Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - So This Is Ever After

This book was super super cute!! I’m not usually big on rom-coms with heavy tropes, but the tropes here were executed in a unique and humorous way that made me really enjoy them. The main cast of characters are lovable, although the information we get about each character is not balanced. We know the most about the main character and the characters that he is interested in romantically. The other characters are left a bit less fleshed-out.
However, according to the back flap of the book, Lukens wrote the majority of the book during NaNoWriMo 2019, so for a book that was conceptualized and written in the space of a few months, I’m very impressed!
This book made me laugh, cringe, cry, and contemplate. The full spectrum of emotions was present which is something I really admire in a novel. The characters were fairly diverse, in that maybe two of them were straight. However, only one was (explicitly in the text and in the cover art) not white, and only one (very minor character) was nonbinary. Coming from a nonbinary author, I was surprised, but one non-white and one non-cis character is more than most books can claim to have, let alone the several bi/pan/gay characters. Overall it was an impressive cast!

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bookishflower's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

“I didn’t look behind me to check that everyone followed, because I was certain they would. I could feel them right there, protecting me as they had for the past nine months. We might be dressed like chess pieces, but we were still that ragtag group of assholes who had taken on the darkest and vilest regime in five lifetimes and lived to tell the tale.”

If a DnD campaign, cozy fantasy and merthur came together and wrote a book, it would be So This Is Ever After.
As always, FT Lukens has written a hilarious, gay, cozy romcom perfect for lovers of fantasy books! Was it perfect? Not exactly, the lack of communication and obliviousness of Arek and Matt made me want to repeatedly walk headfirst into a wall, BUT it was entertaining as hell and aggressively sweet! I can see this becoming a new staple of the cozy fantasy sub genre!

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erins_bookshelf_'s review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this
I saw someone say it reads like a group of queer friends playing D&D together and I agree with that analysis 100%, and it’s great :)
There was a lot of me screaming at the characters (Arek mostly but a little bit at Matt) because they were making the whole thing more complicated than it needed to but it was okay
It was chaotic and just amazing, overall I loved it so much and it’s a funny and short read

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pagesofnay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense fast-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

4.5

Reading the synopsis, I knew this was going to be a book that I would enjoy. However, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. This story is marketed as ‘Carry On meets Arthurian legends’ and let me tell you, I love both of those. As much as I love enemies to lovers, friends to lovers holds a special place in my heart. There were misunderstandings, but it wasn’t to the point where it infuriated me (I normally hate miscommunication and misunderstandings, unless it feels somewhat natural).

This character group was chaotic from the beginning. I loved it. Arek, the Chosen One, who is oblivious, very lovable, and responds to tense situations with humor. He is kind and would do anything for his friends. Matt, Arek’s best friend and mage. Lila, the rogue, loves to steal things and is very clever. Rion, the knight, incredibly witty and stoic. Bethany, the bard, clears up the messes everyone made. Sionna, the general and warrior, funny and sometimes stoic. This is not only a love story between Arek and Matt, it is also one of finding a family within a group of friends.

After ending the Vile One’s reign, Arek must take the crown. Being king was not something Arek had in mind, but in order to save the kingdom, he would. However, Arek must now find someone to soul bond with or fade away. Arek begins to plan ways to woo his friends and Matt assists him. These plans were incredibly hilarious and went wrong in every way. The way all these plans ended, it would seem like the universe wanted him with Matt, but they were both so obviously oblivious. I would consider this a very slow burn, but done very well. Normally slow burns feel unnecessarily drawn out, but this felt almost natural.

Overall this book was a fun and easy read. It was fast-paced and had lovely, enjoyable characters. Starting the book with the ending of the quest to end the Vile One’s reign was interesting and I think it worked very well. It left me wondering “So, what happens now?” and did not disappoint. This book is worth reading. Lila and Matt were definitely my favorite characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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caidyn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful fast-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

4.5

What a hella cute book! Queer MC, gay romance. Not to mention the side characters all are queer in some way -- poly, nonbinary, wlw. Another cute read by this author and I think I enjoyed their second book more than the first.

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