NerdCrush is about Ramona, girl who love anime, games, cosplays and stuffs like that.she herself do cosplay. With her cosplay's email , she sends a message to her crush, Caled , tried to get to know him better and maybe declare her ruge crush on him. But things get a little bit out of hand, when Caled begins to work with Ramona.


Even though is a short reading, some parts are a bit draggy and slow. I'm not a big fan of this fake identity thing, I was more excited about Ramona been a fan of anime and do cosplay. But is a good book, I look forward to read more books by this author

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

This book was very fast to read, which as a dyslexic person I really appreciated that, but because of that the book felt a bit empty. I didn't really feel anything towards any of the characters and I feel like eventho I read the whole book, I didn't really know the characters that well by the end... Which was a bit disappointing because I really liked the cover of this book, so I was hoping to love this book so I could buy it physically. Probably not gonna do that now...

But I would still recommend it as a fast paced, easy to read, high school romance book featuring cosplay!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The book was serving and I absolutely enjoyed digging my noise in this stellar Young adult book and I found myself giddy. The book follows Ramona a shy sixteen year old who enjoys cosplay .Like any typical teenager she falls in love and has a crush on the guy in class, But she doesn't tell him but rather she decides to use what she loves to achieve what she desires. It is perfect for fans of You've got mail as she converses with her crush on email *sigh*. I recommend to lovers of romance , young adult and rom-coms.

This was a fun, quick read. I know a lot of people aren't fans of the miscommunication trop, but it really worked for me here. I liked seeing Ramona become more confident in herself, and thought the relationship between Ramona and Caleb was really cute!

Thank you, NetGalley and Running Press for this e-arc copy of NerdCrush in exchange for an honest review.
This was so cute! I can't get over it. Ramona is a nerdy black girl with a crush on a boy. She isn't brave enough to confront him IRL so she uses her cosplay persona to get to know him. Only to have things fall apart and she is forced to either come clean or lose him forever.
I was into cosplay when I was Ramona's age so the nostalgia was real for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Running Press for the ARC of this novel. This was shorter than I expected and had a really good message of accepting yourself and letting others see you. Ramona as a teenager felt very real especially when saying her parents would never understand her and trying to set her up for success while denying her dreams. It did feel a bit fast for the main characters to indicate they were in love by the end as it felt more of a high school "let's date" feeling but hey it's a romance novel so you have to suspend some disbelief. A quick sweet read.

First of all, let me say the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous. A Black girl, with glasses, with her natural curls just out, looking happy and joyful? I'm fully here for it. And I love that this book as a whole celebrated Black nerdiness in a fun way that I think many people just like Ramona will relate to. The book is a really quick read, and it has a lot of things I love to see in a YA romance – a strong and interesting protagonist who is both genuinely awesome and honestly flawed; a sweet, gorgeous cinnamon roll of a love interest; an amazing best friend who can knock some sense into the protagonist when needed; and additional non-romance drama that fleshes everything out. Even for those who are completely unfamiliar with cosplay, I think many people will be able to relate to Ramona's experience of anxiety and struggling to embrace herself and the uncertainty of navigating high school crushes. She's definitely a great protagonist to follow.

My one complaint that I do have to mention is, while I like the You've Got Mail comp and like the way the story pulls from that, I do think the whole storyline of Ramona's secret identity was drawn out a little too much. There were just a couple times I wanted to knock Ramona over the head and tell her to tell the truth, as her reasons for keeping her secret started to fall apart a bit. Then again, she's a teenager, and teenager combined with social anxiety combined with being in love is going to lead to dumb decisions. All of the other elements of Ramona's story and her growth held everything together for me and kept me rooting for her the whole time.

I did like the romance, and I think the two love interests were very cute together. But my favorite part was actually everything centered around Ramona's life as a cosplayer. One, because it's unique and I haven't read a lot of stories focused on this world. Two, I really liked seeing the impact this had on her family. Something I'm sure many can relate to is not just feeling different from your friends at school, but feeling different from your family. Ramona's interests are something her family struggles to understand. That can really have an impact on self-confidence, and I love the honest way the story portrays that. Finally, I loved seeing the way that cosplay helped Ramona build confidence. The contrast of her cosplay persona from her real life where anxiety typically runs the show is really interesting and does a good job of showing the impact everything she's dealing with has on her. Overall I loved that we get to see Ramona as a complex character, learning to love herself as she falls in love.

