As a fan of FT Lukens other novels I was very excited to recieve an arc for Otherworldly.

This novel follows the crossroads spirit Knox and the teenage Ellery who has lost all faith in magic after a five year winter has ruined his family’s livelihood on their farm. Together they make a deal to help Knox experience the human world (ala the things he had seen in streaming tv shows and movies about teens) and to help Ellery figure out the cause of the winter and how to end it. Along the way they just might fall in love.

As usual the characters are super relatable, especially Ellery who has a rough relationship with his parents and his cousin Charley, who is more of a big sister that reminds him to be a teenager and experience life rather than shutting himself away. The found family feels are all present in this book, same as Lukens’ others.

However I did find the progression of the romance and the slow burn a little too much like the previous novels, even though they are all stand alones. This one especially reminded me of Spellbound. I would have liked a bit of new content and differences between the characters.

Overall the novel had a cozy feel and a conclusion that leaves the reader pleased.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this novel!

This book is similar to other Lukens novels (I do enjoy the grumpy/sunshine troupe used in this book and the other Lukens novels) with the romance and the fantasy aspect, essentially urban fantasy. I enjoyed the set-up of this book, and it was quite fast-paced with the plot involving fantasy, though I did find the romance parts to be a bit slow, mainly in the first half of the book. The 2nd half definitely picked up. I really loved the development of the secondary characters, though I wanted a bit more development of Ellery. Their backstory was interesting, and I just wanted some more of it. Knox was fantastic, and I absolutely loved his personality as well as his development.

I definitely recommend this book if you have read other Lukens novels. I also recommend this book for anyone wanting an LGBTQ+ book that showcases the use of different pronouns, which I consider a strength of Lukens's writing.

F.T Lukens has perfectly crafted a cozy winter romance tale. The main protagonist in this story Ellery and Knox have amazing chemistry with each other. The supporting cast are just charming. Otherworldly action and lore draws the reader in but the relationships that the characters exhibit truly captative the audience. I would recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a sweet queer winter romance that packs a punch.

★ ★ ★ ★ • 4

Perfect read for the winter season. Otherworldly is a young adult, urban fantasy with story-original gods/goddesses and mythology. If you’ve read any other books by the same author and enjoyed them, you’ll definitely like this one as well.

The story follows Knox, a familiar in need of a bargain to keep himself in the human world for just awhile longer and Ellery, a human in need of answers. Together, the two of them investigate what happened to The Goddess and all of the mysteries surrounding her silence/disappearance, while unexpectedly developing feelings for each other.

Aside from Ellery and Knox, Otherworldly also features a lot of great side/supporting characters and various mythological creatures. Overall, really enjoyable read to start off the new year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review!