Considering that I have never read anything by this author before - I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting going into this book. However, all of my expectations (even unknowingly to me!) were met. This was such a great and fun read - the layers and questions that keep you guessing, the sweet and tender romance subplot, and the fun mystery that keeps you guessing? All very well done.

Perfect for lovers of YA mystery with a wee bit of paranormal activity, and an incredible found family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

FT Lukens has become the master of teen found families for me, and this was no exception. I loved everything about this grouping. Cam was a great leader into it, as the one with some of the greatest stakes in the game, who also knew nothing going in and needed everything explained to him along with the readers. I don't think I've ever read a clairvoyant story before, at least not in recent memory, but it reminded me of all the best days in my Charmed and That's So Raven media history. Gemma was absolutely iconic as the main guide to the paranormal, she reminded me a lot of early Nico with his Mythomagic cards. The slow teeny-bop romance between Cam and Mateo was handled perfectly too.

I've seen a couple of reviews hate on the ending, I really liked it. It was definitely a huge ramp-up on the story beats to that point, and I really wish they'd done more with Cam's brother Aiden in the lead-up, but I thought it was done well enough. It was very La Sala's The Honeys, another one of my favorite recent teen fantasy/horror books, so I can't be mad at it.

I haven't had such a fun time in a while! I genuinely went into this with no expectations just that it was queer and paranormal. I ended up with a thrilling mystery being solved by a ragtag found family friend group all while still being cozy and delivering exceptional lessons in acceptance and finding who you are. My first FT Lukens book but absolutely not my last!

Cute and fun! I think this one had a lot of light to it and I really enjoyed how good it made me feel by the end. The characters were easy to root for and I enjoyed how their stories wove into one another’s. Paranormal romances can be difficult to nail but this really worked for me!

Love at Second Sight ✨
•spoiler-free review•

I enjoyed this book! It’s fun, past-paced and features quirky characters that bring their own charm to the story. Cam is a pretty realistic main character who’s fifteen and facing a wild paranormal crisis.

Although it was a bit predictable and didn’t go outside the box too much with stereotypical paranormal tropes, I think for a younger reader this would be perfect. It’s designed for lower YA, but I think even upper middle grade kids would enjoy this as well!

I gave it a 4.25 ⭐️

Also, this was originally an ARC, but it’s been out for a few weeks now, so go check it out!

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonbooks for the e-ARC!

#bookreview #netgalleyreviewer #ftlukens #yafiction #bookstagramsupport #booksbooksbooks #arcs #newbooks #loveatsecondsight #netgalley #werewolves #paranormalromance #paranormalbooks

There’s this cool blend of everyday life and just a hint of the supernatural that adds a little extra spark to the story. It’s got that warm, slow-build feel with themes of second chances, trust, and fate nudging people together. Such a fun read!

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the free arc of this book. I read the queer YA fantasy novel Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens, and I had a great time with it. The story follows Cam, a fifteen-year-old human—or so he thinks—who lives in a small town packed with paranormal beings like witches, faeries, werewolves, sprites, and vampires. On the first day of his sophomore year, a fight breaks out in the school hallway, and suddenly, Cam's unknown psychic abilities kick in. He has a vision of a girl being murdered—someone he’s never met—and he ends up teaming up with a group of other paranormal teens to solve the mystery.
This was such a fun, easy read. The writing was light and funny, and I found the characters endearing, even if a couple of them (looking at you, Gemma and Al) got on my nerves at times. Cam was adorable—super awkward, especially around his werewolf crush, Mateo—but I loved watching him grow into his abilities, both as a clairvoyant and as a friend.
Al honestly pissed me off with how selfish they were, but they pulled through when it really counted, so I’m letting that slide—for now. As for the parents...ugh. I rolled my eyes every time they showed up. Racist, rude, and just generally the worst. Their kids deserved so much better.
I really liked that this world is open about the existence of magical beings—it adds a whole extra layer of tension between not just humans and paranormals, but among the different paranormal groups too. Lukens does the “ragtag found family” trope so well, though I do wish we got to dive a bit deeper into the other characters' backstories. I could totally see this turning into a series: a group of magical teens slowly figuring out their powers while solving the weird mysteries Cam keeps glimpsing.
As for the mystery itself, it worked for me. We got some solid red herrings, watched the group come up with plans, and while the ending wasn’t too far off the mark, it still had a big WTF twist that made the climax wild to read.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one and I’m glad I got to read the ARC. If you’re into lighthearted fantasy with a diverse cast and a cozy, paranormal small-town vibe, this is definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to Simon Teen for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

