The Prince and the Pauper gets a Geekerella-style makeover in this witty and heartfelt novel for those who believe in the magic of fandom—now with an excerpt from Bookish and the Beast.Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: to save her favorite Starfield character, Princess Amara, from being killed off. On the other hand, the actress who plays Amara wouldn’t mind being … actress who plays Amara wouldn’t mind being axed. Jessica Stone doesn’t even like being part of the Starfield franchise—and she’s desperate to leave the intense scrutiny of fandom behind.
Though Imogen and Jess have nothing in common, they do look strangely similar to one another—and a case of mistaken identity at ExcelsiCon sets off a chain of events that will change both of their lives. When the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, with all signs pointing to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. The deal: Imogen will play Jess at her signings and panels, and Jess will help Imogen’s best friend run their booth.
But as these “princesses” race to find the script leaker—in each other’s shoes—they’re up against more than they bargained for. From the darker side of fandom to unexpected crushes, Imogen and Jess must find a way to rescue themselves from their own expectations…and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.
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Adorkable!
Ashley Poston deliveries another fantastically nerdy retelling. With so many fun nerdy references its hard not to fall in love with these characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and seriously hope Poston writes more!
Wonderful series about the power of geekdom and fandoms. If you’ve ever been a hardcore fan of just about anything, then you would understand. This time around we get a modern twist of The Prince and the Pauper when we follow celebrity Jessica Stone and her doppelgänger Imogen Lovelace as they switch places and try and right the wrongs going on in their respective lives. Both learn the power of fandoms along with the good, the bad, the ugly, and all that that entails.
Imogen is a fan of Starfield and starts a campaign to save her favorite character Princess Amara. At ExcelsiCon she spends her time asking fans to sign her petition to bring the princess back and hands out buttons with her #saveAmara initiative printed on them. But the actress who plays Amara wants nothing to do with the part. Jessica Stone has seen the backlash of fans who didn’t approve of her take on Amara, and she wants to leave Starfield far behind. When the two girls meet they realize how similar in looks they are. Jessica sees her chance to have a moment of peace from the spotlight, and Imogen sees her chance to save Amara. They switch places and realize that living in each other’s shoes isn’t what they expect it to be.
The Princess and the Fangirl is a retelling of The Princess and the Pauper. I don’t know enough about the story it is based on to tell you if it was a decent retelling, but what I can tell you is that I had a lot of fun reading this one. I love when books have moments that make me snicker at one-liners the characters fling out, and there were many times I found myself doing this while reading. I do think there were a few too many shout outs to geekdom, but overall I still enjoyed it.
I also found myself more drawn to Jessica’s character in this book. Even though she was introduced in Geekerella, she wasn’t exactly a likable character. But once you get into her mind and see what she struggles with daily, you begin to sympathize and understand Jessica more. Not only did she deal with her insecurities with body image and self-confidence, but she also had outside pressure from a fandom that would tear her apart with words.
Ashley Poston does a great job portraying both sides of fandom. As the story progresses she exemplifies how great and how terrible fandom can be. You have the fans that love new reincarnations of a show, and on the other side, you have those people who nit pick and try to tear down every piece of it. And she puts the characters right in the spotlight, showing how it affects the people that are involved with the characters these fans love or hate. It’s an eye opening experience, and even with some of the heavier themes it deals with the pace never slows down.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced read, filled to the brim with geek references, then look no further. The Princess and the Fangirl is the book for you!
A fun romance set in the world of cons (like conferences, not like con artists) with a disaffected TV/movie star switching places with a normal con attendee — both finding more than they bargained for along the way.
Imogen Lovelace is with her brother and her mothers at Excelsicon, a yearly event for her geeky family. She is a huge fan of the Starfield franchise and she’s launched a campaign to save the female lead, Princess Amara. The problem? Jessica Stone, who played Princess Amara in the latest movie, doesn’t want the princess to be resurrected; she just wants to move on with her (hopefully) Oscar-worthy career. When Jess misplaces her copy of the sequel’s script, she realizes that she has to find it or she will be ruined. Jess conscripts Imogen, who looks startlingly like her, to stand in at her panels and meet-and-greets while she frantically searches for the missing script.
This series is completely adorable! Which makes it sound like it’s for younger kids, but it is written for young adults. Still–I’m going to let adorable stand.
There are so many things to love in this book. I love that Imogen has two mothers and her brother is gay. I love that everyone at Excelsicon is so unabashedly geeky. Attendees actively celebrate and encourage geekiness! I love that Poston addresses the darker side of fandoms. You know, those people who think that sequels or different actors or actresses will never be any good and who constantly troll actresses in particular about how they’re too fat or too thin or too ugly or too flat-chested or just too anything.
Mostly, I just love the characters that Poston creates. They’re regular people who get excited about the things they love and relate to. They’re perfect strangers who bond over a shared love of a TV show or movie. They’re people who are maybe teased or bullied about their enthusiasms in the wider world but who find acceptance among their own people at a Con or on a message board. They find quotes with ideas they need to hear in the shows they love and adopt them as their personal credos. And they understand that the color or shape of a character doesn’t matter; Princess Amara’s spirit lives in all of us. How can you not love a book like this?
I realize I haven’t said much about the plot. That’s because so much of this book is about its heart. But to address that for just a minute, the plot was maybe a bit implausible (Why wouldn’t Imogen be the one looking for the lost script instead of famous Jess?) but there were some twists and turns and I was surprised by the ending. I loved that Imogen realized how hard Jess’s shoes are to fill and that Jess started to better appreciate her fans.
If you’re looking for a deep, Literary read, these books are not for you. But if you’ve ever had serious conversations about what happens to characters after the book/movies end, drawn fan art, written fan fiction, pre-ordered tickets or books for sequels that you just couldn’t wait for, dressed up like a beloved character, quoted favorite lines, or been gloriously geek-tastic in any of a million different ways, this series is for you. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
I was so excited when it was announced that Poston was going to continue telling modern fairytale retellings within the Geekerella world!
The Princess and the Fangirl ended up being far more hysterical than I was expecting. It has a slightly lighter plot line than Geekerella did.
So much of Imogen’s narrative had me cackling and barking out loud with laughter. Poston has a gift at writing beautifully sassy nerd girls that are crazy relatable.
What I loved most about this book is how inclusive Poston was at talking about both the positive and the negative sides of fandom life. She did a great job at showing how we can come together, but she also shines a light on how toxic it can be, especially on the internet — she discusses negative comments left for celebrities and how it can effect them. She also included a #MeToo situation, and it was handled perfectly.
I really adored this book.
Based in the world where GEEKERELLA lived (read that one first, if only because it’s fantastic fun), this one has a different spin with new main characters. A Prince and the Pauper vibe where each girl has her own stubborn agenda and needs to learn a little before they can settle back into place. It was fun to read, I liked the characters, and was happy to see the inclusive cast of characters from the first books grow even more in the second.