Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
Spoiler Alert 1 (series name may change)
April Whittier has long hid her fandom involvement, from her cosplay to her fanfiction writing, due to possible ramifications with her job. Now that she is no longer dealing with billable hours at her new job, April has decided to be more open. She takes a chance and posts a photograph of herself in character costume on Twitter in response to her favorite series Gods of the Gates (a Game of Thrones style series). Sadly, because she is a plus side woman, the trolls and haters come out in force. So does a most unexpected person with a request for a date.
Marcus Caster-Rupp played Aeneas in Gods of the Gates and pretended to be dumb and pretty in his real life. he hides both his intelligence and his dyslexia, afraid to rock the boat of his career. He luckily has an online friend in fellow GotG fanfic writer, Ulsie (UnapologeticLaviniaStan) that doesn't know who he is, but is supportive and encouraging of his writing. It gives him an outlet to express his disgust with how the series was run through fix-it fanfiction. Then he sees the Twitter post and the horrific insults and slurs. He finds himself not only defending the woman, but asking her out on a date.
The relationship between April and Marcus will be rocky, with a wealth of secrets and family dynamics coming to the forefront, bringing insecurities back again. Then there is the glare of publicity in a popular actor dating a fan who looks like April. People can be cruel, in and out of fandom. But fandom also encompasses some of the kindest, most caring and inclusive people ever.
Numerous BookTubers were raving about this book, so I decided to check it out from my local library. After all, it's a romance with a plus size heroine, with a dyslexic actor hero, who are both fanfiction writers. Add some convention appearances and you have serious catnip dragging me in. Especially for someone who has been in various fandoms for decades and also writes fanfiction. Not to mention all the conventions of various sizes and orientation that I've attended.
First, let me start out with the obvious. The cover. To see a plus sized heroine who is actually portrayed that way hit my heart so very hard. I cannot tell you how many plus size heroines were "airbrushed" into socially acceptable thinness, and not just on romances. Super kudos to the publisher!
The story is fun, yet also grabs your emotions. The writing flows smoothly as it switches from Marcus to April and back again, before they finally meet up. It also has an authenticity that only a member of fandom, a writer of fanfiction, can provide. While I'm more a historical romance reader the older that I get, I can and do make exceptions for the right author and the right book. This is both. I'm glad I took the chance. A lovely read with a sequel already in the works. 3.5 out of 5.
