And with that F.T. Lukens is officially an auto-buy author for me. I just absolutely loved everything about this. I knew going into this book that we'd have teenage sorcerer apprentices who are rivals but then catch feelings and have to save their mentors from an overpowered government body, but what I wasn't ready for was a story of fighting for your place in a community even when so many people, particularly the ones who make the rules, say you don't belong. Of feeling, knowing inherently that you belong even when they look at you say you don't fit all the qualifications it takes to be there. Of someone else finally looking at you and saying "You were right, you belong, and I've known all along." I'm going to put specifics behind a spoiler warning, but just to be clear, I am specifically talking about the queer community and gatekeepers within that community.

<spoiler>Specifically, Rook's conviction of belonging in the magical community, even when everyone says he doesn't, makes me think of gatekeepers of queer identities, and how they will push these arbitrary rules of "You can't identify as xyz if you don't completely fit into these parameters that we've decided on." The moment when Sun told Rook that they'd seen magic in him since the beginning particularly got to me. Seeing that validation is so beautiful. This may be less direct, but it also reminded me of something I have told others and I know others have said as well, which is if you look at queer couples and queer people and you wish you had that, wish you were that, wish you were trans, or anything like that, then I'd do some deep introspection because that is often a hint that you are and you do belong with us. Rook's inherent feeling of "this is where I belong" really reminded me of that feeling of wishing to be a part of the queer community, and then it turns out he did, because so often that is the case.</spoiler>

Anyway, I have a lot of feelings about this book. It was a sweet queer love story, but also had a super interesting magic system, and also was deeply against totalitarian government bodies, all of which completely worked for me. Thus far, I've deeply enjoyed everything I've read by Lukens, and I would really love to read all of their works.

I went into this expecting something similar to In Deeper Waters and was extremely surprised to find that Spell Bound was that but more. I loved how each of the characters had their own arch, how even when I thought Antonia was going to turn out to be the villain she turned around, and I loved the overall message of the book. I'm sure other people picked up on the overarching message of gate keeping and the feeling of needing to belong and I feel like that hit deeply within me. I will say, I also appreciate the buildup of Rook and Sun's relationship. I feel like it felt genuine when they did get together and it felt like the perfect cheesy moment amongst all of the intensity. Also, I will admit, this was a one sitting book for me and I went back to re-read parts of it already. I already have the book pre-ordered (and have for a while) and I definitely do not regret that one bit.

This was an adorable book, super cute. This is an adorable romcom esk fantasy book. But I do have some gripes with it.

I think the romance was developed a bit too fast, at an unrealistic place and some aspects of the magic world weren't explained to the extent that I would have wanted but I think the characters are beautifully written and I love it.
There are some things I would say could have been better but overall it's a cute read.

I recommend this to anyone wanting to read a cute light hatred romance with some aspects of fantasy.

F.T. Lukens has slowly but surely become one of my favorite authors. Each book of theirs has gotten better and better. After So This is Ever After I didn’t think they could write another story that could top that. I am flabbergasted and bamboozled that Spell Bound blew me away. I knew I’d enjoy the story but had no idea it would top So This is Ever After for me.

Lukens has a such a way with characters and I eat it up. All the characters in this were incredible. The dynamics between everyone was so wholesome. I love found family, it is one of my favorite tropes and this story smothered me in it. The dynamic between Antonia and Rook had me emotional more than once. Rook is her child and I won’t hear otherwise. The ending scenes with them had me staring at a wall with sad music blasting. Rook truly deserves the universe in my opinion. (Antonia as well).

Sun is probably one of my favorite characters I’ve read this year. I have loved how everything about them was detailed as ‘that’s just how they are’. Sun is reluctant with touch and doesn’t really care for it especially with strangers. And I’ve noticed that sometimes in fiction when authors have characters that are reluctant or have phobias about something the author will give a tragic backstory about why that character doesn’t like something. That is completely valid and trauma does shape how we do things. My problem is when that overshadows the fact that sometimes someone just simply doesn’t like something. With Sun that was the case. There was no tragic backstory, they simply didn’t like to be touched. Rook immediately respected that and that also had me clapping my hands like a seal. Boundaries being respected quickly does something to my soul. Sun was just simply the best. They were mean without vicious and cold without being heartless. Everything my young self aspired to be.