There are some books that sweep you up from the very first chapter, not because they demand it, but because they welcome you. Love at Second Sight is exactly that kind of story. With brisk pacing, vibrant characters, and an effortless blend of paranormal intrigue and found family warmth, F.T. Lukens delivers a tale that feels both familiar and utterly refreshing.

We meet Cam Reynolds on the first day of his new high school, a school that blends human and paranormal students with an uneasy sort of normalcy. Cam's plan is simple: stay under the radar, survive high school, and maybe admire his werewolf crush from a very safe distance. This plan, however, disintegrates spectacularly when a sudden and vivid psychic vision reveals a future murder to Cam, turning him from a quiet nobody into the center of supernatural attention overnight.

The story moves at breakneck speed after that moment, much like Cam's own spiraling emotions, and Lukens manages to capture that frantic energy without ever letting the plot feel out of control. The world Cam lives in feels richly drawn without requiring lengthy exposition. Paranormal beings walk the same halls as regular teenagers, and Lukens makes it feel natural and effortless, weaving identity, magic, and adolescence together into something tender and sharp all at once.

What I loved most about this book is how it manages to be thrilling without ever feeling heavy. Despite the very real threat of violence hanging over Cam and the (at first) unknown victim, there is a coziness to the way the story unfolds. Much of this comes from the relationships that form the heart of the novel. Cam's group of friends, new and old, are diverse, vibrant, and each beautifully drawn in a way that lets them be full characters, not just background players in Cam's journey. This is a queer-normative world where identities are acknowledged without fanfare, and the casual normalcy of it all is deeply comforting.

There is a lightness even in the darker moments, a reminder that friendship and hope can coexist with fear and uncertainty. Lukens shows us that even when the future feels terrifying, even when the worst seems inevitable, it is connection that saves us.

Although the story wraps up neatly, I found myself wishing there were more stories to come from this world. There is a rare kind of magic in a book that leaves you satisfied yet still yearning for more, and Love at Second Sight casts that spell perfectly.

Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok @mythicalreadsreviewer for more reviews!

I really enjoyed this while I was reading it, but...the fact I don't remember much from this a week later isn't a great thing. It's the cute cozy fantasy we've come to expect from Lukens but with more of a mystery plotline thrown in as well. I think this is a great book but doesn't stand out that much amongst what else is out there or even among Lukens' other releases.

I LOVED Love at Second Sight. I'm a huge fan of F.T. Lukens in general, but this just took my appreciation to the next level. This book felt like all the best part of paranormal dramas from the early aughts. I loved every moment!

Love at Second Sight is my least favorite Lukens book. It's a really high bar though since I've absolutely loved each of them so far. For me, the pacing was the most difficult part. At the beginning, I was obsessed with the fantastical world which was created. For each Lukens book, I'm always impressed with the amount of world mixed with the contemporary setting. It's always one of my favorite parts to see where Lukens takes us. And after this initial [redacted] moment, I felt like the pacing kind of lulled for a bit throughout the middle. Don't get me wrong, friendship breakups and complexities always get me in the feels, but it falls on the strengths of the characters and side characters in the middle.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

I'm a huge fan of FT Lukens and I'm always excited to read anything new from them. I loved Cam and his friend group. The found family dynamic that they had was really sweet. I really enjoyed getting to see grow and become more confident in who he as the book progresses. I thought that Mateo and Cam were really cute, but I wish that we would've gotten more moments with the two of them together. My only issue is that around the 80% mark is when everything starts to happen and it just felt kinda rushed to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It's not my favorite of Lukens' work, but I'd still recommend it.

