Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geekerella | 2017 | Ashley Poston | Buy |
| 2 | Once at Midnight | 2019 | Ashley Poston | N/A |
| 3 | The Princess and the Fangirl | 2019 | Ashley Poston | Buy |
| 4 | Bookish and the Beast | 2020 | Ashley Poston | Buy |
Once Upon a Con is Ashley Poston’s YA series that puts fairy tale retellings inside fandom culture. Geekerella (2017) retells Cinderella at a sci-fi convention, The Princess and the Fangirl (2019) is a princess-and-pauper swap story at a fan convention, and Bookish and the Beast (2020) reworks Beauty and the Beast for book lovers.
The series also includes the novella Once at Midnight (2019), which bridges the gap between the first and third books. Each entry works as a standalone romance with its own fairy tale inspiration, so readers can jump in anywhere, though the shared fictional universe rewards reading in order.
Poston’s background in fandom gives the series an authentic feel when it comes to cosplay, fan fiction, and convention floor drama. She went on to write adult romances like The Dead Romantics and A Novel Love Story, but Once Upon a Con remains her most recognized YA work and a strong pick for readers who grew up on both fairy tales and fan culture.