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A review by brimelick
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? No
4.5
This book was so cute that I blew through it in two days. I would've read it in one, but I had chores. So, I love a good online-friends-to-lovers-but-they-don't-even-know-it-in-the-real-world storyline, but I have only read ones where both characters found out they were online friends and didn't know it while they were already dating. This one takes it up a notch to a fan and celebrity being friends online, but only the celebrity knows about it and keeps it a secret. And I loved this storyline more. The chemistry and sexual tension between the fan, April, and the celebrity, Marcus, was palpable through their entire first date, and it gets better each date they went on until the tension boiled over.
I found it engaging that the author was able to tell us the story of April and Marcus while also showing us the relationship of their online persona, Marcus's relationship with his costars, and the actual storyline of the show he stared in as it is the central part of the plot. A trashy TV version of a great book series based on mythology is a fabulous way to connect with readers as we ALL have fallen in love with a show that butchers the already-written book series. We've all wondered how the cast handles it if they also love the source material (ex: Henry Cavill stepping down from the Witcher).
I also love the author shopping the personal side of this; we have a gorgeous actor that everyone loves for his looks, but he feels as if he must create a persona for the public as well as deal with his parents publicly writing op-eds about how they hate their son's job. On the flip side, you have April, a geologist by day and fan girl by night, who struggles not only in her family life with her size, as she spends years learning how to love herself, but she has a mother who struggles with this as her husband has hardwired her to stay thin and beautiful or he won't love her, that, of course, destroys his relationship with April, his daughter. She also struggles with this in the fandom world; there has always been this stigma that more prominent people cannot cosplay a certain way and that showing a character as bigger or fat is harmful or that they are a terrible character in fanfictions, a stigma that April tries her best to make people aware of in the fandom community.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I have a feeling any of my fandom fellow people from the 2010's tumblr era (who still use tumblr with pride) will also enjoy this book!
I found it engaging that the author was able to tell us the story of April and Marcus while also showing us the relationship of their online persona, Marcus's relationship with his costars, and the actual storyline of the show he stared in as it is the central part of the plot. A trashy TV version of a great book series based on mythology is a fabulous way to connect with readers as we ALL have fallen in love with a show that butchers the already-written book series. We've all wondered how the cast handles it if they also love the source material (ex: Henry Cavill stepping down from the Witcher).
I also love the author shopping the personal side of this; we have a gorgeous actor that everyone loves for his looks, but he feels as if he must create a persona for the public as well as deal with his parents publicly writing op-eds about how they hate their son's job. On the flip side, you have April, a geologist by day and fan girl by night, who struggles not only in her family life with her size, as she spends years learning how to love herself, but she has a mother who struggles with this as her husband has hardwired her to stay thin and beautiful or he won't love her, that, of course, destroys his relationship with April, his daughter. She also struggles with this in the fandom world; there has always been this stigma that more prominent people cannot cosplay a certain way and that showing a character as bigger or fat is harmful or that they are a terrible character in fanfictions, a stigma that April tries her best to make people aware of in the fandom community.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I have a feeling any of my fandom fellow people from the 2010's tumblr era (who still use tumblr with pride) will also enjoy this book!