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.

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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.

I absolutely loved Spell Bound, so I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Luken’s latest. (Thanks Simon Teen!) I’m happy to report that this new book was just as delightful! And I highly recommend it to all fans of YA paranormal romance.

Love at Second Sight is a sweet romance wrapped in secrets and mystery. Cam discovers his clairvoyant powers and possibly a murder when he’s jostled in a hallway fight. This new power comes with an assortment of new friends - a werewolf, a sprite, and a human - who join together along with Cam’s bestie Al, a witch, to prevent the potentially gruesome murder seen in his vision.

This was such a fun and quick read. I couldn’t put it down!

Yet another great Lukens read!

My main love from this book was the found family element. Lukens always has a way of writing romantic and platonic relationships that makes me care so wholeheartedly about them!

Cam was such an amazing character to watch develop. The way he is on the outskirts of the paranormal life to all of a sudden being forced into the center of everything is so fascinating to read.

I’m so excited to see what Lukens writes next!

Cam, a normal human person, is a little stressed about starting at a new school where most of his classmates will be supernatural. At least he has his best friend, Al...who's getting increasingly distant. But he'll be at school with his hot werewolf crush, Mateo. Unfortunately, on his first day, he experiences a psychic glimpse of someone's future: murdering a girl he doesn't even recognize. Now, he's possibly a clairvoyant, so everyone wants to be his friends, his anti-supernatural parents are freaking out, and he's got a murder to solve before it can happen.
The ending seemed a little rushed and the villain reveal felt cheap somehow. Also, they were just so cartoonishly evil that it was ridiculous. The rest of this book was decent; predictable at points, but the characters were satisfying. I liked most of them, even though Kaci and Gemma could be annoying. I wish Mateo had gotten a little more personality too. At least it was a quick, entertaining read that had a mostly satisfying conclusion.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon Teen, & F.T. Lukens for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review! 🥰🫶
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I absolutely love F.T. Lukens’ books and this one is no different! The friend group in this is top tier and even though this is F.T.’s first mystery book, they did such a fantastic job! 😁 There were so many twists I wasn’t expecting and I definitely didn't see the ending coming! 🫨
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Cam - a human in a world populated with supernatural beings, that is until the first day at a new school he triggers his first clairvoyant vision where he sees a murder!
Al - a witch who is Cam’s best friend for many years. However, added pressure from the witch’s council along with Cam’s new abilities makes their and Cam’s friendship hang in the balance.
Mateo - a werewolf and youngest brother of 3, also Cam’s crush. Could this be the year Cam finally talks to him?
Kaci - Mateo’s best friend and practically a sister in the Lopez household. She has the ability to see ghosts - all the time! Can being a fellow physic help Cam adjust to his new powers?
Gemma - a human who knows SO much about the supernatural and has a popular ClickClacK account. A rainbow in human form who I love!
Reese - a plant sprite who joins the friend group in order for there to be a “sprite advocate” at the lunch table. He and Mateo have beef because of their species’ politics.
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This ragtime team comes together to prevent the murder Cam saw happen on the first day of school. I love how these characters interact with each other and the group as a whole. Each character in the group has a unique relationship to another in the gang and somehow they all make it work - even Mateo and Reese 😭. This book also touches on friendship in high school and how that can evolve or even lead to friend breakups. I think it's something I haven't seen much of in YA but is totally something that happens in real life!
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Overall, I had so much fun with Love At Second Sight! I will definitely be reading it again in the future! ☺️ You know this is a good book when it broke my over month-long reading slump and was literally the only thing I could read all of April. It's just that good! 👏

Genre: YA Fantasy with mystery and romance
Narration: First person past tense, single POV.
Perspectives: Gay MC, nonbinary author and side character
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the ebook.

F.T. Lukens is great at writing adorable YA romance. This is the first book I’m reading by them in as many years, and I enjoyed this one a tad less than Spellbound but a lot more than Otherworldly.

LASS is a fantasy set in a world where there are many supernatural beings among humans, from werewolves to faeries. The MC is one of the few humans at his high school... or is he? One day he has a vision of the future and all of a sudden he’s pushed into the world of the supernatural, to his parents’ dismay.

Overall, this is a lighthearted, sweet, and heartwarming read, though it also touches on some higher-stakes topics at times.

I got hooked into this story from the moment Cam has his first vision. The mystery completely drew me in, and it was difficult to put the book down.

I especially loved the found family/friend group situation, truly a case of band of misfits. They each bring something unique to the table, and I appreciated the message of people being stronger together, when we break down the barriers of cliques. Each character was also very individually loveable.

The villains in the story do a good job of portraying the dangers of bigotry and how it can truly shut you off from reality and love.

As a lover of romances, I would have appreciated a bit more build up of the tension between Cam and the love interest. But I was still invested in the romance, as little as we got. And what was there was super sweet. It was hard not to root for them.

