Remi K. England

Remi K. England's The One True Me and You is "a breezy, snappy story about fandom, friendships, and being true to yourself, even if that might be a little scary" (TJ Klune)...

A Novel

The One True Me and You

Megan Leprich

*Many thanks to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy for my honest review*

This book was adorable, I’m a sucker for a great meet cute and this book definitely did it for me.

Kay is an up and coming fanfic author that is going to her first convention called GreatCon where she gets to meet her fandom friends in real life and hopefully start using her new pronouns.  And hey, if she gets to kiss a girl for the first time that’d be pretty great too.  When she gets to the convention, to her dismay there’s also a teen pageant being held in the hotel she’s staying at, which includes her bully Miss North Carolina that she goes to school with back in her small hometown.
Teagan, also known as Miss Virginia, is competing in the pageant to win the much-needed scholarship prize but she has some secrets of her own; she hates competing in these pageants and is hiding the fact that she’s a big nerd for GreatCon.  Oh and the fact that she’s gay which she can’t let anyone in the pageant world know.
When Kay and Teagan meet the first night there are immediate sparks between the two of them.  But they know that their connection will causes problems in both of their worlds.  Are they willing to take the risk to be together or will they continue to hide their true selves?

Both of these characters stole my heart from the very beginning of the book.  I loved the fandom aspects of this book and the celebration of femininity, it was great to read and completely put me all in my feels.  I loved reading from both main characters and I honestly don’t think I could pick a favorite if I had to.  

As soon as I finished this book I ran out to buy my own copy of it and I absolutely love the cover, it’s adorable and fits this book so well!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The One True Me and You

Author: Remi K. England

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Queer romance, Lesbian MC, Non-binary pansexual/questioning/prefers girls MC, Bisexual character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBT+, fandom

Publication Date: March 1, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 14+ (slight body dysphoria, homophobia, sexism, misgendering, romance, slight language, parental death mentioned, suicide death mentioned, racism mentioned, outing)

Explanation of Above: The book features a character who is questioning their gender identify and their sexual preference. They experience a little body dysphoria and misgendering. They are also outed and it’s shown in the book. Homophobia and sexism are discussed in the book. There are slight mentions to a parental death and death by suicide. There is lots of cute romance in the book. There is also one very slight mention to racism in regards to pageant officials (how they do the bare minimum) and very slight language (there’s just a handful of curse words in the book).

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 272

Synopsis: Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend:

Try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels
Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay
Kiss a girl for the first time

It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan.

Pageant queen Teagan Miller (Miss Virginia) has her eye on the much-needed prize: the $25,000 scholarship awarded to the winner of the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant. She also has secrets:

She loves the dresses but hates the tiaras
She’s a giant nerd for everything GreatCon
She’s gay af

If Teagan can just keep herself wrapped up tight for one more weekend, she can claim the scholarship and go off to college out and proud. If she’s caught, she could lose everything she’s worked for. If her rival, Miss North Carolina, has anything to do with it, that’s exactly how it’ll go down.

When Teagan and Kay bump into one another the first night, sparks fly. Their connection is intense—as is their shared enemy. If they’re spotted, the safe space of the con will be shattered, and all their secrets will follow them home. The risks are great… but could the reward of embracing their true selves be worth it?

Review: If it can be possible to fall in love with a book, then I have completely fallen in love with this one. The book is so so sweet and I loved the story. The romance is between a pageant queen and a fanfic writer. It gives me a lot of Geekerella vibes and has a lot of fandom mentions, the biggest being Sherlock (johnlocke especially). The book is not only a sweet romance, but it also is a sweet tale about a person who is finding their gender identity and sexuality, which I think is hugely important in today’s day and age. I felt like the character development was amazingly well done and the world building was fun and well done as well. The pacing is on key and I honestly will reread this one day (and I never reread!).

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like the ending was a bit too open-ended so I hope that we get another book that follows Teagan and Kaylee or a side story with the other characters, especially Jess and Miss Oregon. 

Verdict: I highly recommend this one!


mia ¿

i received a copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway :)

i requested this book almost solely because i thought the cover was amazing. other reason: it was sapphic.

this book was fine. i think it would be better for a younger ya reader. i'm 19, and i think i'm just outgrowing the genre. i also think this book would be great for people who are more involved in fandom. i used to be, but only a little bit. this book is for people who have made friends through fandom, and see it as essential part of themselves. i thought all of the talk about found family through fandom was cute, but it was all really on-the-nose. the writing wasn't amazing, and neither was the plot. the story went exactly as i imagined it would. there wasn't too much conflict, and the big argument (spoiler?) was resolved really quickly. 

overall, this book was fine, just not for me. if you're interested in a story about fandom and the journey to accepting one's identity, then this book is for you.

The One True Me and You A Novel

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