This book exploded a lot of my preconceptions and rules about representation. I tend to dislike stories that make the main character, most often female, an object of ridicule because of their size. Olivia Dade is one of very few authors I trust to handle that sort of situation with care. As a result, Spoiler Alert is a very unusual case of a romance that has a fat heroine who deals with fat shaming but does it in a thoughtful way that makes the difficult journey worth it. This is a smart, funny, lovely book that centers a scientist who writes fan fiction of her favorite show in her free time and ends up dating the star of that show. The story is also masterful in how it depicts the dynamics of both fandom and social media, which are integral part of their social worlds.

Full review to come.

As a fat woman myself, I’m always happy to see fat protagonists, and Dade created a wonderful heroine. The characters in this novel were thoughtfully and thoroughly created, and their developments throughout the novel were believable and relatable. Unrelatedly - but of no less interest to my fellow romance fans - the sex scenes were steamy!

Overall, I can’t wait to read Dade’s next work.

I’m obsessed with this book. OBSESSED. It was so good.

Dade is a new-to-me author. As a librarian and a prolific romance reader, it's odd that I encounter an established author that I haven't previously interacted with. This was everything that I love about contemporary romance. Literally, everything.

Our heroine is living. She's smart and career fulfilled. She's involved in a creative community that supports her intellectual property, that challenges her to grow, and allows her to make connections with others interested in the same things. She is fat and no where in this book is she treated like a victim. When faced with her own personal trauma, she rises instead of runs and faces it head on. Throughout the book, she is consistently stepping out in faith knowing that realistically there will be some who do not agree with her or whom hold differing opinions but she does it anyway knowing that she's living - loudly and boldly.

Our hero, in theory, should be living the same way. But he's trapped. Trapped by shyness, trapped by image, trapped by contracts and his chosen profession. Where April is living, Marcus is simply existing while trying to figure out how he's going to free himself from the different chains that bind him. Meeting April sets everything in motion for him ... and holy emotionally vulnerable hero batman! I have been loving the way some authors have been moving away from pure-alphas towards heroes who have challenges, who are seeking growth by attacking struggles head on, and are emotionally intelligent.

With both the characters, we get to see personal and romantic growth. Offset by a hilarious group of secondary characters (and some pretty awful tertiary characters), this is a well rounded contemporary that is simply fun and joyfilled to read. I look forward to any potential future book set in this universe!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!! This book is amazzzzzzing. It's great to read a book about a beautiful, funny, smart woman who isn't your typical cookie-cutter perfect body lead. April and Marcus are an adorable couple and I flew through this one in 2 days. This was the first book I read by Olivia Dade and it will definitely not be my last. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me an Alex and Lauren story I need to know their story.

2 stars
I am a fan girl. I have been to the conventions. Done it all. This book I thought would have been right up my alley. Turns out I am either not as smart as I though or this book was really really confusing. I was so looking forward to this one. I thought I was going to love it so hard! I barely finished it.

This was such a great book!!! You will have a crush on both the main characters and be full involved in their story. I loved it so hard!!

Here’s all the reasons why you should read this:
1. Body positivity!
2. The absolute smack down of the last season of GoT and its writers. Iconic.
3. A male actually in touch with his emotions and is non-toxic!
4. I pictured Chris Evans as Marcus, so. You know.
5. Alex. ‘Nuff said.

Only stuff keeping me from 5 stars is that I felt like the parents were exaggerated, extreme versions of those personalities. Not saying it’s not plausible - it is - it just felt a bit over the top on that front. Otherwise, go forth readers! It’s super fun but balances the emotion well. It reminded me of Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Thank you very, very much to Olivia Dade, HarperCollins, and Netgalley from an ARC of "Spoiler Alert" in exchange for an honest review.*

I wanted to love this. I kept trying to love this. It has all the little bits of a fabulous best seller - body positivity, hot male star, fan fiction, romance, humor. But I felt stuck. As a fat girl myself, I love to read about other fat girls who are comfortable with who they are. But I didn't find this with April. She was consistently insecure while screaming body positivity. I also felt like she was a bit bitchy. I couldn't connect with her because she seemed to do things all the time which were the complete opposite of who she said she was. I found Marcus sort of milquetoast. Despite being a movie star, he was sort of a bland character.

