Bookish and the Beast

April 15, 2020
A small-town girl transforms a spoiled star in this third installment in the Once Upon a Con series. High school senior Rosie Thorne loves the science-fiction space opera Starfield, connecting with her recently deceased mother through the old TV show, the newly rebooted movie series, and the tie-in novels. In real life, though, Rosie is struggling with her grief, her college essay, and the unwanted attentions of Gaston-stand-in Garrett Taylor. When Rosie's unfortunate run-in with the town's newest resident leads to her cataloging the library of an eccentric castlelike house, she also must deal with the beastly moods of Hollywood bad boy Vance Reigns, who is staying there. Seventeen-year-old co-narrator Vance is a self-proclaimed prisoner, exiled to North Carolina by his stepfather after filming the newest Starfield movie. Spoiled, sulky, and self-loathing, publicity-shy Vance fears that he's irredeemable. Tying in 2017's Geekerella and 2019's The Princess and the Fangirl but expanding outside the enchanted bubble/fever-pitch world of conventions, Poston adds a dash more reality to this romance. The world of Starfield--initially, a Star Wars/Star Trek knockoff, with a rebel princess, too-good hero, and cocky bad boy--begs for a TV adaptation. Despite the setting, both Rosie and Vance are white; their sidekicks are more diverse, in gender, if not race; nonbinary Quinn is a scene stealer while Rosie's bisexual, former-punk rocker, librarian dad is adorkable. A satisfying fairy-tale nerd love story. (Romance. 12-18)

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April 10, 2020

Gr 10 Up-Poston's third companion novel in the "Once Upon a Con" series-following Geekerella and The Princess and the Fangirl-will give fans a reason to cheer. An erudite girl named Rosie must pay off her debt to an enigmatic homeowner for knocking a priceless book into a pool. The frustrating, dashing, and occasionally unpleasant Vance Reigns has her cleaning and organizing the library. The story is delightful, with notable fairy-tale tropes and inside jokes that fans will appreciate, and the main characters offer readers a sense of a close-knit Starfield community, with a supporting cast that is just as strong. Readers don't have to know the first two books to understand what's happening, but the cameos are fun. VERDICT Although the pace of the book is a bit slow at the beginning, it quickly picks up into great storytelling, with a lot of amusing flourishes.-Annisha Jeffries, Cleveland Public Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 The third installment in the Once Upon a Con series, following The Princess and the Fangirl: A Geekerella Fairy Tale (2019), puts a humorous twist on "Beauty and the Beast." Magnet-for-trouble and heartthrob villain in the new sf Starfield movie Vance Reigns is dropped in the middle of nowhere after some bad publicity. His path crosses that of Rosie Thorne, who is daydreaming about the mysterious cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon but also still reeling from her mother's death. When Rosie accidentally damages a rare novel, she agrees to organize the library in the mansion where Vance is staying to pay off the debt. The problem is, well, Vance is rather beastly in manner. Nonbinary and bi characters who aren't overly flamboyant, two award-worthy best friends sharing in that specialness that is geeking out in a library with your favorite books . . . what's not to adore? Of note are definitely the character arcs, the slow-burning romance, and the relatable fear of disappointing the people who love us. This rom-com told in alternating viewpoints is poised to steal any book geek's heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)