A review by akookieforyou
Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

2.0

*2.5*

"They are portals into places I've never been and people I'll never be, and in them I have lived a thousand lives and seen a thousand different worlds."


I want to start off this review by saying that my rating doesn't mean I hate this book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. There was a lot of potential for me to fall headfirst in love with this story, but there was just something missing, something that kept me from connecting to the world and characters like I had in Geekerella. I know part of it has to do with the switching of perspectives, as I've never cared for that writing style. But I think it also has to do with how odd the characters act, like their feelings and emotions are solely based on how the story dictates they need to be in order for the plot to move forward properly, and not on how they should probably feel in reality. For instance, the conflict between the two main characters feels really unnatural most of the time, especially when Vance finds out that Rosie is the-girl-from-the-con, and his first move is to push his uncle to fire her even more, like what? And don't even get me started on the finale conflict. But there were also some really nice aspects to this book as well, one of my favorites being how focused on the book side of geekdom it is, obviously I love reading, so it just feels great to have characters who love reading too. I also adored the little nods to dating sims, otome ones in particular, because those are just my jam! (And that Howl's Moving Castle scene was everything!!!) In conclusion, with how I haven't fully enjoyed the last two books in this series, I'm unsure if I'll read any future installments, which makes me a little sad, but there's no point in wasting my own time.