Overall, I think this was a good read. Maybe a little dragged out on some parts, but it was quick, fun, and I think Ramona is a really likable protagonist. I am always here for reading books about awesome nerdy Black girls!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I think this book didn’t translate well to my age bracket (I’m 34). I love YA, but this one felt *too* young for me. The writing was simple, and I’m well past relating to the lead’s crush struggles. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable, I was just too eager to impart my old lady wisdom onto the characters lol

I enjoyed the cosplay culture that was brought to life in this book, and I thought the writing was simple but gripping. I’d definitely recommend it to my young teen family friends.

I was excited for this book and interested in learning more about cosplay. While it is most definitely a cute story I think it is written for a younger audience. The writing style is more for middle grade than YA. It's a slower pace story that tells us Ramona loves cosplay but doesn't really show us. Yes, she constantly talks about it but she seems to do it alone, doesn't often engage with the cosplay community except for chatting online and even seems like an outsider when she's at a cosplay event. It feels like Ramona is always out of place. Her love interest also seems pretty flimsy and almost seemed like a pen pal. It was a cute story but lacked the deeper sparks and connections usually found in YA. I would still suggest it as a cute read for MG but it came up short for YA.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

This was cute!

I loved all the little aspects of identity touched on in this, and Ramona's character development, as she learns to be more of who she is and stand up for herself, both within her family and at school. The cosplay / nerd culture parts were especially fun to read about!

The biggest weakness in this was the romance. It was mostly fine- there's a lot of stories out there that use a digital secret identity trope like this, and its use here was pretty standard. Also, it wasn't my favorite implementation of the trope, as it can kind of come across as Ramona can definitely come across as creepy if you think too hard about it. Since Ramona / Caleb develop a rapport so early in the story, it should have been pretty obvious to Ramona that Rel was unnecessary .

It felt a bit strange that she was getting to know him at about the same pace as both Ramona and Rel. I would have been more on board if Rel / Caleb's friendship developed for a bit longer before Ramona started talking to Caleb.

Despite this though, the overall story was still cute, and I'll definitely be checking out more by this author!

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley, Running Press Teens and Dreamscape Media for the ARC and audioARC of this.

The cover and concept to this are so adorable, I love a good cosplayer book. I’ll admit, I didn’t really know of people doing it as an original character, and I kinda don’t understand the appeal, so it’s maybe my own fault I didn’t really click with this. Overall, I thought the story was cute and fluffy, but the writing was kind of odd, in a way that reminded me of fanfic. I would definitely recommend it still if you’re interested, though, as the storyline was reasonable.

Character-driven stories have to have strong character development, and unfortunately "NerdCrush" lacked that. Ramona doesn't develop at all until after 75% of the book, and she doesn't develop that much. She gets slightly more confident, but she still doesn't really stand up for herself when it comes to her family. The story dragged because it's completely focused on her angst about lying to Caleb when she had plenty of opportunity to just tell the truth. The story may be realistic to teenage life, but I don't know if it was worth reading about.

I was excited by the talk about being a nerd, being Black, and how those intersected for her, but that falls to the side pretty quickly. When she starts hanging out with Caleb, she drops from cosplay completely, which made me a little sad. The cosplay and nerdy elements were the primary draw of the novel, but they only show up at the beginning and end with some mentions of "Black Butler" and Caleb's Tolkien love in between.

This one didn't work for me. Readers who like angsty teen reads would find this book interesting.

Nerd Crush was a really adorable book and a quick read.  The book is about Ramona who is very shy but also nerdy and artsy.  Her best friend moved away and while they still talk with each other, she's feeling a little bit lonely.  Her parents don't understand her art or her love for cosplay.  She decides to write her school crush a note - as her cosplay alter ego - and see what happens.  She is pretty surprised when he emails her back and they pretty regularly chat with each other.  The two IRL end up working together and getting pretty close as well - but she doesn't know how to tell him that she is Rel AND Ramona and that everything she's told him as Rel is true for Ramona, as well.

Caleb ends up putting two and two together and figuring out that Ramona has been lying to him and is also Rel.  She isn't sure what to do - she was just too shy to talk to him as herself and Rel gave her the confidence she needed.  She's really upset that now Caleb isn't talking to either Rel or Ramona and asks him to meet her at a Con to meet the real her.  Will he show up?