The Fan Fiction element throughout the chapters was a little confusing. I kept having to look back to see who the characters were. Between the characters of the show, their real names, the fan fiction and the characters of the book, I was constantly confused as to who was who.

Why three stars? The writing was solid. Even the story line was solid. I just struggled with my inability to connect with the characters.

Yay, a book where the female protagonist is not a size zero, but in fact is a bit chubby. April is my type of hero. Add in a love interest who is the charming actor Marcus, and I am hooked. Although I am new to the fandom/fanfiction world, I thought this book was lovely written and kept my attention to the very end. This story touches on fandom, cosplay, relationships, and so much more. Truly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading others by this author.

April is a hardcore Lavinia fan, her cosplay and fanfiction is something she's kept hidden from her day job and people around her. When she decides to post a picture on Twitter of her in costume, the trolls made themselves very visible due to her plus size take on the character... and that's when Marcus Caster-Rupp, the lead for the adaptation of her favorite fandom, steps in and defends her but also publicly asks her out.
After a somewhat disastrous first date, reality becomes stranger than fiction as it becomes less about a publicity stunt and they continue to see each other.
But Marcus has a life of secrets that she must gently uncover to find the gem beneath... one being that he is also her best friend, known as Book!AeneasWouldNever, on a fan forum who's been beta reading all her fanfiction.
Love and career is on the line in this engaging novel. Adult fans of Ashley Porter's Geekerella series would enjoy this read. The depiction of a plus size protagonist, with all curves and valleys, is much needed and appreciated. I audibly cheered when I saw the cover and made it my first read from my ALA Netgalley haul.

This is actually a difficult book for me to rate and review.
The writing? Solid storytelling.
The premise? 5 stars.
The way fan fic and script bits interrupted the story? Annoyed me, so that would be 3 stars. I see what the author was doing, but it just didn't tickle my fancy.
The characters were believable and flawed and overall enjoyable.
HOWEVER.
The black moment killed it for me. I nearly DNF'd at that point. Don't get me wrong, I understand the purpose of the black moment. But... the way the heroine saw his pain, acknowledged and believed his genuine apology, and still made the choice she did? It utterly destroyed any confidence I had that this couple could survive not only a life together, but a life in the Hollywood spotlight.
Seeing someone you love hurting and genuinely apologetic, and confessing their fears, then treating them like that?
Unacceptable. That's not love.
It was 86% of the way through the book, and I wanted to start over with a different heroine who deserved the hero.
Yes, she eventually came around. But even then, she put off dealing with it until a more convenient time. Nevermind that he was in the same hotel, they had a history of electronic communication, and she knew he was deeply hurt. Nope. She decided to wait. Again, she's inherently selfish. Her much-needed grovel and acknowledgement (to him) of her part in their problem didn't happen on page, and I needed that to feel like they grew from the incident as a couple. Instead, I felt they merely moved past it, which didn't address the character flaws that made it happen in the first place.
I'm averaging between a 5 star for premise, a 4 star for writing style, and a super mad DNF at the end to give this a 3.

Geologist and longtime fanfic writer April has a long time and long-distance friendship with Marcus Caster-Rupp who secretly writes fanfiction because the showrunners of the popular Game of Thrones-esque are inept.
Through the magic of social media, they go on date and the attraction is real and immediate and they fall in love.

This book is a wonderful tale of love and fandom and people who fight their own stereotypes on who they are supposed to be by everyone including family. If you're involved in fanfiction it'll make you feel validated and the Boner Week Prompts are a delight.

THIS BOOK WAS GOLDEN! I’m still smiling like a maniac over the absolute gem that this story is! Fan fiction, hidden identities, body positivity, dyslexia positive, amazing friendship, and sweet as sin romance? This book packs it all folks! The best part? You get to read from both Olivia and Marcus’s POVs. I have to say though, Alex was by far one of my favorite characters. I loved the formatting of this book because you get to read snippets of fan fiction that both Olivia and Marcus wrote, but also snippets from the TV Marcus is on and snippets from movies he’s worked on, which adds to the charm of the story. I can not get over how wonderful it is read about more characters who are body positive and characters that have disorders such as dyslexia and how they deal with it. This book was fantastic and I am so so excited to read the next book about Alex and Lauren’s story! Ahhh this book just makes me so happy! PLEASE READ IT!

