"Bookish and the Beast" explores themes of identity, acceptance, and the transformative power of love. Through Rosie and Vance's journey, readers are reminded of the importance of looking beyond outward appearances and embracing the beauty within.

As a high school teacher, I appreciate how Poston incorporates elements of literature and pop culture throughout the novel, making it not only entertaining but also educational. From nods to classic books and movies to witty references to contemporary fandoms, "Bookish and the Beast" celebrates the joy of storytelling in all its forms.

Overall, "Bookish and the Beast" is a delightful read that will appeal to fans of fairy tale retellings, romantic comedies, and anyone who appreciates a good love story. With its charming characters, clever dialogue, and heartfelt message, Ashley Poston's novel is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers young and old alike.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this novel in 2020 in exchange for an honest review. My deepest apologies for my review being so egregiously late.

This was my second time reading a novel by Ashley Poston (my first being Geekerella), and honestly my biggest takeaway is just how fun these characters and stories are. Typically I don’t enjoy contemporary storylines. I like to be up to my neck in fantasy worlds, unrealistic plots, and wildly unrelatable character experiences. However the best way to describe this story, and its characters, is relatable.

Fan culture plays a huge role in this series. If you’ve ever participated in a fandom yourself you’ll feel right at home among the AO3 references, fan art plastered all over bedroom walls, and squealing in public over the release of a brand new trailer. So often women (and fans) are criticized for what they love, and how they express their extreme admiration for something, but Poston’s books allow the reader to fully embrace fan culture without guilt or shame.

In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast we meet two characters who should automatically be inexplicably drawn to one another. However they respond to each other like feral street cats defending their turf. Instead of a meet cute our MCs are in this for the long game, and we get to watch as they fall for each other at different times throughout the story. Always orbiting one another, but never quite connecting in time. My only true complaint of this novel is that by the time both characters realize what they mean to one another the story ends, and we are left to speculate or imagine what might have happened next as they tackle life as a couple.

This story also deals with the grief over the death of a parent, and our FMC is learning how to navigate the world without her mother. Relationships play a huge role in supporting our characters through some major life changes, with each main character having a solid core group of people who remain unwavering by their sides through it all. We also get a glimpse at how important the father figure role is in each of their lives, whether that figure is the biological father or simply the man in charge of caring for them at this point in time.

This is such a cute story full of homecoming drama, a guy who cannot wrap his mind around consent (definitely not cute), and a castle housing a dusty (yet dreamy) library. I cruised through this sweet story, and found myself cheering for both our characters’ inevitable happily ever after. Fans in fandoms all across the globe will more than likely be able to relate to, and wish they could dive into this enemies-to-friends-to-more young adult romance.

Loved this one! It makes me want some Starfield novels in my life now! Almost as good as the first book, but that one has a special place in my heart.

I adore ashley poston and I adored this book. I'm not a big romance reader but this really did tick all my bookish romance boxes. I loved the characters, the plot was spot on and I just wanted more.

I forgot that this was YA when I picked it up to read it and I really enjoyed it! It was a spin on a well known classic but with modern tropes and surprises. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

(2.5 stars, rounded up)

Content warning: grief

Small-town girl Rosie Thorne has her share of high school drama plus the grief from losing her mother a year before the book begins. But before you think you're in for a twisty high school drama, let me warn you that this book is about as original as the main character's name. Rosie accidentally ends up in a house inhabited by actor Vance Reigns and is hired to organize the vintage sci-fi books in the library.

Characters from previous Poston's Once Upon a Con series installments show up in this novel. Vance Reigns was the unlikable Hollywood bad boy chosen to star in the Starfield movie's sequel in The Princess and the Fangirl, and the main character Imogen makes a few appearances. Darian Freeman and his girlfriend Elle "Geekerella" Wittimer also appear.

The novel is sold as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but Rosie and Belle only have books and the lack of a mother in common. Rosie's love interest is an unlikeable character (Hollywood actor Vance) from The Princess and the Fangirl who is vilified on social media but is secretly a big softie. Oh, and there's a library in a "castle house."

This book focuses a lot less on the Starfield/sci-fi convention known as Excelsicon than previous entries in the series. Rosie mentions attending the previous summer, but the book takes place in small-town North Carolina, not at the Atlanta convention.

Vance is introduced as a character in the previous series installment The Princess and the Fangirl. Vance's name is pronounced "reeg-ins" (with a hard g) in the previous installment and alternates between "reeg-ins" and "rains" in this novel. The book's synopsis says "Reigns," which to me is pronounced "rains." Not knowing the character's actual name is confusing, but I can't comment on what the series looks like in print. Vacillating pronunciation in this installment alone is rather unfortunate, with "rains" cropping up several times.

