Queens of Geek

Charlie is a 19-year-old with a successful YouTube channel who's also recently starred in an indie zombie film that's achieved unexpected mainstream popularity. When that gets her invited as a guest at Comicon -- er, excuse me, SupaCon -- she is delighted, and so are her equally geeky BBFs, Taylor and Jamie, who get to join her. It's not all happy, geeky fun, though, as Taylor has to deal with her social anxiety and Charlie with being forced to do events with her douchey ex-boyfriend co-star in front of a public who are far too invested in them as a couple. But in the end, Charlie finds a new chance for love with a fellow vlogger/actress, while Taylor and Jamie may finally find themselves motivated to act on the attraction they've had show more to each other for ages.

It's a very sweet, pleasant, quick-reading story. I do have a nitpick or two with it... I mean, am I the only person who thinks telling someone you've just met that you've wanted to kiss them for a year because you've been watching them on YouTube is just a little creepy? Or at least a little uncomfortable? And I did find myself thinking from time to time that the author was perhaps trying just a little too hard to Address Important Issues, mostly involving feminist ideas, diversity, and the importance of accepting yourself and others. I have to say, characters lecturing each other about issues tends to make me cringe a little, even when I agree with them. In this case, though, I think that overall it actually works. I could honestly believe these characters saying these things to one another, rather than seeing their speeches as being solely the author talking to the reader. And it's really all just wonderfully good-hearted and affirming.

Ultimately, I enjoyed it, a lot more than I expected to. In one respect, I'm really not the target demographic for this, as it's been a very long time since I was a teenager, and I wasn't really a fan of teen romance even when I was. On the other hand, though, I am, always have been, and always will be very much the geeky fangirl, and on that level, reading this was... Well, it was weird, actually. When I was young, people did not write sweet love stories about people like me, and they certainly didn't get them published. If you were the sort of person who, say, went to Star Trek conventions (as I sometimes did), the world at large, if they thought about you at all, tended to regard you with some combination of mockery and bafflement. And if you were a woman who was into stuff like that, you were effectively invisible, unless maybe you were wearing the Slave Leia outfit. That last thing is actually still a little too true, but the world has changed a lot when it comes to nerds and geeks and how they're depicted, with geek culture now seeping into the mainstream in ways that I honestly find disconcerting. And, given all that, I can't help wondering how much it might have meant to me as a young teen, with all my isolation and social awkwardness and self-image problems, to have been able to read something like this, something telling me, "I see you. You are okay. And you are worthy of love." The situation with youngsters today is very different, of course, if only because they can connect to each other on the internet and never have to be alone in quite the same way I was. But maybe they still need this sort of thing once in a while, too. Especially the ones who, for one reason or other, still feel isolated and different. show less

For friends Taylor, Charlie and Jamie LA's SupaCon has been the dream. Full of comic books, cosplaying, video games and more, they're about to begin an epic quest into geekdom.

Jen Wilde has created a cast of characters that will hit home for many people. Taylor is a girl with high social anxiety. Part of this comes from being on the Autism spectrum. She doesn't feel as if she fits in with the world, and as much as she wants to enjoy SupaCon, it also terrifies her. But she is determined to meet the author of the Queen Firestone books. A series that helped her through growing up with social anxiety. Cosplaying as the queen herself, Taylor enters SupaCon hoping to turn her life around and find the courage she wants to be able to go to show more college in LA and live out her dreams of being a writer.

Charlie is a YouTuber and actress from the movie The Rising. Invited to SupaCon by the studio, she's doing her best to immerse herself into the geekiness of SupaCon and overcome her bad break up with co-star Reese. But popularity comes with a price and she is struggling to accept her personal life being the talk of the internet. Especially when Reese shows up to participate in The Rising panels and refuses to leave her alone in front of the cameras and adoring fans.

I don't do love stories. It's what I tell everyone when they suggest books to me, but Queens of Geek slipped past my filter because of the promise of intense geek out moments. Let me tell you, I was not let down. Pop culture and geeky references are in nearly every chapter of this book, and so well embedded that they just go with the flow of the story. I loved it!

