A review by oldwindways
This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I gave this 3.5⭐ overall because I found it wanting, which may be primarily due to taste and expectations.

If you are looking for a romance with a fantasy adventure setting and friendship as well as queer elements, then this may indeed be just right for you.
  • It has a quest to save the kingdom.
  • It has a group of friends.
  • It has an enemies-to-lovers plot line element.
  • It has characters overcoming (or learning to accept) their "neurodivergent" characteristics.
  • It has characters learning to love/accept themselves so that they can accept the love of others.
  • It has magic (in fact, everyone seems to have a magical talent).
  • It has thinly veiled analogs to modern American pop-culture venues, brands, and lifestyles.
For some readers, these will all be positives, but for others, they will be points of ambivalence at best.

The magic system is underdeveloped, and the deus ex machina at the end left me frustrated, feeling unearned and unjustified.  I guess it was required for a 100% happily ever after, which is perhaps a requirement for the romance genre.  I do not think it improved the story.

The lampshading of 21st-century American culture being transposed into a mythical pseudo-medieval setting was a little cutesy at first but rapidly became grating.  I don't want my fantasy escapism to appear like a reskinned CW drama.

As a reader, I don't have much patience with characters who are crippled by their anxiety and who carry around the idiot ball.  Perhaps this is a shortcoming for me, but it made parts of this story frustrating.

The core element is the relationship drama, and the quest serves as a vehicle for that.  I was disappointed as it left the actual adventure element feeling perfunctory.

While I ultimately did not enjoy this book, there are plenty of folks who would find this to be a cozy literary blanket to curl up with.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC.