Once Upon a Con

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck and her dad's old costume, Elle's determined to win-unless her stepsisters get there first. Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons-before he was famous. Now they're nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he has ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake-until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again? Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

From the acclaimed author of Geekerella, this spin on the Prince and the Pauper is a perfect story for geek girls of every fandom. Movie star Jessica Stone can't bear to pretend to love Starfield at yet another con-except her contract obligates her to do just that. She never dreamed she'd be playing Princess Amara for life, yet for better or worse, beloved Princess Amara has Jessica's face. But so does someone else... Imogen Lovelace is just another Starfield fan hitting up ExcelsiCon-except she happens to look an awful lot like Jessica Stone. So when Jess spots her doppelganger, a brilliant idea pops into her head: swap places! Jess can escape the spotlight for a few days, while Imogen can ditch her cruddy job and dodgy hotel room to see life beyond her dull hometown. Jess doesn't anticipate actually liking Imogen's life or the gorgeous non-famous girl who might be the person she needs to forget about her ex. And Imogen loves being Jess-until she's trapped in a paparazzi snafu and realizes fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. With the press poised to reveal their secrets, and an announcement about the sequel looming, both Jess and Imogen will have to stand up for the truth: That there is no such thing as a fake geek girl. That what you love matters. That fandom can, and should, let you be who you really are.

In the third book in Ashley Poston's Once Upon a Con series, Beauty and the Beast is retold in the beloved Starfield universe as bad boy Vance Reigns meets his match in fanfiction writer Rosie Thorne. Rosie Thorne and her father have been short on luck-and money-for years. So when she loses her grocery store job in a heated moment of smashing the patriarchy, she knows she may be forced to give up on her dream of leaving her small town for a prestigious college creative writing program. On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as Rosie's been clipping coupons and secretly writing massively popular fanfiction. 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. Rosie and Vance's paths collide in a chance encounter, and suddenly cataloging the Starfield library at Vance's manor house is Rosie's only shot at saving money for school. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to Vance, Rosie has realized something about Vance: he's a huge jerk, and she can't stand him. Still, there may be more to Vance than meets the eye. As Rosie and Vance begrudgingly get to know each other, secrets are revealed that could change their minds-and their hearts-forever.