And this book is about so much more than love. It's about overcoming personal challenges. Each character has their own set of insecurities that they have to fight through in order to enjoy the convention and eventually find the love they deserve. But rest assured it isn't sappy, or overdramatic. This is a fun and humorous read that will take you through what it's like to be at a convention, and all the emotions that roll with it. show less

For friends Taylor, Charlie and Jamie LA's SupaCon has been the dream. Full of comic books, cosplaying, video games and more, they're about to begin an epic quest into geekdom.

Jen Wilde has created a cast of characters that will hit home for many people. Taylor is a girl with high social anxiety. Part of this comes from being on the Autism spectrum. She doesn't feel as if she fits in with the world, and as much as she wants to enjoy SupaCon, it also terrifies her. But she is determined to meet the author of the Queen Firestone books. A series that helped her through growing up with social anxiety. Cosplaying as the queen herself, Taylor enters SupaCon hoping to turn her life around and find the courage she wants to be able to go to show more college in LA and live out her dreams of being a writer.

Charlie is a YouTuber and actress from the movie The Rising. Invited to SupaCon by the studio, she's doing her best to immerse herself into the geekiness of SupaCon and overcome her bad break up with co-star Reese. But popularity comes with a price and she is struggling to accept her personal life being the talk of the internet. Especially when Reese shows up to participate in The Rising panels and refuses to leave her alone in front of the cameras and adoring fans.

I don't do love stories. It's what I tell everyone when they suggest books to me, but Queens of Geek slipped past my filter because of the promise of intense geek out moments. Let me tell you, I was not let down. Pop culture and geeky references are in nearly every chapter of this book, and so well embedded that they just go with the flow of the story. I loved it!

And this book is about so much more than love. It's about overcoming personal challenges. Each character has their own set of insecurities that they have to fight through in order to enjoy the convention and eventually find the love they deserve. But rest assured it isn't sappy, or overdramatic. This is a fun and humorous read that will take you through what it's like to be at a convention, and all the emotions that roll with it. show less

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I went into it thinking it would be a fun, cute, geeky read. And it was. But it was also so much more than that!

First of all, the book really focused on friendship. It was SO refreshing to see a happy group friends who cared deeply about each other, and always tried to be there for each other. It's sad how rarely we see this in YA.
Not to mention I really appreciated how all three of them were super geeky and had similar interests. I realize not everybody has friends like this IRL, but as someone who does, it's always been a bit frustrating for me to read about a main character who's the 'weird geeky one' in their group of friends. So it was just a nice change.

Second of all it was way more diverse than I show more expected! One of the MC's was bisexual, and I believe a person of colour as well (it's been over a month since I read this, but I think she was a POC), and the other MC had anxiety and autism. And while the book was mostly light and fluffy, it also definitely touched on homophobia, and the struggles of living with anxiety and autism. And from what I've heard the rep was really good.

Third of all, I could really relate to Taylor. I didn't expect to relate to her so much, maybe mostly because I don't have anxiety or autism. And I first I couldn't. I actually had a really difficult time connecting with her chapters in the beginning. But later on I started to really relate to her. I don't know what it was, but she had a lot of lines that just spoke to me so much. They just felt like a window into my soul. And that is the main reason I loved this book so much. show less

Queens of Geek is an adorable, diverse and incredibly perfect read. It centers on a group of friends attending SupaCon (sort of like ComicCon…or BEA/BookCon) for the first time. The author captured the chaos and overall craziness of a big convention really well, and made the characters’ excitement palpable.

The story is told through the POV of Charlie (a Chinese-Australian bi girl with pink hair) and Taylor (fangirl extraordinaire who is autistic). The third member of the group is Jamie who is ever so swoon-worthy, sweet, kind and totally worthy of being anyone’s “book-boyfriend”. Even the supporting characters (with the exception of Reese…who I loathe) were totally awesome.

If you love pop culture, multiple fandoms, and show more cosplay you will LOVE this book. It is brimming over with pop cultural reference from Vampire Diaries to Felicia Day to even the GodFather. I wanted to jump into its pages and join in on all the fun of the story.

