You all, I can't believe I have been sleeping on Olivia Dade's books. I can't tell you how many times that I've been recommended a book of hers by both online book community friends and IRL bookish friends. So when I saw her lastest book on Netgalley and saw that it was a fandom book, I decided to request it just to see if all the hype around this author was warranted. And you all, someone really needs to go kick past Rose Red in the butt because I absolutely adored Spoiler Alert!

ALL THE STARS! This book gets all the stars! It was absolutely glorious and unapologetically fabulous! It’s a love letter to fanfiction and fandom and I loved it so much! Add in the fact that it’s one of the best books I’ve read with a plus-sized main character and it shouldn’t surprise you that this is going to make my list of favorite books of the years. It was glorious! And perfectly angsty, sappy, brave, and soft all at the same time.

I loved April so much! I'm always here for a heroine in STEM but it's even better when you can just tell that the character on the page is actually in love with her STEM field. She isn't afraid to wear what she wants even if it is not the most flattering. She's going to enjoy her food and isn't going to be ashamed for writing smutty fanfic. I want to be April Whittier when I grow up is all I'm saying. Plus, I wouldn't say no to my very own Marcus.

Can we talk about Marcus's character for a second? I love seeing a soft, cinnamon roll hero in romance books that combat the alpha hero stereotype. Don't get me wrong, I still love me a good alpha hero. But we need more love interest characters like Marcus who fight against toxic masculinity and are all around good men with a code of ethics they stick to. I loved everything about Marcus's character even when he was being an idiot because he felt real in a way that makes me want to pull him from the page so I can date him myself. The washboard abs are just a bonus when compared to everything else we learn about him.

Characters aside, I felt seen reading this book. Not only was the fandom and fanfic community represented stellarly, the STEM aspect of April's career and how she has to hide parts of herself to get ahead in her chosen field really resonated with me because I had to do the same thing when I worked in my field before I started teaching. It was also glorious seeing a character who is plus-sized like me getting the guy and the happily ever after. This is why representation matters in books.

That's all I'm going to say about the book because if I'm not careful I'll start shouting about some spoilery bits I really want to talk about with someone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go read all of Olivia Dade’s backlist. If all of her books have the same heart as this one, then all the hype and gushing about her books in Romancelandia is totally deserved.

Also, can we take a moment to bask in the perfection that is the cover for this book? It’s amazingly awesome and beautiful! I would have bought this book for my personal library for the cover alone. I can't wait to get my hands on Alex and Lauren's book because I am dying to see how that relationship plays out.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

This was a new to me author & I really adored this book! It always makes me happy to see a plus sized heroine get her HEA!! April is our curvy geeky heroine who posts a cosplay picture that goes viral! However she does get those who troll her about her weight. Boo! But Marcus, our actor hero, asks her out on a date! Of course there are those who believe this two won’t last at ALL!*rolls eyes* Crazy thing is these two are actually online friends and have been falling for each other without knowing who they really are! I love this part! It just adds on to their story even more. I love the chemistry April & Marcus have going on! They are seriously so sweet together. I loved watching these two overcome their struggles and fall in love!! It was just wonderful!! So a feel good story!

Whew, this one is steamy! Be warned! Marcus is the star of a surprisingly GOT-like TV phenomenon. April writes fan fiction for that show and enjoys a good cosplay. After she posts a picture of her beautiful, plus sized self in cosplay as a character from his show, Marcus defends her honor from the internet trolls and asks her out on a date. But, is it real? Or is he just acting with her for publicity?

Just like any other red-blooded fan, I'd love a date with my celebrity crush and April lived out every fan's fantasy. I found this seriously steamy and a quick read. If you like fan-fic you'll probably like it even more than I did.

I can't say that I truly dislike this book, but I also didn't like it either.

While I am not part of the fan-fic culture I wish I had at least been informed of some of the acronyms before they were banded about through the entire novel. I also don't like the catfishing that took place. I am not a fan of romances that happen due to misunderstanding or blatant lying.

Was it body positive? Yes, overall. Was it supportive of all body shapes, mostly.

I don't know, this just wasn't the book for me.

Spoiler Alert is so freaking cute! It checks all of our boxes, and we can’t wait for you to dive into this new contemporary romance!

this was a swoon worthy romance! i loved April and Marcus, and loved their nerdy interests even more. I love the concept, the cosplay, the fanfiction, the connection...this is soon becoming one of my most favorite romcoms.

