Avon Books Spoiler Alert: A Novel

I loved this book so much! It's so well written, and the characters are so loveable. They're both nerds writing Fanfics and one of them is a famous actor who uses his online pseudonym to criticize the show because the books did it better! Don't we know it.It was entertaining seeing him marvel around April when he learns she's his online best friend that he's always wanted to meet...and she doesn't even know.So so so sweet you have to read! Although some parts did feel weird like you question why he did this, or why did she do that....and the climax did feel slightly underwhelming(I just wanted to be moved). But overall this was one whole book of FLUFF.

This is my favorite romcom of 2020 and the bar was not low after Well Met and Well Played.These characters were just SO FREAKING RELATABLE ON EVERY LEVEL. Complex and interesting and fully alive. I loved April and Marcus so much and their personal struggles, while feeling entirely natural and authentic, made them uniquely suited for one another in a way that made so much sense. EVERYTHING about this romance felt as natural as breathing, effortlessly executed, and I enjoyed it so much I stayed up half the night to finish reading it, and am now mad that I didn't savor it more.Which means it is time to go shopping Olivia Dade's backlist, so ttyl!

Too many curse words words. There is some play on how people felt about the Game of Thornes TV show, which is something, but seeing as I'm not a consumer of that franchise, my real interest was int he fanfiction aspects of this book. But...a fanfic writer and a beta reader falling in love isn't really THAT exciting, and the profanity in this book is way too much. There is something cool where the actor has to pretend to be dim-witted. And I suppose part of the purpose of this is to show that plus-sized women can find lovers, which I mean, is a pnice thing to show in books...But first, we need to get away from having this self-conscness thing about plus-size women in books, it's freaking annoying. I do commend this offer for exploring that hough, but regardless, this book has made me more likely to distrust these so-called illustrated covers that romance books have had the last few years. I think I'll stick with YA contemporary romance, since those can be compelling, but this...wasn't.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia DadeSumptuous. Elegant. Pure lustiness. Love. An absolute winner.Loved this book. The characters and their interactions.April is brave and wants to be liked for who she is today regardless of her size. Marcus is shy but forced into the public eye so performs a role of confidence in public. Both have had difficulty dealing with their parents lack of acceptance.The hero, oh he feels so much and doesn’t trust easily.It took me a long time to read this book. The more I love a book, the slower I read. Immediately rereading paragraphs two or three times before moving on. I put it down and read something else a couple of times in the middle.Because I loved it so much and didn’t want that new and “in love” feeling to end.Contemporary romantic comedy.Excerpts to show Marcus and his feelings: “And if this is the last time we meet, please know it was an honor to spend the evening with you, April Whittier. AKA Unapologetic Lavinia Stan.” She’d given him a final chance, and he’d taken it. Now she had hers. She wasn’t hesitating another moment. “Let’s do a second date,” she told him. “Are you free the day after tomorrow?” That smile. F[...] that smile. It banished the shadows in the dim restaurant. Lit his eyes. Turned her buoyant and giddy, light as helium, as his hand reached for hers again and tethered her safely to the earth. “Yes,” he said, his fingers interlacing with her own. “Yes. For you, I’m free.”Excerpt from Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade “You look beautiful.” Simple fact. It had to be said. Her mouth, soft and slightly downturned upon her arrival, twitched upward into a sweet smile. “Thank you.” When she opened her arms for a hug of greeting, he fell into them. Tugged her close, one hand spread on her back, another resting at her bare nape, where silky little hairs tickled his fingers. Rested his cheek on her crown and breathed in roses and spring. April. Her warm, lush body conformed to his, yielding and filling in gaps he hadn’t even known existed. At his own back, her individual fingertips pressed into him, their pressure noticeable. To his pleasure, she was hugging him fully as much as he was hugging her. She clung longer than he’d have expected, her breath hitching once. When he finally pulled back a few inches, her eyes were a little too bright behind those glasses. “Thanks,” she said. “I needed that.”Excerpt from Spoiler Alert by Olivia DadeI received a copy of this from NetGalley. I also purchased a copy to share.

A fair preface would be that I don't typically read romances and am not a huge fan of them in general. I try not to let my disinterest in the genre stop me from picking up a book with a good premise though, and I loved the synopsis of Spoiler Alert. The not-so-veiled criticism of the last seasons of Game of Thrones was hysterical, and I got the sense that writing this was very cathartic for the author.The romance was sweet, and the story as a whole is a love letter to Fandom and the people who build, create, and encourage fan communities. Many have mentioned the fat positivity, but the nerd positivity is upfront and center just as much, and all the characters are incredibly non-judgemental and encouraging of each other's interests.I have to admit, I was a little underwhelmed with the language overall and just how positive it was. The way the characters talk to each other is just so... healthy. There's so much attention paid to how they communicate and empathize with each other to the point that it didn't always feel real. It felt genuine in the sense that it was all in-character, but as a reader I kept thinking along the lines of,"People don't talk like that..."I never really found April and Marcus to be that believable, and their struggles as a couple never felt all that important because they're just so nice to each other! But at the end of the day this is a nerdy feel-good romance, and if that's what you're looking for, you'll love it!