You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by kimiwriter
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
2.0
Special thanks to NetGalley for a copy.
Please note: I DNF'd this book. I don't give it a rating though, because I feel I don't have enough knowledge of YA contemporary romances to give it a fair rating. This review is just my thoughts on the book.
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston is the second book in the Once Upon a Con series, though this can also be considered a stand-alone. Poston also wrote Geekerella. It was published by Quirk Books in the beginning of April. This is a YA contemporary romance retelling of the Prince and the Pauper tale with LGBTQ+ characters.
The Princess and the Fangirl takes place at a con where Jessica Stone, actress playing a princess in a rebooted sci-fi series is just trying to survive the interviews and panels at the con as she is trolled online for her character in the series while also trying to get out of playing the character in a sequel. At the same time, Imogen Lovelace, a fangirl who grew up in cons, is trying to convince the production company to revive Stone's character so she can have a better story arc. The two girls meet when Imogen accidentally takes Jessica's place on a panel and no one notices the switch. When the script for the next movie is leaked, the two girls switch places in an attempt to fix everything-- Jessica to find the one leaking the script so she can keep her job as an actress and Imogen trying to save Jessica's character. Romance and shenanigans ensues as the two learn about themselves in each others shoes.
There is a lot to cover in this review so lets start with the more meta aspects of the story.
This book covers a lot of things. Jessica is a young actress who is only well known because of this sci-fi movie that she was hoping would just be a one off. She does not want to only be known as the Princess Amara-- to the point fans only know her by her character name and not her own--but she is also regularly dealing with online trolls, fans hating on her for everything from being to fat, too thin, having a birthmark that "ruins the beauty" of the character. She wants out but also has to stay professional and be concerned about her reputation and image. Actors who play roles with a strong fandom sometimes comment on just how rabid their fans can be, especially female actresses. It is toxic and exhausting and ignores the fact that the characters are fictional and the actors/actresses are human.
Imogen, who sometimes goes by Mo, is a fan of a lot of things. she grew up in cons. She also identifies with Princess Amara because the princess wants to be more than a princess/damsel in distress and she wants to prove her worth to the world. Imogen often describes herself as just being, she compares herself to her brother who knows who he is, is comfortable with himself, and has a good relationship with his boyfriend. What teenage girl doesn't compare herself to others? Fans often latch onto characters because they see something of themselves in those characters. This is where fans get such devotions to their fandoms.
There's some mention of feminism and how females are portrayed and treated in cons and fandoms. There's mention of women and make-up and how it can be superficial or armor, depending on the woman. There's some great scenes between Imogen and her brother, her brother and his boyfriend, and their mothers, Minerva and Kathy. I love how this family interacts with each other and how they are all so devoted to the con. I also like all of the references. There's everything from Harry Potter to Doctor Who to The Road to El Dorado. It's so much fun seeing all of these things together.
Now to my confessions. . . I have not read Geekerella. My understanding is that this book can be read as a stand alone and there are a couple of places where they reference Geekerella, but it doesn't seem to be a necessary read for this book. Now you may have noticed that I use past tense.
I did not finish Princess and the Fangirl. I got a third of the way through and had to stop. I don't know if I was in the wrong reading mood or if I disliked it because it's a contemporary, but I couldn't get into it.
As much as I liked the references to the different fandoms, I disliked how much these references are being thrown around, especially in Imogen's perspective. She covers the series' sci-fi movie, Starfield, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and a few others that I didn't recognize within the first sentence of her first chapter. "Muggle" is used as an insult. It was a lot and it got on my nerves. I love the fandoms I'm in but this felt dialed up to a thousand. Do people really talk like this? Am I a real fangirl if I don't? Either way, it was too much for me and got on my nerves.
I also really disliked both of the main characters. Imogen is bordering on rabid fan. She is very self-deprecating and doesn't think she's worth anything-- which I get is a common thing in the teen years and in YA books but it irks me-- which is interesting considering how everyone talks about how passionate she is about her views and life. It didn't seem to fit. She also doesn't seem capable of seeing anything from anyone else's perspective. And she goes on and on about all the hot guys she sees at the cons, including the guy who ghosted her at a con dance a year ago-- a guy she calls He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-- and yet still knows she'll meet him after this con because she's "hormonal." She also insults someone by calling them a nerfherder because "Muggle is too good for you." I could not stand her.