One of the great things about Queens of Geek is that Charlie’s sexuality isn’t just hinted at. The author actually writes about it, and makes it known. Charlie and Alyssa relationship is super cute. It is obvious how perfect they are for one another. It might seem a bit INSTA-LOVE, but I didn’t mind it one bit. Besides their adorable/awkward flirting, they are both very supportive to each other and I thought that was great.

Charlie and Taylor’s friendship is also another fabulous thing about this book. They each have their own issues and problems to deal with, but they are always there for one another no matter what. We need more books about girls being supportive of each other and standing up for one another.

Another favorite part of this book is watching the absurdly cute awkwardness between Jamie and Taylor as they discover how to go from friends to something more (and still remain friends).

Though this story is light, fun and super geeky, there are some major topics addressed (and addressed beautifully) in this book, such as positive body image, bisexuality, anxiety, sexism, friendship. When you finish reading Queens of Geek you are left with a sense of empowerment. It might even open your eyes about a few things and teach you something. All of this is done without sounding “preachy” or forced.



“Anxiety isn’t an attack that explodes out of me; it’s not a volcano that lies dormant until it’s triggered by an earth-shattering event. It’s a constant companion. Like a blow fly that gets into the house in the middle of summer, flying around and around. You can hear it buzzing, but you can’t see it, can’t capture it, can’t let it out.”

“He’s all for equality, but he doesn’t even believe bisexuality exists.” She rubbed her fingers over the space between her eyebrows like she had a headache. “You can’t pick and choose whose equality you support. That’s not equality.”



Queens of Geek is a fun, and quirky read. From beginning to end, this book was able to capture all the awesome, nerdy, geeky things I love into one fabulous story. I could not help falling in love with the story, characters and pretty much everything about it (especially that gorgeous cover).

Jen Wilde is on my list of new authors I love, and I’m looking forward to her next book. Make sure to pick up a copy of Queens of Geek, make some tea and find a comfy place to read this charming book in one sitting.



Thank you SwoonReads for providing me with and ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

Three geeky friends in their last year of high school have the chance to attend SupaCon together, because one of them is a vlogger who landed a film role that went big. There is so much fandom in the best possible way: new friendships, new experiences, new romance. There are struggles, laughter, tears, etc., and lots of bonding.
Unusually for a contemporary romance, we don't get two POV characters alternating their two versions of the same romance, but instead we get two POV characters who are best friends, alternating their two separate romances. But really, this is much more a romance between two young women and fandom-at-large. There's cosplay, and games, art, and comics, vloggers and big studio film promotions, writers and the show more adoring readers who stand in line for hours to get a signature. It's also very much a story about young women and the culture they have created and enjoy. It doesn't pass a reverse-Bechdel I don't think, which is such a refreshing change. Seriously it's the most girl-powery thing since Spice World and the same heady mix of empowering and just plain fun.

Library copy show less

3.5 stars

In one brief conversation, she made me see that there’s nothing wrong with me.

I really liked this book. It was incredibly geeky, so adorable and so quirky. I just loved how I could relate to this book so much because I’m such a huge geek and I love conventions a lot. It was filled with so much diversity and representation and I absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed how one of the main characters, Charlie, who is Asian and is bisexual, whilst the other main character, Taylor is autistic. I also loved how these characters were from Australia, where I’m from. There’s also Jamie, Charlie and Taylor’s friend who tags along with them to Supacon. Jamie is incredible, he supports both Charlie and Taylor so much. Then show more there’s Alyssa, who I absolutely adore and she deserves everything good in the world. I enjoyed the alternating chapters between Charlie and Taylor, although I connected with Taylor more than I did with Charlie.

I did enjoy the book a lot and I am so happy with all the representation and diversity with Queens of Geek. However, I felt like this book lacked something, even though I did enjoy this book a lot, which I can’t put my finger on. Overall, the messages that were highlighted in the book were so important and the ending really tied everything together nicely. show less