Overall, this book changed me. I was in a bit of a slump and this took me right out of it. I believe it was the singing mice that cured me. I’m already tempted to reread and it’s not even been two weeks since I’ve read it. Lukens has no flops only bangers.

F.T. Lukens never misses. Spellbound is the perfect blend of contemporary and fantastical with lots of adventure, mayhem, friendship, and romance. I am always on the lookout for YA novels that feature queer teens navigating a story that will entertain and engage my students, and I’m excited to read Spell Bound with them!

F.T Luken has created another well written book with a lovable main character. This book however just wasn’t to my particular tastes. I have ADORED her books set in a fantasy world but this one while extremely well written Just wasn’t for me. But if you like urban fantasy and sticking it to government agencies this book would be up your alley, rating it a 4 cause it’s good it’s just not for me.

As a huge fan of FT Lukens I was thrilled to receive an ARC from NetGalley!

This book totally brought the same vibes that were in Lukens's The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic. As much as I have loved the newer stand alone fantasies, that series really has my heart, so to get a new book that had the same feel was amazing.

I loved both of the main characters and could easily relate to them in many different ways. (Sun was my favorite of the two.) Even the side charters, or at least those characters that took up a little less page time, were well-developed and added to the overall story. The plot flowed smoothly and the writing style hooked me immediately.

Honestly, this was a great book and it 100% lived up to my expectations. If you're a fan of F. T. Lukens or you're just looking for a good, YA urban fantasy with some queer rep, this may very well be the book for you.

(4.5 stars rounded up)

I read an eARC of Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens.

This is a story told in two first-person perspectives with Edison (named Rook by his teacher/employer Antonia Hex) as the main character, and Sun (the grumpy, non-binary, wears all black and hates the heat) as his love interest and random chapters told from their point of view. The story starts with Rook going to look for work in Antonia’s office, despite not having any magic, and that being the reason he was taken away from the magical world after his grandmother died, and he had no one to take him in. Now he wants a way back into the magical world, and while at first, it looks like he might be turned away, Antonia’s horrible treatment of electronics gets him hired as an office worker.

Later Sun shows up with a box of hexed objects when their master Fable and Antonia are off to help someone with a cursed object. They are less than impressed with Rook’s sunny disposition, especially with the fact that Rook has been given a name by Antonia when Antonia has been forbidden to have an apprentice after her last one went all evil, all-powerful sorceress.

Still, as time goes on, Antonia learns from Rook that he wanted to do more than work with her, as he has an illegal machine that can find ley lines, something the consortium (the people that look after, and make laws for the magical community) would not approve of, and officially decides to try and teach him magic despite him being unable to feel or see ley lines. Also, she starts taking him on jobs, and he and Sun get to meet and be cute together.

Overall, that’s a good way to describe the book: cute. The two are an obvious sunshine and grumpy pairing. Sun basically made the book bearable for me.

Honestly, I kept waiting for the real story to start that’s written in the official description, but it doesn’t start until halfway or a little more through the book because of how much setup the book did. I think all the setup was needed, but I felt the rest was rushed, and mostly filled with the characters making bad decisions. I think I’ve been reading too many books with well-throughout activism, because that ending was rough and to a degree left me wanting more from the internal conflict.

Overall, the book is worth it for the cute romance, but the plot is a bit of a mess.

Sadly found this novel pretty lackluster. I was somewhat intrigued by the magical world here, but all the characters were pretty generic and lacked any unique or distinguishing features. While I appreciated graphing these known archetypes onto queer characters, it wasn't very special. The plot takes a really long time to kick in and the world building isn't strong enough to carry that first half while things are slow. At times it felt written for an even younger audience, but snuck a bit of swearing in. There are also similar jokes repeated over and over again which grew to be pretty annoying. I was compelled by the plot enough to finish but things worked out quite easily and made the ending kind of fall flat.

