Review: Once Upon a Comic-Con (Geeks Gone Wild #3) by Maggie Dallen

Title: Once Upon a Comic-Con

Series: Geeks Gone Wild #3
Author: Maggie Dallen
Publisher: Maggie Dallen
Published: April 17, 2019
Pages: 174
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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King Geek vs the Cheerleader

Julia Farrow has it all. She's got the friends, the grades, the smile, the perfect reputation, and the new boyfriend who adores her. All in all, life is pretty much perfect for Grover High's favorite cheerleader. Until she's tagged, that is. That ridiculous Geeks Gone Wild hashtag is still going strong and while Julia has managed to steer clear of the drama unfolding between the jocks and the geeks, one embarrassing photo is enough to flip her world upside down. The boyfriend? He's out. The friends? Turns out they're more like frenemies. And that perfect reputation? Well, that's all about to crumble as the truth comes out about Julia and her secret, passionate love affair with all things comics.

But Julia isn't about to go down without a fight. She's spent a lifetime honing her perfect image and when it's ruined, there's really only one person to blame. The school paper's editor-in-chief and the guy behind the hashtag--Matt Cartwright. Sure, he claims he's innocent, but if it wasn't for him she'd still be on track to be prom queen. He might not be able to fix this disaster that her life has become, but there's one way he can make it up to her. He can bring her along to the comics convention he's assigned to cover for his internship with the local paper. He's got the tickets, she needs an escape, and really, it's the least he can do. She's just tagging along as a fan, that's all. It's not like they have to be friends or anything. And those kisses? Well, what happens at comic-con stays at comic-con...right?

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MY REVIEW

DISCLAIMER: This review MAY contain spoilers. 

I've really enjoyed the Geeks Gone Wild series and this book is a wonderful conclusion to round it out. I've had so much fun reading this series and I am sad to see it come to an end.

I really loved the premise for this series as a whole as well as for each individual book of the series. I think that out of all the books, I connected with this one the most because of my own love for all things comics. I really loved the plot in this one. The general trope of the popular person and the nerd falling for each other has been done before, but in YA fiction it is usually the popular boy and the nerdy girl. I liked seeing the reversal of those usual roles in this book. It was refreshing and a little unexpected in the best of ways.

The characters portrayed their roles well. I liked Julia a lot. I liked her in the previous books too. I liked getting to know her better and seeing some of the struggles that she deals with. I liked her character growth as well. She finally sees that she doesn't have to wear a mask for everyone and that life can be so much better when she lets go of it and is just herself. I was totally cheering for her when she finally accepts that her popular "friends" have never really been her friends at all. Matt's character wasn't as developed as Julia's, but it was enough to make things work in the story. Matt is still trying to make amends for his role in the Geeks Gone Wild hashtag fiasco. When Julia gets tagged and her life falls apart, his friends make him realize that he is partially to blame for her pain. One of the obstacles that Matt deals with in the story is how judgmental he is. When he and Julia go to the comic convention and he sees her really blossom there he realizes that he was wrong to judge her. 

The romance was just so darn cute. I loved how Julia and Matt fell for each other. Julia gets to be herself at the comic convention and Matt sees the real Julia for the first time. And he likes the real Julia, even though he thought that he could never fall for the popular cheerleader. And Julia sees that there is more to Matt as well. She opens up to him when she has never opened up to anyone else before. They just have to figure out how to make things work when they leave the bubble of the convention and go back to the real world a.k.a. high school. 

While I enjoyed the story very much, I also felt that is was a little too fast-paced. The book was too short for my liking and I think that there were some missed opportunities to further develop the characters because of this. 

Overall, this is an adorable story that hits on some fine points about the labels that people place on one another, the importance of living for yourself, and forgiveness. If you enjoy fast-paced YA contemporary with the opposites attract trope then you'll love this one. I definitely recommend it!

Check out my reviews for the other books in this series!

Love at First Fight (Geeks Gone Wild #1)

Find my review here.

My Virtual Prince Charming (Geeks Gone Wild #2)

Find my review here.

THIS BOOK CONTRIBUTED TO THESE 2018 READING CHALLENGES

- New Release Challenge
- Let's Read Indie Challenge
- Stellar Series Challenge
- Library Love Challenge
- Contemporary Romance Challenge

Check out my 2019 Challenge Page to see my progress!

I really didn't know what I was missing in books until now. There definitely needs to be more nerd representation in books. I felt so connected to these characters and it felt good. Nerds rule the world anyway, so why can't we have more sexy nerds in books? Nerd love for the win! What other types of representation do you wish there were more of in books? Another one for me in mental health. There definitely needs to be more stories for folks like me.