I am slightly ashamed to say that this is my first F.T Lukens title, I have a few of their other books on my physical TBR. However ‘Love at Second Sight’ has definitely convinced me to bump them higher up that list.

Cam is about to start high school alongside his childhood best friend, who just happens to be a witch. His parents disapprove of this friendship and the paranormal in general. However, that is about to be the least of Cam’s problems as he gets thrown into the middle of a mystery that could change several lives forever.

I loved the diversity of the cast, as well as the found family that was presented in this story.

While the cast were 16 and their choices and thoughts generally reflected this, the themes of trust and true friendships/relationships lasting and thriving with clear communication and boundaries, were executed really well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, a nice cozy change of pace to read in between some heavier titles.

Thank you NetGalley and F.T Lukens for allowing me access to this title, it has been a pleasure to read.

It was an okay read for me, but I just know that I will keep picking up books by F.T. Lukens, because these covers ALWAYS lure me back in and I'm a sheep, apparently. I just need to take a quick look at one and I click "want to read", I can't help it. The title is a bit misleading this time, though, because it's hardly a romance centered book. It's more of a paranormal coming-of-age story with 15-year-old Cam learning that he unexpectedly has clairvoyant powers. But paranormal is normal in the town of Shady Hollow, so that's not the problem. The problem is that Cam had a vision of a murder and it would be better if that doesn't actually happen in the future of course. His clairvoyance is a pretty rare ability, and all the local paranormal associations now want to recruit Cam and bribe him with gifts and promises while he rather wouldn't be the center of the town's attention. It gave special snowflake protagonist to be honest, and that is just so unnecessary in a town full of witches and werewolves and faeries and sprites and psychics. The book is about Cam navigating his new ability and trying to prevent the future he saw, even though all his other visions came true so far. He makes a lot of new friends along the way and that sure is nice for him, but it read very strangely to me. He starts the new school year with his childhood best and only friend Al, but they have a falling out almost immediately and Cam has this whole group of new people right after that? Maybe I just can't deal with high school stories anymore, because these chaotic friendships and crushes and the teen drama of it all was really not my thing. It's not a bad story by any means and I'm sure the actual target audience will easily like it. The queer normative and casually paranormal town was pretty neat and it's a straightforward story that's quick and easy to read. I predicted one of the reveals pretty early on, but things got intense near the end in a way that was unexpected and also a bit unfitting for the rest of the story. Still, it was good that the book handled heavier themes as well. Overall not bad, but just not really for me (anymore).

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thank you Netgalley for this arc and thank you F.T Lukens for writing this book!

UHM EXCUSE ME? THERE BETTER BE A SECOND BOOK TO THIS. TELL ME THERE WILL BE A SECOND BOOK 😭

I need more Matteo and Cam so badly, like honestly my only complaint about this book was them not having enough scenes together.

The plot of this book was so great, I mean seriously, it's about Cam (a ordinary human being in a world of paranormal ones.. or is he?) who touches someone, triggering a vision into the future, where he is about to murder a girl. After this vision, he has no idea who the murderer is, who the girl about to be murdered is or.. anything.

In my honest opinion when the actual crime happened, it did fall kind of short on my expectations (to be expanded on in my goodreads review which is linked below!), and a lot of things happen in the last 50 pages which had my jaw dropping further and further to the floor.

This book was so great, I so recommend checking this out once it's published (my review will also be put onto amazon once this book is out) I just adored the dynamics between all the characters, their friendships was literally EVERYTHING.

I'll definitely be buying an actual copy of this off amazon or a local bookstore! 4.2 stars!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7710756639

I absolutely devoured this book! It is the perfect addition to any YA readers collection, as I was hooked from the very beginning and thoroughly enjoyed every chapter. Despite what the cover/title implies, 'Love at Second Sight' is far from just a love story. It is a story about friendship, and the struggles that arise within both new and old friendship dynamics. It is a cosy fantasy novel with different supernatural beings all coexisting within the same universe and neighbourhood. It has a quiet and slow queer storyline, where the majority of the plot has no romance involved. It is also a book that is a suspenseful mystery with danger lurking throughout the events of the novel.

