Ramona Lambert is an artsy, shy 16-year-old with a crush on a guy, Caleb, who doesn’t know she exists. In her spare time, Ramona likes to cosplay as her original character Rel, who gives her the confidence she lacks in real life. Ramona decides to send an email from her cosplay account to Caleb, and the two strike up an email friendship. Soon after, however, Caleb strikes up a real-life friendship with Ramona, and she knows she won’t be able to hide behind Rel forever.

Any book with a comparison to You’ve Got Mail will immediately get my attention, and this was a cute YA story! I definitely recognized my younger self in Ramona. I think this is a great book for younger YA audiences. I liked that the author showed that black girls can be into nerdy things, too.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.

I love the quirky characters and their quirky romance. Adorably cute and shows how to appreciate your own uniqueness.

The narration was good.

Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily listened and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Ramona love fandoms and cosplay, but her family doesn't get it. Her best friend moved away recently but they still facetime every day. Ramona takes a chance and drops a love note and her email in her crush's locker. But she uses her cosplay handle email instead of her personal one. They message back and forth online and get to know each other. While in real life he coincidentally gets a job at the same diner she works at.
Ramona was very real and has realistic struggles and reactions. Some parts of the story were quite trope-y but it was still fun.

Cute book! Sweet, diverse storytelling, but ultimately a very meh read. I just finished this and I barely remember what it's about. Honestly, eh.

This is cute and while I'm an adult, and not the target audience, I can still appreciate it at a fun story. Nerd Crush does a few things well. First of all Alisha Emrich writes her nerdy characters well. In fact, being a pedantic nerd myself, I found only one thing to criticize. Original characters technically aren't cosplay unless they originate from something like a game where you create your own avatar. That's really it. And it's sad but that's outstanding. So many times when I read about nerds it gets cringy.

Another great thing about this book is that Ramona's parents aren't horrible BUT they get things wrong in a very realistic way. I could even relate with her when her parents didn't get her interests and downplayed them as nothing serious and the mom even gets her character's name wrong even though she's probably been told it hundreds of times. I think this is important, especially in YA and Middle Grade because it can show kids that they're not alone. Their parents may not be awful but words and indifference can still hurt.

This book was very predictable. In fact I guessed the ending by the end of the first quarter of the book. However this isn't an adult contemporary fiction book where I'd dock points for that. This is an easy and enjoyable book that a kid could pick up and read. It's wonderfully inclusive and even dabbles in topics that I'm familiar with but have never experienced. Being a Black nerd cosplaying as a White character as well as not being considered Black enough by your peers because of how you act is nothing I have ever experienced so I can't critique that part of the book, but what I can do is say that I love the inclusion of those topics because they are important and hopefully someone who needs to hear it will read this book.

Nerd Crush is great for a young audience and has a cute story and important lessons but it never gets bogged down by those lessons. If you're an adult and want to read this, go for it. Just be ready to find it predictable. Remember, you're not the target audience. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute and a fast read. I enjoy there were discussions about the wrong nature of not telling someone who you are and using that knowledge. I liked that we saw the struggle and saw her question her actions. A lot of healthy talking and growth in this book.

This book was really good! I liked the characters too. I hope to read more by this author soon!
I liked the setting too and the style of the author.

I have reviewed the digital print version of this title already, but have added it to the end of this review as well.

I did not enjoy the audiobook version of this at all. I do not want to fault the narrator, I do not believe that they were bad at their job, their voice just did not work for me.

Review:

Sometimes as a writer we really want to write the book that we wanted as a teen, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, IF we take that into account when writing.

It's great that our protagonist is a "nerd" but this perspective of her being friendless because of her "nerdy" interest is just weird. Today's teens don't really operate that way. This isn't to say there aren't cliques and teens are no longer teased, but this character trope is giving 1980's-1990's and yet the story is taking place in the present. I also want to add that even pre-2000's, that trope was tired. To make matters worse, Ramona leaves so much of her "nerdiness" behind fairly early on in the book and we find ourselves reading a story just like so many other hetero YA love stories, making sure this one is not memorable.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet but sometimes was a little too angsty for me. I like things to be basically pure fluff but this was still a very fun read. Thank you NetGalley!

This book was insanely sweet. Ramona's character was a little frustrating at times, but it's pretty accurate and realistic for a girl her age. The only thing that threw me off was that her parents let her go to conventions alone. As a parent, my mind immediately screams danger. Lol, cute story with great characters.

"Happily Ever Afters meets You've Got Mail" is an accurate description of this delightful debut romance novel that is filled with Black Girl Magic and cosplay. Ramona Lambert, a shy and artistic sixteen-year-old, finds solace in cosplay and her original character, Rel, who gives her the confidence and freedom that she lacks in real life. Ramona's best friend moved away, her parents don't quite understand her love of cosplay, and she has a crush on Caleb Wolfe, who she is pretty sure has no idea she exists.

As Ramona strikes up an email conversation with Caleb from her cosplay account, she falls even harder for him as he opens up about his hopes, insecurities, and his own geeky loves. However, as Caleb starts to grow closer to Rel, Ramona has to decide if she'll hide behind her cosplay character forever or take the chance and let Caleb see the real her, because he might actually like her for who she is.

The plot is well-paced, and the writing is easy to follow along. The characters are relatable and endearing, and it's easy to root for Ramona as she navigates the ups and downs of love and self-discovery. The romance is sweet and swoon-worthy, and the cosplay aspect adds a unique and fun element to the story.

