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A review by trips
Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0
I am so grateful to have received an ARC of Spell Bound, I had a fantastic time reading this and I am not sure I would have found it otherwise!
Lukens lets us into such an intriguing and fascinating magical world and weaves in these adorable, loveable 2 main characters Rook and Sun! And their teachers are great too! Their prose balances between being lighthearted and witty to heartfelt and sweet, and I fell in love with it the more I read.
The representation is executed excellently, and Lukens discusses things like the problems of gatekeeping with nuance.
If nothing else, Rook and Sun's relationship was incredibly an cute grumpy/sunshine mix. I loved that their relationship was slow to form into a true friendship and that we really got to see the two gradually start to fall for each other. I love them *cry*. I especially loved how their relationship showcased how intimacy can happen and develop without the traditional, or expected, trajectory. There is more than just jumping to kissing! This is my opinion talking, but I truly appreciated that Rook and Sun felt like teenagers, sometimes this gets lost in YA. They're incredibly capable and intelligent teens, but teens with thoughts like "I'm the motherfucking gingerbread man', lol.
This a refreshing and fun LGBT+ friendly read, I wholly recommend it to anyone who loves magic with some romance and tons of found family vibes.
Lukens lets us into such an intriguing and fascinating magical world and weaves in these adorable, loveable 2 main characters Rook and Sun! And their teachers are great too! Their prose balances between being lighthearted and witty to heartfelt and sweet, and I fell in love with it the more I read.
The representation is executed excellently, and Lukens discusses things like the problems of gatekeeping with nuance.
If nothing else, Rook and Sun's relationship was incredibly an cute grumpy/sunshine mix. I loved that their relationship was slow to form into a true friendship and that we really got to see the two gradually start to fall for each other. I love them *cry*. I especially loved how their relationship showcased how intimacy can happen and develop without the traditional, or expected, trajectory. There is more than just jumping to kissing! This is my opinion talking, but I truly appreciated that Rook and Sun felt like teenagers, sometimes this gets lost in YA. They're incredibly capable and intelligent teens, but teens with thoughts like "I'm the motherfucking gingerbread man', lol.
This a refreshing and fun LGBT+ friendly read, I wholly recommend it to anyone who loves magic with some romance and tons of found family vibes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Violence