I wanted to love this one, and I did! How refreshing to dive into fanfiction as a smart vehicle for a meet-cute, and blending in the love interest of the celebrity plus such rich realism in body image and body positivity in the romance. I couldn't be happier that Dad steered way clear of cliche and made this book FUN. It was a breath of fresh air, comfortable to hang onto for an extra hour or two of nighttime reading. I'll look for more of Dade's books, because this one was just the right kind of treat.

Wow - okay. Wow. I completely and wholeheartedly adore this book. Marcus & April's romance in 'Spoiler Alert' was perfect. Olivia Dade had me laughing, swooning, crying (!!), throughout the entire book.
I felt so incredibly SEEN in this book. I think that the cover art, and April's struggles with her figure and that perception from others, can really resonate with a lot of people. Not only that, but to wonder how the people who you care about, how THEY perceive you? That's not easy. And a geek-girl totally immersed in a fandom & fanfic? GIVE ME MORE.
And... Marcus? Altogether completely swoon worthy and to learn that HE writes fanfic too?! I can't.

I was waiting for the conflict with at capital 'C' for quite awhile and honestly I was nervous for it. I appreciated the work that went into it, and how it was handled & ultimately resolved (helloooo, this IS a romance! we GET our HEA!!). I really don't have any real critiques because I felt this love story in my bones. April's anxiety and her physical reactions and how she handled that anxiety was real to me.

I can't say enough about this book and I am already chomping at the bit to see what Alex gets up to <3

Many thanks to NetGalley & Avon for this eArc.

This is a cute, fluffy book that delves into the more serious issues of emotional abuse, fatphobia, and self-confidence in the face of adversity. I had a blast reading about Marcus and April; I love a couple that wholeheartedly supports one another, and April's confidence and her ability to stand up for herself had me cheering. I haven't dabbled much in fanfic or the fandom community, so I can't speak to how accurate the representation of the world is, but I really enjoyed this introduction to it.

It's not a perfect book for me. I wish Dade had delved into certain characters; April's Dad and Lauren, for example, had no lines in the book, but other characters refer to them often. I also felt like I didn't quite understand Marcus' pretty-boy image at the beginning of the book, though I know Dade tried to explain it. Regardless, it's an excellent representation of body positivity and self-acceptance, and the friendships have a lot of witty banter (my kryptonite).

Falling in love with someone you can’t see is a hallowed literary trope, the stuff of Greek myths and fairy tales. Almost equally ancient is the romance of mistaken identity—a cocktail of comedy and pathos deftly exploited by Shakespeare and Shaw, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Scarlet Pimpernel. In the age of dating apps, online avatars, and identity theft, the secret or borrowed identity finds fresh traction in three new romance novels.

Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert is a set in the mirror world of fandom, fanfic, and cosplaying. Gods of the Gates is a Game of Thrones-like fantasy television series loosely based on a series of bestselling novels, which are in turn loosely based on The Aeneid. Frustrated with his character’s arc, the show’s Aeneas, hunky actor Marcus Caster-Rupp, secretly writes brooding fanfic under the handle “Book!AeneasWouldNever” and bonds with an online fan community—especially cosplayer and fellow fanfic author April Whittier, a.k.a. “Unapologetic Lavinia Stan.”

IRL, April is a redheaded, plus-size geologist who may ogle Marcus onscreen but would never fall for his carefully constructed dumb-jock persona. She proves it when a viral Tweet brings them together for a publicity stunt of a dinner date: “His muscles were still rather impressive face-to-face, and he was very polite, and his hair was thick and golden in the candlelight, but Jesus, the tedium.”

Marcus, in turn, is drawn to April’s intelligence and curves, but terrified that she’ll see through his beefcake bluster, especially when he discovers that the smart, sassy stranger is his online BFF. “She made a goddamn living spearing through surfaces and discovering what lay underneath, and he wanted to remain undiscovered.” He’s plagued not just by personal insecurities stemming from his dyslexia, but by a confidentiality clause that could get him fired from Gods of the Gates if the showrunners find out about his online activities. While April delights in make-believe, Marcus can’t be authentic with her until he sheds several layers of pretense.

