3 1/2 stars, rounded up.

This book was very cute and had a nice message. The main character Cerys initially pretends to be interested in a fandom for the Game of Thrones-esque series her best friend is obsessed with in the hopes that he will come to see her as more than a friend.

Initially, I found Cerys to be a bit annoying as she was always overly concerned with what others thought of her, whether it be her friend group or random people, but she definitely grew and matured about that as the story progressed.

I liked seeing her really immerse herself in the story and get hooked on the tv show and books. I also liked that the book had Discord chats and even a bit of AO3 as well. It really made the fandom come to life even though the book series referenced is fictional.

The romance was a little underdeveloped but still cute. I really liked the friendship group with the girls and I’m excited that Anissa will be getting her own story. I’ve read many books by this author and they are always cute and fun YA contemporaries and this one was no different. I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you NetGalley for an Arc of this book!!

This book was okay. The ending felt a little rushed and felt like it needed to have more depth than it did. It wasn’t a bad book but I would say the plot was a bit underdeveloped.

The mmc was my favorite character in this book but I felt like we didn’t really have enough scenes with him for to to actually like him.

3.5 stars ⭐️
Infrequent language ( one use of the f-word )
Lgbtq+ themes ( Jake )
Just kissing
14+

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Children Books for this arc for my honest review.
4 out of 5 stars/ First person pov(Cerly)

Cerly has a secret crush on Jake so she develops the mastermind plan to join the fandom of Jake's favorite tv show. Though she absolutely can’t see the appeal in Of Wrath and Rune, if Jake loves it, then Cerys will too. Cosplay, discord groups, watch party nights and even fanfiction. Cerly throws herself into getting to know the Of Wrath and Rune fandom. It doesn't matter how much Cerly does because Jake's new friend Max tags along with them everywhere. Will Cerly be able to earn Jake's attention through becoming a fangirl or will Max ruin everything?

I love being a fangirl of things so I loved reading about someone else fangirling over something. I did guess the plot twist very early on but it was still a fun lighthearted read.

I absolutely loved all of the nerdiness and Fandom in this book. I think that made me enjoy everything so much more. With that being said, the direction this story takes is pretty obvious. There were a couple of things that I was not expecting, however.

I loved the plot twist towards the end. I can't help but feel like something was missing from the story. Part of me wished that some things were revealed earlier in the story that way other things could have been focused on more. Once some events happened I actually liked the way the story was going. Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children's Books, and Beth Reekles for an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion.

The Fangirl Project by Beth Reekles was good. I enjoyed The Kissing Booth so I had to read this.

It is YA so, I think the issues addressed just were a little out of my personal age range. LOL. However, I did enjoy some aspects of the story and think this would be a great book for the 11-15 year old age range. There are some important topics discussed such as trying to fit in, and learning how people can see you very differently than you see yourself that I can really see that age range appreciating.

The ending did feel a little rushed to me, and I wish we had more time to appreciate Max as a whole. But keeping in mind the intended audience, I think that for younger YA readers the book will feel just right.

Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a quick YA read who either fits the age range or doesn’t mind revisiting what it was like being that age. It truely was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!

This was good, but I think the issues addressed just were a little out of my personal age range. I did enjoy some aspects of the story though, and think this would be a great book for the 11-14 year old age range. There are some important topics discussed such as trying to fit in, and learning how people can see you very differently than you see yourself that I can really see that age range appreciating. The ending did feel a little rushed to me, and I wish we had more time to appreciate Max as a whole. Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a quick YA read who either fits the age range or doesn’t mind revisiting what it was like being that age.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte for the ARC!

3 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

While I am a huge Beth Reekles fan and have read every book some twice this wasn’t my favorite. I think it has to do with the fact that it revolves around “fantasy” and I absolutely despise fantasy. While it was a fantasy book the whole book revolves around a fantasy book 🤷🏼‍♀️ I did however love Cory’s and Jake’s story tho I just wish it didn’t involve so much fantasy. They were absolutely adorable and totally took me back to high school first days.

