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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
emotional
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:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
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
For some reason, you know(?), this one was much faster to read than the others. Mostly, I guess, because I realized: wait a second, even if it's a fairy tale that wouldn't happen in real life, this sucker for a nice romance story my heart is won't allow for Elle and Darien to NOT be together.
-- but then the months apart turned into years, and I thought: this is actually mature: for all the fairy tales, we see that Rosie and Vance are still together, we see that everyone is still together, it's a mature thing for the author to choose to have the first couple break up.
--BUT MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THAT?! They're the "couple" that the other couples looked up to, for some reason, despite being the same age, they're the couple that stuck together!
-- But you know what, it's... it's real. Not all romances can be good like that.
-- I'm glad that they're back together. Now my question is: HOW DID SHE DEAL WITH THE PAPARAZZIS, DID SHE HAVE TO? OR DID DARIEN JUST QUIT ACTING? I'd like to know.
-- Also, did Sage and the others AND DARIEN plan this out? Because... that might be some kind of betrayal.
--- Anyways, this was a great conclusion to a series that I am not sure I can put myself through again.
-- but then the months apart turned into years, and I thought: this is actually mature: for all the fairy tales, we see that Rosie and Vance are still together, we see that everyone is still together, it's a mature thing for the author to choose to have the first couple break up.
--BUT MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THAT?! They're the "couple" that the other couples looked up to, for some reason, despite being the same age, they're the couple that stuck together!
-- But you know what, it's... it's real. Not all romances can be good like that.
-- I'm glad that they're back together. Now my question is: HOW DID SHE DEAL WITH THE PAPARAZZIS, DID SHE HAVE TO? OR DID DARIEN JUST QUIT ACTING? I'd like to know.
-- Also, did Sage and the others AND DARIEN plan this out? Because... that might be some kind of betrayal.
--- Anyways, this was a great conclusion to a series that I am not sure I can put myself through again.
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I have feelings about this, can you tell?
Spoiler Free Review:
Seeing that this is the Once Upon A Con 3.5 book I don't think there's much I can say that's spoiler free. This is for fans of the series, especially if you're invested in the first book and the story of those characters. There isn't much of a plot, this focuses on the growth of Darien and Elle, especially Elle, and what happens in the ever after of a modern day fairy tail.
In regards to my spoiler free opinions, just know that this hit me right on the feels. I love these characters and see myself in them, and I must confess that while I wanted to see them happy, I wanted them happy on my own terms. I read this story with a sort of weight on my chess, knowing that they would find happiness but not being sure if they would end in the place I wanted them to. This story and characters hit me too close to home, so I'm not sure how often I will come back to this, but I do know that I will carry them with me everyday. Darien and Elle have a especial place in my little fan heart.
Now, moving on to my spoiler section:
Do you think it's fair that a story I read nine hours ago (at the time of writing this review at least) is still emotionally affecting me? Because I don't and yet here I am.
I received this this story as a pre-order incentive for the paperback edition of Bookish and the Beast, a book which in and of itself destroyed me. At leas the ending did. (Spoilers) But at the end of that we are treated to our characters getting together to hang out and it's confirmed that Elle and Darien are no longer together (Fact Check this) and that Darien might be seeing someone else. As someone who fell in love with them-- they are my favorite couple in the Once Upon a Con series and Geekerella is my favorite book-- that tad bit of information destroyed me. I was in denial, and I thought that's how I was going to stay once I found out that Ashley didn't plan to write anymore stories set here, at least for the near future. I was practically writing fanfiction in my head about how things were fine, you hear me, fineeeeee :))))))
This short story opens up at the inciting incident of Bookish, Elle and Vance getting into a car accident and Elle and Darien's decision to break up. That opening killed me and I wanted to stop reading right there. Seeing that Elle and Darien didn't quite fit together hurt, but I understood where they were coming from, which hurt even more because I couldn't be mad. Elle liked the quiet, and Darien's world revolved around the flashlights. Having them stay friends felt bittersweet, and I almost would've wanted them to not. It truly was bittersweet seeing Darien moving on through Elle's perspective. It's not like Elle was miserable, she was happy in her own right, just not in a relationship way. In their time apart, Elle learned to find herself, to be her own person away from Darien and away from the identity of Geekerella, just be Elle.
