Saturday, August 15, 2020

Bookish and the Beast by Ashely Poston - OPTIONAL

 

Bookish and the Beast by Ashely Poston, 288 pages. Quirk Books, 2020. $19.

Language: R (81 swears, 0 “f” + Spanish and British swears); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Rosie is more than just a part of the Starfield fandom -- it’s in her blood, passed down by her late mother. This love for Starfield, especially for the villain of the series, ends up getting Rosie in more trouble than she could have ever expected, including falling in love with a stranger who cosplays as General Sond and being forced to spend time around the actor himself who plays Sond. But trouble has a way of working out as more of a blessing in disguise when, finally, all the masks are lowered.

Fairy tale retellings are my favorite kinds of books, but I have a hard time swallowing Poston’s versions. Poston has created a nerdy, modern backdrop for the classic stories, but the way she writes more like an under-edited fanfiction story is too rough around the edges. The misuse of concepts like cosplay, the sudden switch from past to present and back again, and the things that characters know without the reader being able to follow along were distracting and detracted from the fun references Poston made to her previous books and outside media, the cute romance, and the message that we can be more than what others -- and ourselves -- expect. The mature content rating is for alcohol, mention of condoms and sex organs, and innuendo.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

1 comment:

Victòria | My thoughts on... said...

I don't think it is a book for me. It reminds me about Fangirl and I did not like the whole nerdy thing. Have a good day! :)