A review by pastelwriter
Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I had so much FUN listening to the audiobook of this book! It’s easily one of my favorite YA fantasy books I’ve read recently. It was such a breath of fresh air to be totally immersed in a YA fantasy 💖

First and foremost, Antonia Hex is the love of my life. I would kneel at her feet. This is how I show my age. My favorite characters and my favorite dynamic was between the two main adults in this book. I was absolutely frothing at the mouth at every interaction between Antonia and Fable. I would KILL for a book about them. I know it will never happen, but a girl can dream 💔😩💔 There’s nothing I love more than Character A is a rule follower with a stick up their ass and Character B is a rule breaker ready to get whatever they want. It makes me so feral. I would fucking BARK if either of them (but especially Antonia) asked. 

*clears throat* 

✨ Anyway ✨

This is a YA book, so let me stop being unhinged and focus on the babies of this book.

Rook is my ANGEL. My sweet BABY. My beloved SON. I totally get why Antonia is so protective of him. I, too, would take this sunshine puppy child and take him under my wing. We love picking up stray kiddos 💖 He’s just so sweet and funny and cheerful. It makes me wanna cry. I adore him. 

Sun, on the other hand, is the perfect grumpy to Rook’s sunshine. They’re not a people person. They’re particular about who touches them. They hate color. They’re great. I do have to admit, however, that their pov felt like it didn’t have a point. Don’t get me wrong, I loved reading from their perspective because as a fellow prickly person, I feel solidarity. HOWEVER, it didn’t really feel like their pov propelled the story anywhere. Rook felt like the true driving force of the story. Regardless, kitty Sun is life 🤩

What else? I loved the world building in this book. It felt so natural to me. To be fair, I haven’t exactly been reading a lot of fantasy lately. But this felt like it perfectly situated me in the world and story without dragging me down with too much lore at once. It was all just perfectly paced and world building was perfectly established. 

This was just a perfect little read for me. It was both enjoyable and well written. I loved it!