[Review] Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon A Con #3) - Ashley Poston

Summary: 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. (Pub Date: Aug 04, 2020)

Third book in the Once Upon a Con series, but I had no idea, so I'm pretty sure you can read this as a standalone.

Rosie had just lost her job when she ends up destroying a valuable collection book, part of none other than her favorite book series. To pay for the damage, she accepted to organize the private library the book belongs to together with the infamous actor in hiding Vance Reigns. As they manage to survive one another, their feelings grow deeper.

3.5, rounded up because this was fun.

I didn't know the series or the author but I enjoyed this book a lot. Although it's easy to compare it to Fangirl, considering this also talks about some famous series of fantasy books, here called Starfield, I found this part much better than the one in Fangirl. Also, I'd say the similar points end there too. Rosie is a big fan and is even into fanfiction, but the big trope here is the fangirl in a small town meeting the star in her favorite franchising—and she's not really a big fan of Vance, just of his character. There's also a lot of The Beauty and the Beast storyline, but it's not some rereading, in case you're wondering, it was actually an interesting take.

I think the main plot is more on the simple side, meaning you can predict what will go right and even how it'll go wrong. Nevertheless, it comes with many delicious side dishes that I'm sure will satisfy any romance YA fan. Now I'll make sure to follow Ashley Poston's next releases.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.