Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1) by Ashley Poston - Restarting July 9th 2021

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

[cors]

Part One

(view spoiler)[ Okay, I like this book! I'm flying off the pages, I even think that I'll finish it today. Darien and Elle already unknowingly met through text, I'm not a huge fan of contemporary romance but holy crap I am loving this book. All the fandom references are getting me hyped. Can't stop reading. (hide spoiler)]

[San]

Part One
(view spoiler)[
This book is amazing! I love Darien and Elle and how geek their are. it so great that they message with each other and don't know who their are.
And these fandom references! :
"And may the force be with those chimichangas."
"Wibbly wobbly timey space stuff"

(hide spoiler)]

[cors]

Part Two

(view spoiler)[I'm gonna slap this fucking Chloe bitch I swear. I hate her so much! Oh Elle just for once please slap this bitch senseless can you?! I love this book I think i'll even give it a five star rating. (hide spoiler)]

[cors]

Part Three and a Half

(view spoiler)[ I'm so excited on what's gonna happen next. Omg! I definitely love this book. Are they gonna meet? I also love how we get to see the life behind the screen. (hide spoiler)]

[cors]

Finished

(view spoiler)[ THE BEST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE EVER. I cried a lot, it was open ended. I don't know if Elle and Darien's gonna be together forever but it was definitely absolutely, undoubtedly the best for me. (hide spoiler)]

[cors]

@Ginger- I loved this book, hope you feel the same

[San]

Part 2
(view spoiler)[
I swear I am the geek heaven! Weeping Angel, Dalek, Greased lightning, Frodo and Sam... And the list goes on and on!
I ship Darien and Elle so much! I love how we can learn so many about Darien. That he is also a fanboy and a real person and not just an actor like many of his fans see him.
Chloe is the worst person ever! I hate her so much! Hope she will get what she deserves. (hide spoiler)]

[Victoria]

I'm a little late but:

Part 1:
(view spoiler)[
I was beyond myself when she said wibbly wobbly timey wimey. This would've been a great book for my younger self since no one I knew watched DW in HS.

Also, how did I not know this was a Cinderella retelling until I realized she works in a pumpkin food truck?
(hide spoiler)]

Part two:
(view spoiler)[
I really like how the show they're obsessed with is fleshed out. I also love that they're calling out the stereo type that girls are fake geeks. ALSO her stepmother is a horrible human being.
(hide spoiler)]

Part three:
(view spoiler)[
I feel like their first meeting is going to go badly. Also, how will she "lose" the shoe?
(hide spoiler)]

The end:
(view spoiler)[
I liked this book, I feel like Elle was a little passive but I love that Darien was a PoC. I think overall it had a great message and that a lot of young readers could see that it's okay to like what you like.
(hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 9th of May 2017

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[Susan]

Part 1

I am only up to page 54 but I love the modern day twist on this story so far.

(view spoiler)[ The twins you love to hate as well as the horrid stepmother. I LOVE Sage who drives the Pumpkin food truck. When she served James the old food and he had the runs in front of Elle I was dying....priceless...I have a feeling I am going to love her in this book (hide spoiler)]

[Ananya]

Part 1:

Just finished Part 1 and about to start Part 2 :-)

(view spoiler)[ Okay. I HATE the stepmother, although I guess thats to be expected with a retelling of Cinderella. Also, even though Sage has only been in for a small part, I already love her just for the fact that she gave James the old food to make him sick. From the way Elle had described her, I did not expect her to do that at all! Oh Darien... I don't know how to feel about Elle and Darien because I felt like the whole thing was a bit too predictable but nonetheless I can't wait to see what happens next! Lastly, can I just mention that I laughed and cringed inside at the same time when I read the comments that were left on Elle's blog?? Like “yeah srsly gunners are NOT gunna be happy that d-free is at their con” I honestly laughed out loud. (hide spoiler)]

[Bianca]

Part 1:
(view spoiler)[ Wow. Darien is kind of... weird. lol. Didn't expected what he would like to do with the Mr. True Fan. (hide spoiler)]

[Susan]

Up to page 142

To say I am in love with this book is an understatement. This book is so cute a I love the modern retelling. Food trucks and colorful hair is so now and I love this story so much.

