Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella (Once Upon a Con, #1)

by Ashley Poston

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad s old costume), Elle s determined to win unless her stepsisters get there first. Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons before he was famous. Now they re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again? Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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Rating: 4.5 Stars

"Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite."
This is an adorable Cinderella retelling, that simply delighted me. I swear, I loved every second of it.

Our heroine, Elle, is a total Starfield fangirl. She grew up immersed in the world, but she is not fully enjoying the latest reboot without her father by her side. In an effort to escape her miserable circumstances, she hatches a plan to attend the ExcelsiCon in order to win the cosplay contest and the trip to the LA premiere of the new Starfield movie.

Things I loved:

Tons of geek culture! I loved the way Poston illustrated the fandom, and really enjoyed all the Starfield bits.
Elle is an awesome heroine. She was constantly taking a lot of knocks, but she kept getting back up. She didn't have a huge support system, but she did have Sage.
Speaking of Sage, she was fantastic! What a great analog to the fairy godmother (at least, that's how I saw her). She was an empowered young woman, who just worried about being herself. She was also snarky, hilarious, and a steadfast friend.
I thought this was a fun retelling. I greatly enjoyed mapping the original to Poston's version. It was an amusing and entertaining translation, that brought me miles of smiles.
Darian's and Elle's text message romance made my heart pitter patter. I don't know why I love this plot device so much, but I like it in every book I read. Maybe it's the honesty that the anonymity allows each character to express. Whatever the reason, I adored the back and forth between Darian and Elle.


My GoodReads status updates (though I am not sure about the dates there, hmm?)

This story sort of had everything I needed: a heroine I could love, a hero who could make me swoon and giggle, villains I could hate, supporting characters who were robust and contributed in huge ways to the story, and an adorable romance.

**I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 March, 2017: Finished reading
  • 7 March, 2017: Reviewed