This was so cute!

I really adored the friendship in this book. Hands down my favorite thing. It was so fun and sweet seeing all Cam’s new friendships and the little group who wouldn’t have become friends if not for this situation. It started out tense, albeit in a way that was highly entertaining, but then they developed real bonds.

The romance was pretty understated, not the focus, and I didn’t mind at all because it didn’t need to be big when the friendships already shone so brightly. But it was still cute seeing them shyly growing closer.

The individual characters in the main group were all lovable. Imperfect, sometimes making a mistake or saying something hurtful, but growing and doing their best. I loved Reese as soon as he joined the group because it was funny how much he was reveling in everyone else’s awkwardness. But Gemma was a real gem. Not someone I initially expected to like, but she learned from her mistakes, she was on the ball, and they’re all lucky to have her. I really did like them all though.

The plot and mystery kept my attention and kept me guessing. And there were all different types of supernaturals involved. The friend group consisted of a clairvoyant, a medium, a witch, a werewolf, a sprite, and a human, and it was fun seeing their different magical and non-magical abilities.

Sometimes with teens and dangerous mysteries, you wonder why they didn’t go to an adult, but I thought the author found pretty decent reasons for that. And I wasn’t really sure who to trust in certain situations, so I could sympathize when Cam wasn’t sure either. And there were some times when characters made rash assumptions or had strong immediate reactions, but that’s believable, and there was always at least one character thinking more reasonably, or some acknowledgement of it eventually.

The hardcover has a beautiful dust jacket cover with a bit of pretty art on the back as well. The book itself is purple with shiny green text on the spine, which is a fun color combo to go with the purple and green in the art.

Overall, this book was fun and sweet! The friendship was delightful, the mystery and supernatural were interesting, and I was pulled in!

FT once again creates a wonderful fantasy world filled with down to earth, sarcastic and lovable characters. Cam is a sensitive and relatably anxious protagonist, who helps you both step into the surprisingly political world of supernatural factions. Gemma is a bit of everyone who was a giant nerd and a little different than the other kids growing up. Al is the best friend I hope everyone has; you aren't always friends but you are always family. And Mateo is the perfect mysterious soft boy for us all to have a crush on. The entire ensemble of side characters are so endearing it's hard to not fall in love with all of them while you're reading. Even when things might get a bit dicey with a few!

I always appreciate in FT's work, that they are able to weave queerness into a story without making it the sole focus of their writing. It's not the conflict, or the driving force of the story, there are simply queer characters existing in this wonderful world that FT has brought to life. They are still strong and confident representations of the spectrum of queerness, while still being completely realized human beings.

I found the mystery intriguing, giving enough twists and turns to keep most readers unsure of what the final outcome would be (myself included), but still had thoughtful through-line that other more eagle eyed people might be able to figure out before the big reveal in the end!

Thank you to Simon Teen for a chance to read an ARC of this book! 🖤

5⭐️ my beloved scooby doo gang feat a raven! |
tropes: paranormal mystery, first love, paranormal small town | digital

Overall Thoughts 💭:
I loved this book a lot! I read it in two days and was completely drawn into this paranormal world, and this group of teenagers trying their best. I adored Cam. I empathized with his strained relationship with his parents, brother, and best friend. What I also loved about this book is that even from Cam's point of view, you can understand all his new friends and their feelings and perspectives. His new group of friends all felt fleshed out and important, and that made the conflict and seeing them all come together even more impactful. I also loved this setting! Small paranormal towns aren't new but I liked how Lukens slowly widens the world for us through Cam's eyes so that the exposition never feels like info-dumping and the creatures' lore is unique in their own ways. There is a romance subplot that was adorable. A lot is going on with the mystery plot, but it was still very cute and sweet. I liked Mateo and Cam together! Another feat of how good this book is that I cared about the mystery and was on the edge of my seat! I struggle with mysteries sometimes but wanted to give this book a try and am so glad I did.