(view spoiler)[
I love that Elle is texting a total stranger who happens to be the person she thinks cannot do the job of her favorite character in Starfield. He is an actor who took on the role as Carmindor and the superfans are not happy about it. His name is Darien Freeman. He too is a superfan of the show and wants to do his favorite character well and doesn't think he can live up to the part. I love the banter between he and Elle. I love that Sage is turning into a fun girl and is going to help Elle with the Carmindor costume for the convention that is coming up. So far a fun book to read. (hide spoiler)]

[Ananya]

Part 2:

(view spoiler)[ JSKDJEJD I LOVE THIS BOOK and absolutely HATE. Chloe. I love how the relationship between Darien and Elle developed and they are so cute together :") As I predicted, Sage is probably my favourite character in this book after Elle because she has so much life to her! I feel like Elle and Darien both have their own problems to contend with so seeing Sage being carefree and willing to do so much for Elle warms my heart. THAT last chapter though. I was in such a happy mood up till that chapter. I honestly did not expect Chloe to be the one to ruin everything for Elle because I thought Catherine would be the one to catch Elle. But Chloe caught Elle and basically crushed all her hopes and dreams in a matter of like, 20 seconds. Honestly she's so selfish and self centred I want to throttle her. I think Cal probably was the one to take the princess Amaras dress?? And I was really excited to see Elle in the Carmindor costume but as long as she gets to go to the con I'd be happy now. AND I can't wait for the Elle and Darien to meet!! (hide spoiler)]

[Ananya]

Part 3: Halfway through

(view spoiler)[ "I don't think we should talk anymore" This made me so so so sad. I hate Brian. I hate Chloe. I hate Catherine. I really hope when Darien reveals his identity to Elle (hopefully at the masquerade?) she won't freak out or not believe him?? Also, as I've said before I absolutely love Sage and I really loved it that Cal helped Elle instead of siding with her sister or tattling to her about Elle being there. Can't wait to see how Darien and Elle meet! (hide spoiler)]

[Ananya]

Part 3: Ending

(view spoiler)[ o m g . I absolutely love this book. I love Cal, I love Elle, I love Sage and I love Darien. I love'd how everything ended and I think my heart burst with joy when Elle and Darien kissed because like, SO CUTE. (hide spoiler)]

[Bianca]

FINISHED
(view spoiler)[ I love the cinderella part. Like.. OMG!!!!!!! Her curfew! Oh my gosh. I hate Catherine so much for not loving Elle. Ugh. Especially CHLOE! My gosh! She deserves to be humiliated at the ending. lol. Hate her so much. And I love Franco, by the way. Cutie cutie~ (hide spoiler)]

[Susan]

Page 143 to Part 3

This book is amazing....I know it's my opinion but I love how close it gets to Cinderella and then it changes it in such a great way. This is right up there with Alex, Approximately which I gave a 5/5 stars to.

(view spoiler)[
Sage helps Elle sew up her dad's Carmindor costume so she can wear it when she enters the contest and they got it completed. Meanwhile the twins ransack the attic and discover her mom's (Elle's) Princess Amara dress and decide they will use it but it comes up missing which makes the mean twin go through Elle's room and discover her con tickets and bus tickets. She steals the con tickets and money she had stashed and rips the bus passes so Elle can't go....or so they thought. Sage and the pumpkin colored food truck to the rescue. Sage gets Elle there AND she is the one who stole the dress away from the twins :) Such a cute book (hide spoiler)]

[Susan]

The End....

Such a sweet good book and I wanted to read this book one more night and spend one more evening with this cute cast of characters. I did this a few days to many. It is a fast reading book and SO SO cute.