Them staying friends gave me this sort of quiet happiness, a dim light to hold on to. But I wanted them together so bad it hurt. At some point I thought Ashley Poston wanted to go with the "you don't need a relationship to be happy and feel accomplished", which I agree with, and had that been the end of the story, I like to think I would learn to accept it. I would support them-- reluctantly-- if they learned to be happy separately. But like I said, Darien and Elle are my everything, they are what I would want in a relationship, so not seen them together felt wrong. Yay for them being happy apart, but they could be so much more happy together, I knew that.
Darien's new relationship, I hated it. Kate did nothing wrong, other than not being Elle. She was nice, and I think the plan was to have her be a character with whom Darien could be happy if not with Elle. But I want Darien with Elle. Seeing Darien's relationship develop, and hearing from Elle how happy they were together, I just had That Should be Me by Justin Bieber playing in the back of my mind. Not going to lie, I was happy when I found out they had broken up.
The last few pages, with the in-story five year anniversary of the events of the first book, felt nostalgic. At that point Elle was in her mid-twenties, reminiscing about the modern day fairytale that was her life in the first book. The friendships, the con, the tv show that had been so important to her and that gave her hope in a time when all the stars in her galaxy were going out. She felt accomplished, at peace, she felt fine with her self, if not a little nostalgic for when her life was somehow easier. I knew we were missing a prince, and I wanted Darien to show up so bad. I held my breath, and I felt like a book character when he showed up to the mascarade ball and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.
Elle and Darien knew they were good, great, perfect for each other. Them agreeing to meet each other half way, felt so wonderful, and knowing that if nothing else, we have this ending to their story where they agree to compromise with each other. The ending felt, open and bittersweet and I guess true to life, because we know they are giving each other one last chance, but there's the openness that they could go their separate ways, and that if they do they won’t cross again. It's like the end of the Drew Barrymore Cinderella, where Cinderella and her prince didn't live happily ever after, they lived.
Part of me knows this is a good ending for a modern day fairy tale. But a bigger part of me wants to ignore this story all together, grab Darien and Elle, wrap them in a blanket and give them hot chocolate, set them up in front of a tv to watch Starfield reruns so they'd be happy together for the rest of their life. Like I said before, this story tugs at my heart strings too much, so unless I want to feel the feels, I might not come back to this that often. But if nothing else, this gives me the reassurance that somewhere in an impossible universe, Darien and Elle are together, trying and succeeding and being happy together.
One good thing that came out of Ashley Poston playing banjo with my heartstrings is that I now see what she's capable of in terms of romance. I know from following her on social media that this story is one of the most recent things she's written, and it makes me all the more exited for the first full on adult romance story, The Dead Romantics. I look forward to reading it!
*This book is part of my personal reading challenge for the summer 2021, #MHA30for30challenge. The goal is for me to read thirty books from my Kindle so that I can reward myself and buy the thirty volumes of the My Hero Academia manga series that are out so far, to my knowledge.
Spoiler Free Review:
Seeing that this is the Once Upon A Con 3.5 book I don't think there's much I can say that's spoiler free. This is for fans of the series, especially if you're invested in the first book and the story of those characters. There isn't much of a plot, this focuses on the growth of Darien and Elle, especially Elle, and what happens in the ever after of a modern day fairy tail.
In regards to my spoiler free opinions, just know that this hit me right on the feels. I love these characters and see myself in them, and I must confess that while I wanted to see them happy, I wanted them happy on my own terms. I read this story with a sort of weight on my chess, knowing that they would find happiness but not being sure if they would end in the place I wanted them to. This story and characters hit me too close to home, so I'm not sure how often I will come back to this, but I do know that I will carry them with me everyday. Darien and Elle have a especial place in my little fan heart.
Now, moving on to my spoiler section:
Do you think it's fair that a story I read nine hours ago (at the time of writing this review at least) is still emotionally affecting me? Because I don't and yet here I am.
