Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon a Con #3)
Ashley Poston
Quirk Books
Published August 4, 2020
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About Bookish and the Beast
In the third book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series, Beauty and the Beast is retold in the beloved Starfield universe.
Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.
On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.
When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.
But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.
My Review
I’ve been really looking forward to reading this book, and it did NOT disappoint! Just like I did in GEEKERELLA, I love the quirky, nerdiness of the characters and their obsession with Starfield in BOOKISH AND THE BEAST. I love the banter between Rosie and Vance. And I love her best friends and the enthusiasm they put into everything from teasing her about her dad to Quinn’s quest to become Homecoming Overlord.
There was one tiniest bump in my reading road. At the beginning, of course, Vance is a total jerk. It makes complete sense because this IS a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I can tell you now, it’s so worth those early scenes to watch the cracks in his armor form. To watch his heart change and know how big that is.
Another thing that I loved were the references to Beauty and the Beast. There are a couple of places where there references to minor lines in the Disney version of the movie, and some other references to the story as a whole that were too fun for me to spoil them here.
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up book, something light to take your mind off reality for a bit, look no further! I highly recommend reading BOOKISH AND THE BEAST.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation
Rosie and Vance are both white. Rosie’s best friend Quinn is nonbinary.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently. A couple crude comments.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some reference to feelings of attraction between two men.
Spiritual Content
Rosie thinks of her mother, who has died, and repeatedly notes that she no longer exists.
Violent Content
Reference to a car accident. Two boys get into a fist fight. A girl punches a boy.
Drug Content
References to Vance getting drunk in the past.
Note: I received a free copy of BOOKISH AND THE BEAST in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.