Romance

Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert #1)

Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert #1)

By: Olivia Dade

Blurb:

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he’s known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster.  Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.

Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide 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?

Review:

I started reading Spoiler Alert in the early afternoon. At the first thinly veiled Game of Thrones shade, I couldn’t put it down. I’ve never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones, but I heard about so much of the behind the scenes stuff that I was almost as mad as the rest of the world when the show ended the way it did. Reading as Dade completely lambasted the showrunners was food for my soul.

Marcus is the star of Gods of the Gates, the popular TV show adaption of the book series of the same name. After years playing the character Aeneas the showrunners are ruining his character, along with everyone else’s. His way of venting is to create fanfiction. It’s adorable.

Marcus has crafted a public persona as being the loveable, vain, golden retriever. While in real life, he’s incredibly smart and shy. Combine that with his dyslexia, and he’s found it easier to create that persona than show the world how intelligent he is. He focuses on his exercise routine in interviews and not his character’s emotional journey. Unfortunately, the role he’s created for himself is chaffing, and he’s ready for change. He’s just not sure how to go about doing it. When he meets April, he’ll do anything to be with her, and she does not waste her time on people who hide who they are from her.

April is a geologist. She’s smart and driven and has spent years hiding a part of herself to avoid harming her professional career. She is also ready for a change and has taken that plunge before the book has even started. Next on her list, meet up with her fanfiction friend that she’s pretty sure she’s fallen in love with, though she’s unwilling to admit it.

Both of these characters are fleshed out considerably. You see their friendships and professional lives. Plus, all they’ve created on the fanfiction website. They both have issues with their parents. The problems stem from their parents not accepting them for who they are and preferring to force them to be what their parents want. It’s incredibly sad on both sides.

Moving away from the serious stuff, Spoiler Alert is freaking hilarious. I took a couple of pictures of pages and sent them to my friends because they were so funny I had to share them. In between each chapter is either a text conversation, excerpt from a script, or snippets of fanfiction. So often, they had me laughing out loud and running to find my husband so that I could read them to him.

There was a ton to love about Spoiler Alert, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I also plan on looking into Oliva Dade’s backlog because I need more books like this in my life.

5/5

Library Haul 02-14-21

In this picture you can see the stack of new books I picked up beside the stack of books I’ve yet to read. The reading frenzy from 2020 has not carried into 2021. Instead I’ve been working on editing a couple of books I’ve written. As well as playing a lot of Stardew Valley, and of course there’s the great movie re-watch going on. I’m afraid books have fallen to the wayside.

I really, really want to read most of these a lot. I’m hoping that I can get my butt in gear and knock some of these out fast. Fingers crossed 🤞

I’ve started Fireborn by Keri Arthur. I’m hoping to find something similar to an Ilona Andrews book, but so far I’m not feeling it. I’ve read Arthur in the past and enjoyed her so I should at least enjoy the story, even of it’s not what I was hoping for.

Romancing the Stone (1984)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writer:

Diane Thomas

Starring:

Kathleen Turner

Michael Douglas

Danny DeVito

Blurb:

A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.

Thoughts:

I love adventure movies, and Romancing the Stone ticks all of my boxes. Not only is it an adventure, but it also includes romance, and it does it well. How often can you say that? Never, that’s how often. I wonder if it’s because a woman wrote it? Sadly, Diane Thomas was killed in a drunk driving incident, and we never got to see other movies from her. Apparently, she was working with Spielberg on some things at the time too. That’s two female writers in the 80s, attached to movies I love, that died…

Reviewers have compared Romancing the Stone to Indiana Jones, and I don’t see it. Apart from the fact that they’re both adventure movies, they don’t share anything else. Joan Wilder, Kathleen Turner, is definitely the main character. I don’t care what Michael Douglas thinks. Joan was the main one, and he was her sidekick.

They weren’t fighting Nazis. They were searching for treasure with a treasure map. Archeology played no part. Seriously, other than the adventure aspect, how is this like Indiana Jones? It feels like reviewers getting all pissy cause it was female-led.

Two conspiracies in one post, nice!

And now it’s time for Random Facts from the Wikipedia Article!

-Sylvester Stallone was considered for the role of Jack Colton. Thank goodness that didn’t happen, I can only imagine how he would have demanded things be changed, plus he’s not good with romance.