On a similar note, I didn't like Jessica at all. I get she is annoyed and stressed with the con and looking for a way out of playing Princess Amara, but she is rude and controlling with little consideration for Imogen and her situation. When she suggests the two girls switch places, it's Jessica who lists off all of her "rules" about playing her, expecting Imogen to do her bidding, while Jessica doesn't want to do anything for Imogen. Again, I get she has to find the person leaking the script, but to suggest someone live your life and then refuse to do the responsibilities that that person has to do is just annoying. I also disliked how she wasn't getting help from the people around her when it came to the online trolls. I know there's not much anyone can really do, but she's spending three hours every day going through her social media feeds deleting and reporting everything that is sent to her and still doesn't tell anyone she's receiving everything from hate-filled comments to inappropriate images to a few threats. She came across as self-absorbed and irresponsible, especially since it's her fault the script is being leaked.
I don't usually read contemporary so that my be my problem but since this is a retelling, I was really hoping I could dive right in and get comfortable with this genre since retellings are things I usually enjoy. As I said, I got a third of the way through. I loved the side characters and the different references, the interactions between the families and friends and how Poston touches on some real issues in the con and fandom communities. But I could not stand the two main characters. If one of them was even remotely more than extremes of caricatures-- and I'm sure they'd even out as the story progressed and become more human-- then I might have stuck it out longer. As it stands, I don't see myself picking this book up any time soon and I'm no longer really interested in reading Geekerella. This book is just not for me.
If contemporary romance retellings are your thing, I do suggest picking up this book. The side characters are great and the meta aspects are good and the few romantic relationships I did see are cute and healthy (as far as I could tell). I just couldn't make it past the two main characters.
I won't give this book a rating, partly because I didn't finish it and partly because I feel like I don't have the knowledge to really make a good judgement call on a contemporary romance. Maybe I'll come back to it in the future but not right now.
Please note: I DNF'd this book. I don't give it a rating though, because I feel I don't have enough knowledge of YA contemporary romances to give it a fair rating. This review is just my thoughts on the book.
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston is the second book in the Once Upon a Con series, though this can also be considered a stand-alone. Poston also wrote Geekerella. It was published by Quirk Books in the beginning of April. This is a YA contemporary romance retelling of the Prince and the Pauper tale with LGBTQ+ characters.
The Princess and the Fangirl takes place at a con where Jessica Stone, actress playing a princess in a rebooted sci-fi series is just trying to survive the interviews and panels at the con as she is trolled online for her character in the series while also trying to get out of playing the character in a sequel. At the same time, Imogen Lovelace, a fangirl who grew up in cons, is trying to convince the production company to revive Stone's character so she can have a better story arc. The two girls meet when Imogen accidentally takes Jessica's place on a panel and no one notices the switch. When the script for the next movie is leaked, the two girls switch places in an attempt to fix everything-- Jessica to find the one leaking the script so she can keep her job as an actress and Imogen trying to save Jessica's character. Romance and shenanigans ensues as the two learn about themselves in each others shoes.
There is a lot to cover in this review so lets start with the more meta aspects of the story.
This book covers a lot of things. Jessica is a young actress who is only well known because of this sci-fi movie that she was hoping would just be a one off. She does not want to only be known as the Princess Amara-- to the point fans only know her by her character name and not her own--but she is also regularly dealing with online trolls, fans hating on her for everything from being to fat, too thin, having a birthmark that "ruins the beauty" of the character. She wants out but also has to stay professional and be concerned about her reputation and image. Actors who play roles with a strong fandom sometimes comment on just how rabid their fans can be, especially female actresses. It is toxic and exhausting and ignores the fact that the characters are fictional and the actors/actresses are human.
