Let me live in any book world created by F.T. Lukens, because this love story, these queer characters are amazing!!!

I love a good magic book, and this was so close to hitting the almost great mark. I enjoyed the story and writing, but there was something off about the world building and magic system for me. I haven’t read anything from F.T. Lukens previously, but I definitely would like to now.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

i loved the first two books. this one wasn’t it for me (not as much as the other two) thank you netgalley for this arc from the stone age (last year)
it was so fun watching rook learn about hexes and all that’s in between! also sun in general<333
i love magic so this was enjoyable i just expected more entertainment from the author as per previous books :(

Never read from this author before so I was a bit in the unknown when I started this book. And I can say that this book was okay. It had the potential in being great. It just lack something, don't know what. But something was missing. Can't put my finger to it.

A young adult adventure featuring two rival apprentice sorcerers who team up to protect their magic and the ones they love. The characters in this book are so enduring and easily loveable that you want to route for them during the entire book.

F.T. Lukens continues to delight in this queer, magical, enemies-to-lovers YA romance. The world is engaging, the characters fleshed out, and the not-quite sunshine + grumpy is just a joy.

Thanks for the ARC Copy. This was a fun one sitting read. FT Lukens did it again. I feel they do a create job of creating worlds and providing a variety of entertaining supporting characters.

A great, queer young adult fantasy novel. Two young men work with magicians and they begin a friendship that could blossom into something more. Recommended for 9th grade on up.

Another adorable cozy fantasy from Lukens. I think they're on the forefront of the upcoming cozy fantasy craze, and though I didn't love this quite as much as their last release, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure, characters, and romance.

Rook has a secret - he's non-magical, yet a powerful sorcerer has taken him on as her apprentice. But when the Magical Consortium comes down on them for breaking the law, he ends up going on the run with Sun, the apprentice of a rival sorcerer.

I read FT Lukens's So This Is Ever After last year, which I gave an A for the romance but found the other aspects of the story less impressive. But I'll try most things twice, and intrigued by the premise of rivals-to-lovers between a pair of sorcerer's apprentices I decided to request Spell Bound on NetGalley.

Lukens, of course, continues to excel at writing romance. Rook is an awkward genius and grumpy Sun initially treats him as a threat, but I found myself rooting for them right from the start, and found the way they drift so smoothly from acquaintances to friends to lovers wonderfully satisfying. Their banter is so funny and cute that it gave me all the warm fuzzies, and I was excited every time they appeared on the page together.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems with this book otherwise. While I thought the premise of the urban fantasy setting intriguing, the world-building itself left a good deal to be desired, the politics of Antonia and her interactions with the Magical Consortium unrealistic. After a very long set up, the actual conflict felt underbaked and the climax unsatisfactory, the happy ending unearned.

It's not a bad book, but it felt unpolished, like a first or second draft which still needed development. I wish Lukens had kept the stakes lower and written Spell Bound as a cozy fantasy in the vein of, say, Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes instead.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

This is not the first F.T. Lukens book I own, but it is the first one I decided to read since the story really stood out to me. LGBT+ characters and romance, plus magic?! I am down. Within the first chapter, you already start to feel the magical touch of the book - and it drives you to continue reading nonstop. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves romance and magic.

F.T. Lukens has perfected their craft of combining fantasy with non-stop contemporary humor, heartfelt found-family relationships, lovable protagonists, and the most downright adorable fluffy soft romances into some of my favorite standalone books. Spell Bound is no exception, and is just as magical and fun and fantastical as I had hoped. Something I love about this book is how simple the worldbuilding and central cast is. There aren't too many complexities to balance - it's really a slice of life magical snippet of two sorcerers' apprentices falling into shenanigans in exactly the way you'd want them to. Lukens' books can easily cater to younger teens and the older crowd who are looking for a quick and adorable fantasy.

Wonderful world building, lovely characters, and an interesting story. The plot was well paced and kept me invested. Relatable story without being overdone.

This was such a cute and cozy YA fantasy. I loved the lgbtqia representation. I’m looking forward to reading more of the authors work.

Thank you Simon and Schuster publishers and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I should preface this by saying, as I've gotten older I've become incredibly more picky about what Young Adult novels to pick up. Although I have plenty of YA ARCs via Netgalley backlogged to still read, I don't gravitate much towards YA anymore.

And this reads somewhat towards the younger side of YA. I'm only 23 (24 minus 2 months ;) ) but the MCs acted/spoke younger than expected in my opinion.

However I did enjoy the (slow) development of characters arcs for Sun and Rook. I think this might've worked for me a few years ago when I was really returning to being an avid reader, trying out all sorts of YA Mystery/Paranormal but presently I wasn't immersed or truly honed in on the storyline like I was hoping to be.

Side note: I love the cover!!!

I totally believe this would be favorites of many, but it just wasn't for me.

Was very forgettable and I ended up skimming the second half a lot. The characters had potential, as sunshine x grumpy is a very popular and easy to use trope in terms of relationships and characterization - however, this book did not delve very deep into that, Overall: a 2.5 star rating.

Spell Bound is a charming and heartwarming fantasy romance that has everything a good romance should have presented in a tastefully light manner. The story is fun, unexpected, and full of loveable characters. And, while it may sound different, the-- at times-- somewhat annoying manner of the characters wasn't *annoying* in that they were realistic quirks of young people.
Lukens writing is easy to follow and is relatively fast-paced. If you need a little pallet cleanser in between the heavy fantasy you may be reading, or need help getting out of a reading slump, I recommend any of their books.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

The perfect YA romantasy! I won’t add to the summaries, but vibes alone: perfectly cozy and minimal stress. Love a book with LGBTQ representation, a solid magic system, and dual perspectives. This book is as delightful as Lukens’ previous novels, and I know my students will love this story!