1 Sentence Summary: Rook just wants to be close to magic again after his grandmother’s death, and is nonmagical office staff for sorceress Antonia Hex; Sun is the magical apprentice of Antonia’s rival curse-breaker, Fable; and when something terrible happens and Antonia and Fable get captured, Rook and Sun must team up despite their differences to save their mentors.

My Thoughts: This was amazing! Spellbound is definitely F.T. Lukens’s best book yet. The world-building and magic system was really interesting, and the development of Rook & Sun’s relationship was really well done. Also, the emotion was really strong with the themes of loneliness and found family. It felt like someone was stabbing my heart (but in a good way).

I do think that it could’ve been developed more, but I still enjoyed it a great deal and will be recommending it. If you’re looking for something more lighthearted, fun, and super cute & sweet, then this book would be perfect. It’s got so much charm that you can look past the clichés. (And it also features some adorable cat shenanigans!)

Make sure to get your hands on a copy when it comes out in April!!

Recommend to: People who enjoy magic, curses, rivals-to-lovers, adorable romances, breaking the rules, and found family.

(Warnings: swearing)

“You could see me?” // “Since the beginning.”

F.T. Lukens’ books are such a delightful combination of interesting magical worlds, cute banter, sweet chemistry, low-angst conflict, and queer love within a queernorm setting, and SPELL BOUND is no different. It's a YA fantasy romance between a chaotic sunshine boy and his rule-following grump love interest, both of whom are apprentices to sorcerers in the curse-breaking business. There’s a fun annoyance-to-lovers journey, magical hijinks, a prolonged cat transformation, casual nonbinary rep, the tender beginnings of first love, and the takedown of a corrupt magical bureaucracy. Rook and Sun have such respect and care for each other, even when they are at odds; I love how they attend to one another’s boundaries and needs and wounds. It’s also a really beautiful story about emerging from a period of deep loneliness to find a family where you belong, and fighting for your place in a world that has rejected you. So much to love! Thanks to Simon Teen for the review copy; this book is out 4/4.

Content warnings: death of a parent figure, grief, anxiety, violence/capture, imprisonment

This was my first introduction to F. T. Lukens and it left me wanting to check out his other books. The world building is great, there’s a slow-burn romance element that is so cute it’s unbearable.

Rook is an orphan, a genius who was shunned from his community after his grandmother passed and he was deemed non-magical. He was determined to fit in, to be accepted by his community and was willing to break the rules to do so. He finds himself at the door of one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world where he meets his grumpy counterpart, Sun. I love the urban fantasy element and how magic is incorporated throughout their city and their everyday life. I also appreciated the discourse surrounding corrupt government entities who lie and withhold the truth from their citizens to fill their pockets.

(Pub Date: 04/04/23)
Thank you to Netgalley and Sim & Schuster for the eArc!

I have read "So this is Ever After" by F.T. Lukens so I was excited to read this one. I like this book but not as much as "So this is Ever After" a bit more. This book had multiple POVs, and I think that kinda threw me off a bit. It was hard to follow and distinguish the different characters sometimes. It was a little slow to get the main plot started, so the climax felt rushed. I did enjoy the characters, and their banter between each other.

I would still recommend this book as well as the author's other books.

i received an arc of this from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved So This is Ever After and In Deeper Waters, so I was ecstatic when I was approved to read this, and it did not disappoint

it's got three of my favorite things - magic, found family, and breaking the rules, so naturally, I loved this. I absolutely adored main characters and the way they interact with each other. I had so much fun reading this!