Spoiler alert: Olivia Dade's new book might just make you squee.

April Whittier has a secret. By day she's a hard-working geologist, by night she's a fanfic-writing, cosplaying shipper and stan of one of the most popular shows on TV.

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world knows him as the handsome but dim star of that popular TV show, but no one knows that for years he's been secretly writing fanfiction to 'fix' the problems with his own series.

When April's cosplay photo gets fat-shamed on Twitter, she never expects the star behind half of her favorite OTP to offer her a date to make up for it. And Marcus never expects to discover that the attractive fan sitting across from him at that dinner is none other than his fellow fanfic writer and online BFF...

Spoiler Alert leans hard into all the self-aware goofiness that a story about fandom surrounding a fictional series almost necessarily entails, with tongue-in-cheek fic or script snippets in between chapters, but it has nothing but sincere, earnest love for the world of fandom and everyone who finds their best and most creative selves in it. The entire book reads like a fanfic itself, and I mean that in a positive way - it's absolutely a fangirl's fantasy, that the vain, less than brilliant star turns out to be quite intelligent, kind-hearted, surprisingly thoughtful about things like rejecting misogynistic scripts, totally aware of the issues fans have with his show's adaptation, and not only that, but already in love with the fangirl. (Come to that, the fantasy continues a bit with the idea that April can afford and find a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, sans roommates, with minimal effort. Color me jealous, and not just of her fairy tale romance.) But if it's a dreamy fantasy, it's aware enough of that to be...fun. Just sheer fun. It's steamy - whew, is it steamy - and swoony in all the right places, with several excursions into angstland as April deals with the fat-shaming not only of strangers on the Internet but of her horrible parents, and Marcus comes to terms with his dyslexia, his public persona, and his own parents' emotional abuse. And both have to figure out how to deal with their trust issues, and overcome those obstacles that stand in the way of their relationship made in fandom. Those obstacles and issues may feel a bit more dragged out than is strictly necessary, but it's a quick and engaging read nevertheless.

In the end, Spoiler Alert finds its charm and appeal in the best that fanfiction has to offer, from swoony sweet fluff, to plot-what-plot smut, to downright misery-ahoy angst - and puts it all together in one satisfying package that wouldn't be out of place on AO3.

* Thank you very, very much to Olivia Dade, HarperCollins, and Netgalley from an EARC of "Spoiler Alert" in exchange for an honest review.* Oh my gosh I loved Spoiler Alert SO MUCH! I normally dont read Contemporary fiction , but I do have a weakness for Fandom -based Contemporaries. So, to start out with I love both April and Marcus. (Although,I'll admit, April is just a teeny tiny closer to my heart.) April is witty and smart and compassionate. (She's also a Geologist, which was my dream job when I was little, so HELL YES to the rock talk!) Marcus was complex and adorable. I thought that is was genius to have the chapter broken up with snippets of fics from the "Gates of the Gods" fandom mixed in with DM's. It was a really nice mix. Also, can we talk about that cover? AMAZING! This was my first time reading Olivia Dade, and after reading "Spoiler Alert", I will definitely be checking out more of her work!

Okay, so I loved this book. I loved this book so much. It is EVERYTHING. It manages to make like the coolest of concepts (fanfic writer dates guy playing half of her ship who also secretly writes fanfic and is her beta bestie) and marry it with deep character arcs and storytelling AND hot love scenes and humor, and again, it is basically everything.

April is badass and brilliant and fabulous and so perceptive. And while her arc isn’t as large as Marcus’ it’s equally as important. Watching April figuring out how to deal with her parents and her complex feelings for her mother especially without sacrificing her sense of self was just excellent. And her honesty at every turn (Even when it came after taking a step back and re-evaluating—especially when it came after taking a step back and re-evaluating) was just so brave and gorgeous and inspiring. And then, in the end, getting to have her inspire Marcus was…fabulous. And you just want all the good things for her. Like in every aspect of her life.