I found Cam's fears of being left behind by his best friend Al, as real as if his worries were my own. Additionally, I was questioning whilst reading alongside Cam, whether in the absence of the ulterior motives for befriending him, would they still be friends? The doubt that overcomes Cam and the group when feelings of great betrayal are experienced, is the logical conclusion to draw from the situation. Usually it's the opposite and I spend time begging the characters to do the reverse of what they are; so reading a protagonist who follows his logic and instincts, is such a relief and makes a far more relatable and enjoyable to read character.
I worry that the cover and title of this book will mislead readers and end up disappointing those who assumed they were getting a romance heavy plot. This story is well and truly more heavily focused on the plot, rather than Cam and Mateo; thus I really hope it finds its audience despite the way the cover markets it. The romance is cute and queer and wholesome, and proves its strength considering it is only a side plot of the major events of the book.
I loved this!! read it asap please and thank you!!

I really enjoyed most of this book. I am a massive fan of Lukens work, though I will say the ending felt a little, I'm not sure, rushed? I'm not sure, with how quickly everyone's opinions of each other change throughout the book I would say its quite an accurate depiction of fifteen year olds, even if its quite confusing to read at times, also based on the cover I never would have guessed the characters are fifteen, nothing against the art though, its gorgeous. While this story was quite enjoyable to read most of the time it didn't seem entirely sure of itself in points and is definitely on the younger end of YA.

Cam is staring at a new school, and he and his best friend Al are finally attending the same school. They plan to embrace their true selves this year; however, Al wants some distance. After running off, Cam gets caught in the middle of a fight, where he has a very public psychic vision that thrusts him into the centre of attention. To make matters worse, his vision is dark and troubling: an unknown girl is going to die. Will Cam and his newfound friends be able to prevent it from happening?

I really enjoyed this book! Gemma is my absolute favourite character, and I loved watching her development throughout the story, as well as the development of other characters. The pacing felt perfect, and the story was engaging. I've already read one of the author’s other books, “In Deeper Waters,” but it was a while ago, and I cannot wait to pick up more books by this author.

This is an amazing supernatural fantasy that is mysterious and tense, with funny moments and just a hint of romance—perfect for those who enjoy LGBTQ fantasy with a mystery twist.

This was a really fun queer paranormal highschool mystery!
I really loved all the characters and the found family between them. They acted like real teenagers and had some very lovely conversations about heavy topics. Definitely a book I’d recommend for a younger YA audience.
The romance was cute and not as much in the forefront as I thought it was going to be.
I was hooked by the mystery and was excited to find out the resolution throughout the book. The ending was actually quite a bit darker than I expected but still a good wrap up.

I’m looking forward to any future books by this author! Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing the eARC!

3.5 rounded up.
I didn't like this one as much as other books I've read by F.T. Lukens, but it was still a really fun read. The characters are easy to empathise with and the romance isn't forced. I felt like some of the writing was a little stilted and had too much telling over showing, but it wasn't so bad that I felt like the book was unreadable or anything.
Overall, this was a fun romp with a cute romance, and a compelling mystery!

I was so excited to read this book as I have been a long time F.T Lukens fan and always look forward to reading their fantasy books!

This one was such a fun story, especially since it had a magical high school setting with different fantasy creatures mixing and all attending the same school. I always love how fun the worlds and settings of these books are, it really makes the story engaging and exciting to start.

Cam was a great character to read his perspective, especially once his powers developed and he was thrown into a new world. The use of clairvoyance or 'second sight' as a power was fantastic to read, especially as it left this really dark mystery that made the power feel hauntingly tragic. I do wish there was more of an explanation about the power, but the story does a good job developing its limitations and coming up with creative ways to use it to tell the story.

The other friends that form including Kaci and Reese also kept me interested in the story and its development. I wish there was more on these characters, especially since Al and Gemma both get a heap of story time but their actual stories felt weak and honestly confusing.

The main issues I had with this book came from the attempt at a romance plotline. The romance, despite being LITERALLY IN THE TITLE, was side-lined at best and quickly felt like instant love rather than what should have been a cute story about friends to lovers. A werewolf boyfriend possibility had me so excitedddddd but Mateo really didn't get much time in the story. Like there's a scene that gets referenced back as a point where they 'connected' but Cam literally just slept through it????

Likewise, the ending of this book confused me even more. I don't want to spoil the ending but it felt really weak in my opinion, and it lead to a common fantasy trope that I hate more than anything. Especially, when the romance was barely there, so a lot of the character moments that felt like they should've been important were just a moment.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I just felt there were some moments that needed to be expanded on to make the story feel more cohesive.

