Spoiler Alert: The Ultimate Romantic Comedy for Fans of Fan Fiction, Perfect for Fall 2024, Get Ready to Ship These Characters Hard!

This book was fricking amazing. One of the best of the year and it’s only March.What made it so fantastic?1) Its maturity in how it handled complicated emotional issues. Just like me, they have rocky relationships with their parents. They recognize their parents’ short comings but still get hurt by them in spite of it. Just like me, they know that random people’s opinions don’t determine my self-worth, but old wounds unexpectedly crop up when least expected. Reactions and hurts are analyzed afterwards, instead of simply taking them as the truth of that moment. The pair are mature enough to admit they were wrong, to consider someone else’s emotions, to use that consideration to temper their own. I could relate to both in their doubts and insecurities. In making your friends your family. In not wanting to hide anymore and being brave enough to go through with taking off the protective mask.2) It was hilarious. I can’t remember the number of times I guffawed. Especially as we get to know Marcus and then read some of the drivel he has to act. I can’t decide which is my favorite. Maybe the kelp. But good grief, craggy sponges indeed. It was hilarious in an intelligent way, where some of the humor came from paying attention or not taking yourself too seriously.3) Its reflection on fat shaming. This isn’t a book that preaches or is treacly. It’s not a tragic tale or a finger-wagging epistolary. It’s a vulnerable look at how society’s condemnation of the imperfect can hurt, even when it’s well-meaning people who care. Even though I didn’t struggle with this issue growing up, there were other ways where I was ‘wrong’ and needed fixing. Reading this made me catch places where I’ve fat-shamed unintentionally and how I’ve subconsciously absorbed those messages. Times where my family has tried to be ‘helpful’ but was hurtful instead. Health challenges have meant weight gain and now I sometimes resent it when I hear that more exercise or a better diet would solve my problems, when vacuuming my living room or flipping my bed now is enough to make me feel exhausted. Why do I care if other people might decide I have a muffin top? Why do I worry about making sure I ‘hide my flaws’ when I’m in pictures?4) Its vulnerability helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin. Reflecting on ways I’ve let well-meaning messages hurt me and make me afraid. Seeing the courage to confront that pain and to decide that your opinion is the only one that matters and is enough. Seeing Marcus’s struggles because of how his parents handled parenting challenges and made him feel less rather than more. Seeing how those wounds made him hide behind a golden retriever facade and lie to his best friend out of fear that she’d treat him just like they did. Marcus and April’s challenges helped me heal from some of my own.5) Its fantastic OTP. April is someone I would be friends with. She’s a strong, confident, capable female who excels at a STEM job. She’s the kind of woman you can admire and are proud to call your friend. She also doesn’t define herself by men and she isn’t afraid to embrace her intellect or her femininity. She’s the kind of protagonist and woman we need to see more of. Marcus is... the kind of guy that more people should write. He’s what toxic males aspire to be in their puny ideas of masculinity (he’s ripped, handsome, could have any woman he wants), even though he’s so much more. He’s proof that being in touch with your feelings doesn’t make you effeminate or [insert derogatory descriptor here]. It also doesn’t make you a wuss (even though he might argue with me about his bravery) or someone to disrespect. He’s also not perfect nor does he always have the answer. And even though he’s wounded, he’s not a bad boy jerk. Neither of our OTP tries to change their partner or is focused on the superficial aspects of a relationship. He’s someone who is more than a pretty face.6) It’s a love story about people who aren’t in their 20s and are finding *that person* (the 1 and only) later in life. And it’s a love story about people who aren’t in their 20s. They’re still single, not because something’s wrong with them, but because they hadn’t found the right one. It’s rare to find a romance about people their age, especially one where being single was just life rather than being their fault.I can’t recommend it enough. Enthusiastic 5 stars.I know I’ll be doing a reread- it was that good. Especially right before Alex and Lauren’s story comes out. Can’t wait!!!

I thought I would love this book. One of my fav tropes in romance is when one part of the couple is a famous actor. Add in the fact that this book is filled with sections riffing on the GOT tv show, heavily mentions fandom, and sounds like it shares lots of similarities to You’ve Got Mail? Sign me up!Instead I thought this book was just okay. Spoilers mentioned after this because I don’t think I can say why I didn’t like this book without mentioning any.I thought it was a super interesting premise that Marcus acts a lot dumber than he is whenever he has to do an interview or interact with the public. It’s an interesting way of distancing yourself from the public eye when your whole career revolves around it. Except I didn’t like how the author actually executed it. When they were leaving the museum date and the paparazzi surrounded them and Marcus basically takes off his shirt to distract them from harassing April, it felt…kind of creepy on his part. Not sure why but I just really didn’t like it.Which another part of the museum date I really didn’t like was when they got hot and heavy during the earthquake simulator when they were surrounded by lots of other people, including families with kids. I guess it was the author trying to show that the characters had such great chemistry but instead it came off as the characters having no social awareness and them being gross/creepy, which kind of surprising that an actor wouldn’t be at least a little concerned with his actions in public. If the author had just tweaked the scene a little and made it so the earthquake simulator only fit two people at a time, I would have loved that scene.In the beginning of the book I really loved the author’s message on body positivity but then it quickly turned preachy and I felt like every page was the same message over and over again.And another thing, I was kind of disappointed we never got to see the folk band perform after all the times April mentioned them. It would have been a cool date idea, especially if Marcus got recognized while there and the crowd swarmed him, separating him and April, or just something adding to the conflict and tension of the story. For all the lip service the book gave about Marcus being famous, it never actually felt like it. Instead there was a lot of time with Marcus kind of just hanging out at April’s house. It almost felt like why even bother to make him famous in the first place if you’re not going to use it to the fullest extent?Also, April got more unlikable the longer the book went on. I get it, her relationship with her mom was very much not good. However, if you’re going to accept an invitation to someone’s birthday party, and you know it means a lot to them, and you deliberately set out to ruin it by dropping a bombshell on them that completely redefines your relationship with them, then hey maybe wait until the end of the party to tell them instead of ruining the party right at the beginning? Or just why even bother showing up?Okay, okay, one last thing, I swear. I liked the idea the author had of showing us the chats between April and Marcus’ fandom personas, but I hated the fact that all the chats were from months ago so they didn’t really have a bearing on the plot and instead of introducing tension to the story, it felt like it undercut the tension by a lot.This book had the set up to be my favorite book ever, and the fact that it wasn’t has left me with lots of emotions, as you can no doubt tell from this extremely long review haha.