OMG??? I LOVEDD reading this book! I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would! The characters and the way they grow and develop was so wonderful to read about, the plot was so interesting, and the tension was literally everything I needed in my life.

When Cerys' crush and best friend Jake moves to a new college, Cerys decides to do whatever it takes to keep them close. Even if it means joining a fandom for a nerdy, popular fantasy show called 'Of Wrath and Rune'. However, when Cerys meets Jake's new best friend Max she realizes she needs to try even harder to keep Jake's friendship which involves joining a discord, going to fandom conventions, and even writing a few fan fictions. What makes her whole plan even more complicated is that she begins to actually... like'Of Wrath and Rune' and maybe enjoy talking to ssuprsing someone on the Discord even more.

LOVED✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹
• The plot of this book was so entertaining! There's so many subplots for the main plot that made this book even more interesting. The entire book isn't just about Cerys' plan to stay close and eventually date Jake, it also involves her complicated home life, her troubles with friends at school, and personal insecurities.
• Max. For the majority of the book all I wanted to do was to shake Cerys and make her realize how PERFECT this man was for her. She would constantly be mistaking the way he acted around her which would make her think that he hates her when it was so clear he just truly cares about her. He's so imperfectly perfect and one of the main reasons I enjoyed this book so much.
NOT QUITE LOVED✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹
• There are so many references in this book. Don't get me wrong, I will always enjoy a movie or show reference here and there but at some points in this book it would just get annoying. This is just a tiny complaint, but I definitely feel like the author could reduce the amount of references.

All in all, I had such a good time reading this book and definitely recommend if you're in the mood for a good romcom! 🤗
Thank you so much Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for accepting my request for an ARC in exchange for a review!

➷₊✧˚★★★★.25꒱

This book was such a fun, surprisingly heartfelt ride. It starts out feeling like it’s going to be all lighthearted crush drama, but there’s so much more to it beneath the surface. Cerys is relatable in the most chaotic, earnest way—her attempts to win over Jake are both hilarious and kind of painfully real. Watching her stumble through fandom life (cosplay, cons, fanfic deep dives) is a blast, especially as she starts discovering things about herself along the way. The dynamic between her and Max is one of those slow-burn, sneaks-up-on-you kind of things that makes you smile without realizing it. It's got humor, heart, a little geeky romance, and more than a few moments that’ll have you quietly cheering for personal growth. Perfect if you’ve ever had a crush, joined a fandom out of spite (or love), or just needed a comfort read with a soft nerdy center.

When I first started this book I was so confused because I didn't understand any of this OWAR stuff, what I could relate to, though, was Cherys. She was so sweet and naive and I feel so bad for the girl, even around the end! Poor girl was in love with a man who- nope- wont spoil it. Jake obviously wasnt the guy for her and I knew it from the second I met Max!!! ENEMYS TO LOVERS WHOOOOO???? Omg and I love how much growth their was in the book for a lot of characters! It was such a good book from an author I had never read before, I am so lucky to be able to read the arc and I loved it! WILL be buying the actual book when it comes out. Period.

This is a YA romance that spends a lot of time discussing a fantasy world as the FMC uses it to get her lifelong best friend to finally see her as something more. She wants to show him that their interests can align but she ends up liking the fantasy world all on her own and struggling with how other people might view her as uncool for this. I was impressed that the author was able to develop the main plot line along with a fantasy world that the characters were able to enjoy. The plot itself was very predictable and that kept me from rating this higher. It had cute moments but I definitely knew how it would play out from the beginning, so there wasn’t any shock factor. It was still interesting to see play out but I found myself skimming at parts as it was harder to stay captivated waiting for pieces to fall into place as I felt the major plot point was very drawn out.

3.5 stars rounded up

The Fangirl Project was a fun, fast read that gave major Wattpad energy, and as a former Wattpad user I freaking loved it. If you’ve ever had a delusional situationship with a guy who barely knows you exist and thought “I can totally make him love me if I learn everything about his favorite fill-in-the-blank,” then yeah… this book gets it and captures that delusion perfectly.