Representation: nonbinary side character, bisexual side character, Latine side character

This book was precisely the story I needed at the time I picked it up because it was filled with delightful tropes that worked together to make a cute story that felt like fan fiction in all the best ways. Such an enjoyable addition to this series of companion novels, especially with the hints of the Beauty and the Beast story that were sprinkled all throughout!

As always, any books about nerd culture are immediately on my TBR. This Beauty and the Beast meets Geek squad is a such fun read.
Cliques, cliches and tropes galore. It's basically a Kathryn Heigl rom-con for the geeks. I loved and adore it and will devour anything that Ashley Poston writes.

I found this book to be absolutely delightful. While the fairy tale connection was a bit of a stretch for this book, I loved the chemistry between the two main characters. I was also very happy to see the other characters from the previous two books in this series.

I really tried with this one and just could not get into it. I liked the premise, I just didn't jive with the writing.

Cute and easy read. Not my favorite series, but still enjoyable and a good one to recommend for contemporary retellings.

This is such a cute series, I've loved each of the books and this one was no exception! Such a fun take on beauty and the beast

Ashley Poston has such a good handle on how to make fairy tales seem so new but familiar at the same time. I loved reading this newest book in the Once Upon a Con series. I think this one might have been my favourite in fact!

I powered through the first two books in this trilogy before I found out the third hadn't been released yet so I was so glad to be given this ARC! It was a great addition to the overall Once Upon a Con series, and my only complaint is that it was a little more removed from the con itself, which was only mentioned in flashbacks or memories. At the same time, that didn't bother me too much since it's a Beauty & the Beast retelling, which takes place in a more isolated space anyways!

This one wasn’t my favorite out of the series, but I did enjoy that Vance got to tell his story. This was a fun story but it lacked the fun that the other two stories in the series gave me. Rosie was a fun protagonist and I liked the nods to the Beauty and the Beast story. Ultimately this was a fun story but it wasn’t one I outright loved.

This was really cute... It was a good contemporary take on the traditional story of Beauty and the Beast. I liked how some of the comparisons were made. But there was nothing special about this, nothing unique. It was very predictable, but still cute.

Having read the rest of the series, I was interested to see how this one played out.

Rosie Thorne is a high school senior who feels a bit stuck. She went to a comic con and met someone who could have been the guy of her dreams. She is still grieving over her mother's death and has found some solace in the books that her mother loved. One day, Rosie stumbles upon a house and what she thinks is her mother's copy of one of her favorite books. Through an accident, she ends up working off a debt with none other than Hollywood royalty Vance Regent. The two can't seem to get along at first. But over time, Rosie is able to chip away at his beastly ways and find a way to get through to his good side.

I have to say after having read the entire series, this was my favorite. I like the fairy tales the other two are based on. But this came through truer to the fairy tale than the other two did. I also felt like the chemistry between the love interests was more believable in this than the other two in the series. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe the building of tension between the two just worked better? Or the chemistry was a little bit more natural? I'm not sure, but I just really enjoyed Rosie an Vance as a couple.

Also, fully admit, librarian. So a couple connecting over books and speaking to each other through that medium was very much something I could get into. I really enjoyed that. It was a love language that I could relate to.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I could see adults and teens alike picking this up. It was a good conclusion to the series (I think?). Thank you!

This is a great book, full of love, loss, grief, hate, and love of reading. I really enjoyed this book and was devastated when the book collection had to be sold! I'm terrified that my kids will do that when I die.

I love Ashley Poster! Bookish and the Beast is such a fun book! Rosie lives in small town USA. Rosie really misses her mom, who has passed away. Fortunately, Rosie has her mom's library of Starfield novels., but even that is gone now to pay hospital bills.
Vance is Hollywood royalty and is forced to hide from the paparazzi in small town USA. At least there is a library in the house he is staying in. Too bad Vance doesn't read.
Soon Rosie and Vance's paths cross, a book is destroyed and Rosie is working with Vance to replace the book. Too bad Rosie thinks Vance is a jerk.
Will Vance and Rosie become friends? more than friends? Read Bookish and The Beast to find out for yourself!
Happy Reading!

What a lovely addition to Ashley Poston's Once Upon a Con series! I love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, and this one certainly did not disappoint; it was a quirky modern take on a beloved classic.