The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon a Con, #2)

I’ve enjoyed listening to this book but it wasn’t anything special. I did like the little mystery in the story and I think the ending was also nice.

Not *quite* as adorable as GEEKERELLA but that could be because I’m not as familiar with PRINCE AND THE PAUPER story. Still absolutely loved the characters and ode to nerd-dome. I really enjoy seeing my younger self portrayed in such an awesome way - fandoms unite!

*Arc provided for review by NetGalley

I really enjoyed reading this story! As a fangirl of all things science fiction this book is truly meant for me. This book is a love letter to fandom referencing everything fans of Star Wars and Star Trek hold dear, and throwing in some Harry Potter goodness for everyone else. I love having a cute contemporary book that discusses what it means to be a fan and showcases the positive side of fandom while also taking into account the many trolls that exist outside of the Millenium Falcon. Imogen was an easy character for me to connect but Jessica was not, Jessica drove me a little crazy until the end of the book. Eventually I grew to like Jessica as she started to change and open up but it definitely took a while!

One character that suprised me was the character of Natalia Ford, I felt like this character was a shout out to Carrie Fisher and I was really happy to see that. There were a lot of references to problems we have in fandom everyday such as she shaming of women who are acting in the new Star Wars movies or the automatic dislike of any new stories being told within in world that we love. This book took all of the frustration that the actor might feel and dealt with that but used it to highlight what’s great about the stories and why we need to keep going and keep telling these stories in new ways so that more people have access and more people are represented.

Every time I read an Ashley Poston book I wish Starfield were real because honestly I think I would love it so much if it were! I highly recommend picking this up if you are interested in a sweet, wholesome, young adult contemporary book.

4.25 Stars

I'm not sure what I rated Geekerella, (I just looked it was 3.5) but I know what I liked about it. I didn't love the beginning but I loved the convention part of the book.

This book? It took place, cover to cover, at Excelsicon and I could not be happier! This book was fantastic. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. This book was everything I loved from the first and so much more.

The characters were lovely and fun and just a joy to read.

The part of this book that really got me is the exploration of fandom and what it means to be a fan. How much these worlds mean to us. How much the characters can mean. How much it can all inspire us to be a better version of ourselves.

And this one took it a step even further. In Princess and the Fangirl, we exploree what it means to be Jessica Stone and all of those girls in our real life world who play women in Sci-fi/Fantasy movies. The scrutiny they endure, the fanboys (and girls) releasing their putrid spewing online of how that girl isn't ENOUGH to play a character they think they deserve. All without thinking about the real girl behind that character.

The topics in this book brought me back to the first time I read 'Wishful Drinking' by Carrie Fisher and how utterly disgusted I felt hearing about how she had been treated as a young actress playing Princess Leia.

I think Ashley did an amazing job of portraying the issues in the Sci-Fi/fantasy fandoms right now, as well as highlighting everything in them that can go absolutely right.

I just loved this dang book. The plot was a little, meh, but it was a fun read that I really enjoyed.

Cover 4; Characters 4; Pace 4; Plot 3; Writing 4; Enjoyment 5; Cry 1.

A love letter to fandoms and cons

If you have read Geekerlla you will love this companion novel. If you have not, you still would. You don’t have to read both, but there is crossover with some of the characters. This is a delightfully fun novel about finding yourself and finding something to fight for. Within the novel is a love of fandoms and cons, and I loved that.

Updated 5/31/23 -4.5 or 8.57/10
Characters-9- I love the characters in this story! They are delightful and so fun. Atmosphere-8- I love the con atmosphere of these books! Writing-9- I love the writing in these books! Plot-8- I really enjoy these stories! Intrigue- 8- These stories are interesting. Logic-9- I could follow the logic easier in this story. Enjoyment-9- I love love love this book. It's a love letter to fandoms and has a lot of heart and important conversations. Love the shout outs to all the fandoms in the author's note as well.

Read Original Review Here

The Princess and the Fangirl was the best book out of this trilogy. It was so funny. Romance was not at the forefront of this book. There was a bigger message of accepting yourself and falling in love with fantasy. It focused more on character development than romance.

The retelling was based on Princess and the Pauper. I do not know much of the story surrounding this, so to me, this was a lot more subtle than the last retelling.

The two main characters were both super interesting and unique. I will say that they had very similar voices, in terms of writing, so when listening, and probably the same for reading, it was sometimes hard to tell who was speaking without looking at the title of the chapter.

The romance in this book was cute although it was not the most present. One was a slow burn which made me swoon so hard. One of the main romances of this book was LGBTQIA+ so that was a huge benefit.

Star Rating: 4.1