The author does an excellent job of exploring themes of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and the importance of embracing your true self. The book also touches on issues such as friendship, family, and the challenges that come with growing up.

Overall, NerdCrush is a heartwarming and entertaining debut novel that will leave you with a smile on your face. It's a perfect read for fans of YA romance and anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story. Highly recommended!

omg so so so so cute! I couldn't get enough I loved the nerdy aspect and the love story. I couldn't get enough. highly recommend.

Zoleka Vundla narrates Alisha Emrich’s NerdCrush about sixteen-year-old Ramona Lambert, who inadvertently leads a double life after secretly expressing her feelings for her crush using her cosplay identity and becomes engaged in an email romance with him. An artistic, shy sixteen-year-old, Ramona has parents who love her and a life-long best friend who gets her. She loves cosplay and manga and likes a cute boy in her class. Unfortunately, her best friend—since diapers—has moved away, it appears that her crush doesn’t know she exists, and like most teenagers, her parents don’t understand her, her cosplay love, or why she’s into it or manga. Ramona cosplays with her original character, Rel, to escape her troubles because being Rel makes her feel confident and free. While in character as Rel, she sends an email to her crush, Caleb Wolfe, from her cosplay account, and the two begin communicating over email. Ramona sends the email, hoping to become friends with Caleb and win his heart.

As Caleb shares his love for geeky stuff, insecurities, and hopes with Kel, Ramona’s emotions for Caleb deepen. Meanwhile, Caleb befriends Ramona complicating the situation because he’s also growing closer to Rel in their email chats. While she knows she can’t continue keeping her true identity from Caleb, Ramona’s afraid to tell him she’s his secret admirer Kel because she fears losing him. Already feeling stressed from an important cosplay convention she’s been planning for and looking forward to, Ramona’s double life weighs on her, causing her additional anxiety. Will she take the chance to let Caleb see the real Ramona—believing he might actually like her for who she is—or hide behind her cosplay character forever?

Vundla brings Emrich’s YA/teen romance about self-identity, self-confidence, and belonging to life with animated narration that fits the characters perfectly. Ramona sounds youthful, and it’s easy to picture a teen matching Emrich’s descriptions for her and Caleb. Vundla differentiates between the characters through pacing, tone, intonation, emotion, language, and dialect. She gives Emrich’s characters distinct voices, revealing their personalities, feelings, quirks, and state of mind. Her dramatic and sparkling narration captures, displays, and expresses Ramona’s emotions—excitement, anxiety, frustration, fear, and the butterflies and obsessive thoughts of her crush/first love. Vundla’s narration for Caleb and the secondary characters is equally excellent, and she’s skilled at narrating for both male and female characters.

Emrich’s writing is detailed with vivid descriptions, deft character development, and fine worldbuilding. Ramona’s interactions with Caleb, her best friend, and her family are cute, sweet, emotional, intense, and well-written. The details about cosplay, manga, anime, and the characters’ geeky hobbies are fascinating and help to develop and evolve the characters and story. I love how Emrich explores how difficult it can be for a Black teenager to be into geeky things or interests that aren’t cool or shared by your Black family members and peers. One of the best things about NerdCrush is how strong Ramona’s sense of self and identity is, even though she doesn’t realize it. Despite her parents, cousins, and most of the people she knows not “getting her” or even taking the time to try and listen and learn about her interests and who she is, she dares to immerse herself fully in cosplay, designing costumes, reading manga, attending cons, etc., because she loves these activities, and they bring her joy. I love that so much. With Ramona, Emrich presents an excellent role model and approach to life to her readers—especially teens. And her portrayal of Ramona’s bullying coming from within her family members is well done and notable because, often, other Black peers can be critical and cruel about a teen’s interests when they are off-beat or different from theirs.

NerdCrush is a cute, sweet, funny, and angsty YA/teen romance about self-love, self-discovery, belonging, self-acceptance, taking risks, and self-confidence. In addition, it explores themes of bullying, gatekeeping’s effect on cosplayers of color, and representation in cosplay, anime, and manga.

Advanced listening copy provided by Dreamscape Media via Netgalley for review.

This book was a cute idea and Love cosplay and creating characters. This was a overall cute story. I just wish she told who she was sooner instead of making a mess out of it when she had so many chances. The story was a little jagged for me but I like the cosplay she can be free and be herself and more and showing in real life you are scared to be who you are and be involved because of what ever past issues you might of had or being shy losing a friend ect.

This was a cute lite hearted read.

Thanks to Netgalley, and Dreamscape Media for the audioARC in exchange for my honest review

I enjoyed this book. I really love this book about fun love and romance and fun blushes and giddiness.

I loved this audiobook! The narrator did an excellent job telling the story, it felt like I was genuinely listening to Ramona. As far as storyline goes--I loved seeing Ramona's confidence journey when it comes to what she is passionate about and her growing strangers-to-friends-to-lovers relationship with Caleb. I also really enjoyed the manga and anime references and hearing details about what goes into cosplay.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this story. Super quick and easy read. Loved the fandom/cosplay talk. A very cute young adult romance for nerds! I would recommend!

This is a cute ya book that can bring readers back to loving to read. People can relate, on some level, to the main character as she battles how much of her true self to show.

This was a charming story but the writing felt very very young. I was surprised that the characters had drivers licenses because it felt like they were 13 or 14. Despite the simple writing and storytelling, Nerd Crush is a sweet romance about the outcasts of high school.