Before I begin this review, I want to thank Net Galley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for allowing me to access Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens before publication. Check out this book when it is released on April 1st, 2025!

Luken's story is an entertaining blend of romance, fantasy, and humor, making it a truly captivating read. With its engaging narrative, this book stands out as a cozy and enjoyable escape for fans of both romance and fantasy genres. The interplay between the undead, gods, and a touch of humor creates a richly imaginative world that draws readers in.

Ellery is practical and skeptical, working hard to support their family and farm. Ellery's character is charmingly contrasted by that of Knox, a magical assistant whose guide for living life is the teen shows he finds comfort in watching. Unlike Ellery, he is on a journey of self-discovery, determined to fully immerse himself in the human experience, which adds a layer of humor to the story and teaches the readers about love and life.

The romance between Ellery and Knox is cute, giving into the grumpy x sunshine trope that many romance fans have come to love. Luken has done an excellent job of giving readers insight into their attraction without making it feel forced.

As the story unfolds, the focus remains on Ellery and Knox's love, set against Knox's quest to outrun the shades and experience life as a human.
This story has a lot of action, some twists and turns, and, of course, a cute romance and found family that makes it quite wholesome and worth reading.

The worldbuilding is great for a short standalone book. There is an introduction to the undead and three magical creatures known collectively as the shades. There are even hints of political tension among minor and major gods and a glimpse into the afterlife. However, there is a noticeable potential to explore the worldbuilding and the lore behind the gods and other magical creatures even further.

The writing style is straightforward yet effective, effortlessly immersing readers into the magical world portrayed in this book. The simplicity of the prose allows the narrative and character interactions to shine.

As a whole, this book was captivatedly magical, dealing with the underbelly of magic, romance, and the excitement of the human experience. It was fun and easy to read, making it ideal for anyone who wants to read a cozy fantasy romance!

3.2 / 5.0

Otherwordly by FT Lukens is a light-hearted, cozy adventure, queer romance. The main character, Ellery, is not a believer in magic EVEN THOUGH winter has lasted for 5 years... and then there's Knox, an Other World familiar (far older, so age-gap romance = yuck) on the run from demons sent to find him...

I just, like, what?

I had never read from this author before, and the writing wasn't an issue. The story description also wasn't an issue even though there are some obvious plot holes just from the blurb, I was interested in how it was going to be resolved. It's a stretch too far for me, though.

Aside from employing one of my least liked tropes (age-gap), I could not suspend my disbelief enough to accept that a child who has been living in a world of winter from the age of 12 to 17, when previously the seasons were "normal", doesn't believe in magic. This is beyond Flat-Earther level of blinders and obliviousness. Especially since his family owns a farm and hasn't been able to make a living for half a decade. I didn't feel the story/plot/characters ever adequately filling in those hole for me.

Overall, there is an audience for this story and others by this author of the same vein, but I am not part of it.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for access to this eARC.

Representation: Trans MC, queer love interest, more?

Rating: 4/5 This is the first book I’ve read by Lukens, and I really enjoyed their writing style. I’ve seen many good things about their other work, so I will definitely be checking them out. This book was a wonderful adventure of a crossroads deal, a supernatural creature bound to do the bidding of the contract, and a mortal who does not believe in anything supernatural being forced to come to terms with it. I liked how it was almost dealt with as a bureaucracy, the different levels of authority and such but in the supernatural realm. I almost wanted more worldbuilding in the sense of the supernatural happenings, how everything works. This book focused much more on the relationship between the main character and the supernatural being, which certainly was not a bad thing.

Loved this one. I think F T Lukens writes only hits. This one was interesting and had a lot of interesting characters and was very well written.

Queer, cozy, fun. I got an ARC via NetGalley and really enjoyed this one. Def will be checking out more from this author.