**3.5 Stars**

By the cover alone, I wanted to love and adore Olivia Dade’s Avon debut, SPOILER ALERT. First, it’s beautiful, and I love the inclusive body on the cover and the fact that seafoam green color is tied into the story! And let me say, I really like Ms. Dade’s writing. It’s fun and insightful; it makes you think but keeps the book’s tone mostly light and easy to consume. But man, I am not a fandom person.

Let me start with what I loved: the romance, what a delight! Two grown-up people who fall in love through mutual interest and attraction. That’s harder to find than one may think in romancelandia! Our heroine was strong and confident but had to work at it, like anyone else. Our hero is almost 40 and, thank goodness acts his age. He’s mature and compelling and very sexy (not his just body but also his listening skills… I’m sweating). I really liked that the hero never questioned his attraction to the heroine. Sure, she doesn’t have the ‘traditional’ body (whatever that means), but he was her fan and supporter from day one, and that really saved the book for me.

What made this book fall from a 4 or 5-star read was everything ancillary to the romance. I almost felt like you had to be a Game of Thrones fan to enjoy this book, which threw me for a bit of a loop (mostly because I am not a GOT fan). I’ve read thousands of romances in various settings, many of which I couldn’t relate to or didn’t know much about, and I have never felt as left out by the content as this book.

The hero is an actor in a GOT-like show and the heavy-handed comparisons to the Thrones disappointing last season got to be a bit much. I’ve also read the Aeneid (the book the hero’s show is based on), and I was still a bit lost with the constant references. There were so many character names, actor names, and mini fanfic scenes; my head was spinning at times.

My biggest problem was the many, many, many (way too many) fanfic, script, and alternate scenes that, I think, were supposed to enhance the plot, but slowed everything down for me. It felt like the author was being self-indulgent rather than working to add some light moments or depth. I think if I had been able to skim those scenes, it wouldn’t have bothered me as much, but I was listening to the audiobook and was really resentful each time those scenes took me out of the story by the end of the book.

Overall, I really enjoy Ms. Dade’s voice as an author. I think it’s much needed, and I see why she’s racking up fans quickly. I would recommend this book, especially if you have seen GOT. I have high hopes for her next book if it’s the couple she was hinting at throughout SPOILER ALERT!

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm not sure where to start with this review. I thought the fat-shaming and dyslexia topics were handled with finesse and well done. However, I'm not a GoT or fanfic or cosplay fan, and these themes were so prevalent that they detracted from the well-written story. The pacing and dialogue were both very good but the interspersion of the fanfic was distracting and unwelcome. Overall, I was disappointed.

I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It follows the heroine, April, who has decided to embrace her differences (she's curvy or in her own words "fat") and live her truth. She meets the star of her favorite show, which was based on her favorite books, for which she writes fanfic online. I think the descriptions of the fanfic community were pretty spot on (the author is a fan). There were also some charmingly cheesy interludes with horrible movie plots the love interest had starred in and steamy fics the MC wrote or read. I would have liked to have seen the main conflict resolve in a more unique way than misunderstanding leads to fight based on their mutual insecurities and brief break up/reunion. I feel like I've read that particular bit more than once. I also think the author was setting up a sequel that I'm sure I will read. If you don't like graphic love scenes there are a LOT of pages you will be skipping so fair warning. The love interest is definitely Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime L:annister (the love interest even has a pretty similar name), not a complaint just an observation. All in all a quick read with a cute execution.

What I Liked:

The Premise—I am a huge lover of fanfiction. I used to read it and write it religiously (sometimes I still do)! I found this book so fun and even if it wasn’t 100% believable, it still was a fun, fast read.

The Game of Thrones Comparisons—I was, and still am, a huge Game of Thrones fan and thought this was the fan fiction answer to a lot of our issues with the final season of the epic show.

The Plus Size Representation—As a mid to plus sized girl, I always appreciate seeing a woman of my size in the position of being desired. It’s not something we see a lot, especially in literature, and I thought April was a really fun character to step into. I also found her experiences with her parents and other relationships to be really relatable and true. So many people want to help, but the language used to express it can be really damaging to those of us who aren’t a size 2. It was also so great to see a dyslexic character in Marcus!

