REVIEW: Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt

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I didn’t intend to read Unconventional in a day; it just happened. One minute I’d started the first page and the next I was scrambling to find time to read the rest because I rapidly became obsessed.

Unconventional is told from the perspective of Lexi Angelo, who has grown up helping her dad with his comic convention business. What started as a small gathering has now turned into multiple huge, national events and Lexi is a teen superqueen and helps run the whole thing. When Lexi turns up in the greenroom one day, though, she finds Aidan Green there. He should not be in there, and this starts a string of events that sees Lexi fall in love – with a mega-hit book series and maybe with a certain boy too…

Maggie Harcourt is the UK’s answer to Rainbow Rowell – her books are original, funny and SO CUTE. They’re the perfect way to escape for an afternoon, caught up in the world of conventions and cosplay. It really is impossible to only read one chapter, so when you do read it, beware: you’ll want to clear a whole day in order to finish it.

Unconventional is the YA equivalent of the “hand-touching” trend in romantic period dramas: slow-burning but passionate. I felt myself screaming at parts in the book because I got so invested in the story, particularly the burgeoning romance between Lexi and Aidan. Harcourt writes this very well and in a way that will make you want to shake the book and shout, “KISS ALREADY!” I loved getting so wrapped up in the story, where the only thing that mattered was the book and the characters in it.

Lexi was amazing, especially at the points where she freaked out about how much she loved Timekeepers – I could relate to the feeling of obsessing over a book to the point where I felt like I was Lexi. I love books within books and Harcourt writes this brilliantly – there are enough references to understand Lexi’s excitement, but not so many that you have no idea what’s going on.

Unconventional is the book for all book lovers, nerds and convention-goers. I wish I could transport myself into it, amongst all the characters who stole my heart right from the beginning.

For fans of Fangirl and Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell