Hello, bookworms!
I am happy to report that I am slowly finding my will to read again; what I am still struggling with, however is the energy to do anything else, which is why it's taking me this long to write and post reviews I usually would write as soon as I finished reading.
Anyways, today we are here to talk about So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens, the second book by this author I have been comp and cover baited into reading, and certainly not the last, since they apparently have the best cover and comparisons of the publishing industry.
But without any further ado, let's get this review started, shall we?
About the book
Title: So This Is Ever After
Author: F.T. Lukens
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date: March 29, 2022
Pages: 352
Plot, as stated on Goodreads
Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this funny, subversive young adult fantasy about what happens after the chosen one wins the kingdom and has to get married to keep it…and to stay alive. Arek hadn't thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he's finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don't come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek's best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she's dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Review
This is my second F.T. Lukens book, and I liked it better than I liked In Deeper Waters, maybe because my expectations were lower, or maybe because this was simply better. It still wasn't all I wished it to be, given the premise and the comps, but it was entertaining.
I really liked the spin on the chosen one trope, especially the fact that we were following the aftermath of the main quest, which served as backstory. We have too many quest-chosen-one-found-family YA fantasy, I think, so it was nice reading something different for once.
The plot was fun and engaging, even if it was a bit too far fetched. I mean, it was a parody, and that I appreciated, but some aspects were too much for me. The line between over the top and completely absurd and unbelievable to the point that it isn't funny anymore it's thin, and in this book it was crossed at least two or three times. It's a personal preference, though.
The characters were interesting, even though I believe they could have been flashed out a little bit more. Arek and Matt were the only ones who had a somewhat indepth personality, while the others were walking stereotypes, as far as I am concerned. I don't know if that was on purpose, seeing as this book clearly wanted to make fun of its genre, but for someone who prefers characters over plot, it bothered me a lot, and I wish it were done differently.
I have to say that I loved the casual queer representation and the romance was kind of sweet. I like oblivious characters, dumbass in love and friends to lovers, so this was my jam.
What was truly nice about So This Is Ever After, in my opinion, was the writing style: it took the tropes and language of YA "epic" fantasy, and turned them on their head, which made reading this both fun and easy. It's certainly not a heavy book to read, and if you are looking for a fantasy that doesn't feel too dark and it's a quick read, this is definitely the book for you. Especially so if you are tired of reading copy and paste fantasy books.
Overall, this wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it still was an enjoyable reading experience, and it was a step up from this author previous work. I am really curious to read Spellbound now, to see if the author's writing gets better with each book or not. I am also eagerly awaiting their 2024/2025 (I'm not sure) release. It's titled The Future Tense and it is supposed to be Heartstopper meets Wednesday, so you can bet I'll tune in. As I already said more than once — I say this everytime a new F.T. Lukens gets announced — this author has the best comparisons of all times, and I can't wait to see the cover, when it's revealed.
As I said, if you are looking for a quick and easy read, if you are looking for a diverse and different YA fantasy story, I'd recommend this book. I'd also recommend it for the mere and superficial fact that the cover is stunning and it would be very pretty on your shelves.
That is going to be all for today. Thank you so much for reading this review, and I will talk to you soon with an ARC review. After that, I'll be posting my The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiroreview, which I can already tell you, is going to be just me incoherently crying over Nico Di Angelo, exactly what I did while reading the book. Until next time, besties, stay safe and read a queer book!
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