A review by beccasllibrary
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Initial rating 5 stars, dropping it down to 4 upon my reread because the miscommunication is tiresome. A charming story about an unlikely pairing, a geeky geologist obsessed with her favourite book series and following television show forms meets silver screen golden boy and star of said television show. Tension occurs due to public speculation the tv star is only dating a fat woman and fan of the show for media attention, Marcus' struggles to let April in due to years of keeping up a public persona, and Marcus' fears that telling April that he secretly frequents the same fanfiction forums as her and writes his own works under an alias, one April knows well as an online friend, would lead to hum being blacklisted from his industry. These tensions are all very believable, especially Marcus' fears about his career, I really don't think Hollywood would react well to the lead actor in a show writing fanfiction that directly opposes and even criticizes its writing choices and can absolutely understand his fear about telling someone about this part of his life. The characters have great chemistry with each other and some pretty fleshed out side characters, especially the parents, but they definitely don't get the same attention as the leads. Both characters have great b plots struggling with their relationships with their parents and setting healthy boundaries, plots that they have to do themselves and aren't ever just miraculously saved by being in a romantic relationship. I just wish there was less miscommunication and jumping to conclusions, some chapters have a bit of whiplash of them almost breaking up then having one conversation and being find again. A fun homage to fandom culture, a great cast of characters, and a charming read. Not perfect, but pretty good.