Dade affectionately skewers the fantasy genre and fanfic in general. She intersperses the story with excerpts from the characters’ hilariously horny fics, the baroque prose of the Gates of the Gods novels, the cast members’ long-running group chat, and the terrible scripts of the movies Marcus has made between shooting seasons. These include Manmaid (“about a half-human sea creature cursed to love a woman allergic to kelp”). There’s also Do-Si-Danger (in which he played “an arrogant, high-powered executive and accidental bystander to a gangland murder who assumed a new witness-protection identity and found ill-fated romance among homespun square dancers”), and Lindy Hope (“the inspirational—if entirely fictional—story of how swing dancing turned the tide of one World War II battle”). It’s tremendously fun, but Dade doesn’t sugarcoat serious discussions about dyslexia and fat-shaming in fandoms (and families).

I absolutely loved this take on the Notting Hill/Win a Date With Tad Hamilton trope. The characters felt fresh and remarkably alive. April's passion for her job as a geologist and her transition to a new work environment were definitely highlights for me.

I thought too many plot points in this book were convenient or added in purely for the sake of gathering woke-ness points. The main character April is a smart, plus-size, geologist with a lot of internalized trauma from her parents. We don't really experience her smartness or her love for her job. it seems thrown in there. She is deeply insecure and it takes a very slow 300 pages for her to believe that a beautiful guy could love her-- repercussions of said parental verbal abuse. Look, I'm all for representation, for having diversity of bodies and diversity of minds in novels--especially romance novels that have for a long time been very homogenous. But I don't know, everything about this book felt forced. Does a beautiful plus size woman need the most gorgeous man on earth to make her believe in love? Really? Marcus has dyslexia and he's basically a man in hiding. I don't get it? I have never heard of a celebrity deliberately playing dumb. Why is he still acting for his parents? Continuing to keep up a facade that is hurting him over and over and over again? If I'm being honest the behavior patterns that these very grown up characters showcase are juvenile, they lack any sort of emotional maturity and honestly the resolution comes in the last three chapters. There is practically nothing that changes other than they meet each other. I find it hard to believe that two people (one in her mid 30s and the other who is 40) suddenly grow over the course of a new three month relationship. This book was in one word forced. And it was simultaneously slow and underdeveloped.

That being said I do appreciate the representation.

Olivia Dade's body positive, real talk, fan fiction loving romance - Spoiler Alert - was hands down one of my favorite books of 2020. The books features a celebrity pen pal with a fan - but only one of them knows who the other is! When these two go on a date, sparks fly, but this is just one secret that will come between them. Dealing with body shaming, dyslexia, cyber bullying and more, Dade does a masterful job of touching on these subjects while still infusing banter and romance, creating an incredibly bingeable read full of substance.

This was my first read from Dade but I immediately went out and bought her entire backlist as soon as I finished and I cannot wait to read more from this excellent voice.

Thank you to Avon for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I had fun with this book, I feel like it wasn't a new premise, a definite deja vu of other books read, but maybe one of the first that I've read for an adult audience? I liked the depth that the characters had, but did feel like it ran a bit long.

Spoiler Alert was a delight. I loved the mashup of a fan-fiction world with romance. I have seen complaints that the TV show in the book is too similar to Game of Thrones, but I am not a Game of Thrones fan and I was able to jump in just fine.

I always love the inclusion of "artifacts" such as text messages, etc, and this book had plenty of that. I can see how some may have found it distracting, but I felt like it rounded out the world that Dade created.

This book was so good! I read it because it’s romance, but it ended up being more than that. The representative in this book made is relatable, while the romance had me smiling.

A fanfic/fandom romance complete with costumes and conventions and steam? YES!

I adored this story--I felt like Olivia Dade wrote a romance so well. The writing was mature, detailed and researched thoroughly, all evident by the narration and voice of the two main characters. Her choice in character development felt real (natural consequences of actions, realistic outings, etc). No corners were cut with this one and I loved it.

I did feel like the last half dragged a bit and perhaps lost my interest. I was engaged enough to keep reading and finish, but I would've liked the pace and "spice" to be kept up in the latter half. Another issue I had was with the main character and her "I can do no wrong" ailment for the initial 80%. Her dialogue and narrative became a little too "perfect" and I definitely picked up on it.

