Book Review: The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

One of my favorite summer reads from last year was Geekerella by Ashley Poston. It’s a contemporary retelling of Cinderella told with a fangirl twist. I instantly fell in love with the lead characters, Elle and Darien, and their adorable, geeky love story. Read more of my gushy review right here. I was thrilled to learn that Poston was going to take readers back to the world of Geekerella with The Princess and the Fangirl.

The Princess and the Fangirl is a companion novel to Geekerella. It’s a modern, fangirl retelling of the classic The Prince and the Pauper. The Princess in this story will be familiar to Geekerella readers. She is none other than Jessica Stone, the actress playing Princess Amara in the Starfield movie. The Pauper is a new character named Imogen Lovelace. She’s a fangirl determined to bring her favorite character, Princess Amara, back to life for the movie’s sequel. A chance encounter at ExcelsiCon brings Jess and Imogen together, and they are shocked to discover just how much they look alike. The girls decide to switch lives to give Jess the anonymity she needs to find the culprit that is leaking script pages from the movie’s sequel. As Jess and Imogen pretend to be each other, they unexpectedly go on a journey of self-discovery, redefining their identity, and opening themselves up to new romances.

• The Princess and the Fangirl is centered on the emotional arcs of Jess and Imogen rather than their respective love stories. Each girl’s love interest does play a part in her personal growth, but the love story never overshadows Jess and Imogen’s path to self-acceptance.
• There are a lot of important themes present in this novel that will resonate with readers. Poston discusses the positive and negative sides of fandom culture, sexual harassment, self-worth, self-love, and female empowerment.
• There are no shortages of pop culture references and fandom lingo that will make you laugh out loud.
• I loved the cameos by some of the Geekerella cast!! It was great to get a little update on what they’ve been up to.

• The story felt a bit rushed to me, but that may be due to it taking place over the course of three days. This is also why I couldn’t really get behind the two ships because it felt a lot like insta-love.

Final thoughts: The Princess and the Fangirl is an enjoyable mix of a charming rom-com and a hilarious tribute to fandoms.

Thank you to Quirk Books for sending us an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.