A review by sarahbearas
So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH ALL MY FEELINGS WHAT DO I DO NOWWWWW WHAT DO I DO NOWWWWWWWWW

Edit after ten minutes:
The way I had no idea how this book would make me feel. I was so ready for another 3 star read. I thought I would dislike the anachronistic language, the lack of explanation around the magic system, the heavy handedness with regards to the D&D of it all and guess what I’m literally in a puddle. I’m a puddle of a human. I thought the miscommunication was going to kill me. The amount of times I annotated the book and said “they're idiots, they're actual idiots” was insurmountable. But I ate this shit right up. 

This is definitely one of those books that is so specifically good for me, and definitely not other people's cup of tea, and I don’t blame them. But I’m partying dude, I’m having so much fun. 

Having read In Deeper Waters and Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens already, I came in with a specific set of expectations. I’d probably get some okay world building and plot, good characters that I’d like, and that I’d have a good reading experience. I cannot believe just how much I loved this. I love D&D, I love queer people, I love romcoms, and so I loved this. There was something about the struggles and values of the characters presented to me that made them jump off the page; more so than either of the previous Lukens books I read. The humor in this book actually made me laugh out loud. Like genuinely. Not in a hyperbolic way, I was giggling. 

Of course I have my nitpicks; I don’t love the miscommunication trope. It's usually the trope that turns me off from a book. If Arek and Matt had one honest conversation, this book would be 300 pages shorter. As I mentioned earlier, the diction used is very anachronistic to the quasi-kinda-not-really medieval setting we're in. At times it feels very young, despite our cast of characters being on the older side, and our MC being seventeen. Weaker worldbuilding and unexplained magic system, as mentioned before. When I tell you these characters carried the book, I mean they were like Atlas. However, I do wish the side characters (the rest of the party) were more developed. Especially Rion and Lila. The writing itself, I think is great; has that straightforward quality I expect from Lukens, with no overly flowery prose. Many people have said Lukens’ writing has fanfic quality to it and hey, I see it. They literally say “toe off his boots” at one point. I know one when I see one. 

However, I am not immune to things that I love (see: my third paragraph above) and so I can’t help but love this book. It feels like an off the rails episode of Dimension20. It's the type of fantasy I love. It's a little a fanfic-y, it's got a horrible miscommunication trope, it's so - literally asinine sometimes. And I love it so much. 

tldr; This book is silly and I’m a silly goose. We are a match made in heaven. 5/5, even with its imperfections.