Review: The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Hey all, Dani here.

Sorry for my post being late today. There was a communication/scheduling snafu, so our internet was finally installed just a few minutes ago…which is about six hours after it was supposed to be. So I obviously didn’t get around to writing up my post in time. Apologies, but hopefully everything will be back to a normal schedule now.

Okay, anyway, let’s just jump into the review.

Summary

The Prince and the Pauper gets a modern makeover in this adorable, witty, and heartwarming young adult novel set in the Geekerella universe by national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favorite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year’s ExcelsiCon isn’t her last, she’ll consider her career derailed.

When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. That’s easier said than done when the girls step into each other’s shoes and discover new romantic possibilities, as well as the other side of intense fandom. As these “princesses” race to find the script-leaker, they must rescue themselves from their own expectations, and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

This was such a cute follow-up to Geekerella, which is exactly what I was hoping for. But I will start off this review by saying that I do think you need to read Geekerella before reading this one. It follows the events of the first book, and that plot, as well as those characters, are all pretty important to this story.

I love how much of a love letter this is to fandom. It just makes me feel so giddy inside to see all of the people geeking out at the convention. There were so many scenes similar to what I’ve witnessed or been a part of and I just absolutely adore that feeling of belonging in a geeky environment.

However, what I will say with this book, is that it also really focuses on some of the darker sides to fandom. It doesn’t just have a focus on the whole fake geek situation, but also on non-geeks judgment on geeks. This is clearly seen with Jessica, who is an actress playing a character in a very popular sci-fi series movie reboot, but she is completely clueless about what it is to be a true part of fandom. She doesn’t understand why people enjoy the shows or movies or cons, but I think she starts to learn and figure it out as the story progresses.

Oh, and I will also say that it feels like the relationships moved a little quickly, because this whole story takes place over the four days of the convention, so there’s not a lot of time. Yes, con romances happen, but they do still feel rushed. Then again, if there is yet another classic tale updated for this Once Upon a Con series, then perhaps we’ll get to rejoin this characters again in another year and see where they end up.

So this is definitely going to be a keeper in my library, and I will absolutely be rereading both books in this series, because I love awesome, cutesy, geeky books with some romance in them.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.