The book is billed as Teens & YA, and Kole Miller is a junior in high school, but from page 1 on, it felt middle grade level. I read the first 10%, but wasn't feeling invested in the characters or the story. It needed more substance.

3-4 stars for the target audience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for the ARC.

Ahh, where to start with my review? I was really enjoying this book, although it definitely felt like this would have been a better read for me when I was younger (maybe in my late teens), but the last chapter really ruined the whole book for me. I feel like there was this massive build up to a great ending with the love interest, but then it had to be done in a really cringy way. Out of place, out of time and definitely out of respect to the main protagonist, taking away her moment that she'd been dreaming of and making it all about him with his love professing... This just totally ruined my mood and came out of the blue. So I will try to not let this overshadow the rest of my review because up to this point I really enjoyed the book.

Kole Miller, the protagonist, is a fanfiction author of her favourite sci-fi show, which reminded me a lot of The Guardians of the Galaxy and I wish I could watch that show actually. She's somewhat relatable, although I would say a bit too "pick-me-girly" for my taste. She's on a very thin line to crossing over to the obnoxious high schooler part, which was tricky to find realistic throughout the story. However, to me as a non-american, this felt like a typical american high school nerd drama story (no offense intended!). Hence, why I said that younger me would have probably enjoyed this story a bit better. Older me just doesn't really care about all this avoidable drama anymore. Most of the issues Kole faces with her co-students could be avoided with her standing up for herself and not letting herself be bullied. But anyways, the story overall was somewhat fun to follow.

The plot makes it out to contain two major love interests, and one guy that just also seems like a loved interest, although he really isn't. But from the beginning it was pretty clear who Kole would end up with (and again, I really hate how the ending was written for this guy, otherwise he would have been perfect, but the author managed to downgrade him from the greenest flag to an absolute red flag in one scene). I can't be the only person who felt this way with the final chapter, can I?

I do understand that this book is targeted at teens, and I really wonder how I would have felt about it 10-15 years ago, but I do feel some underlying messages are wayyy too cringy to be supported. But otherwise I liked the writing and the story plot!

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Flux in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into the story. Down with the Ship is the story of Kole, a girl who enjoys writing romantic fanfic for a popular sci-fi TV show. Her fic wins a prize online and she is thrust into the limelight, having to deal with haters and her fellow pupils finding out she writes it.

I think this book was just a bit too...simple? I couldn't really get into the story or characters, even 50% of the way through. Kole has two love interests; the hot guy who just moved in next door who she has nothing in common with, and the snarky guy who admires her work and her mind. Whoever will she pick?

I stopped when there was a classic 'bully blackmails Kole into being his date' because, even though it was not because he likes her, I did not want to read that scene or any of the ensuing drama. I did read the last chapter and it seems everything got tied up perfectly, which just kind of confirmed my concerns.

I think if you're on the younger side of YA, then there's probably a lot to be enjoyed here. The issue is YA has become a catch-all label so I would typically expect something a bit more involved. But I liked the idea of the premise and I don't want to fault a book too harshly for not conforming to my expectations

Overall Rating: NR

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

2.5/5⭐ to Down With This Ship by Katie Kingman. Thank you to Flux Books for an egalley to review! I was looking forward to this one due to the inclusion of fanfiction writing and "shipping" wars but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. By no means was it terrible, but it took me much longer than usual to get into the story and I couldn't connect with the characters. I suspect it could be the writing style that I didn't personally jive with. I was able to finish the book and storyline to the end which is good, and I hope other readers will be able to give this book some love.

Lack of character development and poor writing style really kneecapped this book that could’ve been fun and quirky.

{Digital copy provided by NetGalley}

It took me so long to get through this book, but I was determined to finish it. So determined in fact that switched to an audiobook I bought myself after my provided copy ran out. On the surface this is a perfectly sweet young adult novel about a girl who figures out how to follow her dreams despite dealing with anxiety. It’s about the love of writing, about fandom, high school culture, and interpersonal relationships. I found the main character Kole to be a little over the top especially since she is 17 in the novel, but I could cope with it. What made me struggle with this book were a few things, like the writing style being overly quirky as well as a tad inconsistent. But really, the entire world in the book seems to revolve around Kole and their motivation or backstory outside of her seemed barebones or lacklustre. Additionally the picture of fan culture was a little extreme, but that I could still stomach. What put the last pin into an otherwise fluffy and decently enjoyable story is the ending. Kole literally gets every single thing she ever wanted, the perfect HEA. It felt too neat, too flawless. She faced no permanent setbacks and all her problems get solved or solve themselves. For a book that stars a 17-year-old and presumably targets teen audiences it just felt too unrealistic and lacked true compelling character development.