-Robert Zemeckis almost didn’t get to make it because 20th Century Fox had no faith in him after two failures. It was because of the success of Romancing the Stone that he could go on and make Back to the Future.

And that’s the end of another edition of Random Facts from the Wikipedia Article!

There weren’t many random facts this time. The film didn’t have much drama going on with it, so that’s nice.

I wish more movies like this were being made—films like this and tv shows like The Librarians. I’m hoping that because of everything that’s going on in the world, entertainment will start to veer toward a lighter fare. Bridgerton was wildly successful, proving that people want happy, predictable media right now. Please, please bring back my adventure movies. The only upcoming one I’m aware of right now is Uncharted with Tom Holland, and considering it’s based on a video game, I do not have high hopes.

I’ve written a whole long blog post about my favorite Adventure movies and my feelings on them, so there isn’t much else to say about Romancing the Stone.

Well Played (Well Met #2)

Well Played (Well Met #2)

By: Jen DeLuca

Blurb:

Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it’s been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she’ll even find The One.

When Stacey imagined “The One,” it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she’s not sure what to make of it.

Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey’s shock, it isn’t Dex—she’s been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

Review:

I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my favorite tropes is falling in love through text. I love it in movie or book format. It’s just so romantic. I was excited to read Well Played not only because of the premise but because I enjoyed the previous book Well Met. Sadly, Well Played was not as good.

Stacey, or Beatrice when she’s at the Faire, was the heroine. She’s plus-sized, which I enjoyed. There was a scene where she was trying on a bridesmaid’s dress, and I really connected with what she was feeling. The book starts with her in a funk. She’s stuck and not sure what to do with her life. It had been thrown off course when her mother had a heart attack, but years later and Stacey hasn’t recovered. Enter the “hero.”

One drunken night, dejected and depressed, Stacey sends a message that starts a yearlong communication. She falls in love only to have the rug pulled out from beneath her twice. Each time the man apologizes and just fucking walks away! UGHHH!! Are you kidding me?? Twice! TWO TIMES!!! It’s Stacey that has to fight for their relationship. She’s the one that makes the grand gesture. She’s the one that reaches out. It is soooooo frustrating.

I knew a twist was coming. I even knew what that twist was going to be. I was hoping for something huge from the hero as an apology, and the only thing we got was a nice letter. It was a major let down. Even their happily ever after (more like happy for now because I don’t see the relationship working long term) didn’t make things better. There was no longevity to any of it. That could just be me with that particular complaint.

I plan on reading the next book because I like the setting and Well Met, but I was very disappointed in this one. My favorite trope, one I’m willing to give a pass on things that would typically bother me, and I can’t move past the lack of passion on the heroes side.

2/5

Written in the Stars

Written in the Stars

By: Alexandria Bellefleur

Blurb:

After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.

Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.

When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.

But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?

Review:

I was not expecting to love Written in the Stars as much as I did. I figured if I were lucky, it would be cute, but I expected to be put off by the astrologist. As much as I enjoy looking at the occasional horoscope, it’s not something that I believe in. I expected Elle to be super flighty and borderline stupid. I had low expectations that Bellefleur would be able to sell the relationship. I was wrong.

Elle is an astrologist, but you never get the impression that she’s anything less than passionate, driven, and smart. She knows who she is as a person, and she likes herself. She does what makes her happy, and she’s found a way to make a living at it. She’s living the dream, except for being unable to find her soul mate.

Meanwhile, Darcy is two years out of a bad relationship. She’s closed herself off, and the last thing she wants is to fall in love. She keeps going on dates only because she loves her brother so much and wants to make him happy. Even that has its limits, though, and she convinces Elle that faking a relationship will help them both. If it weren’t for the obvious sparks flying between the characters, the fake relationship wouldn’t have worked because there was almost nothing in it for Elle.

They were beautiful together. In the In Death series, there’s an older couple, Dr. Mira and her husband, Dr. Mira (I don’t remember their first names, lol). They’re both brilliant but pretty different in personality. However, you never doubt how much they feel for each other. I could see Elle and Darcy becoming like them. It was adorable.

There is nothing on Goodreads about this being a series, but there were a couple of characters that could conceivably be written about, Darcy’s brother, Elle’s roommate, and Darcy’s best friend. I would definitely read them if they’re written. Especially since I’m hoping there’ll be peeks at Elle and Darcy. The book ended a bit abruptly, and I want to know more about what happens to them.

5/5