Love at Second Sight is another great Queer YA paranormal by author F.T. Lukens. This one follows highschooler Cam discovers that he's not a powerless human. His best friend's a witch but the ability to foresee someone' future from a touch takes him by surprise. Now al the different paranormal fractions are interested in him and he's made a group of misfit paranormal friends. Yet his best friend has distanced themselves and he has to figure out a way to stop a murder he's foreseen.

With a charming group of misfits that are all struggling with their powers and a mystery this Queer paranormal is guaranteed to entertain new and old F.T. Luken's readers.

Fifteen-year-old Cam Reynolds is about to start his sophomore year in high school. He is excited to be reunited at school with his best friend, Al, but Cam is still nervous about the school year. While Al wants to “embark on our journey to fully embrace our future and our true selves,” Cam just wants to blend in quietly. As an ordinary human in a school full of paranormals, Cam figures that shouldn’t be too hard… at least until he gets a psychic glimpse of the future and then collapses in front of half the school.

Cam is stunned by the vision, given he has never had any reason to think he is anything but human. But he is even more shocked at what he saw — a teen girl about to be murdered through the eyes of the killer. However, Cam has no idea who the girl is, when the murder will take place, or if there is any way to stop it. He also knows nothing about being a clairvoyant or his on new-found abilities. Cam’s parents are totally unsupportive, harboring prejudice against non-humans and not at all happy to find Cam manifesting abilities. And Cam’s brother, Aiden, has disappeared and Cam has no idea where he has gone. And with Al putting some distance between them, Cam feels quite isolated and in over his head.

Fortunately, Cam finds some unexpected allies in a group of new friends in school, including his crush, werewolf Miguel Lopez. They not only help him begin to navigate the paranormal world he is newly a part of, they also try to help him track down the murderer and intended victim. But as more of Cam’s visions begin to come true, he knows it is only a matter of time before the killer will strike as well. Now, Cam will need to rely on the strength of his friends to help him stop a killer before it is too late.

F.T. Lukens is so great with young adult fantasy stories and this one is no exception. I absolutely loved Love at Second Sight and was caught up in the story right from the beginning. We join Cam on his first day of school and it is clear he wants to just keep a low profile. Cam isn’t the kind of guy that wants a lot of attention on himself, yet before he knows it, he is famous as the kid who had a vision. Not only has Cam previously assumed he was a regular human, but being a clairvoyant is incredibly rare, which means all the supernatural factions in town are now trying to woo him into aligning with them. He is overwhelmed and stressed, and his parents are no help, his brother is missing in action, and his best friend seems to want to move on to other friends. Lukens does such a great job putting us in Cam’s head as he tries to handle this dramatic change in his life and figure out where to go for help and support. He soon finds himself with a new group of friends, mostly paranormals with one human “advisor,” who are all helping him navigate this process. As is often the case with young adult stories, the adults aren’t there to support him and the teens are forced to rely on themselves, both to help Cam work through this new dramatic change to his life, as well as to deal with the fact that he has seen a future murder and has no idea how to figure out who the victim is and how to stop it.

The first portion of the story focuses mostly on Cam and his new abilities. We seem him come to terms with suddenly having a rare and cherished power, and the attention that quickly follows. We also see him learning more about the various paranormal factions, as well as more about his own powers. It gives a great foundation for the world building, which I found nicely done. We learn about the different paranormal groups — witches, sprites, psychics, werewolves, and fairies — both from the adult world, as well as through the various teens that Cam befriends. Cam also has more visions, which allows him to become a “verified” clairvoyant, something that at first feels overwhelming, but which Cam eventually comes to not just accept, but embrace. He also finds a great group of friends who support him and who become a real family to him. So it is a nice journey for Cam over the course of the story.

Once the foundation is laid, the second half of the book focuses more on the future murder. They ultimately learn who the victim is, but still don’t know the identity of the killer or when it will all take place. So the whole gang gets involved trying to help Cam uncover it all, and ultimately to try to stop the attack. I get why this is delayed a little while the groundwork is laid earlier in the book, though I couldn’t help but feel like it warranted more urgency than we see early on. It was also not clear to me why all Cam’s other visions came true within the day, usually hours, but this vision came weeks before the attack. But once this part of the plot gets going, it is super exciting and it really has a thrilling conclusion. It all comes together in surprising ways and there is a nice intensity to the climax. It also gives a chance for Cam’s friends to all get involved, again showcasing the new bonds he has formed.

There is a romantic element to the story, though that is not the focus. Cam has had a crush on a fellow classmate for a while, and we see him and Miguel become friends and shyly circle one another for a while, until they ultimately admit their interest in each other. It is sweet and warm and very G-rated, but fits well with the overall tone of the story. But this definitely a story more focused on Cam’s journey, as well as his bonds with this group of friends more than it is about the romantic relationship.

Overall, I found this one super engaging and just a lot of fun. I loved Cam’s journey, really enjoyed the world building, and appreciated the exciting way it all comes together. I can definitely recommend Love at Second Sight.