Cerys is chaotic and has that undeveloped-brain craziness and commitment to winning over Jake (like girl, breathe), but it made her feel real, who didn’t have that phase at some point. She’s messy, dramatic, and trying sooooo hard. And that makes it even sweeter when she starts realizing maybe her efforts are misplaced. Enter Max: fandom nerd, certified dimple-haver, and lowkey (maybe highkey) the real heart of the story. Their banter carried.

I do wish the story had dug a little deeper into Cerys’ character growth earlier on instead of saving it all for the end. Some of the dialogue felt a bit overexplained, and the fandom parts sometimes came off like someone Googled “how to write a con scene.” Still, there’s something super endearing about watching someone fall in love with a fandom (and maybe a person) they never saw coming. I know I have experienced that with my husband, as a certified-anime-hater I never imagined that I would fall into a few anime fandoms with him, and it was sweet to see that experience played out.

Would recommend if you like: fake identities online, fandom-to-lovers, or any book that feels like it was written by someone who lives on AO3. It’s cute and just the right amount of cringe for a YA book.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

A quick, cute read! I don't usually read a ton of YA, BUT I am alwaysss always happy to read books about fandom culture, so I'm glad this came across my radar. The romance was so cute, and while I was obviously screaming at our FMC to clock who it was she was DM-ing, that sort of thing is par for the course with the genre. I also REALLY loved how the friendships between the girls were handled in this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!

Read: June 30th - July 4th
Format: E-Book
Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

I outright devoured this. Read over half the book in one day. Apparently just loved it that much. I am feral for any romance that is nerdy/fandomy, and this delivered. The only reason I docked a star is that I felt that there could have been a bit more built up on Cerys' side in terms of the first big romance moment. You could understand where it was coming from on the other side, but on hers? Ehhhh. But still, absolutely adored, and very much recommend!

When I was a teen, I fell into Star Trek fandom, and went to every convention that was local, to not so much meet the actors, or such, but to be with my people. Once I realized they were my people, I longed to keep going to find them again. It is an amazing feeling, one that the main character in this story, Cerys, is a bit too afraid to admit that she might have such a feeling.
Cerys wants to be with the popular girls. She hates the idea that she might lose their friendship if they find she is into fandom, and cosplay and conventions.
But the reason she got into all that, was over a boy, her best friend. She wants to be around him, and he wants to around fandom, so she had to make that sacrifice, which turns out to not be all that bad.
I liked the slow blossoming of the love of fandom in Cerys, but I was a little cringe about her fighting it. Also, the big reveal that comes towards the end of the book I had figured out about half way through, so I wasn’t all that surprised when it happened, but I have to say, the clues were there, but only if you were looking for them.
All and all, a pleasant read.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 4th of November 2025

Beth Reekles "the kissing booth" got me into reading, so of course I'll be reading everything she writes. Duh! Hahaha!

This book was SO GOOD!! I loved every aspect of it!

The plot twist😱

This makes me want to read/watch Of Wrath And Rune now😂 (I wish it was real I'd probably fan girl over it too)

Thank you NetGalley.com for the ARC! Make sure you pick this up when it comes out in November!!!

*** Caution: Spoilers Ahead!***
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for this arc!

As a fangirl myself, a lot of this book absolutely called to me. I loved Cerys discovering and accepting her fangirl status for Of Wrath and Ruin. I liked how her love of the show reignited her passion for art. Cerys' journey from a girl who abhorred 'nerd culture' and was afraid to truly be herself to someone who embraced her love for Of Wrath and Ruin, cosplay and her fanart was wonderfully depicted. However, I never was able to truly ship her with Jake (and I suspected Runicrascal was Max very early on in the book, and had no doubt they would be endgame). I enjoyed how her relationships with her friend group as well as Anissa blossomed and deepened over the course of the book, as Cerys was able to embrace who she truly was and stopped feeling the pressure to be like everyone else in order to fit in and be accepted. I absolutely adored the inclusions of her fanfiction in the book, which helped me become immersed in the world of Of Wrath and Ruin myself. Her slow burn relationship with Max will appeal to fans of the enemies to lovers trope. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fandom and enjoys a well crafted love story. I absolutely will be adding a copy of this book to my library once it's published!