I absolutely loved this urban fantasy/murdery mystery with a good sized dollop of romance.

A human, who lives in a neighbourhood of werewolves, witches, sprites and psychics, suddenly discovers they have magical abilities on the first day of school. On top of that no one has manifested these powers in over a hundred years and suddenly everyone want him on their side.

Cam goes from nobody to popular overnight and his best friend suddenly starts acting weird around him.

He must choose which side to be on, while trying to stop the murder in his vision and trying to decide if his new friends are genuine.

Seems like a lot already right? But guess whose parents are totally racist towards non-humans as well? Thats right Cam's!

Great pacing, with a whole will-they-wont-they trope and murder what more could you ask for?

DNF @ 22%, I didn't feel connected to the characters enough to continue reading. The writing style felt a little juvenile (which is understandable since it's a young adult book). It might just be because I am not in the age range for YA books, I can definitely see people enjoying this, it just wasn't for me personally

This is a treat of a book. We meet Cam, whose about to start his first year at his new highschool, which is cool because he finally gets to be in school with his witch best-friend, Al. There are loads of other paranormals there too, like Mateo the werewolf, Reece the Sprite, Kaci the Psychic, oh, and Gemma the regular old human.

So, Cam, the human of the lot turns out not to be quite as human as he thought when he starts having premonitions, and those premonitions start coming true, which is kinda cool, except Cam sees a murder. Yeah. Not great.

The book is fast-paced, sweet and engaging. There's a little setting up of the world, but then you're drawn into the mystery of who's the murderer and what the heck Cam is going to do with his new found powers. There's a slow background romance that doesn't progress too far, but is very sweet and hopeful. The mystery was nice, and there were heartwarming moments.

It's a solid YA fantasy book, that hits it's spot super well.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens is a teenage paranormal mystery. The story begins with seemingly normal human Cam beginning his first day at a new high school, which ends up being a day where his whole life begins to change.

The plot mainly focuses on the main character Cam as he makes friends, learns about his newfound clairvoyance and the paranormal world he is now apart of, all while trying to uncover a mysterious plot. The story is easy to read, and the world building and lore flows really well with the story.

Although this is marketed as a romance fantasy, I feel like the romance was more of a side story than the centre. I have read two of Lukens previous novels (In Deeper Waters, So This is EverAfter) which also has a tempering towards the romance, which I believe suits it's YA genre but, in this novel it felt a bit more sidelined than the others.

I have always enjoyed the way Lukens writes his characters that have great dynamics and banter with one another. I feel that has continued into this book. All the characters are teeming with life and have great individual personalities. Their dynamics with each other and how they interact/bounce off each other I quite like. With that being said, I do feel there were too many characters and not enough time on them. I loved the sound of all the characters but we didn't reach too far past the surface level for most of them.

Overall this book was a great read that flowed really naturally. The overarching plot/mystery kept me intrigued and I loved the lore of the world and the characters. I would definitely recommend this and would even reread this again myself.

Thank you Simon & Schuster AU and Netgalley for the ARC!

F T Lukens has a very moreish way of writing that gets me very quickly invested in their stories and characters. There is a classic fanfic feel to some of the writing in this one at times, very “i put my long brown hair up in a messy bun”. Also some extreme millennial vibes at times, (trying to overlook the use of smol specifically).

Despite this, I still was absolutely chewing through this book and very invested in the mystery of it all. There are so many side characters in this book, but somehow Lukens is able to keep them all distinctive from each other. Overall this is a fun, cute read with an engaging mystery and supernatural antics.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I adore all of F.T. Lukens’s books but this one is definitely my favourite!!

I love the whole cast of characters (except for if you’ve read this haha two characters in particular, if I ever came across them I will put little stones in their shoes), they are all so wonderfully written!!

One aspect of this book that I loved was Cam’s recognition of his dependence on Al, and how he took the steps to make sure that they could keep their friendship afloat in a way that works for the both of them! (That one hit close to home)

The found family was my favourite thing in this book, the bond Cam shares with his newfound friends is so beautiful!!

You all NEED to read this gorgeous book when it comes out!! It’s just SO GOOD!! (I need more people to scream and gush about it with haha)