(view spoiler)[
In Cinderella, the mice made her a gown to go to the ball using odds and ends from the sisters dresses. The stepsisters tore apart the gown until there was nothing left of it to wear. In this book the gown was her mothers that the twins took from the attic. It got ruined and the others from the cosplay event took parts of their costumes and help construct Elle's a great looking gown. It helped her win 2nd place and win tickets to the Ball where she danced the night away with Darien (carmindor)

Of course she lost her slipper on the way to the food truck and needless to say the movie star and Elle figure life out and go on to be very happy....Such a fun ending and cute story (I know I can't say it enough but it's so true!!!) (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 25th of July 2017

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[faith]

yay so excited! thanks Abbie! (also thanks Michelle for requesting the thread, I completely forgot!)

[Michelle]

Heeey, sorry I'm late! My kindle decided to not work for some reason, but I fixed it so I'm gonna start this one right now. (:

[Michelle]

Alright, I've had the earc from Netgalley since like January maybe, so my version might be slightly different than the finished, published one.

7% (view spoiler)[This chick is extremely annoying. I mean, I get it. She has a horrible family that treats her like dirt, she's of course gonna have some issues. And I get it what it's like to be a fangirl, believeeeee me. But at least give this guy a chance! I never call anyone "fake fans" or judge them until they prove me right (or wrong). . . I'm not even expecting her to like him right now, but just stop complaining for five seconds... Sorry this is really annoying me lol. (hide spoiler)]

[faith]

that's okay! i've already read it, just forgot to post the updates oops :)

[faith]

28% / pg. 92
(view spoiler)[ahhh Geekerella is so cute so far! I love how it's basically dedicated to fandom, you don't see that very often.

it's all so relatable HAHA. like when Darien was talking to Jessica about how a female officer in Starfield "wasn't canon," but Jessica didn't really get it or what "canon" meant. that is literally me talking to people every. single. day.

I wonder what happened to make Sage like Elle all of a sudden. Elle says that she and Sage never really talked or interacted before, but now all of a sudden Sage is running across town to buy her ice cream and getting revenge on James on behalf of Elle.

it's really interesting how Darien says the person he's texting (Elle) is very calm and nice to talk to, unlike the blog Rebelgunner who posted a huge rant against Darien acting in Starfield (who also happens to be Elle). I'm really curious to see what's going to happen when Darien realizes they're the same person. (hide spoiler)]

[faith]

50% / pg. 160
(view spoiler)[I really hope Elle wins the cosplay contest. she needs it so much, unlike the twins. I can't believe they stole her mother's dress. really, it's like they're stealing Elle's mom away from her.

Darien is supposed to be "taking a break" from Elle, but I doubt he's going to. Mark set up a date with Jess for him, he's so controlling! I mean, I get that the film industry is pretty crazy, but he can't just force his own son to date someone he doesn't want to. (hide spoiler)]

[faith]

60% / pg. 192
(view spoiler)[Catherine is selling the house. why. it's so frustrating how she's selling the house that Elle loves so much just because Catherine spent all of Elle's dad's money. it sucks because I doubt that Elle is going to be able to stop her. she just spent all of her savings on ExcelsiCon and bus tickets, so she definitely does not the money to buy the house back. (hide spoiler)]

[faith]

75% / pg. 240
(view spoiler)[THEY MET THEY MET THEY MET. although they didn't seem to like each other very much. Elle doesn't like Darien because she thinks he's just acting in Starfield for the money and he isn't a real fan. Darien doesn't like Elle because she made a blog post against him.

I wonder if they're going to discover that the other is the person they've been texting. when all of the cosplayers gave pieces of their costume to Elle, I think that made her into a sort of representation of the whole Starfield fandom? I think she's going to win with that, and then maybe the judges will ask her what her name is and then Darien will realize who she is. I JUST REALLY WANT THEM TO MEET MEET

it's really funny (but also slightly frustrating) now because Elle dislikes Darien, the actor, but she's falling in love with Darien, her Carmindor. and Darien dislikes Elle, as the blogger Rebelgunner, but he's falling in love with the Elle on the other side of the phone.

Calliope actually spoke to Elle one-on-one for once. the whole book, she seemed really nice to Elle, but she also followed Chloe even when she did mean things. it's just that Elle never seemed to notice her attempts to be nice. but now, I think Elle forgave Cal after she gave her her mother's shoes. (hide spoiler)]

[faith]

(finished)

[Abi]

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Reading from the 7th of October 2017

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[noor]

Is it ok if I join?

