I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston Series: Once Upon A Con #2
Published by Quirk Books on April 2 2019
Genres: Young adult, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A feel-good, funny tale full of cosplay, romance and self discovery.
There are stories that you tell and stories that tell things to you; stories that win awards and stories that win hearts. Sometimes the stories you want aren’t the ones you need, and the ones you need are the ones you never thought you’d like.
Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows I don’t read contemporary YA—ever! So no one was more surprised that me when I agreed to check out The Princess and the Fangirl, the second book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series. And wow, I am so glad I read this book! I absolutely loved it, and I’ll be buying myself a copy of Geekerella just as soon as I can. This book had everything I didn’t realize I needed in a book: a story that takes place at a Con, characters who are geeky to the extreme and therefore completely relatable, slow burn, adorable romance (m/f, f/f and m/m, something for almost everyone!), a twisty tale where two lookalike characters agree to trade places for a couple of days and all the ensuing hilarity, tons of pop culture references and inside jokes that any geek is going to squirm over, and best of all a cast of characters who wiggled their way into my heart. In short, this book made me all kinds of happy, and what a lovely change it was from the dark and serious books I often read.
Actress Jessica Stone played Princess Amara in the wildly popular movie Starfield, and now she’s expected to sit on panels, answer questions and take selfies with her many fans at the annual pop culture convention ExcelsiCon. But Jess’ character supposedly died at the end of the movie and it’s still uncertain whether she’ll be brought back for the sequel. Jess wants nothing more than to leave Starfield behind and work on more serious films, but one fan has started a campaign to bring Amara back, and it’s gaining even more traction at the Con.
Imogen Lovelace is headed to ExcelsiCon, just like she has every year since she was little. Her moms run a booth there, and this year Imogen is finally going to meet her long time internet friend Harper. Imogen is a huge fan of Starfield and she’s started an internet campaign called #SaveAmara, garnered over 50,000 signatures, and now hopes to make even more of an impact at the Con.
When the script for the next Starfield film is stolen at the Con and leaked on Twitter, Jess will do anything to find the culprit and get back the script. She’ll even go so far as to switch places with Imogen—who just happens to be wearing the same beanie and looks remarkably like Jess—in order to find it.
The Princess and the Fangirl is a wonderful love letter to pop culture and its fans. If you have ever obsessed over a fandom, stood in line for hours to watch the midnight screening of the latest Star Wars movie, or spent time at a pop culture convention yourself, then you will love this book. Ashley Poston is either a huge geek herself or she did a ton of research. She references everything from Pokemon to Harry Potter, Star Wars to Zelda, and everything in between. And all the characters speak the same geeky language, trading quips and making jokes about their favorite fandoms. I especially loved when Imogen and Ethan meet and realize that they both have the same interests, even though at first they can’t stand each other.
But as much as I loved the setting, this story is all about the characters, and I fell hard for every one of them. Jess is your typical, stuck up actress in the beginning, trying to avoid her fans at all costs, but as the story goes on and we get to hear her side of things, we learn that she’s really hurting from all the internet trolls who are constantly attacking her, one of the downfalls of fame. Having a somewhat normal life for a few days did wonders for her personality and I ended up rooting for her. Imogen looks up to her younger brother Milo, who everyone seems to love, and wonders if she’ll ever do anything special with her life. It isn’t until she steps into Jess’s shoes that she gains self-confidence and realizes she’s just as special as Milo. Then there is Ethan, Jess’s best friend and constant companion, who is forced to hang out with Imogen when they switch places, and boy is he unhappy about that! I could see them falling for each other a mile away, but that was OK because boy did I want them to get together!! Jess also gets a shot at romance, and even some of the side characters, most notably Milo and his boyfriend Bran, had swoon-worthy parts to play.
And if you have read Geekerella, you’ll be thrilled to discover that some of the characters from the first book make an appearance in The Princess and the Fangirl. I actually felt lost during a couple of scenes when some of the references went over my head, but it made me even more eager to go back and read the first book.
This was such a fun story about mistaken identity, with both Imogen and Jess trying to fool everyone by pretending to be each other. And as you can imagine, things don’t always go smoothly. The action near the end gets a little out of control and felt a bit on the silly side, but it was all in good fun. And yes, you can expect a happy ending—something I’m honestly not used to in my reading!—this is a fairy tale, after all. And in addition to all the lighthearted fun, Poston drops in poignant moments about friendship, loyalty and being true to yourself.
