#SPELL BOUND BY F.T. LUKENS

[katy-l-wood]

I haven't done an Art & Review in YEARS. Done a fair amount of fanart, including of Lukens' work, and done a fair amount of reviews, but for whatever reason I haven't combined them in ages.

I just HAD to draw this scene from Lukens' new book, Spell Bound, though, and I started it immediately after I finished the book so I figured it would be a great time to bring back Art & Review! No idea if I'll keep doing them, it'll depend on time, but they are fun.

Anywho. Onto the review.

Spell Bound is a standalone YA fantasy about Sun (left, they/them) and Rook (right, he/him) and, as I usually would for Lukens' main duos, I would die for both of them. Rook, forced to live cut off from the world of magic after the death of his grandmother, makes a desperate gamble to find his way back in by working for the most powerful, and feared, sorcerer of the age. When he meets Sun, the apprentice of another sorcerer in the city (while battling a cursed doll), he finds himself a little smitten with the grouchy, gender-queer apprentice. The two of them keep getting entangled as Rook falls deeper and deeper back into the world of magic, legalities be damned, until suddenly both their mentors vanish, forcing Sun and Rook to work together to find a way to get their mentors back.

If you've ever wanted a modern book full of magic where the magic isn't a secret, this is the one for you. The magic is wonderfully infused throughout the world and everyone knows about it, even if only a few can wield it. It's also for you if you love Golden-Retriever-Energy falls for Grumpy-Cat-Energy duos.

As usual with Lukens' work, the book is just cozy. The characters are comfortable in themselves, even if there are still things they're figuring out. There's multiple queer characters and not a drop of homophobia or questioning of their genders/sexualities. Sun asks Rook to use they/them pronouns and Rook does it without a second thought, and never slips up. When Rook starts to fall for Sun, he never has some crisis about Sun's gender presentation. Sun's siblings tease them, but never about their gender. It's a queer book that isn't about being queer in any way; it just trusts the reader to get it without shoving in some sort of coming out or crisis plot line.

And it's not just queer issues that the book handles incredibly well. Sun is also shown to be touch averse and suffer from anxiety, and again Rook steps up to the plate and just goes with it. He accepts Sun's limits without questioning them and actively asks Sun for consent when he does need to reach out and touch Sun for any reason, and always works to figure out the right way to help when Sun's anxiety flares up for some reason. It's never made into a thing, it just is.

Another thing I always appreciate about Lukens' work is that the teenagers actually feel like teenagers, and the adults feel like adults. Rook and Sun both heavily rely on their adult mentors and reach out to them frequently. In turn, their mentors step up to the plate to take charge when things get serious (doesn't always work, but they at least make the attempt). Their mentors still have flaws and don't always get things right, but they're there. Sun and Rook know they're teenagers and that sometimes you just need an adultier adult.

Spell Bound is one of those books I wish I had when I was a teenager, as cliche as that can sometimes sound. It would have done me a lot of good not only to see queer rep that wasn't part of the plot, just a single facet of multi-faceted characters, but also to see teenagers who had healthy relationships with adults. But I have it now as an adult and it is still oh so delightful. There aren't enough good, cozy queer fantasy books out there, not like this. It's nice to be able to just fall into a comfortable little world for the span of a single book and know that in the end it will be wrapped up and happy.

Also...pretty sure there was a Death Note reference in there. :P

[betterbooksandthings]

"You might be in a YA low fantasy book if you turn the corner to get to your locker and come upon a daemon. They contain everything odd about high school and literalize it with fantasy. Here is a must-read list of YA low fantasy books for genre lovers and novices alike.

Fantasy has a lot of sub-genres. Some are more well-defined than others, but on the broadest scale, there are high fantasy books and low fantasy books. Low fantasy books have fantastical elements in an otherwise normal world. You might be a witch working in a Starbucks who serves a cappuccino to a werewolf. The fact that you have magic may be well known. It could be a secret from others around you. As long as there is magic, abnormal beings, or paranormal somethings in the normal setting, it’s low fantasy."

