can't hate on Geekerella. Because as much as I wanted to full-on hate it, I really, really, enjoyed reading it. The characters felt real, the love was super swoony, and the geekiness was beyond adorable.

Overall, I have to say that Geekerella, while bearing extreme similarities with Cinder & Ella, was a fantastic and super-enjoyable book. I'm even going to go as far as actually considering it a new favorite and add it to my Shelf of Spectacular Stories!

Also, Ashely Poston, if you happen to be reading this, I would just like to say that while I can't prove anything, even if you knowingly or unknowing copied off of Cinder & Ella, you couldn't have picked a better novel to do so with. I enjoyed my time reading Geekerella, and cannot wait to continue reading the series with [b:The Princess and the Fangirl|39725622|The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon a Con, #2)|Ashley Poston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1542265229s/39725622.jpg|61408547]!


Want more reviews? Check out my blog at Struck by Stories!

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