Otherwise, solid read with big themes of body positivity, bravery, and identity that I loved!

3.75/5

This book was absolutely what I needed in my life. A perfect dip into fandom culture, and a celebrity romance that truly hit all the right notes. I loved the discussion of fandom and how it's a fun way to build a community, it felt very organic and fun rather than a total cringefest like some other fandom-centric books I've encountered. Marcus and April may very well be one of my favorite couples of the year. Olivia Dade did an amazing job of crafting these characters and making them real people with depth and distinctively wonderful personalities. Marcus,oh my sweet cinnamon roll Marcus, he was just so great. So shy and reserved and I just loved how April's confidence made him feel brave enough to be his true self, a person beyond his public celeb persona. I loved that despite April's confidence and self assuredness, she still had her own trials and weak spots. I loved how she and Marcus communicated their issues with one another and supported each other. Some of the best romance communication I've seen in ages. This couple was so fun together, their banter was fun and never forced. The sexy scenes were🔥 and the emotional intimacy between them made me want to tear up. Loved this book on all levels, 4.5 stars

(.5 less because i hate public love declarations they make me cringeee and i wish they would've avoided that cliche)

This is a "Once Upon a Con" book made for mature audiences. It's about loving and respecting yourself so your confidence will open a new realm of possibilities- like the novel idea to be loved and respected by others. Plus sex.

I could have spent weeks inside the world Dade built in Spoiler Alert! I loved the update on a You've Got Mail-like story, and rooted for the main couple throughout (but would love to see subsequent stories on some of those side characters!) I immediately looked up Dade's previous books and plan to read them all.

For fans of YOU HAD ME AT HOLA and CONVENTIONALLY YOURS comes SPOILER ALERT from newcomer Olivia Dade. Equal parts humorous, romantic and incisive, this is a pitch-perfect romance novel that is sure to draw scores of new readers to the genre.

Marcus Caster-Rupp is the devilishly handsome star of the hit television show “Gods of the Gates,” an “American Gods”-like fantasy show based on a book series of the same name. Much as in our own world, the writers have butchered the books and disappointed countless fans (cough, “Game of Thrones,” cough), and yet viewers cannot stop tuning in to see Marcus riding horses, sword fighting and passionately making out with goddesses as Aeneas, the star of the show. For years, Marcus has gotten by on his good looks and “golden retriever” routine, which has allowed him to squeeze by in-depth interviews with a cute remark and a lift of his shirt. However, with the show coming to an end, Marcus is grappling with how he wants to control his narrative moving forward. Should he continue to play the hot dumb guy and take on roles full of lackluster plots and busty female leads, or should he reveal himself to be much more than Aeneas?

On the other side of the screen we meet April Whittier, a devoted and passionate “Gods of the Gates” fan. Like many fans, April has grown frustrated with the shock-inducing plotlines that bear no resemblance to the books or even to the characters’ own actions, but she cannot stop thinking about her favorite “GotG” pairing: Aeneas and Lavinia. April airs her frustrations with the show on a popular fanfiction site where she writes and rewrites new stories set in the “GotG” world, posting them under the pseudonym UnapologeticLaviniaStan. For months, she has been trading stories and having intellectual discussions about the show with Book!AeneasWouldNever, one of the few men writing fanfiction about Aeneas and Lavinia, and an intelligent and socially aware one at that.

Although April clearly adores “GotG,” she knows that writing fanfiction is not a passion that will earn her friends, promotions or any positive recognition in her work as a geologist, so she has kept her online identity secret for as long as she can remember. But that all changes when she takes on a new job and decides to be more open about her interior life, starting by replying to a Twitter thread about Lavinia fans with a picture of herself cosplaying as her favorite character. April knows the internet can be tough, and she is ready to mute and block people discussing her weight or physical appearance. But what she is 100% not at all prepared for is for the star of her favorite show to tweet her and ask her to dinner.