[✨Skye✨]

Noor wrote: "Is it ok if I join?"

Of course! Any buddy read in this group is open to anyone :)

[☆☆Hannah☆☆]

I'm up to 25%.


(view spoiler)[Of course her stepmom is horrible. That's the one thing I hate most about Cinderella retellings. I feel bad for Darien. It would suck to join a show where the fans are crazy like that. You just can't make them happy. (hide spoiler)]

[☆☆Hannah☆☆]

I'm up to 50%.


(view spoiler)[I don't know why people want to be famous. To me the money isn't worth all the BS they go through. I really hope Elle's family gets what they deserve. (hide spoiler)]

[☆☆Hannah☆☆]

I'm up to 75%.


(view spoiler)[I really hate her family. Although, we are supposed to. I shouldn't be surprised that his friend screwed him over. In his line of work you can't trust anyone. (hide spoiler)]

[☆☆Hannah☆☆]

I'm finished.


(view spoiler)[I'm glad that she left her family but too bad she didn't get to keep the house. I was happy that Elle and Darien ended up together. Too bad his career will be a pain at times. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Finish this this morning super adorable!
(view spoiler)[ this is a world I am super unfamiliar with but I thought the story was adorable and I hope they live happily ever after! Going to now look at your spoilers (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Hannah wrote: "I'm up to 50%.


[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I don’t think Darien wants to be famous, but that Chloe what a witch! I agree I hope she gets what she deserves! I don’t get the famous thing either I wouldn’t mind the money though ;-) (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Hannah wrote: "I'm up to 75%.


[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Well it is really telling so yes we are supposed not like them, but I do like that the one sister has turned out to be pretty cool, and I think that’s why he is so infatuated with L because he met her outside of the limelight and her attraction to him Israel (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Hannah wrote: "I'm finished.


[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Small thing but she should be going to USC not UCLA I don’t think she could get in there without stellar grades, but anyways irrelevant to the plot, glad they are together and I definitely am wishing then that happily ever after (hide spoiler)]

[noor]

I just started lol
Maybe I can get in a few hours in later today

[✨Skye✨]

21% (view spoiler)[ This is cute and frustrating! The way Elle is treated by her step-mother and Chloe is appalling (though I do have hope for Cal!) and the lack of freedom Darien has in his life is sad. Not to mention that he was sexually assaulted on live television because his fans think they have rights to him. I really hope he shows he is a real Starfield fan and proves himself. (hide spoiler)]

[✨Skye✨]

45% (view spoiler)[ I don't get how Elle's stepmother can legally sell the house if she only has it until Elle turns 18? Surely Elle should be able to stop it? The stepmother is so horrible, hitting her and making her go fix a roof in the middle of the night. Sage is cool though and really sweet for helping with the costume. Darien definitely needs a better manager. (hide spoiler)]

[✨Skye✨]

63% (view spoiler)[ Okay, I just really want Darien to own up now. The longer he leaves it, the more angry Elle is going to be when she finds out. The twins are so mean for what they did with Elle's mom's dress, especially knowing what it would mean to her. I'm just at the part where Elle realises she's missed curfew at Sage's and I just know things are about to get bad. (hide spoiler)]

[✨Skye✨]

89% (view spoiler)[ It's so cute to see that Darien and Elle might have had something even without the texts. Also, Brian is a butthole. Also, so is Chloe. Also Mark. Basically there's a lot of not very nice people in this book! But Darien is going after Elle and will hopefully steal her away from her awful stepmom! Woo! (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Hope you are enjoying this I found it so totally adorable!

[✨Skye✨]

End (view spoiler)[ Ah, satisfying. Darien and Elle are together, the film went well, Elle got away from her awful stepmom and Cal and Sage are together. SO CUTE. (hide spoiler)]

[✨Skye✨]

Berit☀️✨ wrote: "Hope you are enjoying this I found it so totally adorable!"

Really cute! I loved the ending :)

[Berit☀️✨]

Agree, I want a pumpkin food truck! LOL