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

March 29 - Freebie

Update on F.T. Lukens - I finished their book and liked it (a lot)! It was so cute and cosy ✨

[slaughter-books]

Day 13: JOMPBPC: Book Spine Poetry

Currently reading and Happy Friday the 13th! 💕

[the-cheese-slut]

Read it and weep whores

[pinkchaosart]

Another piece of fan art for the book Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens! My favourite character, Sun 🩷 I took inspiration from the cover art of the book with the colour palette and I really like how this turned out! I'm also sort of new to drawing animals generally, and I want to get better at it soon. It'll just involve my sitting down and doing it, you know? I'm also planning a companion piece to go with this for the other main character Rook, but I'm not entirely sure what to do for his, so it could be a while.

What's your favourite book? Have you read Spell Bound too? If you have, who was your favourite?

If you enjoyed this, consider leaving a like,, a comment, and following me :)

Constructive feedback welcome!

[transbookoftheday]

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this lively young adult romantic adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After.

Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.

Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less.

But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

goodreads

Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed. Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less. But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.

Mod opinion: I hadn't heard of this book before, but I really like the cover and it sounds interesting!

[novaalexanderwrites]

Book Recs: Spellbound - F.T. Lukens

I read Luken's newest book Spellbound and it was so good. It's a YA novel about a pair of rivals-to-lovers in a magical, modern-day city. One is magic, one isn't, but they both have magical bosses. Lots of trouble happens, they have to go on the run, and there's a cat involved in there somewhere.

I feel a little called out by this book because the two main characters are a golden retriever non-magical white boy and a aesthetically-dark magical Asian they/them. You know. Like two of my characters are. Granted, Rosalind isn't Korean like Sun is, but Sun (the Korean magic baby) very much reads like a young Rosalind (though they were much older when they figured out their gender stuff). But I really enjoyed the two characters, their banter, their relationship, and I wish Lukens would write a sequel (though I'm fairly confident they don't really do that. This one definitely reads as a complete story, which is nice!).

Definitely recommend reading this if you're into fun, easy, queer reads with a bit of adventure and romantic tension. 💖 Also, if I write fanfiction for it, mind your business. Or read it. You do you.

[savleye]

I just started reading spell bound today and I'm already 100 pages in. I love these little gay wizards and their gay wizard drama.

[contracat25]

Alright I know I just posted the March one, but how about some April books! It seems like another good month! There are a lot of interesting things coming out, though Some Desperate Glory is probs what I am most exicited about because I have really enjoyed what I have read from Emily Tesh so far. As always there are a lot of other books that I didn't have room for, and I have a different set of lists for Sequels so they aren't on here. Is there anything you are exicted about coming out this month that I missed or haven't heard about yet?

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker (4th)

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens (4th)

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (11th)

If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch (18th)

The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter (18th)

The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur (18th)

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson (21st)

The Skin and It's Girl by Sarah Cypher (25th)

Robin and Her Misfits by Kelly Ann Jacobson (25th)

[brokenhandsmedia]

Another round of book reviews, covering a number of new and classic horror and fantasy novels.

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

March 05 - Latest Purchase

Got this because my Tumblr bestie dared me to read a book by F.T. Lukens and not DNF it. Challenge accepted!

[slaughter-books]

Day 30: JOMPBPC: Read In September

My September, 2024 reading wrap-up! 🩵

[starfocks]

read my fic for this incredibly obscure book fandom i swear its good

late valentines fic! Rook goes shopping to find a gift for Sun. They have a dinner date and cuddle. And kiss.

[queerographies]

[Spell Bound][F.T. Lukens]

Due apprendisti stregoni rivali devono fare squadra per salvare i loro insegnanti e proteggere la propria magia in questa vivace avventura romantica per giovani adulti.

Incantesimi pericolosi. Due apprendisti nemici amici. Una crush scomoda. Un ente magico che vuole controllare tutto. Cosa potrebbe andare storto?  «Inalai avidamente l’aria polverosa della casa infestata, prima di strisciare via. Quando finalmente alzai la testa, la prima cosa che vidi fu Sun, con in mano la spada scintillante macchiata di rosso, che menava fendenti alla tenda con tutte le sue…