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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** CWs: emotional family abuse, fatphobia, explicit sexual content
I was fairly excited to read Spoiler Alert as I've been seeing it around and I tend to love books that talk about fandom. However, I found the book a bit underwhelming. It was enjoyable in some regards and I really loved the commentary on fat-shaming in fandom, but I have some issues with the writing and characters.
Firstly, the references to Game of Thrones are apparent. I realise that it's a parody, but at times it was too on-the nose about that. The protagonist, Marcus Caster-Rupp, is a thinly veiled parallel to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and the show he works on mirrors the way Game of Thrones went downhill after it ran out of material to adapt with the two showrunners basically being David Benioff and Dan Weiss. I'd say that this was a pretty unimaginative approach, even if we ignore that using real life people as the basis of your characters in such an obvious manner is borderline creepy.
Another thing that I didn’t enjoy was the way Marcus lied to April for his identity. The book tackled it fine, and didn't justify what he did, only gave insight as to why he did it, so the issue has probably more to do with my taste.
I was going to give it 2.5 or 3 stars, but then the Epilogue happened and I settled on 2. The book ending with a Little Red Riding Hood roleplay (who is a child from a fairytale with child predator subtext, yikes) and the reveal that a cast member leaked the show script for tuna discount was just so bad.
There were a few things that the book succeeded in - one of them the commentary of fatphobia, which is especially present in online communities and fandoms. I also appreciated how the book talked about emotional abuse and setting up boundaries. Another thing I enjoyed a ton was Alex - Marcus' hilariously chaotic costar/bff, from the little we got about him. I'd honestly read the next book of the series just because he's in it.
I was fairly excited to read Spoiler Alert as I've been seeing it around and I tend to love books that talk about fandom. However, I found the book a bit underwhelming. It was enjoyable in some regards and I really loved the commentary on fat-shaming in fandom, but I have some issues with the writing and characters.
Firstly, the references to Game of Thrones are apparent. I realise that it's a parody, but at times it was too on-the nose about that. The protagonist, Marcus Caster-Rupp, is a thinly veiled parallel to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and the show he works on mirrors the way Game of Thrones went downhill after it ran out of material to adapt with the two showrunners basically being David Benioff and Dan Weiss. I'd say that this was a pretty unimaginative approach, even if we ignore that using real life people as the basis of your characters in such an obvious manner is borderline creepy.
Another thing that I didn’t enjoy was the way Marcus lied to April for his identity. The book tackled it fine, and didn't justify what he did, only gave insight as to why he did it, so the issue has probably more to do with my taste.
I was going to give it 2.5 or 3 stars, but then the Epilogue happened and I settled on 2. The book ending with a Little Red Riding Hood roleplay (who is a child from a fairytale with child predator subtext, yikes) and the reveal that a cast member leaked the show script for tuna discount was just so bad.
There were a few things that the book succeeded in - one of them the commentary of fatphobia, which is especially present in online communities and fandoms. I also appreciated how the book talked about emotional abuse and setting up boundaries. Another thing I enjoyed a ton was Alex - Marcus' hilariously chaotic costar/bff, from the little we got about him. I'd honestly read the next book of the series just because he's in it.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
weirdly judgey characters who dislike being judged? idk it was wild and like not in a good way. also breaking the fourth wall in the way it was done was hella creepy to me.
This was a great read! Parts of it felt a little pointed re: GOT similarities. BUT! I really loved both characters, I really loved the part where each of them realized the damage their parents had done to them (in the name of love but still hurtful) and were able to set boundaries. There was a little bit of groaning about keeping things secret but the characters were able to recognize that it was harmful pretty quickly. I loved the fat acceptance thread that wound through it and the calling out of the assumptions and "helpful" comments that are really hurtful. And I enjoyed the snippets of fan fic and movie scripts (particularly the one in which the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is ACTUALLY named Pixie and says that her name or motivations mean nothing compared to the male love interests!). Delightful reading overall.
This is actually really good! An inviting fandom setting, great chemistry between leading characters, and a good balance between humour, romance and emotional growth.
This was a honestly a refreshing premise for a book, but the author lost me more than once on a few things.
Honestly I can fully remove my brain and just enjoy the celeb/normie trope relatively easy, no issues in that.
Spoilers below:
April writes fanfic, she has a successful career as a geologist and from the start seems kind, confident, and easy going. Except half way through the book she stops being those things. She stops talking about work, her life becomes Marcus, she still writes fan fiction but it seems to be used as a way to fill gaps in a story. And finally she’s not confident at all, about her body, about her worth, any of it. The books first fore ray into miscommunication tropes (there’s multiple) is about Marcus asking her to work out with him. Something he enjoys to do and wants to share it with her, she takes this as fat shaming and refuses to see him again.
April is presented as someone confident and still navigating a fat phobic world, she doesn’t cover herself up, but is still very reactive. A story that was not supposed to be centred about a character’s weight from the summary, entirely centred on her weight. Can we just have actually confident fat rep?
Secondly April treats her fanfic writing g with the same severity of ‘coming out.’ In fact coming out is literally used to describe her talking about fandom to her colleagues. I shouldn’t have to say this but coming out to your colleagues is not comparable to saying you write/consume fandom and it was a bit jarring to see an author equate the two.
Honestly the characters left little to really care about, I like Marcus but I didn’t think for all the worth the author did in giving him layers….he didn’t feel real or fleshed out in any way other than to be angsty like his writing. It was fluffy it was there, I might read the others but I have little hope for this.
I just want to say fat representation does not have to rely on pain every time, it would be nice if people who were ashamed of themselves didn’t think we all had to be.
Honestly I can fully remove my brain and just enjoy the celeb/normie trope relatively easy, no issues in that.
Spoilers below:
April writes fanfic, she has a successful career as a geologist and from the start seems kind, confident, and easy going. Except half way through the book she stops being those things. She stops talking about work, her life becomes Marcus, she still writes fan fiction but it seems to be used as a way to fill gaps in a story. And finally she’s not confident at all, about her body, about her worth, any of it. The books first fore ray into miscommunication tropes (there’s multiple) is about Marcus asking her to work out with him. Something he enjoys to do and wants to share it with her, she takes this as fat shaming and refuses to see him again.
April is presented as someone confident and still navigating a fat phobic world, she doesn’t cover herself up, but is still very reactive. A story that was not supposed to be centred about a character’s weight from the summary, entirely centred on her weight. Can we just have actually confident fat rep?
Secondly April treats her fanfic writing g with the same severity of ‘coming out.’ In fact coming out is literally used to describe her talking about fandom to her colleagues. I shouldn’t have to say this but coming out to your colleagues is not comparable to saying you write/consume fandom and it was a bit jarring to see an author equate the two.
Honestly the characters left little to really care about, I like Marcus but I didn’t think for all the worth the author did in giving him layers….he didn’t feel real or fleshed out in any way other than to be angsty like his writing. It was fluffy it was there, I might read the others but I have little hope for this.
I just want to say fat representation does not have to rely on pain every time, it would be nice if people who were ashamed of themselves didn’t think we all had to be.