This was a really sweet story about being yourself no matter what and I truly enjoyed it.  I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

I struggled through this a bit, and only kept with it because I had an ARC and it was a short read. There is not enough background or description of why the main character Ramona has a crush on Caleb, we're just told that she does. I found it kind of hard to be on her side throughout this mess she creates without having that investment of why she is so obsessed with him. I think this book would resonate with younger readers, or anyone who is particularly into cosplay (which is Ramona's main hobby).

1/5 🌶️

Content warnings: Bullying. Minor mention of teen drinking. Ramona is often questioned on her Blackness.

What in the Sierra burgess is a loser did I just read??

Okay, I'll start my complaining with: The title. Okay, not actually actually the title, the author gets no say in that, but the meaning behind it. NERD. Yeah, we have all seen high school movies from the 80's- a little scrawny dude with glasses who people beat on. We get the stereotype, but as a current high school dwelling nerd, it ain't true. I do math and economic competitions and run AV club, I promise you I qualify as a nerd. And...that's fine. I'm not sure if 'back in the day' nerds were really hated on, but if you write in modern times, you gotta get 'down with the kids' The kids who don't care if you like anime. (Also I believe the correct term for Ramona would be Geek, but those are just nerd politics)
So Ramona having no friends and being so unpopular just wasn't believable.

Now, let's jump to the CRUSH part of the title. Oh, this gave me the creeps. First of all, Caleb wasn't worth it.
Second of all, CREEPY CREEPY CREEPY. Honestly not sure how this is getting published in this day and age.

NerdCrush is such a fun and sweet romance! I absolutely loved Ramona, and I wish I could have been friends with her in high school.

At the beginning of the book, we meet her - shy, artistic, and thriving in her world of cosplay. She's also struggling with the fact that her one and only best friend has moved away, her parents don't quite understand, and she has a mammoth crush on a boy who barely knows she exists. Under the guise of her cosplay character Rel, she works up the courage to strike up an email correspondence with her crush, Caleb. They have an immediate connection that quickly becomes complicated when Caleb and Ramona start connecting in the real world as well. Terrified to tell the truth and lose him, Ramona continues to hide behind Rel. Can she find the courage to unmask and show who she really is? And will Caleb still like her when she does?

I thought this was a really fun and fresh take on a You've Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner style romance. The cosplay added a really cool layer to Ramona's secret identity, and I loved every nerdy little reference. Ramona's passion for her art was exciting to see, and Emrich did an excellent job exploring how Ramona's differences sometimes made things difficult with her family. I do love how her relationship with her parents grew and changed, and the family scenes were very well-written and realistic.

Caleb was a great crush, and the more I got to know him, the more I could see why Ramona liked him. Definitely crushworthy, thoughtful, kind, and a bit of a nerd himself.

The cosplay scenes were vivid and made me want to get into that world a bit myself, and I've come away with some great anime recs.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of heart and nerdery, and I was sad when it ended.

If you love YA and are looking for a book with some nerdy pop culture mixed in, then this is the book for you. As a pop culture fan myself, I loved this. This book really encapsulated what it's like to be a teenager. Let alone one who is shy and doesn't know how to talk to people. That's something I really resonated with. Also loved the miscommunication trope. Usually not a big fan, but Alisha did such a good job with it. It kept me wanting to know how long till they talked again. Hooked me in. And i feel like it would hook anyone in.

3.25/5 stars! This is a book for nerdy, Comicon fans and cosplayers. It was a good, but simple, YA rom-com. I related to Ramona and really felt her struggles and fear of losing Caleb because of the miscommunication. Caleb, however, felt really 2-dimensional. like he only existed as a plot device. Think fans that enjoy comics, Marvel. D&D, etc would really enjoy this cute story.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

We start 2023 with a great read!

I liked 'NerdCrush' like a lot!

It was full of everything some one might want from a YA read. It has relatable characters that you as the reader can see yourself in and you can identify with them.

The writing style was really good as well and very pleasant as well and very easy to read.
I loved the fandom and cosplay related themes as someone that is heavily involved.

The miscommunication trope didn't actually bother me as much as I thought it would, which I was really glad about.

And my favorite part of the book was our protagonist. As a 16 year old, Ramona in the book is awkward, shy and "weird" and nerdy and unapologetically herself. Especially as she is at that age where a young adult is starting to figure out themselves.

'NerdCrush' is a book I would have loved if I had when I was younger.

A bit slow and repetitive at times, but overall a pretty solid debut novel with a wonderful message!