I found this to be absolutely adorable.
To begin with, the characters were absolutely adorable. 👌
Second, the relationships between them were perfect.
She has a fabulous friendship with her BFF which is something to strive for! If this teacher comes to my school, I would go there and take her classes. Not to mention the romance!
What a sweet story, enemies turning into lovers and all that! It's very entertaining to see them taunt each other as they go about their day.
In fact, it reminds me of Tweet Cute or something similar.

Her finger flew across the keyboard as the story came to life at the forefront of her imagination. These characters were so real to her; true friends in a world of bullies and trolls. She paused and read over her last few sentences; proud of the work she was creating. This was her passion - her niche. This online world was where she felt most alive. She continued to type as the sun began to set and the moon made its ethereal appearance in the sky. People may not understand this world that she lives in, but she was thriving and that’s what mattered.

Down With This Ship is a cute YA fiction book telling Kole’s story… a junior in high school who writes fan fiction about her favorite tv show of all time. It’s a secret of hers… a world all her own and she’d be mortified if it ever got out into the real world.

This story was very similar in plot to Eliza and Her Monsters, which is a book I really enjoyed, and while this book was cute and light-hearted… I didn’t like it quite as much as Eliza.

If you’re a fan of love triangles, enemies to lovers, high school drama, and fan fiction; then you’ll enjoy this read!

Down With This Ship is one of those books that had the potential to be perfect for me, yet I fear I set my expectations a little to high. While there were some interesting moments that kept me turning the pages, I spent most of the book feeling like I had read the story before.

For me, there’s a bit of irony in the fact that this book was predictable and felt like it was something I’ve already read. You see, there is a point in this book where the character talks about tropes and cliches, explaining the differences between them. Despite this, the book felt more like a cliché than a trope. That is not to say it was a bad book, simply that there was nothing that made this one shine in the way I had hoped. It made for enjoyable quick reading, but it did not wow me.

All in all, an okay read. I had hoped for more, yet it worked for easy reading.

3.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed this YA contemporary fanfic filled story with a bit of romance. Kole was such a relatable fanfic lover and writer. I definitely identified with her love of all things fandoms and anxiety to keep being better. The romance had a bit of enemies to lovers feel, but there was also a bit of a triangle happening.

Things I really loved:
- Kole and her love for scifi and fan fiction.
- All the pop culture bits and book quotes!
- Sweet, light romance

Things that weren't for me:
- The conflict resolution was a bit oddly written.
- The story ended very suddenly after a final confrontation that could've been wrapped up smoother.

Overall, I enjoyed this fun teen story with so many fanfic and pop culture references!

*Thank you so much to Flux and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thoughts 💭

*fluff
*light and easy
*simplistic writing
*kole has a french fries addiction 🍟
*sci-fi fans 👽
*a touch too juvenile
*"apples" 🍎 are we in kindergarten?
*kole is a nice enough protag but a little annoying over time
*suspension of disbelief
*first half was more enjoyable than the second
*I ship the endgame couple

This book spoke to my inner fangirl so badly. I loved it.
And did I ship? Oh yeah, you bet I did. I can understand that people don`t want others to know they write that fanfiction. It is their secret, just theirs. Nikole “Kole” Miller was very funny, smart, sassy, interesting even though she had struggles with her mentalh health, i`m glad she owned her fanfic and punched Damien. I mean that was so satisfying, I wanted him to walk on coal, legos or caramel popcorn (i`ve heard that is even worse than legos). Ugh. That guy. He made me so mad! I wanted to kick him where the sun dosen`t shine again and again!! Hailey was a weasel, supporting Damien ugh. Noah he was sort of cute, and interesting but seriously? I didn`t think he was that kind of guy to use his lines again, like really? Colin is so adorable, geeky, nerdy wierdo – but so cute!! I can almost not stand it. Well…okay… I can stand it. How Will was a supportive, yet the annoying brother, her mother came to wanting to understand her world; That she actually has been supportive but now was even more there a 100% - I mean going to the con with her, just aww. I know I am just babbling on about nonsense, but Kol-Col is so adorable, I ship it so hard!

Down With This Ship is Katie Kingman’s debut novel. It is also her tribute to the ever changing world of fandoms and fanfiction. If you are of the past generation that grew up reading or writing fanfiction or are a current fanfic reader like myself, you may like her ode to our world. Unfortunately, there were parts of the story that took away from the joy of celebrating the nerd and geeks of society.

Down With This Ship is the story that follows a fangirl named Kole. Kole has created a huge online presence with her fanfiction portrayal of her favorite couple from her favorite television show. For the most part, her blog is anonymous which is perfectly fine for her as she is an incredibly anxious person.
Everything starts falling apart when her identity is discovered and then she is bullied by the individuals who have made this discovery. Suddenly Kole is trying to figure out her next move and to what lengths she will go to protect her identity and those around her.