Ultimately this is a story about seeing things from another perspective and how that changes your own worldview. Both Jess and Imogen are convinced that the other girl has the better life—until they swap places and realize that their owns lives aren’t so bad after all. I grinned and laughed my way through the entire story and wound up with a big goofy smile on my face. Even if you don’t think a contemporary YA story is your cup of tea, I strongly recommend that you give this one a chance.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Oh, this promises to be so much fun! Like you, I try to avoid YA (I have been burned too many times…) but these characters sound so delightful that making an exception will not be difficult at all 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE OUTSIDER, by Stephen King
I think it’s a perfect YA for SFF lovers in particular because of the setting and the geeky characters. They reminded me of myself!
I’m proud to declare myself a geek, so this will certainly be a book for me… 😉
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE OUTSIDER, by Stephen King
It’s a book for all geeks! And seriously fun when you need a break from “serious” books:-)
Great review! I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about this book and I didn’t realize it’s the second book in the Once Upon a Con series. I haven’t read Geekerella either but I know of it, of course. Also I very rarely read contemporary YA too so I know it’s a big deal to be recommending one and now I definitely want to read this book!
It’s just on the edge of genre fiction because it’s all about fandoms, so maybe that’s why I related so well to it:-)
An in-depth, detailed review, as usual. I was surprised too on seeing this post in my blog feed. You generally don’t read such books. It seems to be beautifully written, judging from your review. This s going into my TBR! 🙂
Debjani recently posted…Blog Hiatus
It’s so well written! And it deserves all the good reviews you may have seen around:-)
This sounds positively adorable. I’ve actually never been to a Con but I’ve always wanted to go.
It was adorable! I’ve been to cons, and she really gets the vibe:-)
Yay, glad it was good! Looking forward to having to use it as a light read to slip inbetween some of my more massive fantasy books.
Caitlin G. recently posted…Favorite Libraries in Books
It’s definitely a nice “breather” between heavier books! And it’s not just fluff, it’s so well written with great characters:-)
I love the sound of this and you’re quite right – it’s something I would not have expected to see on here or to like the thought of reading – but now here we are and I want a copy! Go figure.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…Friday Face Off : ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide’
I would not have read it if I didn’t have a review copy, and I’m really glad I did!
Hmm…I’m thinking of trying something outside my reading box. This could be a good one. Thanks for the awesome review. And I adore the cover!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Blitz and Giveaway ~ Spin by K.J. Farnham
It was just a bunch of fun!
This sounds like a fun, uplifting story, Tammy! I definitely want to read it now. Thanks for your terrific review!
It was so much fun, and I do love happy endings:-)
I don’t read contemporary YA either, but if I had to, this is exactly the type of book I would choose too! Sounds fun!
I can see you really enjoying this! I mean, there are some over the top, silly moments, but overall it’s so well written and paced, and I loved the characters.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this one, Tammy, even though it’s not your usual genre. I loved Geekerella so I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this one. Wonderful review!
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Blog Tour Review: IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE by Susan Kaplan Carlton
Thanks Suzanne! I’ll look forward to hearing what you think:-)
Yay! This is going to be fun! 🙂
Super fun, Lauren! I hope you get the chance to read it:-)
Ha! Yeah, I was surprised when I saw this on your Currently Reading bar. Glad it turned out to be good, though! I love stories about fandoms and Cons. 😀
It was actually fun to step out of my comfort zone, I had a great time:-)
This sounds like so much fun! I haven’t read Geekerella yet, but I was curious about it. Now I feel it’s worth giving it a go. 🙂
It’s worth it! I’ve already bought a copy of Geekerella so I’m ready to revisit this world, can’t wait.
I just finished this one too and it was so adorable! Sometimes you just need a fun and lighthearted read. 🙂
Exactly! Right after I finished I bought copies of both books, so some day when I have time I’m going to dive into Geekerella!
Great review!! I’m so glad you liked it! It is technically a YA Contemporary but it has so much sci fi and fantasy references that it doesn’t really feel like one! I could see Ethan and Mo’s romance coming a mile away too haha but it was my favorite of the romances in the book <3 I hope you like Geekerella too! <3
Brittany recently posted…The Bookish Academy Awards Tag
Everything about your review and this book just makes me smile! What a gorgeous fun story this is!
I really enjoyed the first book so I can’t wait to read this one too. Happy to hear it’s just as good.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
So glad I read the review!! From the title I was expecting a typical Hallmark-style love story, but then again, since you read it, I thought I should read the review…and now I see this is just right for me!
It sounds like I’d enjoy both this and “Geekerella”!
I love the review!! It makes me wanna read the book!! I think I can relate to the story since I have a side of being a fangirl. It is sometimes fun & hurting at the same times because of the spread of negativity on social media nevertheless it is a happiness that cannot be bought with money!!!
This sounds like such a fun read 🙂
I don’t read much YA contemporary either but this sounds good because it’s about geeks.