The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon a Con #2)

\”It is a truth universally acknowledged that a fandom in want of a princess will save that princess.\” That is the mindset Imogen \”Mo\” Lovelace has when she begins the #SaveAmara campaign on social media, trying to bring back from the dead Princess Amara, who was tragically fridged in the both the ending of the original Starfield TV show and the new reboot movie. She\’s excited to be at ExcelsiCon, meeting her friend Harper IRL for the first time, and is on a mission to save her favorite princess. Too bad Princess Amara doesn\’t want to be brought back from the dead. Jessica Stone is desperate to put Starfield behind her and move on to bigger, better productions. After all, why would she want to stay when her Twitter and Instagram are flooded with trolls and manbabies who criticize everything about her? It\’s perfectly understandable that ExcelsiCon is the last place on earth Jess wants to be. Good thing she has Ethan, her best friend and personal assistant. Then the script for the sequel leaks… And all signs are pointing to Jess. Fortunately, she has a plan when she and Imogen are mistaken for each other. After all, what harm is there in swapping places for a few days? An excellent companion novel to Geekerella, Ashley Poston accurately captures the essence of the beauty, wonder, and camaraderie of being in a fandom, while simultaneously not shying away from the other, uglier side of fandom. Trolls are not only just in the dungeons, but everywhere you look and do their best to zap away all of your joy and fun. (*side eyes Voltron fandom*) Fans of Geekerella will be happy to see the return of familiar faces and feel a sense of returning home on the floor of ExcelsiCon, while simultaneously falling in love with new characters and eagerly awaiting the reveal of who is behind the script leaks. Look to the stars! Aim! Ignite!

I feel like I start all my positive reviews with “I loved this book,” but oh wow do I love this book! I absolutely loved Geekerella, so it was fun jumping back into this world. These books really bring the love of fandoms to justice and it makes me so happy. Because the whole book takes place at a weekend-long convention, it is full of geeky references that made me smile each time. The Doctor Who ones especially made me happy. Well, those and every time someone was referred to as a Hufflepuff. The characters in this story felt very real. Jess was someone we were made to dislike in Geekerella, but with this partially in her perspective, we get to see the real her. I think that is one of the biggest reasons why reading the other book first is so important. Throughout this book, she struggles a lot with wanting to just be herself and wanting to be loved for that person as opposed to the image she creates. This difference is a huge part of the book, so being able to see how “awful” she is from the outside in book one is important. That being said, I loved getting to see the inner workings of Jess. She deals with a lot of self-image issues, depression, and not feeling loved. As someone who has had a lot of the same struggles–minus the whole being a celebrity thing–it felt super real. Her emotions and thoughts came across very well and were spot on. I also loved seeing her slowly open up to Imogen’s friend Harper, even though she’s pretending to be Imogen. Getting to see the nerdy side of her was fun, too. Then we have Imogen (Mo) and Jess’s assistant, Ethan. Mo is the ultimate fangirl who feels as if she lives in everyone’s shadow. Ethan has been Jess’s best friend since they were children. He’s in on the plan, but he hates it. He and Imogen fight and bicker the entire time, and me being me… I loved it. When I say the enemies-to-lovers trope is my favorite, I’m not kidding. Their sarcasm and mockery made me all sorts of happy inside. There are also more minor characters like Mo’s younger brother, Milo, and his boyfriend, Bran. I really loved them and honestly, my only complaint about the book is that I wanted more of them. There were also appearances from Geekerella characters Elle, Darien, Sage, and Calliope. The book is well-written. I really enjoy Poston’s style. It’s easy and quick to read. It moves at a good pace, although there were a few slow moments. There were so many incredible quotes in this book, too. I think I highlighted more parts in my Kindle edition than any other book. It showed both sides of feeling insecure and like a nobody, and it was inspirational to see the characters grow and learn to accept themselves. “I’m not a movie star, and I don’t attract swaths of adoring fans, and my voice is tiny—but my dreams are big and I don’t mind being me.” – The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston It was a fun mystery full of geeky references, tons of sarcasm, and, of course, romance. I highly recommend these books, especially to those who are in a fandom. It’s very relatable in many ways and fun to read a story in such an atmosphere. *Original review on Functionally Fictional.*

