Book Review: Envy and the Geek by Natalie Falkenwrath
“Hey, so there was this really cool show, High School Bites, about teen vampires, ten years, maybe it was fifteen years ago? Man, I’m getting old. Anyhow, it was one of those teen dramas on the CW or the WB, doubt it was the Disney Channel. The important thing was that this total hottie named Christina Darlington played the lead vampire girl, Alessia. She, Alessia that is, had this best friends and maybe just a little bit more thing going on with a slightly naughtier vampire named Francesca. They never actually did anything on the show, but the chemistry was there, and that’s how some of my friends discovered they were into other girls. Why am I bringing this up? Christina Darlington is coming to JanCon this year! I’m just stoked for an autograph, but I’ve heard sometimes a lucky female fan can get a little bit more.”
Two fans in particular are hoping for a little bit more at this year’s JanCon. Harmony Alder is a graduate student going for a physics doctorate. She’s got a little heft to her, but is outgoing and makes friends easily. Jean Lucy Wintz is a software engineer, more conventionally attractive and able to rock a Francesca cosplay, but obsessive-compulsive and unfamiliar with the local fan scene. Both of them are huge Christina Darlington fans, and hoping the star will give them a tumble. Which one will succeed?
This lesbian romance novel may be set in Chicago, but draws inspiration from small Minnesota science fiction conventions as well. (The author is local to the Twin Cities area.) It tries to thread the needle between enough geeky references to please the people who are picking the book up for the setting, and enough basic explanation that someone who’s never been to a convention will be able to follow along.
Our main characters are likable enough, though as the title suggests they spend most of the book envying each other’s positive traits while jockeying to be the fan who gets to boink the star.
(Sadly, the character I most resemble here is the annoying Jeff, who will definitely not be getting laid at this convention.)
Due to the very compressed timeframe of the story, the romance felt a bit rushed.
One of the things I really liked is that Ms. Darlington is not depicted as a horrible person, which is so easy to do with celebrities. She’s perhaps flawed, but doesn’t treat the con staff or fans badly.
Content note: This is one of those romance novels with sex scenes. (I cannot speak to the quality of these, as sex scenes aren’t my bag.) There’s also quite a bit of alcohol consumption, possibly overindulging in some cases.
Overall: It’s an interesting setup, and I’m a sucker for books set at science fiction conventions. But I think lesbians and bi people are more likely to be interested in the actual romance parts.