Okay, so let’s talk about Marcus. Marcus’ arc was Capital-C Complex, all the guilt and all the secrets and all the play-acting to protect himself both personally and professionally, until there was almost nothing left of the personal except for his few closest friends and his online life, and yeah…Marcus. The way he buried himself deeper and deeper and how it came from not only issues with trust but from a feeling that he was never enough, was so heart-wrenching.

And again, the complexity of it: Marcus is most definitely rewarded professionally especially for playing a particular role, but it comes at a big cost and it’s heavy. On the other hand, he’s also rewarded by something else—he’s safe in that personal. And not only does he not know how to get out of it, but he has to figure out if there’s something he wants more than to be safe, something he’d risk not only the career stuff and the general emotional stuff for, but the safety of it all, and the way it’s done is just lovely.
Because there’s tons of stumbling and missing cues and saying the wrong thing on both sides, but it makes you love them both so much more and root for them in all the ways that make romances fabulous. And this is a fabulous romance.

Oh, and it’s funny like super funny and witty and we really do need to explore all of Marcus’ old, terrible roles. And yeah, I’ll stop rambling. It’s just brilliant. I would read like again and again.
Thank you so much NetGalley for the free Arc in exchange for an honest review (like best weekend activity ever).

Adorable! Read this one straight through in one night, Love April as the lead with all of her complexities and the sex was nicely done. Recommended for those who love Jennifer Weiner and some hot romance.

I have to preface this review by saying that I know for a fact that lots of people will love this book, so definitely take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Sadly, this one wasn't for me. While I appreciate fandom in general, I do feel like the genre of books following fictional fantasy fandoms complete with cons and cosplay and fan fiction is becoming stale (at least for me) and it all feels so been-there-read-that. I went into this mostly because of the fat heroine as love interest (yes please we need so much more of this!!!) aspect, but the romance just really didn't do it for me. It was SUPER instalove, and the immediate and near-constant horny internal monologue of both characters (but especially the male love interest) is one of my biggest romance pet peeves. I also didn't find the fat-rep that spectacular. I love that the heroine is confident in her body and unwilling to be shamed for her size or for what she eats or for how much (or how little) she exercises -- while also being depicted as beautiful and sexy, But so often the author felt the need to keep reiterating her fatness in ways like "because of her size" or "because she was so much bigger than him" or "due to her weight" or whatever and I just felt like OK, we know she is fat and he is not, you don't have to bring it up every time they make any sort of physical connection. The sex scenes were also just not my personal taste and the "sexy" dialogue felt more cringe than hot. Excerpts of scripts and fanfics add unnecessary bulk between chapters. Again, I know there are so many readers who will like this one a lot, but it just was a bit of a miss for me.

It was over-the-top sappy. I like sap, but this happened to be a bit much for me. I didn't enjoy the snippets of fanfic or scripts at the beginning of each chapter. Neither did I think the TV show seemed all that interesting. It had a great body positive message as well as the need to set boundaries.

So. Cute. This sweet tale of mistaken identity and fandom shares some DNA with You’ve Got Mail, but also Game of Thrones. April is a geologist by day, but at night she’s an avid member of a fanfic community devoted to their favorite fantasy epic series. Her OTP is Aeneas and Lavinia, and her stories are joyfully dirty romps. April’s best friend online is a man she’s never met. They read each other’s tales and talk for hours, but he resists her attempts to see each other IRL. Meanwhile, another man appears on the scene.

Marcus plays Aeneas on TV. His public persona is a dim pretty boy, but behind the scenes he’s secretly intelligent and shy. He also leads a double life that he would prefer his fans and especially the showrunners never find out about. When a curvy fan tweets a cosplay photo of herself as Lavinia, she’s excoriated online by fat-shaming trolls. Marcus impulsively publicly asks her on a date, mostly to shut up the haters, but finds himself drawn to the lovely and witty April. But secrets may come between them before they have a chance.

This was an emotional read. Both main characters have complicated relationships with their parents. April is dealing with the realities of being a plus-sized woman who’s no longer content to sit apologetically in the corner. Their romance is bumpy. But I loved it! They’re both interesting and quirky in their own ways, and they work hard at improving themselves and helping each other. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.