Spellbound follows two characters, Rook and Sun. Rook, much to his displeasure, is a non-magical human, torn from the magical world after the death of his grandmother, the only other magical person he’d ever known. Rook creates a device that allows him to “see” magic, bringing him a tiny bit closer to the community he once knew. But it isn’t enough. He seeks out the most powerful sorcerer in the city in hopes of working for her to gain knowledge for his device. Rook comes to work for Antonia Hex, a talented and feared sorcerer, who at first deems Rook as just “office staff”. However, after seeing his conviction and dedication to magic, Antonia makes Rook her apprentice, and decides to teach him magic.

Sun, on the other hand, has magic, and is the apprentice to one Fable, rival sorcerer to Antonia. Fable is a dedicated rule-follower and realizes that Antonia has taken a non-magic apprentice and wants nothing to do with it, but Sun and Rook develop an unshakeable connection that drives Sun to help Rook in his quest to rediscover magic.

Nevertheless, the magical government, the Consortium, has had their eye on Antonia’s every move, and taking a non-magical apprentice is definitely against their rules. The rest of the story unravels into a beautifully written standalone adventure and a tasteful YA romance with enough magic to keep your imagination running wild.

I applaud the author’s wit, humor, and style of writing. The perspective shifted between Sun and Rook, which allows the reader to get a great sense of who the characters are. The novel was the appropriate length for the genre and audience, and the conversational style of writing will easily fit and flourish within the YA genre.

I enjoyed the author’s spin on magic; the idea of non-magic and magic communities living in pseudo-harmony was extremely entertaining and fun to imagine. The idea of an overbearing magical government just as stifling as a real one was a nice realistic touch that further immerses the reader into the story.

I am also entirely pleased with the nonbinary, LGBTQ, and diverse racial representation across the cast of characters. It never seemed awkward or forced, and identities were seamlessly represented and respected. As a nonbinary person, it was beautiful to see a nonbinary character represented with such care and compassion. Sun’s identity was never the topic of conversation, their pronouns were never questioned, and no harm ever came to them due to any of their identities. It was refreshing to see a nonbinary character able to live and exist without interference.

Finally, the romance between Sun and Rook was incredible cute and like a breath of fresh air. Each of them was so respectful to the other, and they were so darn adorable! I enjoyed watching their friendship and subsequent feelings develop over the course of the story. Very age appropriate young adult romance.

Overall, this was a fun and refreshing read. I will be purchasing the physical copy in April!

This is the third book by F.T. Lukens that I have had the privilege to read, and I enjoyed it just as much - if not more than I hoped I would. While the magic-world-melded-in-the-mundane-world building was a bit slow at first, it gave me more time to learn about the characters and their feelings for the society and their places within it. Not to mention developing the despotic and nearly dystopian governing body of the magic world.

The two protagonists, Room and Sun, start out as easily identifiable tropes, the poor and lonely smart kid who just wants to fit in and the emo goth kid that just wants to be left alone; but they evolve quickly out of their stereotypes and into truly engaging and relatable people. Clashes in ideology and life experiences give the enemies-to-lovers relationship a strong foundation to build from.

I love how respectful and giving Rook is. Once someone sets a boundary or comfort level, he is always careful not to cross the line. He values people over rules and status quo. He also rolls with the punches far better than I ever could. Maybe that's why he's the genius and I am not. Not only was Rook likable, he earns the respect of the other characters and the reader alike. Not that he isn't without flaws, but that's what makes him believable.

I also appreciated the fact that while Rook and Sun are both remarkable in their different ways, they are still teenagers. When everything (literally) blows up in their faces, they wish for adults with more experience to give them guidance. They bicker, they tease, they go off on tangents, and they don't always see beyond the immediate situation. Neither of them are the all-knowing or all powerful "chosen one".

The humor in the story is infectious. I laughed out loud at some of the hijinx that insued, and it wasn't always the teens that were the instigators. The adults are just as full of quirks and foibles as the teens. Despite its slow start, I found this book "unputdownable" and stayed up waaaay past my bedtime reading because I just HAD to know what happens next. And, let's face it, Sun as a cat is irresistible.