TW/CW: Fatphobia, mentions of disordered eating, strained parent/child relationships

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: 4/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/5

I had no expectations going into Spoiler Alert as I'd never read anything by Olivia Dade, but I was Blown. Away. Truly. The story really resonated with me on a few levels, and I couldn't put it down. It was just excellent, emotional, funny, well-written romance with a smart, geeky fan-fiction plotline and a sex-positive, plus-sized female MC. swoon

I adored both MCs, but the male MC, Marcus, really spoke to me. Right away, I noticed some clues about Marcus that touched me. The fact that he was dictating all of his texts, how he listened to audiobooks all of the time... my mind sniffs out these details like a hound. I don't think it's a big spoiler, but right away I knew that Marcus was dyslexic (and he reveals these details very early on in the story).

I don't like to share too many personal details online, but both of my young children are dyslexic. It's a long, hard road to diagnose and get the proper educational help for kids with learning disabilities, and it's something that many kids are suffering with, all over the world. The emotions I felt when reading about Marcus's childhood and his struggles with reading tore me apart. I loved, loved, loved that the author created neurodivergent characters and fully fleshed them out. I thought of my children growing up and reading romance books with people like them in them. I thought of how we view people who make grammatical errors or who read slowly and with mistakes. This book showcased all of that beautifully, and made it just a facet of Marcus. Marcus who was externally and internally beautiful and complex and shy and learning. I obviously stan, so hard.

The female MC, April, was also just lovely, smart, beautiful character. I really liked how the author made her not just curvy, but a big girl, who wanted and fought to be loved just as she was. She was desirable and sexual and I ate up every work. I loved reading about her complex relationship with her parents, coworkers, and the fan-fiction community. I related to her in many ways as well, that feeling like you have a double life for pursuing what is considered a niche passion and not wanting it to affect you professionally. Her pains hurt me, and I was exhilarated by her triumphs. I adored her.

The romance was also just insanely swoon-worthy. Sure, there is deception there (hence, the major tension in the story), but these two just fit together. I rooted for them from the start, and I liked how they were both flawed in their relationship but worked through it all and came out stronger.

I loved everything from the spotlight on fat-phobia to learning disabilities to geeky passions to family issues. It was all of that, plus make it FUN. Spoiler Alert was so fun that I read it in one sitting, all 400+ pages. It was my first experience with Olivia Dade and now I can't wait for more.

Clearly, Spoiler Alert really resonated with me on a personal and emotional level. After weeks of being unable to focus on reading, it had my undivided attention, which is saying a lot. I think it was a powerhouse of a story, and one of my favorite contemporary romances of the year. Total winner.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I really, truly loved this book. Our main character is a plus size babe who wins the heart of a Jamie Lannister-esque actor. There are real emotions, hot sex scenes, and some will they won’t they. I am all for some body positivity in my books, and this far exceeded my hopes! Thank you to Harper Collins and netgalley for the ARC!

This book is a fangirl/boy/person’s absolute dream. Whether you’re a fanfic consumer or writer or just a girl in love with an untouchable screen god, or detested the last season of Game of Thrones and still have nightmares about it, there’s something for you in this book.

Most importantly, the representation is real in this book. Not just the fat rep, but mental health rep and anxiety rep and all the issues we are regularly not as comfortable discussing are dealt with sublimely in this book. The author has a way of tackling the big issues without compromising on the big emotion or the romance of the story, which happens more and more often lately with contemporaries straying too close to women’s fiction. Which I have nothing against, but this approach is refreshing and more my speed.

Marcus is just a giant delectable cinnamon role who needs to be protected at all costs and I love that April is the more confident of the two and more than capable of shielding him from the world, even as he does the same for her. My heart did break for them a lot, but the grand gestures make up for it. The banter between all the characters is super fun and all the thinly veiled GoT references had me rolling. And I desperately want books for a few of the secondaries.

You’ve Got Mail for the 21st century, Spoiler Alert is a great rom com. Big stars on a popular tv show, cosplay, fan fiction provide an excellent backdrop for this story of two people finding themselves and each other.

