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A review by lennie_reads
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon / Piatkus for my ARC.
I absolutely ADORED this book!
We follow April, a 30-something geologist who has a passion for writing and reading fanfiction for the made up show 'Gods of the Gates' and Marcus, an actor in the show who also enjoys reading and writing fanfiction for the aforementioned show, under a pseudonym.
The pair are best friends online but don't know each other's true identities. Marcus doesn't want April to know he's a famous actor and also, as he doesn't agree with the shows direction for the characters, his fanfiction could get him in a lot of legal trouble with the show runners.
April has kept her love for the show (including her fanfiction and cosplaying) a secret as her job is very strict about appearances. However, as she is starting a new job with much more liberal and supportive co-workers, she decides to bite the bullet and post her cosplaying her favourite character in the show (Lavinia). Another reason this is a big deal for April is that she's fat, and upon posting her picture she receives a lot of trolling online. One of the trolls tags Marcus to try and get him to join in with the jokes, he however, thinks she's beautiful and decides that he's not going to let these small minded people win and publicly asks her on a date on twitter. (He is unaware that this is his fanfiction bestie 'UltimateLaviniaStan' or 'Ulsie').
At their date, April reveals her username and Marcus freezes. He wants to tell her who he is but he's too terrified of ruining his career. Another issue is that Marcus has created a 'persona' that portrays him as an unintelligent preening puppy dog because it's easier to deal with the press. This obviously causes problems and as with all good romances, we have the 'lie / omission of truth' situation. In this case, Marcus' secret online identity, that is just waiting to come out and ruin the couple's happiness.
I really enjoyed the POV of both characters and I am obsessed with both of them. April is a total badass whilst also being extremely vulnerable and Marcus is an absolute sweetheart who just wants to be loved. They both have terrible relationships with their parents and no siblings, but also have found family with their colleagues and the GOTG community which I loved.
The book & show, God's of the Gates, to me, seemed very much like a Greek God parody of Game of Thrones. The book does actually also reference Game of Thrones as a parallel.
This book has great disability rep and portrays Marcus' dyslexia in a very accurate and positive light. I also loved the fact that it showed how much he loved audiobooks and the workarounds he uses for reading things digitally (i.e getting the device to read the text aloud).
This book obviously also has fantastic fat rep. The way that April has come so far in loving herself but still has insecurities due to how people have treated her in the past and how some people still treat her now.
And let's not forget the STEAM. OH my. The sex in this book was fantastic. Very focused on making each other feel sexy and comfortable. I also loved seeing Marcus' POV and how much he adored April.
I also loved the fanfiction references to pegging as it's not something that's mentioned often. Alex (Marcus' costar) could've been precious and hyper masculine about it but instead he embraced the direction of his character in fanfiction and even decided to write his own. And I'm super excited to read the next book which is kind of a sequel but focuses on Alex and is called 'Slow Burn'.
I could just ramble on about this book for ages but if you love open door romance and are familiar with the fanfiction community I'd 100% recommend this book.
CW: fatshaming, toxic relationships, insecurities, eating disorders, mental illness, body shaming, ableism, emotional abuse, child abuse, bullying, sexism
I absolutely ADORED this book!
We follow April, a 30-something geologist who has a passion for writing and reading fanfiction for the made up show 'Gods of the Gates' and Marcus, an actor in the show who also enjoys reading and writing fanfiction for the aforementioned show, under a pseudonym.
The pair are best friends online but don't know each other's true identities. Marcus doesn't want April to know he's a famous actor and also, as he doesn't agree with the shows direction for the characters, his fanfiction could get him in a lot of legal trouble with the show runners.
April has kept her love for the show (including her fanfiction and cosplaying) a secret as her job is very strict about appearances. However, as she is starting a new job with much more liberal and supportive co-workers, she decides to bite the bullet and post her cosplaying her favourite character in the show (Lavinia). Another reason this is a big deal for April is that she's fat, and upon posting her picture she receives a lot of trolling online. One of the trolls tags Marcus to try and get him to join in with the jokes, he however, thinks she's beautiful and decides that he's not going to let these small minded people win and publicly asks her on a date on twitter. (He is unaware that this is his fanfiction bestie 'UltimateLaviniaStan' or 'Ulsie').
At their date, April reveals her username and Marcus freezes. He wants to tell her who he is but he's too terrified of ruining his career. Another issue is that Marcus has created a 'persona' that portrays him as an unintelligent preening puppy dog because it's easier to deal with the press. This obviously causes problems and as with all good romances, we have the 'lie / omission of truth' situation. In this case, Marcus' secret online identity, that is just waiting to come out and ruin the couple's happiness.
I really enjoyed the POV of both characters and I am obsessed with both of them. April is a total badass whilst also being extremely vulnerable and Marcus is an absolute sweetheart who just wants to be loved. They both have terrible relationships with their parents and no siblings, but also have found family with their colleagues and the GOTG community which I loved.
The book & show, God's of the Gates, to me, seemed very much like a Greek God parody of Game of Thrones. The book does actually also reference Game of Thrones as a parallel.
This book has great disability rep and portrays Marcus' dyslexia in a very accurate and positive light. I also loved the fact that it showed how much he loved audiobooks and the workarounds he uses for reading things digitally (i.e getting the device to read the text aloud).
This book obviously also has fantastic fat rep. The way that April has come so far in loving herself but still has insecurities due to how people have treated her in the past and how some people still treat her now.
And let's not forget the STEAM. OH my. The sex in this book was fantastic. Very focused on making each other feel sexy and comfortable. I also loved seeing Marcus' POV and how much he adored April.
I also loved the fanfiction references to pegging as it's not something that's mentioned often. Alex (Marcus' costar) could've been precious and hyper masculine about it but instead he embraced the direction of his character in fanfiction and even decided to write his own. And I'm super excited to read the next book which is kind of a sequel but focuses on Alex and is called 'Slow Burn'.
I could just ramble on about this book for ages but if you love open door romance and are familiar with the fanfiction community I'd 100% recommend this book.
CW: fatshaming, toxic relationships, insecurities, eating disorders, mental illness, body shaming, ableism, emotional abuse, child abuse, bullying, sexism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Body shaming, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Bullying