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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
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
potsnpots's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
A solid fluffy easy read pallete cleanser
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
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
karelidz's review against another edition
DNF 40% -ish.
Nah, It sounded a lot better than it is. Or maybe contemporary romances are not for me (or maybe because i read this one without reading any of the other two).
Feels very drawn out and slow. I even started skimming to skip all the parts where it describes the movie/whatever-it-is.
Not my vibe
Nah, It sounded a lot better than it is. Or maybe contemporary romances are not for me (or maybe because i read this one without reading any of the other two).
Feels very drawn out and slow. I even started skimming to skip all the parts where it describes the movie/whatever-it-is.
Not my vibe
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
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
instalovewithbooks's review
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
3.75
I am so glad that I finally picked this book up. It's been such a long time since I've read The Princess and the Fangirl, that I really needed to pick this one up. I do believe that if I reread Geekerella and Princess I would have gotten a bit more from this book, and remember the other characters back stories, but it's okay that I didn't because Bookish stands on it's own.
Vance is such a douche but only because he tries to keep everyone at a distance so they can't hurt him, and I get it. He wants to protect himself especially with how famous he and his stepfather is, it makes being vulnerable a weakness and a fault.
Rosie is absolutely lovely, even while she is going through hell from losing her mom, her home, and also her mom's book collection, she is still thoughtful and kind, but stands on her own and doesn't let people give her shit, especially Vance.
I think my favourite scene waswhen they were reading to each other on the late nights. God that was adorable!
Overall, a great read. :) P.S. I will mention that Quinn is my favourite character and I would die if Ash created Quinn their own book, I would read that in a heartbeat.
Vance is such a douche but only because he tries to keep everyone at a distance so they can't hurt him, and I get it. He wants to protect himself especially with how famous he and his stepfather is, it makes being vulnerable a weakness and a fault.
Rosie is absolutely lovely, even while she is going through hell from losing her mom, her home, and also her mom's book collection, she is still thoughtful and kind, but stands on her own and doesn't let people give her shit, especially Vance.
I think my favourite scene was
Overall, a great read. :) P.S. I will mention that Quinn is my favourite character and I would die if Ash created Quinn their own book, I would read that in a heartbeat.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Violence