As with literally every single one of F. T. Lukens' books that I read, I absolutely love this. There was a section, about 100 pages before the end, which was a very dramatic section, when I was snacking on popcorn and reading and it just felt like those gifs of eating popcorn when you're excited to see drama happening but for real! That is to say, once I got invested, I was absolutely invested and I cared so deeply for the characters!! Lukens has this amazing ability to create a found family that I love and cherish SO MUCH, I literally get excited for it with every book of theirs I read. THIS WAS GREAT and there was even an Orphyeus and Euridice reference thrown in there at the end that I got very excited for! Please, if you like a ya queer fantasy, read F.T. Lukens' books, I've loved every single one I've read, which absolutely includes this one!

F.T. Lukens remains consistent in their writing style, adding another whimsical fantasy romance to their repertoire. Otherworldly, in my opinion, may be their strongest story yet, with a soft yet complex magic system and a simple yet thrilling story. The characters were enjoyable, and their circumstances were fascinating. One thing that really stood out to me is that the character's actions had serious consequences that often made their journey even harder.

f. t. lukens’ books are usually a hit or miss for me and otherworldly was definitely a hit! i really enjoyed the characters and the setting.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy this book more, since the author’s other releases are usually a hit for me. I think my biggest issue with this book is that I was unable to connect with any of the characters as they felt underdeveloped. Ellery felt like a lacklustre character; I felt for them, but I couldn’t sympathize or root for them with the way they keeping to themselves and just keep falling and needing saving from everyone 😭 Charley is the quirky cousin and Zada is her grounded girlfriend, but both of them didn’t add much except humor and some wise words to Ellery. None of them had common sense and just pure support vibes no matter how dangerous the thing Ellery involved themselves in. Knox had the biggest potential and arguably the most developed, but that too never really fleshed out. The other minor characters- Lorelei, Bram and Hale were there for plot conveniences. We never got explained how Knox know Lorelei and how Bram became nice and Hale became trustworthy, but they served they purpose I guess.

The setting was bleak and not fleshed out much except Winter, which I don’t know whether that’s the author’s intention. The lore is basically greek mythology, with the three siblings and the goddess realm but it was not developed further. I guess the whole book just felt rushed– it has the vibes but not enough substance developed that made it hard to enjoy. It took me around 40% to finally clicked with the story and that’s something not good considering how light this book is.

I really wanted to like this book. I couldn’t get past the characters use of pronouns. I had to go back and reread sections in order to understand who was being referenced.

FT Lukens wins every tjme!! This book was adorable and had a great story to it. The audiobook especially was incredibly fun and creepy. I loved getting to watch the MC get to be normal.

I don’t love fantasy, but I love F.T. Lukens doing YA fantasy and Otherworldly is no exception. It was so cute and charming and I was so invested.

Ellery is seventeen and firmly does not believe in anything magical, despite what everyone around them says. So what if their region has been having an endless winter? Surely science is the cause. But Ellery can’t keep on non-believing once they meet Knox who’s, well, a familiar who’s trying to run from some demons.

This book had what you expect from a Lukens book: charming characters, witty banter, and a deep emotional punch at the end that takes you by surprise. I completely bought into this relationship between Ellery and Knox. It felt so real and natural, despite how supernatural the circumstances were.

I would love a sequel to this. I don’t think one is planned and I can’t wait for Lukens’ next book but boy, did I enjoy these characters.

Fr lukens a cannot write a single thing that I would not read and love. The main and supporting characters are incredible. And the grumpy/sunshine dynamic was 😘😘😘

I am convinced that I will never not love a F.T. Lukens book, and Otherworldly was no exception. This may be the coziest yet of their books, which is saying something, given how each and every one of their books is abundantly comfortable. Overall, the characters, worlds, and plots that Lukens uses are similar, if reskinned to tell a new story each time, which, when the stories are as good as these, is not a problem at all.
I will say that I think that this might be one of the sweetest romances throughout (which is definitely saying something). Ellery is a relatable grump and cynic, while Knox's sunny disposition is their perfect complement. The somewhat Orphean elements to this book, while not necessarily cozy, were particularly compelling. I absolutely devoured this book, finishing it in one sitting because I just could not put it down.