content warnings: child abuse, death, gaslighting

cam reynolds is at a new school for his sophomore year, and all he’s hoping for is to stay under the radar. it shouldn’t be hard, considering he’s a human in a school full of kids with paranormal powers, but his dreams are crushed when he has a psychic vision in front of the whole student body. now, he’s at the center of attention, with various supernatural factions trying to get him on their side. to make matters worse, his vision involved someone being murdered, and the clock is running out of time for cam to find the culprit.

after reading so this is ever after a couple years ago, i’ve been wanting to give more of f.t. lukens’s books a try. this one intrigued me since it seemed different from the others, what with being set in a paranormal high school. overall, i thought this was a great book. i really enjoyed reading about cam coming to terms with and figuring out his powers. clairvoyants are extremely rare, so cam being one comes as a shock to everyone, which doesn’t really allow cam much processing time. i also enjoyed the murder mystery aspect, which was interesting since the murder hadn’t even happened yet. the romance aspect was also nice, though it wasn’t the main focus of this book. i can’t wait to read more from f.t. lukens!

Alright, I should be honest that the cover was the first thing that caught my eyes. It's bright and cheerful, so I went in blind, don't know what to expect.

It's more like a YA whodunit murder mystery with a fun, cute, heartwarming friendship & high school romance—with a touch of supernatural aspects. The romance; is fluffy and cute. The friendship; is beautiful and touching.

When I read it, I had a very strong hunch that it will be a 5⭐ read and I wasn't wrong. I really really really love it!!!

It's funny and entertaining. The MC's inner monologue is relatable and funny. The way he thinks, his anxiety, his emotion, how he spirals into panic when things go wrong, I can feel that too.

The pacing starts slow, but it gets faster. When you hit the 75% mark of the book, it gets thrilling and page turning. I held my breath a lot because I didn't expect the twist will be that jaw dropping?! Like, what the hell?!

Most of the characters are interesting & entertaining, but Gemma & Reese will always be in my heart🥹

I agree that this book might be targeted for a younger audience. It's like Scooby Doo x R.L Stine horror books, although it's not creepy in any way, but it's atmospheric. Overall, it's a light, fun, entertaining read for me.

Love at Second Sight is a light, fun introduction to F.T. Lukens’s blend of murder-mystery, paranormal, romantic YA, following Cam, a seemingly ordinary teen who discovers he's actually a psychic after having a vision of a future murder. As he scrambles to prevent the crime, Cam gets pulled into the supernatural world and leans on his loyal friend group, who add a lot of charm and heart to the story. The book mixes humor, mystery, and a touch of romance, with underlying themes about embracing what makes you different.

However, most of the story’s big twists and action are crammed into the last 20%, which makes the ending feel rushed and chaotic. I would have liked more of that plot to be spread out across the second half of the book. The final reveal comes out of nowhere, and the sudden arrival of new villains late in the story feels a bit forced.

While Cam’s relationship with Mateo is sweet in theory, it lacks depth—Mateo mostly fades into the background, and the romance doesn’t feel essential. For a book marketed with the romance as a main-ish part, I would have liked to dive into it a bit more.

Despite that, the book still offers a mostly enjoyable ride, especially for fans of murder-mystery YA with supernatural flair.

Lukens has done it again!

I love these characters so much. This one definitely has a large cast of characters outside of just out main couple and I really enjoyed that aspect of this one. For Cam to find a family within their peers when they start off with just one friend that they are so scared of losing? Such a great part of this story.

I think the moral of this story can be explained with just this one quote from Cam: "I would not allow myself to be diminished for the comfort of others."

The other thing about this book that I absolutely love is that it uses different magical communities to emulate prejudices and hatred in the real world. Cam and their group of friends do a fantastic job of bridging the confines of their family groups to become friends who have each others backs and are willing to risk everything in order to help others in need.