Spoiler Alert, by Olivia Dade (mini-review)

Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.

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?

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade was the plus-size body positivity I’ve been wanting for years. A fabulous, courageous heroine and a loveable hero who, while he doesn’t always get things exactly right, is a lot more clued-in about his own privilege than lots of real-life guys are. (Plus, he’s a cinnamon roll if ever there was one!) I couldn’t help but root for April and Marcus all the way through. Add in the marvelous homage to fanfic and AO3 by an author who is obviously well-versed in the field, and…let’s just say this book hit all my buttons.* Kudos to Ms. Dade; I can’t wait to read the sequel!

*(It hit minor one negative button, too. I’m of the age where the f-word was about the worst swear you could use; today, it seems to have lost that taboo, and taken the place of “damn” as a word that merely adds emphasis to a sentence. I understand that the author is simply reflecting modern usage, but it still makes me a little uncomfortable to see it so liberally sprinkled around. But that’s a personal preference, and I was able to set it aside in order to enjoy the story.)

CW: fat-shaming, secrets and deception, dysfunctional family.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• COYER Seasons 2021: Summer

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