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A review by g_litreads
Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.
AHHHH THIS BOOK. I haven't been much into fantasy and mythological creatures lately, but this book might get me back in my groove. Cam is a "normal" teenager attending a high school with very paranormal classmates. While witnessing an altercation between members of two paranormal factions, he is hit (hehe) with a clairvoyant vision. Turns out, not only is Cam very paranormal himself but he's also now thrust in the middle of the politics of paranormal beings while ALSO having to investigate who and what it is that he saw. High school is hard enough to navigate alone, but learning the complexities of paranormal life? Forget it, Cam needs allies, friends, fast. Luckily, there are people who are more than willing to step up. And if one of those people is a cute, shy, intelligent and did I mention CUTE werewolf? Well, Cam isn't complaining.
Right out the gate, the things that I very much enjoyed: Cam, Gemma, the found family, the emotional growth and omg the APOLOGIES. Yay, for modeling mature behavior for teenagers! I think this was a fast paced read and while there were a lot of mythological creatures mentioned, it didn't feel over crowded.
One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the exploration of prejudices: not only among the characters but also as the reader. That felt like timely and poignant commentary on what we're current reality is. I personally found myself falling in the pitfall of thinking I knew who was in Cam's vision and why, only for those prejudices to be proven wrong. The exploration of unity and community within the main friend group and their allies/individual relationships was very nice to see as well. Community was such an important part of this book and I loved that about it.
Some trigger warnings, though, as the book deals heavily with these topics: violence and maybe gore (Cam's vision), family issues, prejudice, depictions of panic attacks and child abuse/harm
AHHHH THIS BOOK. I haven't been much into fantasy and mythological creatures lately, but this book might get me back in my groove. Cam is a "normal" teenager attending a high school with very paranormal classmates. While witnessing an altercation between members of two paranormal factions, he is hit (hehe) with a clairvoyant vision. Turns out, not only is Cam very paranormal himself but he's also now thrust in the middle of the politics of paranormal beings while ALSO having to investigate who and what it is that he saw. High school is hard enough to navigate alone, but learning the complexities of paranormal life? Forget it, Cam needs allies, friends, fast. Luckily, there are people who are more than willing to step up. And if one of those people is a cute, shy, intelligent and did I mention CUTE werewolf? Well, Cam isn't complaining.
Right out the gate, the things that I very much enjoyed: Cam, Gemma, the found family, the emotional growth and omg the APOLOGIES. Yay, for modeling mature behavior for teenagers! I think this was a fast paced read and while there were a lot of mythological creatures mentioned, it didn't feel over crowded.
One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the exploration of prejudices: not only among the characters but also as the reader. That felt like timely and poignant commentary on what we're current reality is. I personally found myself falling in the pitfall of thinking I knew who was in Cam's vision and why, only for those prejudices to be proven wrong. The exploration of unity and community within the main friend group and their allies/individual relationships was very nice to see as well. Community was such an important part of this book and I loved that about it.
Some trigger warnings, though, as the book deals heavily with these topics: violence and maybe gore (Cam's vision), family issues, prejudice, depictions of panic attacks and child abuse/harm
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Abandonment