I received this this story as a pre-order incentive for the paperback edition of Bookish and the Beast, a book which in and of itself destroyed me. At leas the ending did. (Spoilers) But at the end of that we are treated to our characters getting together to hang out and it's confirmed that Elle and Darien are no longer together (Fact Check this) and that Darien might be seeing someone else. As someone who fell in love with them-- they are my favorite couple in the Once Upon a Con series and Geekerella is my favorite book-- that tad bit of information destroyed me. I was in denial, and I thought that's how I was going to stay once I found out that Ashley didn't plan to write anymore stories set here, at least for the near future. I was practically writing fanfiction in my head about how things were fine, you hear me, fineeeeee :))))))
This short story opens up at the inciting incident of Bookish, Elle and Vance getting into a car accident and Elle and Darien's decision to break up. That opening killed me and I wanted to stop reading right there. Seeing that Elle and Darien didn't quite fit together hurt, but I understood where they were coming from, which hurt even more because I couldn't be mad. Elle liked the quiet, and Darien's world revolved around the flashlights. Having them stay friends felt bittersweet, and I almost would've wanted them to not. It truly was bittersweet seeing Darien moving on through Elle's perspective. It's not like Elle was miserable, she was happy in her own right, just not in a relationship way. In their time apart, Elle learned to find herself, to be her own person away from Darien and away from the identity of Geekerella, just be Elle.
Them staying friends gave me this sort of quiet happiness, a dim light to hold on to. But I wanted them together so bad it hurt. At some point I thought Ashley Poston wanted to go with the "you don't need a relationship to be happy and feel accomplished", which I agree with, and had that been the end of the story, I like to think I would learn to accept it. I would support them-- reluctantly-- if they learned to be happy separately. But like I said, Darien and Elle are my everything, they are what I would want in a relationship, so not seen them together felt wrong. Yay for them being happy apart, but they could be so much more happy together, I knew that.
Darien's new relationship, I hated it. Kate did nothing wrong, other than not being Elle. She was nice, and I think the plan was to have her be a character with whom Darien could be happy if not with Elle. But I want Darien with Elle. Seeing Darien's relationship develop, and hearing from Elle how happy they were together, I just had That Should be Me by Justin Bieber playing in the back of my mind. Not going to lie, I was happy when I found out they had broken up.
The last few pages, with the in-story five year anniversary of the events of the first book, felt nostalgic. At that point Elle was in her mid-twenties, reminiscing about the modern day fairytale that was her life in the first book. The friendships, the con, the tv show that had been so important to her and that gave her hope in a time when all the stars in her galaxy were going out. She felt accomplished, at peace, she felt fine with her self, if not a little nostalgic for when her life was somehow easier. I knew we were missing a prince, and I wanted Darien to show up so bad. I held my breath, and I felt like a book character when he showed up to the mascarade ball and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.
Elle and Darien knew they were good, great, perfect for each other. Them agreeing to meet each other half way, felt so wonderful, and knowing that if nothing else, we have this ending to their story where they agree to compromise with each other. The ending felt, open and bittersweet and I guess true to life, because we know they are giving each other one last chance, but there's the openness that they could go their separate ways, and that if they do they won’t cross again. It's like the end of the Drew Barrymore Cinderella, where Cinderella and her prince didn't live happily ever after, they lived.
Part of me knows this is a good ending for a modern day fairy tale. But a bigger part of me wants to ignore this story all together, grab Darien and Elle, wrap them in a blanket and give them hot chocolate, set them up in front of a tv to watch Starfield reruns so they'd be happy together for the rest of their life. Like I said before, this story tugs at my heart strings too much, so unless I want to feel the feels, I might not come back to this that often. But if nothing else, this gives me the reassurance that somewhere in an impossible universe, Darien and Elle are together, trying and succeeding and being happy together.
One good thing that came out of Ashley Poston playing banjo with my heartstrings is that I now see what she's capable of in terms of romance. I know from following her on social media that this story is one of the most recent things she's written, and it makes me all the more exited for the first full on adult romance story, The Dead Romantics. I look forward to reading it!
*This book is part of my personal reading challenge for the summer 2021, #MHA30for30challenge. The goal is for me to read thirty books from my Kindle so that I can reward myself and buy the thirty volumes of the My Hero Academia manga series that are out so far, to my knowledge.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
I’m crying. This feels too real. The feeling of losing yourself in another person and the fight to find that person again. I love it though. I love the hope.