Naturally, the internet explodes, and April’s photos go viral, sparking plenty of nasty comments online. After a few private messages with Marcus, she agrees to meet him. Although she has eyes and can see that he is perfect physically, she is not interested in his dumb guy routine and, in true geologist fashion, readies herself to dig a bit deeper as they continue to see one another. But what April doesn’t realize is that Marcus has some pretty big secrets up his sleeve, most notably his frustrations with the showrunners of “GotG,” which he works out by writing his own fanfiction as, you guessed it, Book!AeneasWouldNever.

All romance readers know that one of the best elements of any romance is the HEA, happily ever after. Going into SPOILER ALERT, you know, of course, that Marcus and April will end up together, but the way that Dade unfolds every element of this star-crossed love affair will shock you. Her characters are some of the most fully rendered I have ever read in romance; not only are they living dual lives, both are at a crossroads --- April with her new job, Marcus with unemployment. Their moments of self-discovery add so much to the tension of the romance, with each character learning to love himself or herself at the same time as learning to love one another. I felt so deeply for Marcus, but I was completely enamored with April. I loved that her journey to self-acceptance was not focused on her weight, but rather on her happiness and pride in her accomplishments. Although Dade handled her physical descriptions beautifully, they were never the focus of her journey, making this an A+ for representation.

Beyond the stunning and heartfelt romance, what really makes the book shine is its incisive portrayals of real and controversial subjects. Dade uses her otherwise fluffy and unputdownable romance to raise awareness on a myriad of topics, including (but not at all limited to) online bullying, fat-shaming, food policing, parental abuse, learning disabilities and the #MeToo movement. The arts of cosplay and fanfiction writing are effectively incorporated into the story, adding much-needed levity to the otherwise serious issues. I haven’t seen such a perfect mix of timely conversations and laugh-out-loud drama since THE FRIEND ZONE, another romance lover’s favorite.

Whether you’re still smarting at the series finale of “Game of Thrones,” planning your next Comic Con trip, or simply in need of a smart, snappy romance, you’re sure to find something to love in SPOILER ALERT.

Thank you so much @AvonBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 06 October 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Marcus Caster-Rupp is primarily known as the guy who plays Aeneas in the hit tv show Gods of the Gates. What most people don't know, is that he is also the fanfiction writer Book!AeneasWouldNever where he posts anonymous stories allowing him to get out his frustrations with the direction the writers have taken his character. Obviously, no one can found out they are one & the same otherwise he would be fired. April Whittier on the other hand keeps her professional & personal life separate so no one knows that she is a cosplayer & fanfiction writer too. After she is fat shamed on Twitter, Marcus swoops in & asks her out on a date.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the Game of Thrones fan-fiction vibes
- plus size main character
- there was a lot of good talking points around body positivity, fat shaming, addressing difficult relationships, online harassment, guilt etc

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- fake dating/secret identities trope (I tend to dislike romances focusing on dishonesty)
- because the tv show so heavily resembles Game of Thrones I couldn't imagine anyone else as Marcus Caster-Rupp other than Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who plays Jaime Lannister (i mean they both even have double barrelled surnames...)

Spoiler alert: SPOILER ALERT by Olivia Dade is the fluffy romcom you deserve to read. Reminscient of the very same fanfics it worships, this romance between a celebrity and a fan is delightfully sweet, while holding no punches about fatshaming. Please read it; you will not regret it.

This was SO FUN. I loved the plot -- such a unique idea for a romance novel and a fun read for anyone who's ever been part of a fandom. I loved the relationship and the honesty of the characters.

Spoiler Alert, a debut romance from Olivia Dade, is a fun, fluffy romance about a plus-size fanfiction writer who ends up on a date with the star of the show she writes about. I enjoyed this book (although it was a little too open door for me), but it wasn't a homerun. I loved the pure love for fanfiction and the little snippets of movie scripts, fan server messages, and fanfic stories between chapters. However, I only liked the romance between the two leads- the path to love just felt a little too easy. I will read more from this author, though- her writing is great and I think she will only get better with each novel. (3.5 stars, rounded up for Goodreads)

Gosh I loved this book! From the body positive cover to the fanfiction and cosplay topes I was invested! This book is steamy and hilarious. Olivia Dade is definitely one to watch!