I loooooooooooved this romance about an incredibly smart fat woman who also enjoys cosplay and writing fanfiction. When she shares a picture of herself in cosplay on Twitter and receives hate, an actor from the show she's promoting defends her--and asks her out. They fall for each other, but little does she know that he actually has a secret persona--her fanfic-writing online best friend. This is one of the hottest stories I have ever read, and it also contains excellent lessons on drawing boundaries with toxic family members and reconciling your love for them with the harm they cause. Additionally, dyslexia rep and both main characters are in their late 30s, approaching 40. And going back to the "fat" descriptor, as a fat woman myself, this book was so cathartic and warm, and as I said before, hot!!

This is my first Olivia Dade book and I really love her voice 😍. It’s set in a fanfic world in which the hero, a star actor in the popular TV series Gods of the Gates writing under the penname BAWN, “meets” the heroine, a geologist and an enthusiastic fan of the show nicknamed Ulsie, on their fandom server. They have formed a close friendship through their love for the books and the characters, as well as their frustration from the show. A fateful Twitter photo brings them together on a date in real life without either of them recognizing the other...

You may recognize from the cover that our heroine, April Whittier, is a plus-sized lady. Growing up being hurt by her own family and trusted friends who have made her feel insecure, vulnerable, and unseen, April is tired of hiding and decides to change. She moves to a new job where her colleagues embrace her and support her in every way. She learns to love her body, to be confident in her own skin, and to cut those who hurt her out of her life. I love how brave and graceful April is when dealing with societal judgements, how she looks deep underneath Marcus’s “shiny” facade to truly see him for who he really is, how honest and kind she is to those she cares...

Marcus Caster-Rupp is a famous actor who is known to the media as a shallow, dull sort of man. But that is just another role he’s been acting for his whole life. Because of his dyslexia, his parents have given up hopes on him, constantly reminded him of his lacking and his unworthiness... Like April, he also has his own insecurities and fear, and yet he is fiercely protective of her, appreciates and loves her for her intelligence, her kind heart, and just exactly as she is...

It’s an enjoyable journey to see both of them slowly learn to understand and trust each other. I only wish Marcus is braver and more determined when it comes to making decisions regarding his relationship with April, his own career, or dealing with his parents... All in all, it’s a slow burn romance with quite some good steam, a bit of humor, and good character arc... I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a good representation portrayed in a heartwarming and sweet setting.

4.5⭐️ Read for me!

Special thanks to Avon Books for sending gifting me the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read

I loved the con/fan fiction/fandom context for this story so much. There's great romantic chemistry as well. And the emotional work done with both of the main characters is fantastic - this was a piece I thoroughly enjoyed. Each of the main characters brings brokenness from their childhoods into their personal journey and then into their relationship, too. This was an unexpected layer to the story that was great. Groundwork laid here for the next book in the series, and I am here for it! (Language, sex, CW: family trauma, fat shaming, learning disability shaming)

DNF; kept swapping out elements of the novel with the GoT elements it was so clearly inspired by. Felt strange and I didn't really connect with the characters; there was no chemistry written into their relationship. The premise was great, just not well-executed.

This book was adorable. As a former fanfic writer (who would have been delighted to meet and fall in love with David Boreanez at the time) and someone who has struggled with weight issues AND who loves smart women, well, this book basically had my name all over it. If only I like Game of Thrones, this might be my ideal book. The characterization was fab, the writing was good, the sex HOT. Really hot.

For some reason, the Interstitial's just didn't work for me. I really didn't care about all the awful roles Marcus took before getting on GoT-light, and I didn't see how those gave us any insight into his character. I wound up skipping most of them. Wish I'd skipped the epilogue, too. But I'm already recommending it to all of my friends.

*Review based on ARC*

This book explores a side of romance that is usually lacking: the plus-size woman! Fat-shaming is discrimination that most people have, but won't admit. Dade does a wonderful job helping us understand by creating a smart, funny, talented woman who is unapologetic about her shape, while still insecure about how others might view her. She falls in love with an actor who has dyslexia and has been told he was stupid by his educator parents because they didn't recognize his learning issues. He also has found ways to excel in his profession and to even become a writer. These are not the usual blocks that keep people apart in romance novels. I had to look up some of the cosplay/fanfic terms, but laughed out loud at the interstitial fanfiction between chapters.
Thank you, Olivia Dade, for bringing these characters to life.