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Blog Tour: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde | Review

May 31, 2017

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Pages: 288
Publish date: 26 April 2017
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781250111395
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect is for it to change their lives forever.

Charlie likes to stand out. SupaCon is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star, Reese Ryan. When Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.

While Charlie dodges questions about her personal life, Taylor starts asking questions about her own.

Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about the Queen Firestone SupaFan Contest, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Queens of Geek:

I received an arc of Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde from Pan Macmillian in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one, I knew needed to get my hands on it. Queens of Geek is right up my alley. It’s geeky, nerdy and pop cultural to the max. It incorporates so much that I love into one book – and it was pretty great.

Queens of Geek follows protagonists Charlie and Taylor along with Jamie as they explore SupaCon. Best friends that seem different, but just click so well.

Charlie stands out in the crowd, YouTuber turned movie star, she adores doing what she loves. And her mission for SupaCon – to show her fans that she is over her ex-Reese. Then Alyssa Huntington shows up and everything is thrown out the window.

Taylor likes to blend in, she likes to move with the crowd. But SupaCon is ready to bust the bubble that Taylor has built around her. With her feelings for Jamie coming to the surface and a contest that she desperately wants to enter – Taylor’s life is about to change.

I loved reading Queens of Geek. It hit all the right places; it was full of romance, friendship and believing in yourself. It’s diverse and puts a very normal pop cultural aspects into a book and it was great.

I really enjoyed Charlie overall as a protagonist. She was strong, but she had her flaws that made her such an easy character to get along with. I loved that she not only stood up for herself but her friends as well. Throughout Queens of Geek the reader is able to see Charlie grow as a person and believe in herself even more. We see her struggle with past relationships and the pressure of being in front of a camera, with your whole life on display.

I feel like Taylor. I could connect with her on so many different levels it was crazy, but I loved it so much. Her passion for everything that she loved, including her friends was so great to see. I adored that she wasn’t ashamed to share her love for books, TV shows, movies. She is that fandom queen and it worked so well.

Another thing that hit the right spot for me was the diversity elements in Queens of Geek. Espiecally with anxiety and panic attacks. I connected on so many levels with Taylor because of this. With my experience, the representation of anxiety and panic attacks was so well done. I also like how it was normalized and how everyone around them didn’t hate it, or put the characters down for it.

Now the romance elements. One of my favourite tropes is ‘Friends to Lovers’, so you have no idea how excited I was about Taylor and Jamie. They were adorable together. I was squealing and couldn’t keep myself contained. I loved how much Jamie understood Taylor and knew when to step back. But he also knew when to push her and try and get her out of her bubble.

Charlie and Alyssa, while I really did enjoy it, a lot. It felt to insta-lovey for me. I really wanted to love it so much, because they were very cute together. But, it was hard getting passed that it had only been a few days. In saying that, I did like how Jen Wilde did portray them and how they connected over things in such ways.

Overall, I loved Queens of Geek. It’s a fun but emotional read that is for every pop cultural fan. It explores the notion of friendship and relationships. It’s about falling in love and letting yourself love. It’s about stepping out of that bubble and letting yourself be free. With beautiful friendships and romance, this book is one for everyone.

Have you read Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!

Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Rest of 2017

May 30, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone join as you please. This week’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017.

I found it quite hard to make a list this week, I think because most of my highly anticipated books have already been released this year, or the ones that are coming up like Now I Rise, I’ve already managed to read. But I’ve made a list anyway like always these are in no particular order.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer: Superpowers, Secret identities, vengeance, and justice – oh I am so in. | Coming November.

Wonder Women: Warbringer by Leigh Bardougo: It’s wonder women coming-of-age and Leigh Bardugo all wrapped into one. I couldn’t be happier. | Coming August.

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows: Fantasy, anxiety, dragons and betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving. | Coming September.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake: I adored Three Dark Crowns last year and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel. Heaps went down at the end of the first book and I feel like it’s going to explode soon. | Coming September.

The Colour Project by Sierra Abrams: This just sounds like my type of read. A beautiful romance that just takes on so much more. | Coming July.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone: After reading The Hate U Give at the start of the year, as soon as I heard about Dear Martin I knew I needed it. It sounds beautiful and oh so important. | Coming October.

Coming Up For Air by Miranda Kenneally: This is going to be the last book in the Hundred Oaks series and I am not okay. I started this series some time ago, one of the first contemporary books that I read. | Coming July.

Trust by Kylie Scott: Again this just sounds like my type of book. I didn’t know much about it until a month ago, but it’s moved up that anticipated list. | Coming July.

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas: a psychological thriller that is about appearances versus reality. It explores the power of manipulation amongst teenage girls. | Coming July.

Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell & Fiona Wood: Three of #LoveOzYA’s best authors coming together. Yes, please.

And that is it for this week! What are some of the books that you are anticipated for? Do we share any of the same books? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

May 25, 2017

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Pages: 384
Publish date: May 31, 2017
Publisher: Hachette
ISBN: 1481478680
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married.

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

When Dimple Met Rishi:

I received an e-arc of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon from Hachette via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Before arcs landed in people’s hands When Dimple Met Rishi starting gaining attention and it only increased when reviews starting flowing in. So I knew that I need to read this one and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a fun and heartwarming book that is totally a rom-com.

When Dimple Met Rishi, follows protagonists Dimple and Rishi who’s parents have organised their so called arranged marriage. One problem Dimple doesn’t know. So when they both arrive at a program for aspiring web developers, everyone is in for a surprise. Dimple and Rishi are totally opposite. Dimple wants to take charge of her life, make a future for herself, while Rishi is a romantic at heart and is all for tradition. Let’s just say they get off on the wrong foot.

Dimple was a fun character to be around. I liked that she stood up for what she believed in and herself. I liked that even though her family wanted her to do things, she did what she wanted, what she loved. Even though I did enjoy Dimple, I also thought that at times during When Dimple Met Rishi – she was difficult. Dimple is very stubborn and this makes her letting go and falling love very hard. Most of the time things had to go her way or the highway. Dimple’s character arc was also something really enjoyable.

Rishi is the complete opposite to Dimple, but it made for great banter. He is a hopeless romantic and is all for tradition. He likes diving into his Indian roots and I thought that was just so refreshing to see – however it also hinder him from finding out who he really was. I think that by the end of When Dimple Met Rishi, he was able to find that balance with tradition and himself.

The romance in When Dimple Met Rishi was very cute. That’s the only way that I can explain it. While Dimple and Rishi are very different, they are also very similar. In a weird sort of way. There were times that I felt it was very insta-lovey. However, I just kind of went with it. I loved that When Dimple Met Rishi was able to share a positive connotation on arranged marriages. normally you never really see that especially in YA, so that was something that really shines through to me.

Family, is a very big theme throughout When Dimple Met Rishi. Not just because both Dimple and Rishi are close to their families, but because of the cultural aspects. The reader is really able to delve in and see what it could be like for an Indian-American teen who is trying to find themselves. But still, stick with traditions. It was very frustrating at times seeing both sets of parents act the way that they do. But in the end, we can understand it’s because they love them. I adored Rishi’s brother and I want to hear his story, I want to know what he is about.

Overall When Dimple Met Rishi was an entertaining read. It’s a rom-com to the core, but it explores the notion of family and cultural. It’s about first love and believing in yourself. The reader is able to explore arrange marriage in a totally different way. They fall in love with the characters and cheer for them along the way. When Dimple Met Rishi also explores that life is up and down. And there are things that will stand in your way.

Have you read When Dimple Met Rishi? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!