Meet Cutes at Conventions

 Characters meeting at conventions which focus on their passions is a popular new "meet cute" setting.  In Reel Love by Addie Woolridge, Jamie and Ethan meet at a "Granfluencer" convention that they are attending with their grandmothers, who are influencers for seniors.  The Fangirl Project by Beth Reekles begins when Cerys' best friend Jake moves and in an effort to maintain their friendship and take it to the next level, she joins the fantasy fandom for Of Wrath and Rune (OWAR) that is his obsession. Attending a convention for OWAR, she is annoyed that Jake is there with his new best friend Max. Heartstrings by Ali Novak, the third in the Heartbreak Chronicles, focuses on Indie who attends a comic con convention as her actress sister's assistant. While there, she meets Xander Jones, a guitarist for the Heartbreakers, and also discovers a new interest and talent for doing special effects makeup.

Reel Love takes place at an influencer's convention for seniors in Las Vegas.  Jamie Web and her grandmother Bam Bam, who is a "granfluencer," run into Bam Bam's nemesis Buzzy Timmons and her grandson Ethan Wyatt. Jamie doesn't have a social media presence herself, but is Bam Bam's videographer.  Ethan, whose passion is classic cars, has a large following for his site which focuses on cars. He is helping Buzzy with her site on makeup for seniors. When a video contest with a $150,000 prize is announced, Jamie, realizing winning will depend on having followers, asks Ethan to team up to make a video of their grandmothers experiencing Las Vegas.  As they begin to have romantic feelings for each other, the teens must hide their relationship from their feuding grandmothers.

In The Fangirl Project 16-year-old artist Cerys's platonic best friend Jake moves to a different school.  She is desperate to sustain their relationship and take it to the next level.  Jake is involved in a fantasy fandom Of Wrath and Rune (OWAR), so Cerys decides to join the fandom as a way to keep their friendship alive. When she begins attending fandom conventions with Jake, she is frustrated that his new friend Max is always with them.  She begins watching the OWAR series and DMing about it with a fan she thinks is Jake, but is really Max.  She also connects with Anissa, an outcast at school who loves OWAR, but tries to hide their friendship from the popular girls at school who have befriended her. Ultimately she realizes that she actually likes OWAR and begins incorporating the characters into her artwork. That and the emotional connections she feels with other players helps her find herself. 

Heartstrings, the third book in the Heartbreak Chronicles, focuses on sisters Indie and Violet who used to be best friends.  Then Violet got the starring role in a vampire series Immortal Nights and Indie had to take a back seat to her sister's career.  Their parents got divorced and her father became Violet's manager. Indie, who is a talented violinist like her mother, hopes to attend Julliard, but also has a love of scary movies and the special effects makeup that goes with creating monsters.  When she attends a comic con convention as her sister's assistant, she meets Xander Jones, a guitarist in the band The Heartbreakers. Like Indie, he feels like he's always second fiddle to bigger personalities in the band. As their relationship heats up, Indie finds herself exploring her interest in special effects makeup and speaking out about her hopes and dreams. Together they forge a bond that helps them find their identities. Although the series is about the four guys in the Heartbreakers band, this story is told from Indie's point of view.  You may want to read the series in order (Heartbreakers, Paper Hearts, Heartstrings) but the book does work as a stand alone.