Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Spell Bound

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

6 reviews

its_vendetta's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Cute book! The plot was interesting but I didn't really connect with the characters a whole ton. But the romance was very sweet!

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arturo_luzen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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joisaddler's review against another edition

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adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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twistykris's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a super sweet, queer fantasy novel that was just a wonderful read for this time of year (September). I loved both Rook and Sun's journeys of self-discovery as they both struggle with finding their place in the world and eventually discover that they are enough. And Antonia and Fable were just wonderful (and I know she's not the same, but for some reason Antonia gave me Eda vibes from The Owl House). Not really enemies-to-lovers, but more a sort of academic rivals vibe with some grumpy-sunshine and found family tropes sprinkled in.

The whole section of

Sun being a cat and chasing leaves and meowing and cuddling and purring

just made me so smiley 🥹

The only reason I'm removing a .25 star (and may just change to a 5-star in the future) is because of a couple things. One being that it repeated itself a few times, like almost word -for-word sentences (namely when Rook thinks/ talks about the butterflies his grandmother made with magic that he'd catch in the summer). And then the ending felt.. a little less than satisfactory. There's this whole "fight the system" arc that turns into "appealing to the better nature of the oppressors and things change." I wasn't wishing for violence or a full-blown revolution, but it kinda took the wind out of my sails.

Overall, a really fun, inclusive late-summer-turning-to-fall read, and I'm looking forward to reading more from F.T. Lukens!

Oh, and a quote that had me laughing like an idiot:

They weren't going to catch me. I was the motherfucking Gingerbread Man.

-Rook

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I’m upset having to write a less-than-positive review for this book, as I loved Lukens’ previous two releases, but this fell so flat for me! I really pushed myself to finish - at first I thought that was because I was moving (and thus was stressed out), but I came to realise that it’s because the whole book felt half-baked.

Firstly, what is mentioned as the inciting incident in the synopsis actually happens around 56% of the way through the book. Up until then it is a monotonous series of events where the MCs, Rook and Sun, go on outings with their mentors and interact a few times. Even after the inciting incident happens, all that occurs is the MCs go to one house, then another, and then there is the final scene (which had a too convenient resolution). Then the book is over. I was just never excited or intrigued.

As this was a romance-focussed book I wasn’t looking for detailed, quality world-building but I did expect to be interested by the places involved and have a grasp on the rules of the alternate reality. Unfortunately I found the settings here to be super mundane; like, a dingy building here, apartment block there, central city over there, etc. There’s not really any description of how magic makes these places fantastically different. I also never understood how the non-magic vs. magic thing worked. Do non-magics know about magics? To what extent can they interact with magic - this seemed to vary? How does the Consortium fit into non-magical governance? Etc. I will say that the leylines element was cool, though! It was a really great explanation of the foundation of magic and tied into the story effortlessly.

In terms of MCs, I thought Rook was a pretty good one. His story honestly felt like an allegory for disability, because the way he was capable of magic but not in the “approved way” and so was excluded was really reminiscent of the disabled, particularly the neurodivergent, experience. In this way the Spell Binder was like his mobility aid,

which is why I wished he had regained it at the end of the book

. I found Sun to be less developed as a character, maybe as a result of their lesser page time in comparison to Rook. There’s kind of two threads with them, one being confronting the fact that the Consortium is bad, the other being them finding their sense of belonging. However, I found the former to be rushed and I was unconvinced of their development in relation to the latter.

The romance between these MCs was just fine. Nothing to write home about, but nothing wrong with it either. Rook and Sun were well-suited to one another and had black cat/golden retriever energy, which will always go down well with me. I think the tension in their relationship could have been done a little better, as well as some dialogue they shared. But it was cute!

Finally, the writing style came across as juvenile. There were a couple of textual motifs (e.g. “You” “Me”) that I didn’t like. But even though I found quite a few negatives in this book, I did decide to give it three stars on the basis of the positives I mentioned, as well as the fact that it was light-hearted and entertaining enough.

Rep: Achillean MC, Achillean nonbinary neurodivergent Korean MC, NB SC

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gameoftomes's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The best thing about this book are the characters. I’ve already cast them in my head, imaging how the book would translate into a tv show. Rook is both a genius and a dumbass, with golden retriever kind of energy. Sun is both confident and insecure and becoming friends with Rook changes their notions on following the rules of the Consortium, the very controlling magical governing body in this world. Antonia is mysterious and scary, both a rose blossom and its thorns. Fable is a little too lawful good for my liking, but their decisions always made sense for their character. I’m not nonbinary, but the rep here seems good and normal, with both Sun and mentor Fable using they/them pronouns. I would love to see more of Mavis if there is ever a sequel.

The book achieves a great balance of having magic and whimsy exist alongside tech and the modern setting. It never feels odd or weird in a way that takes you out of the story. I love the ley lines magic system that exists with potions and spells that require precise steps and a lot of willpower.

Some of the plot points felt more forced, like a certain someone going through Rook’s bag to look for his cell phone while Rook was incapacitated and stumbling upon his illegal tech for sensing magical ley lines. Like wouldn’t that tech have some kind of lock or password to open? And in an emergency would someone really study the screen and figure out the tech matches where the ley lines are, which regular humans cannot see? It’s forced but I’ll let it pass because there is much more great in this story than meh.

But the book provided the fun, which is what I’m looking for in a witchy book. It felt like watching a fun streaming movie, with enough pathos to make you care and enough hijinks to keep you entertained.

7.5/10 stars, recommended for a good time.

Ebook copy for review provided by NetGalley, not sponsored.

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