Imogen, who sometimes goes by Mo, is a fan of a lot of things. she grew up in cons. She also identifies with Princess Amara because the princess wants to be more than a princess/damsel in distress and she wants to prove her worth to the world. Imogen often describes herself as just being, she compares herself to her brother who knows who he is, is comfortable with himself, and has a good relationship with his boyfriend. What teenage girl doesn't compare herself to others? Fans often latch onto characters because they see something of themselves in those characters. This is where fans get such devotions to their fandoms.
There's some mention of feminism and how females are portrayed and treated in cons and fandoms. There's mention of women and make-up and how it can be superficial or armor, depending on the woman. There's some great scenes between Imogen and her brother, her brother and his boyfriend, and their mothers, Minerva and Kathy. I love how this family interacts with each other and how they are all so devoted to the con. I also like all of the references. There's everything from Harry Potter to Doctor Who to The Road to El Dorado. It's so much fun seeing all of these things together.
Now to my confessions. . . I have not read Geekerella. My understanding is that this book can be read as a stand alone and there are a couple of places where they reference Geekerella, but it doesn't seem to be a necessary read for this book. Now you may have noticed that I use past tense.
I did not finish Princess and the Fangirl. I got a third of the way through and had to stop. I don't know if I was in the wrong reading mood or if I disliked it because it's a contemporary, but I couldn't get into it.
As much as I liked the references to the different fandoms, I disliked how much these references are being thrown around, especially in Imogen's perspective. She covers the series' sci-fi movie, Starfield, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and a few others that I didn't recognize within the first sentence of her first chapter. "Muggle" is used as an insult. It was a lot and it got on my nerves. I love the fandoms I'm in but this felt dialed up to a thousand. Do people really talk like this? Am I a real fangirl if I don't? Either way, it was too much for me and got on my nerves.
I also really disliked both of the main characters. Imogen is bordering on rabid fan. She is very self-deprecating and doesn't think she's worth anything-- which I get is a common thing in the teen years and in YA books but it irks me-- which is interesting considering how everyone talks about how passionate she is about her views and life. It didn't seem to fit. She also doesn't seem capable of seeing anything from anyone else's perspective. And she goes on and on about all the hot guys she sees at the cons, including the guy who ghosted her at a con dance a year ago-- a guy she calls He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-- and yet still knows she'll meet him after this con because she's "hormonal." She also insults someone by calling them a nerfherder because "Muggle is too good for you." I could not stand her.
On a similar note, I didn't like Jessica at all. I get she is annoyed and stressed with the con and looking for a way out of playing Princess Amara, but she is rude and controlling with little consideration for Imogen and her situation. When she suggests the two girls switch places, it's Jessica who lists off all of her "rules" about playing her, expecting Imogen to do her bidding, while Jessica doesn't want to do anything for Imogen. Again, I get she has to find the person leaking the script, but to suggest someone live your life and then refuse to do the responsibilities that that person has to do is just annoying. I also disliked how she wasn't getting help from the people around her when it came to the online trolls. I know there's not much anyone can really do, but she's spending three hours every day going through her social media feeds deleting and reporting everything that is sent to her and still doesn't tell anyone she's receiving everything from hate-filled comments to inappropriate images to a few threats. She came across as self-absorbed and irresponsible, especially since it's her fault the script is being leaked.
I don't usually read contemporary so that my be my problem but since this is a retelling, I was really hoping I could dive right in and get comfortable with this genre since retellings are things I usually enjoy. As I said, I got a third of the way through. I loved the side characters and the different references, the interactions between the families and friends and how Poston touches on some real issues in the con and fandom communities. But I could not stand the two main characters. If one of them was even remotely more than extremes of caricatures-- and I'm sure they'd even out as the story progressed and become more human-- then I might have stuck it out longer. As it stands, I don't see myself picking this book up any time soon and I'm no longer really interested in reading Geekerella. This book is just not for me.
If contemporary romance retellings are your thing, I do suggest picking up this book. The side characters are great and the meta aspects are good and the few romantic relationships I did see are cute and healthy (as far as I could tell). I just couldn't make it past the two main characters.
I won't give this book a rating, partly because I didn't finish it and partly because I feel like I don't have the knowledge to really make a good judgement call on a contemporary romance. Maybe I'll come back to it in the future but not right now.