Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade Series: Spoiler Alert #1
Published by Avon on 2020-10-06
Length: 419 pages
Reviewing Paperback from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2022 Beat the Backlist, COYER 2022
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Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.
Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet’s favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone discovered his online persona, he’d be finished in Hollywood.
April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobbies from her “real life”—but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her internet critics, truth officially becomes stranger than fanfiction.
On their date, Marcus quickly realizes he wants more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But when he discovers she’s Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to keep from her.
With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?
I absolutely adored this book! Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade combines two of my favorite tropes – celebrity and penpal – which sets us as the reader up for some great dramatic irony. Following an actor at the height of his career and a curvy geologist who gets her 15 minutes of fame via twitter, Spoiler Alert is an unputdownable read that is sure to leave you smiling.
April Whittier is a career woman by day and a fanfic writer and cosplayer at night. This character is so much fun. She’s driven, empathetic, and not ashamed to be who she is. I identified with her so much. It’s nice to see a character who looks like me on the page, curvy and ok with it. She doesn’t hide that she is overweight, and despite having some insecurities stemming from her parents, April is happy with her looks. When her weight is pointed out in a negative light after posting a stunning picture of herself in cosplay as her favorite character, she is shocked with an intriguing proposal: a date with Marcus Caster-Rupp.
Marcus is an actor, who just finished filming the series finale of a long standing fantasy epic (think like Game of Thrones). He is tired, overworked, and ready for a change. He just doesn’t know what. His escape from the script and his real life is writing fanfic about the show and how he feels it should have gone. I love Marcus. He is a fantastic character, if a bit naive at times. Having struggled most of his life with undiagnosed dyslexia, his celebrity persona is about his looks and he appears dim. When in reality, Marcus is anything but that. And he is tired of playing that game.
When Marcus and April meet up for their date, as the reader, we know that these two already have a relationship, they just don’t know it yet. This is one of my favorite tropes/gimmicks in books/movies. Marcus writes as Book!AeneasWouldNever on his fanfic server and has been friends with Unapologetic Laivinia Stan for a few years, beta reading each other’s work and sharing personal tidbits about their day. Marcus realizes fairly quickly who April is, and sadly realizes that his celebrity persona isn’t going to win her over. If he wants April in his life for real, he is going to have to be himself without telling her his fanfic name because if that ever got out it would end his career. I have to say that I loved and hated this plot point. I get it. Marcus would face serious repercussions for the things he wrote even though he never links it to the show. April is left clueless, and I love her POV chapters where we see her falling for Marcus.
Overall I really enjoyed Spoiler Alert! I loved Marcus and April together. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship grew over time and how they overcame their secrets. I loved the fanfic aspect of the book. I read a lot of fanfic myself so it was fun to see it play out in a book as well. If you are a fan of romantic comedies, I highly recommend this one.
About Olivia Dade
Olivia Dade grew up an undeniable nerd, prone to ignoring the world around her as she read any book she could find. Her favorites, though, were always, always romances. As an adult, she earned an M.A. in American history and worked in a variety of jobs that required the donning of actual pants: Colonial Williamsburg interpreter, high school teacher, academic tutor, and (of course) librarian. Now, however, she has finally achieved her lifelong goal of wearing pajamas all day as a hermit-like writer and enthusiastic hag. She currently lives outside Stockholm with her patient Swedish husband, their whip-smart daughter, and the family’s ever-burgeoning collection of books.
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