Recommended for fans of Lukens other books, Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter series, and Mercedes Lackey's Legacy series.

*I received a free eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are entirely my own and offered without compensation.*

An easy, cozy read. I haven't read any other F.T. Lukens book, but if they're all like this one, I have to, now. This book is like a warm hug. It's got grump x sunshine, found family, enby rep, and a whole host of wholesome and interesting characters. I love Rook, Sun, and Fable, but my absolute favorite character is hands-down Antonia. The relationship between Rook and Sun is adorable and that one part when Sun is a *** is a blast. My only complaint is that there is so much buildup that the plot doesn't really get started until about halfway through. Still, it didn't really bother me. I loved it. <3

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC! :)

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

I have to say that I have loved every F.T. Lukens book that I have read so far, and every character is so engaging that I can't help but want to know more (and what comes after!). Spell Bound was no exception, I absolutely loved it. Rook and Sun are so adorable and funny in their own ways. I lean more towards loving Rook more, because he is more like me and I could relate to a lot of his anxieties of being an outsider in a world that you want to belong to. I also really enjoyed Antonia, and how she was so eager to buck the rules but also cared so much about Rook and their happiness. I wanted to know more about Fable, because I felt like we didn't get to see them as much, but given my preference for Antonia and Rook I wasn't too upset that we didn't spend much time with them. I cannot wait for more works by Lukens, as this book just cemented my love for their writing style and character descriptions.

F.T Lukens is back with another YA queer fantasy/romance novel that IMO is their best work since 2019's Monster of the Week. In a society where only people who can see ley lines have magical powers, the bureaucratic Consortium tightly controls the flow of information about magic and certifies the level of magic each sorcerer can cast. Rook is just an ordinary human, but after the death of his beloved magical grandmother, he yearns to to be magic-adjacent. He talks himself into a job as the assistant to Antonia Hex, a once-powerful sorcerer who has been reduced to low-level curse breaking after too many run-ins with the Consortium. Rook keeps crossing paths with her frenemy Fable Page, and their prickly apprentice Sun. Antonia enjoys flouting the Consortium rules as often as she can, while Fable is more cautious. But when both witches end up on the wrong side of the Consortium ire, it's up to Rook and Sun to rescue them. And perhaps change the rules so that magic is more readily available to everyone.

I liked this book soooo much more than Lukens' 2022 release So This Is Ever After, primarily because the romance is a sweet, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine pairing (instead of the annoying "in love with my best friend but can't tell him until almost the last page" trope in Ever After). It's easy to identify with Rook, who is looking for a sense of belonging that is forbidden by the Consortium. His enthusiasm and intelligence help him out of tight situations where his lack of magic could be a liability. And magic-sensitive Sun is antisocial, taciturn, and touch-averse but of course, they secretly like Rook and have their own unique way of showing affection. Best of all, their relationship development is a squee-worthy blend of tenderness, snark, humor, and just a bit of kissing.

The world building is fine, not extraordinary, and the plot could be a lot tighter, but if you're in it for a swoony relationship you will not be disappointed. Extra stars for the special gray cat who makes an appearance at a critical point of the story.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.

I think this one was my favorite of all the other of Lukens' books that i've read so far. The cover is also amazing, and is a fantastic urban fantasy setting with good worldbuilding. I really liked the characters, the main four being Rook, Sun, Antonia, and Fable, with Rook and Sun being the romantic interests and Fable and Antonia being the older mentors. I especially liked Anotina and Rook's relationship, their sort of found family type of vibe was very good. The pov is technically split between Rook and Sun, but Rook carries the bulk of the narration until the last third or so after the story shifts to the two working together more consistently. The romance itself was done well, and it fit well into the story. I wasn't sure what to expect from the plot given the summary was a bit vague, but the buildup to the Consortium taking action against the group was good and the resolution, while a little open ended, was realistic and satisfying. This was a fun book to read, I loved the characters and how they interacted, and the story was compelling and interesting.