In the third book in Ashley Poston's Once Upon a Con series, Beauty and the Beast is retold in the beloved Starfield universe.

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he's forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.

When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

Reader Reviews

Sophie

(1/5)

Nov 21, 2024

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This series has been a bit of a frustrating one to me. It's cute and lighthearted so reading it always sounds appealing, but at the same time it has so many pop culture references that it overpowers everything else and doesn't give any room for the actual fictional universe created in this story to shine. Think of Galaxy Quest, it created its own universe and has nods to other science fiction (without...

chaity

(4/5)

more like 'bookish and the biggest dork in the universe.

Ashley Poston

(5/5)

149

Books, beasts, and german shepherds, oh my!

Lia Carstairs

"With him, a little of her heart leaves, but it leaves room, too.For new people.For new loves.For new impossibilities." Awww why did reading this have to go by so fast?🥺😭Ashley Poston creates the most beautiful contemporary retellings EVER🥰 Well......maybe I can't really say that considering how I've only read two of her books.😅😂 But it really does feel like that. I thought Geekerella was amazing and one of the most adorable contemporaries I've ever read, but this......... Bookish and

Jessica

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher (Quirk Books) in exchange for an honest review.I am such a huge fan of this series so I was excited to read this, especially since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. I ended up enjoying this a lot!So first off, there are a lot of references to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Like on page 37 there is a reference to “the great wide somewhere” and on page 224 there is talk of “Magic spells. Daring sword fights. A prince in disgu...

kate

4.5* It’s got a library. It’s got beauty and the beast references. It’s got epic friendships. It’s got the cutest crush to enemies to lovers. It’s got so. many. books. It’s got a dog. It’s got a brooding beast and a bookish beauty. It’s got just the right amount of pop culture references. It’s got a small town romance. It’s got ‘oh no, we’re caught in the rain’ scene. It’s got an epic homecoming scene. It’s got a space dad. It’s got reading aloud to each other. basically... SOMEONE MAKE THIS INT...

Drew's ambitious reading

Thank u to Ashley and her publishing team for sending me this e-novella of the once upon a con series! This was so cute and I really can't wait to read book 3 now!(:Merged review:This was such a cute book and I'm sad that this is the last one in this series.... RTC 1) Geekerella 5/5 stars 2) The princess and the fangirl 5/5 stars 2.5) Once a princess 3/5 stars 3) Bookish and the beast 5/5 stars

Avani ✨

(3/5)

3.5 starsThis one is the best in the series. I did not like the first two books. But yes I did read them and suffered 😅I also picked this up because well I cannot leave a series I need to finish it #FOMOThe writing, the setting, and the characters are just so much more better than the first two books and I enjoyed reading this one.

Claude's Bookzone

3.5 StarsWell that was a pretty adorable YA reimagining of Beauty and the Beast.It was a light and fluffy story filled with fandom and the usual expected tropes for this genre. I think the lead characters were engaging and that kept me turning the pages to reach the inevitable sweet and sappy conclusion. I think this series is lovely and will be popular in the library. I have yet to read book 1 but will get there shortly.

sam

4.25⭐️i’m thinking maybe i liked this more than book 2? My ratings are kinda off but oh well. Yes this story is very geeky and adorable but at the same time it has a lot of representation. And it’s not just in this book, it’s the whole series. I don’t see how there can be a fourth book for this series but I really enjoyed this one. It’s not necessary to read the books before reading this because this can be read as a stand-alone. But there are a lot of references to the previous books and a lot

Syndi

(2/5)

DNFI read Geekerela long time ago. I remember I shelved it under DNF. After so many years, I decided to give it another chance with Bookish and the Beast. Still... not working for me. Miss Poston put too many aspect of Starfield world into this book. The writing style is not working for me. I am just not into it. 2 stars

h o l l i s

Unfortunately, the latest installment in this fandom-and-nerdy-love-explosion just.. really missed the mark. The third book in the series, centering around the revival and cult-following of a tv-series-turned-movie-adaptation relies heavily on the previous fairytale-esque romances set in and around the fandom and conventions and, unfortunately, fails to live up to anything that came before. Added to the mix was an attempted Beauty and the Beast retelling that didn't remotely land.So what did wor...

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Bookish and the Beast

Bookish and the Beast

Bookish and the Beast

More books from Ashley Poston

Geekerella

The Princess and the Fangirl

Among the Beasts & Briars

Heart of Iron

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The Sound of Us

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Reader Reviews