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jenny_librarian's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is for the romance trope lovers. Ashley Poston even notes in her acknowledgements that she made sure to include all the tropes because Beauty & the Beast is her favourite story. Is it cliché? Totally. But it's heart-warming and cheesy and it's the perfect pick-me-up read if you need a cosy read.
Having now read all Once Upon a Con books, I can say this is my favourite. Like Poston, I'm a huge fan of the original (Disney-version) story and this gave me everything I could've asked. It has the same nerdy vibe as the previous books, with puns and namedrops every other page that will only make sense to the geeks.
So why not rate it 5 stars? Unfortunately, I'm also a major Star Wars fan and having to read Rosie and her friends talk about The Last Jedi as if it's the greatest SW movie ever made me want to vomit. I could excuse the HP references since this came out in 2020, but that was the line for me. So -0.25 stars for that.
Having now read all Once Upon a Con books, I can say this is my favourite. Like Poston, I'm a huge fan of the original (Disney-version) story and this gave me everything I could've asked. It has the same nerdy vibe as the previous books, with puns and namedrops every other page that will only make sense to the geeks.
So why not rate it 5 stars? Unfortunately, I'm also a major Star Wars fan and having to read Rosie and her friends talk about The Last Jedi as if it's the greatest SW movie ever made me want to vomit. I could excuse the HP references since this came out in 2020, but that was the line for me. So -0.25 stars for that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Classism, Drug use, and Sexism
crunchycrystals's review
lighthearted
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
lakinglaze's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I liked this story more than the others in this series, probably because I like the characters in Beauty and the Beast the most. It was cute. This wasn’t really my thing, but I enjoyed all the sci-fi/fantasy references, along with the dad and guardian characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Alcohol
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love Ashley Poston’s books so much. They are palate cleansers in the best kind of way, just so wholesome and cozy and queer and filled with fan references.
Content notes: grief, loss of parent (prior to story), brief references to teens smoking and drinking/drugs/partying.
One tiny note - I think the two narrators pronounce Vince’s last name differently, so that was a tad confusing.
Content notes: grief, loss of parent (prior to story), brief references to teens smoking and drinking/drugs/partying.
One tiny note - I think the two narrators pronounce Vince’s last name differently, so that was a tad confusing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
theespressoedition's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Honestly, I thought this would be my favorite book of the series and it comes in last place. Oof.
I was expecting nods to Beauty and the Beast, but there really wasn't anything like that aside from the giant library (which, let's be real, was the best part).
The characters weren't particularly likable. It all felt extremely cheesy (conversations that include serious uses of the not-word "yeet" don't make me want to commit to the story) and yes, yes, I know it's YA, but even still, there were moments that made me cringe.
There were so many JKR/HP references, so if that makes you uncomfortable, I'd avoid this one. It was published at the beginning of 2020, prior to the majority of the scandals with this particular author, but it still made me feel weird as I was reading it.
I don't know. I wasn't really impressed with it at all. I wasn't expecting to adore it or anything, but I hoped I'd at least enjoy it. I'm just glad it wasn't long.
I was expecting nods to Beauty and the Beast, but there really wasn't anything like that aside from the giant library (which, let's be real, was the best part).
The characters weren't particularly likable. It all felt extremely cheesy (conversations that include serious uses of the not-word "yeet" don't make me want to commit to the story) and yes, yes, I know it's YA, but even still, there were moments that made me cringe.
There were so many JKR/HP references, so if that makes you uncomfortable, I'd avoid this one. It was published at the beginning of 2020, prior to the majority of the scandals with this particular author, but it still made me feel weird as I was reading it.
I don't know. I wasn't really impressed with it at all. I wasn't expecting to adore it or anything, but I hoped I'd at least enjoy it. I'm just glad it wasn't long.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
ree_the_owlgirl's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
alisonreadsitall's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
litokeland's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
val_books_of_leisure's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Grief
fiekesfiction's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This story is super cute. Once again. It is a really cool twist on Beauty and the beast in a way that makes you recognize a lot of elements but it's still original.
I loved the romance. It was great to see Rosie and Vance pining for each other and the whole cute ways they connected and the stupid insecurities and feelings and I loved seeing both perspectives. The audiobook is also really nice!
I also loved the friendships, the main character has a non-binary friend who's trying to win prom and the whole group of friends was cute and super supportive.
The fandom parts are obviously great (apart from at least two unfortunate Harry Potter references) and relatable and I mean it's beauty and the beast so of course there's the amazing AMAZING LIBRARY that I just wanted to be in. I loved how much the main character loved it and the way she talked about it and the way it connected her to other people.
I also loved her dad. He was super nice and happy and a goofy idiot in a relatable way.
I did think the story was very predictable and also some things the main character did were a bit stupid. I didn't really love some things about the ending. BUT still think this whole series is super cute and nice and has very awesome ships and thats cool.
I loved the romance. It was great to see Rosie and Vance pining for each other and the whole cute ways they connected and the stupid insecurities and feelings and I loved seeing both perspectives. The audiobook is also really nice!
I also loved the friendships, the main character has a non-binary friend who's trying to win prom and the whole group of friends was cute and super supportive.
The fandom parts are obviously great (apart from at least two unfortunate Harry Potter references) and relatable and I mean it's beauty and the beast so of course there's the amazing AMAZING LIBRARY that I just wanted to be in. I loved how much the main character loved it and the way she talked about it and the way it connected her to other people.
I also loved her dad. He was super nice and happy and a goofy idiot in a relatable way.
I did think the story was very predictable and also some things the main character did were a bit stupid. I didn't really love some things about the ending. BUT still think this whole series is super cute and nice and has very awesome ships and thats cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Contains multiple references to Harry Potter