I adored Geekerella so when I heard there would be a companion book I was so excited! And this book did not disappoint. In fact I probably loved this even more than Geekerella. This book is filled with so much adorable geekiness, I just cannot deal! It’s a feel good book that left me feeling giddy and wanting to go to a con myself. There is so many pop culture references and I loved it! From Harry Potter to Star Wars and so much more. It made the characters, being at the con so real and so relatable! Honestly, I don’t read many contemporaries especially cute fluffy ones but wow did I love this. This story is essentially a modern prince and the pauper retelling and it was so nice to see a retelling of a different story, as all I seem to see a beauty and the beast retellings. With the added bonus of it being set in a con over four days, it was fun and fast paced and intense. A lot happens in these four days from each of the girls learning more about themselves and each other to how it is on the other side of the fandom. I really loved the diversity in the book too. Ethan is Asian and there is a f/f romance. I thought it was really well written and not like it was forced in there. Jessica is the actress who plays Princess Amara on the film Starfield and she receives a lot of hate. People are always commenting all over her social media, sending her hateful messages, which is difficult for her to handle. She feels as though no one wants her there because she wasn’t a Starfield fan and she didn’t want to be in future films. As a result of all of this she is distant and generally looks like she doesn’t want to be there. Although I didn’t particularly Jess at the beginning of the book as her story developed and we get to see all that she has had to go through and how unhappy and lonely she is and I ended up really loving her and totally rooting for her! “We need those stories, too. Stories that tell us that we can be bold and brash and make mistakes and still come out better on the other side” Imogen is probably the opposite of Jess. She is reckless and passionate and adores Starfield. So much so that she has spearheaded a campaign and started a petition to save Amara. She has a younger brother Milo who she feels she is constantly in the shadow of. Her mums can be a little over protective and she had her heartbroken at the last excelsicon. So she puts everything into the saving Amara campaign, regardless of whether Jessica Stone wants to continue being Amara or not. Throughout the story we learn why saving Amara is so important to Imogen but she also learns why it isn’t okay to force Jess to play a role that makes her so unhappy. They both have some great character development even though it is only set over four days and the beginning of a romance. While they switched places they both meet someone who they start to develop feelings for. Imogen’s hate to love was great, I loved how they both misunderstood each other and their own prejudices got in the way of them realising their feelings. And I oved that Jess was able to meet a girl who she could talk openly to without fear of her words being twisted and shared all over the internet. I loved seeing their friendship develop into something more. I liked that neither couple “fell in love” but that it was the beginning of something as they have only known each for a few days. I loved that the darker side of cons and being part of a fandom was also discussed from how obsessive fans can make the actors feel uncomfortable and unsafe. To how females are portrayed in films, especially sci-fi/fantasy. They tend to be a love interested and there to push the story and character development of the male hero. How actresses are held to higher and stricter standards than their male colleagues, even mentioning real actresses that this has happened to. “I’m sick and tired of princesses being either damsels in distress or the foil for a male character\’s emotional growth.\” I think the only thing I was unsure of was the motives of the person who leaked the script. Why was it leaked? What did this person hope to achieve? I also figured out pretty early on who it was but none of this lessened my enjoyment of this book. It’s honestly so fun and anyone who loves cons and is part of a fandom will love this! P.S Can we have Starfield made into a real show?

I throughly enjoyed delving into this book after devouring Geekerella! The world created is carried so well in this stand alone, and to have Elle and Darien and the whole gang return once again elevates this book to new standards. It retains its nerdy style that the first book delivers thoroughly, while giving us new and refreshing characters who we instantly fall in love with because of, as I’m sure most people will agree, the relatable and individual nerdy nature of each character. The book also delves deeper into Jessica’s character which I felt was an amazing way to carry on this universe, as we don’t truly begin to relate or become attached to Jess in Geekarella, and to see her become a women of her own who is forceful and strong and does the Princess Amara name proud. I would say this book is very successful as a stand alone and as a follow on from Geekerella, especially if read one after the other. 5 stars from me!

This follow-up to Geekerella sees some familiar characters as well as many new faces. Again I read this with a massive smile on my face. I particularly loved the details about the convention and its venue as they were spot on and invoked memories of a certain actual Atlanta Labor Day weekend convention I used to attend. I\’m not sure how else to express how much I love the characters and stories in this book – I am sure I need more of these books in my life.

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