Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I very excitedly described this book to my friend as “the chaotic aftermath of a D&D campaign where all the characters are queer and the two main idiots are obviously in love but won’t admit it to each other” and I stand firmly by that. And for those reasons alone, I must say that I am in love with this book and it has cemented this author’s position on my favorites list (in Deeper Waters, the other book by them I have read, is also amazing and well worth a read if you’re into queer YA fantasy).

I can’t wait until this book comes out and I can start recommending it to everyone by shoving it at them and going “HERE. Read this one!”

Oh to be a king who needs to marry by his eighteenth birthday not knowing if his best friend feels the same way about him and wanting to marry him but not knowing if he's doing it platonically or not

So This Is Ever After begins with Arek, the chosen one, defeating the big bad and fulfilling the prophecy that's been ruling his and his friends' lives for the past year. All that's left to do is temporarily rule as king until they can rescue the princess and sole heir from her tower prison. But because things are never that easy, the princess is dead and Arek is now left with a throne he never wanted and a deadline to get married before the magical pact he took when becoming king kills him. The plot is simple but effective, and I ended up liking how things played out. There's plenty of humor and the cast of characters are interesting and feel like a cohesive, close friend group. I did think some of the dialogue's tone didn't really suit the story, and the romance aspect wasn't always strong, but this was a fun read.

This book was so cute and sweet and lovely and nice and all the good things. I read most of it in a day because I genuinely couldn't put it down. I loved the characters and I love how the plot starts after a prophecy ends (that's always one of my favorite things in writing) and I just loved all the cute hijinks and found family. I'm a sucker for found family, seriously. Also, best friends to lovers? Yes, give me all of that. I will never understand why people don't like best friends to lovers because it is so sweet and heartwarming and just yes.

This book is incredible. If you want a book to make you laugh then break your heart then put it back together again, I highly recommend reading this when it comes out.