As a reader, I loved the fangirl aspect of this book. I admittedly have found myself in several fandoms and honestly loved finding fanfiction that was written for them. So, I could completely understand where Kole was coming from and her obsession with The Space Games. Especially with the on going shipping battles amongst viewers. I also understood wanting to keep the obsession quiet so that it was something for yourself and so that others would not be able to make fun of you for it. It is when her obsession is put out to the public that everything starts falling apart.

Falling apart is an understatement honestly. This story had so much drama. It requires a bit of suspended belief at times that all of this could occur, especially to one character. She is blackmailed; she finds herself in a love triangle; and she is invited to speak on a panel at an upcoming comic con. And suddenly her high school is fighting over the ships of the show and the ships of the school. It is just a bit much!

There were some sweet moments though. And a bit of character growth – although I would have liked to have seen more. I understand that these are high schoolers but their immaturity made me cringe sometimes Overall though, I really feel like Down With This Ship is a book that a younger audience could fall in love with. There is a quirky main character, a love triangle, evil popular kids, and tons of high school drama. For me though, I would have liked less drama and more growth and fanfiction love.

I will definitely not be going Down With This Ship, thank you very much. The premise is fine, but everything after that fails. The characters are either obnoxious caricatures or entirely flat, the plot doesn’t really hold together, and the writing style is disjointed and trying too hard to be clever or fun or cool. Just a total disappointment.

I received an advance digital copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Description:
Kole Miller is the best writer at the prestigious Crystal Lake High. But no one knows it—not her creative writing classmates, or even her academic arch nemesis Colin (aka Mr. Valedictorian). That’s because Kole’s best work is a secret fanfic based on The Space Game, her favorite show.
When Kole’s fanfic wins a major contest, her readership skyrockets. Suddenly, Kole finds herself stuck in the heated ship wars, as her new readers pair characters from the show together as romantic couples. Worse yet, Kole’s classmates discover that she’s the fanfic’s author. Now it isn’t just The Space Game everyone is arguing about: they start shipping Kole with her classmates.
With her romantic life in shambles and her anxiety through the roof, Kole must face both her inner demons and the ones at her school. She has one chance to reclaim her fanfic—and the guy that Kole now realizes she’s shipped herself with since episode one of the school year.

Book Review:
This was such a fun read, I really enjoyed it! Read if you are looking for a some mental health rep and some angsty teen rep.

I loved this book. The problems that the character went through were relatable. I think that bringing light to the anxieties that we all deal with was really well done.

As a huge reader and writer of fanfiction, I truly enjoyed this story. I thought it was cute and relatable and an overall fun read.

I ended up DNFing this book a few pages in. The writing style was not a fit for me, and the main character came across a bit annoying.

My inner fangirl really enjoyed Down with This Ship. I mean I loved looking up fanfiction for some of my favorite shows a few years ago (before I got really back into reading again). It's fun reading what other people think up for the characters you've come to love. And sometimes take twists you would've liked more than what actually happen.

Kole is one of these characters that took her favorite TV show into her own hands and created the ships she wanted to see. Her blog has become incredibly popular and it brings in the bad with the good. No one knows at first that she's behind this popular blog/story. When Kole wins an important competition her story becomes even more popular.

Her story Spacer becoming so popular doesn't work out well for Kole when fellow students in her creative writing class figure out that she writes the story. They use it against her and make her do things for them she doesn't want to do. This situation was hard to read and there is not other word to use for them except bullies. It was heartbreaking reading about how much anxiety Kole felt about her identity being revealed. Her relationship with her mother doesn't make this any easier, but I will say I loved how this ended up playing out. The growth of how they interact was a really good thing.

It was interesting to see Kole battle with not wanting to give up her identity, but also being very proud of her story. I loved how she became more and more confident and decided it was her story and she was going to tell it as she saw fit. I think that's so important, because when it comes to fandoms we all have our own ideas on how things should play out. All are valid.

I loved the little pieces of the fanfiction weaved into this story and even though it's not something real it was interesting to read. Kole's best friend is also really awesome and made me laugh. Down with This Ship deals with some more serious issues, but is also lighthearted and fun. The last thing I want to mention is the romance. I do like how it ended, but the drama throughout the book wasn't something I really enjoyed. The whole live triangle and dating that came out of the blackmail just didn't work for me.

All in all, Down with This Ship was a fast and fun read. Some things didn't work for me, but other things did. The end of the story did leave a smile on my face and I hope this author gives us more books that involve fanfiction and fandoms.