This book spoke to me in so many levels!First, I'm still grieving the Supernatural finale and could relate with the unsatisfaction and need for fix-it fanfics. Besides, I wish Gods of the Gates were real so I could be a Lavineas Stan too (even if the series went downhill lol).April's struggles with fat shaming were so real and heartbreaking. I could relate with people's uninvited concern about her weight as I put on a few pounds during quarantine. She's such a strong and wonderful woman and she deserves the most beautiful happy ending.Finally, Marcus is another incredible character with an amazing (and sad) background that brings an insightful perspective of show business.This book is a love letter to fanfiction and fandoms, it has earned a special place in my heart and I can't wait to read Alex and Lauren's sequence.

Ich war so gespannt auf das Buch "Spoiler Alert" von Oliva Dade, nachdem ich in den sozialen Medien viel positives dazu gehört/gelesen hatte.Auch die Prämisse, dass sich die Protagonisten über Fanfiction kennen lernen, fand ich spannend und erfrischend.Markus ist Darsteller in einer beliebten Fernsehserie (wahrscheinlich ähnlich Game of Thrones) die auf einer Buchreihe basiert. Dadurch das in der Serie sein Charakter aber eher oberflächlich dargestellt wird, im Gegensatz zu den Büchern, findet er Fanfictions um darin seine Passion auszuarbeiten. Dort lernt er April (unter Pseudonym) kennen und die beiden bilden eine Freundschaft.April versteckt ihre Leidenschaft für Fanfiction und Cosplay vor ihren Freunden und Familie, da diese darüber nur die Nase rümpfen würden. Vor allem fühlt sie sich auch unsicher, weil sei ein paar Kilo zu viel auf den Rippen hat.Also an sich alles super Themen, die eine tolle Geschichte hätten bilden können. Es geht um Body-Positivity, Fandom-Zugehörigkeit und Identitätsfindung.Tja leider konnte der Schreibstil so gar nicht überzeugen. Zwischen den Kapiteln waren öfter Auszüge von den Fanfictions die April oder Markus geschrieben haben, Filmskripts mit Szenen aus der Serie oder anderen Filmen die Markus gedreht hatte oder Chat-Verläufe eingefügt. Nur leider hat sich hier mir zumindest der Sinn nicht so ergeben, denn teilweise hatten diese nicht wirklich was mit dem entweder vorher geschehenen zu tun, oder was als nächstes kommt.Auch eine wirkliche emotionale Bindung konnte ich nicht zu den Charakteren aufbauen. Irgendwann war es mir auch egal, was sie fühlen, hauptsache die Geschichte wird irgendwann fertig.Manche Verhaltensweisen besonders von April fand ich sehr schwierig. Klar sie hat Probleme mit ihrem Körper bzw. fühlt sich deswegen schnell angegriffen, aber wenn sie Markus quasi Worte in den Mund legt bzw. im Vorwürfe macht für Dinge die er gesagt hat, die sie falsch oder anders interpretiert und für Dinge die er gar nicht wissen kann, und sie das als beleidigend empfindet, war schon schwierig. Auch die über-analysierenden Gedankengänge waren kräftezehrend zu lesen. Statt miteinander zu reden, werden die Sachen nur gedacht, in der Hoffnung, dass der Gegenüber das weiß und sich entsprechend verhält.Dann das Ende fand ich etwas zu abrubt. Einerseits, gut, dass es endlich zu Ende war, aber ich hätte gern noch mehr von dem Interview von Markus erfahren und wie allgemein die Reaktionen dann waren.Vielleicht lernt man darüber in bisschen in dem nächsten Band, denn die dortige Geschichte wurde ja in Spoiler Alert auch schon angeteasert.Auch soll es eine Rom-Com sein, nur leider meinen Humor hat das Buch so gar nicht getroffen. Ich hab eher mit den Augen gerollt, als das ich amüsiert war.

As a fat woman who loves, loves romance books; I have always felt hard to connect to the female MC because they were described as a different species as me.But in this novel, Olivia Dade gave someone who look like me, with struggles similar to my own, and I found myself on the verge to tears (more than once) because i was seing my fears, my doubts, my desires in a piece of paper. i FELT, EXACTLY, AS THE BOOK DEDICATION.

It's fun but not the best book I've read. The editing process needs a lot more work. It's a bit too long.

It is a story of a boy (Marcus) and a girl (April) who write fan fiction anonymously until one knows the other's identity when they are on a date. Marcus happens to be a celebrity, and April is his fan who, when body-shamed on Twitter, lands a date with this hot celebrity. Marcus falls in love with April because of her intelligence but can never open about his childhood trauma. Slowly and steadily, both open about their emotional baggage and help each other become a more stable person. Olivia describes each romantic moment in great detail, allowing the reader to realize why they start feeling so deeply about each other. It is a heartfelt love story, and Marcus will blow you off your feet! If you want to read something with a happy ending while PMSing or otherwise.. this is the one for you!