I've been a fan of F.T. Lukens for quite a while now and really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine trope interwoven within this supernatural world. Highlights included the fluffy, heartwarming romance and suspenseful plotlines. Drawbacks for me include underdeveloped supporting characters and a slow plot progression.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, & Margaret K. McElderry Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

a region stuck in a perpetual winter for 5 years, a supernatural-skeptic teenager forced to leave school to work in a diner, and a mysterious weird hot guy who ran from his obligation. this was a fun read, mostly. kinda cozy, even. my favorite character was Charley--she's such a mood i couln't help but to stan lmao. the romance was sweet, and a scene reminded me of the bit from Orpheus and Eurydice's tale. overall it was a nice read! i loved it.

FT Lukens just gets me & the more I read their books, the more I want to be their best friend. If you liked SpellBound, you’ll love this. I love that FT books are always kinda in that cozy fantasy realm…just with higher stakes!

What to expect…
- grumpy/sunshine
- great winter read !
- casual queer/non binary characters
- supernatural elements
- afterlife

Thank you to the author, the publisher, & to NetGalley for the Arc in exchange for a review!

Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens was is everything I was hoping for and more. The main character is a skeptic tossed into a powerful magical situation; The romance is sweet and fluffy, and the vibes are delightfully queer. I can't wait to nab a physical copy for my collection.

Imagine agreeing to a familiar hoping for a toiny little cat that’ll sit on your shoulder and instead getting a whole ass HUMAN PERSON. Though honestly that’s what you deserve when you bargain your soul for a mystery familiar instead of going to a fucking shelter like a normal person. Adopt, don’t make trades with shadow demons.

Anyways, okay, review time. This is like a fluffy, FLUFFY romance scooped out of a contemporary setting and plopped into a world with supernatural beings.

Charley and Zada could use a LOT more fleshing out. They had flat semblances of personalities (sunshine and grumpy, in that order) but they had zero purpose aside from being supporting characters when they could’ve added a lot. I’m happy with Ellery and Knox though, no complaints there

The plot was .. *fine.* I didn’t really care about what was happening, but that’s not the point of the book, so I won’t judge it for that even though I’m totally judging it for that

The point of the book is the fluff. Sometimes it succeeded in being cute, and some other times it was all tell and no show.

My main problem, and prepare for a rant, is the age gap. Knox acts like a teenager. Knox has about 5 years of memories of life on earth, which is about accurate for a teenager. So why wouldn’t you make him a teenager ?????? Why must he have lived several lifetimes as a familiar when there’s literally no reason that detail needs to be added. This could’ve been his first time as a familiar and it would’ve changed nothing. I am and will continue to be mad at the 200+ year old dating a teenager trope, even though it didn’t feel icky in this particular book.

Complaints aside, I did have fun with it I swear 😭 I really liked the hints to Greek myth, and I liked following Ellery, and I liked the occasional weird descriptions like “plopping bonelessly into a chair”

Something I did NOT like was the audiobook. I went into it expecting Natalie Naudus (love her), but no. Ellery and Knox both had their own narrators, and they both horribly butchered some characters’ voices (some as in mostly the women. and mainly Charley. I’m so sorry Charley you do NOT sound that watery and old in my head)

(thanks for the arc, Netgalley !)

Set in a region devastated by a five-year-long winter, Otherworldly is an extremely unique book, with a premise unlike any book I’ve read before. I was drawn in by this setting, but what I enjoyed most while reading was the relationship dynamic between Ellery and Knox! It was delightful to read about Ellery, a skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic or the supernatural, as they dealt with Knox, a supernatural familiar with magic powers. This character dynamic created immediate narrative tension, which drove the story forward. Their opposing worldviews made for a perfect pairing of protagonists!

My Recommendation-
If you love magical stories set in an urban environment, you need to grab a copy of Otherworldly right away! I would especially recommend this book to fans of the Percy Jackson series, as the magic, found family, and adventure in Otherworldly all remind me of those books!