#like I feel like that should've had a much bigger impact on the romances and sole survivor in general

[vault81]

Just thinking about it, but it's kinda weird how your dead spouse is kinda just glossed over when it comes to the fo4 romances, besides Preston (iirc)

like my partner just died like 4 days ago but let me just romance this guy I just met, as far as I know, Preston is the only companion to actually address this in his romance. Like its just a weird writing choice to me, not to mention that the spouse gets like 2.5 seconds of screentime and gets only a few mentions during the main quest.

[theesteppenwolf]

Some thoughts on Inner Demons

So i have been thinking about this and i do actually like the idea that Lucanis can't have Rook exist in his mind prison because it fucks up his entire inner narrative of basically just self flagellation. "If rook exists then at some point i have to get out" so just delete rook from the scenario. I think that's really good.

However, i think it would've been better if a part of Lucanis actually was trying to get out, at least involuntarily, and that Rook was the personification of that idea, constantly trying to break himself out but ultimately failing. So ''Rook'' exists somewhere in there but is heavily suppressed. That's why Spite seeks real life Rook out. Not to mention that even if not romanced Rook is pretty much the closest person he has at that point, his only other true friend he's had beside Illario so it makes even more sense for them to be this comforting idea he just can't accept fully.

So you see glimpses of Rook, the sound of their voice, or maybe more notes about them, especially if you are romancing him it seems like a big waste of an opportunity to not utilize Rook for a bigger showing of his inner struggle and fear to try and live some kind of life.

The Neve thing is a bit weird when romancing him, i do understand this complaint and the way Spite phrases it does come off as romantic interest specific to her. I think Neve should absolutely stay as both her and Lucanis seem like good friends regardless of romance but it would've been been better (if the player is romancing Lucanis) for Neve to maybe use Lucanis' feelings for Rook against them here. Implying guilt about Rook, leading them on etc. rather than make it specifically about Neve.

There are plenty of little things like this that would make the quest a bit more impactful overall because this is a pretty short quest for something that is essentially meant to be a psychological deep dive into Lucanis. Just more notes and those reworked Neve lines would make it more way more immersive to the player.

In my opinion this should've been a way bigger and more important part of his personal quest, i think they should've really leaned into the whole ''fighting to get him out of his own head'' idea. Adding things like Lucanis' actual memories of Caterina as the abuser she was and moments of genuine brotherly love Lucanis has for Illario. It would've also made up for the fact that you don't learn anything very personal about him the entire game.

Listen, I have whole rewrites to how his personal quest should've gone, it's really my roman empire at this point. This quest is such a good way for Rook to get real vulnerability from him that wouldn't've shown up in real life due to his introverted and closed off nature.

Again my conclusion of Lucanis being a very scraped up character continues as i find my ideas to be pretty easy to come up with implementations for the kind of thing they are trying to pull of in this specific mission.

But oh well, so it goes. Kind of got rambly for a minute there, thank you kindly for reading :P

[wondereads]

Personal Review (04/03/23)

Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens

Summary

Ever since his grandmother's death, Edison has been completely cut off from the magical community. With no magic of his own and no ability to sense ley lines, his only way in is through the Spell Binder, a device he built to map the ley lines. He manages to secure an apprenticeship with Antonia Hex, notoriously rebellious curse breaker, who gifts him the name Rook, but Rook's involvement in the magical world alone breaks tons of laws, and it's only a matter of time until the Consortium catches on.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Something about the pacing in this book felt off to me, but I think it's because the summary of this book kind of gives away the whole plot. The pitch of this book places a late, major plot development as the sort of initiating event, which isn't even slightly the case. A good half of this book is build-up to that moment, and it works just fine on its own! The tension between Antonia and Fable (and subsequent issues for Rook and Sun) is perfectly good at developing the plot on its own.

I've read Lukens' books before, namely So This Is Ever After, and they basically write romcoms that happen to benefit from the fantasy world they're set in. However, in Spell Bound, there is involvement with a bigger, more world-impacting plot, and I don't really like it that much. The conclusion feels very rushed, and Lukens' short-form and standalone style doesn't really have the space to properly address what this book is trying to do. Personally, I think this book should've been maybe a duology, even trilogy, that looks into the Consortium, its corruption, and more carefully deals with how Rook and the people around him would reform it. The ending is basically just Rook and Sun saying, "and now things are changing" which ultimately feels unsatisfying.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I think the characters are the strong point of this book, especially when it comes to the romance. Rook and Sun, our two protagonists, don't have a ton of development, but they're fun characters from the beginning, and their growing relationship with each other is adorable to watch. Like I said, Lukens' books are rom-coms set in fantasy worlds, and Rook and Sun have it all. A meet-cute, a coffee shop date, only one bed, on the run together after breaking tons of magical laws—ok, maybe that last one isn't a trope, but it creates a lot of great situations for them to work through together.

The most interesting character, point-blank, is Antonia. Antonia Hex is the city's premier curse breaker, but she's known for more than that. Her magical power is so extreme that she could easily take down the Consortium and even rule the world. She's also banned from taking an apprentice, for reasons Rook is set on figuring out. She's just so interesting and has this crazy backstory; I'd be content with reading a book just about her!

The other major side characters, mostly Fable and Mavis, are a little underdeveloped. They seem to have a couple personality traits and really nothing else, but there is one other thing I liked about the characters. Queerness is treated as just utterly normal in this book; Rook and Sun's relationship is only an issue because Antonia and Fable hate each other, and Sun mentions they prefer they/them pronouns in their first meeting with Rook and their gender is never brought up again.

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I appreciate that Lukens decided to place this story in a modern equivalent fantasy world. One issue I had with So This Is Ever After was the extremely anachronistic language, and the modern setting pretty much solved that. It still wasn't amazing writing, but it kept that lighthearted tone going through the whole book. Rook and Sun are both very casual in their speech, which feels realistic, and this book successfully avoided the overused, annoying pop culture references that often inundate contemporary novels.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Overall, I just found this book good. It was a quick, light, easy read, and it's definitely a welcome reprieve from the intense fantasy I normally read. The magic is pretty fun, and I really liked the romance. The plot was a little too much for so quick a book, and some of the side characters aren't as fleshed out as I'd like, but this is definitely a great book to just relax and blow off some steam while reading. It isn't a masterpiece, but I'd still recommend it, especially if you're just looking for a little fun.

The Author

F. T. Lukens: American, also wrote In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After, seems to have a fondness for the number three; they have three kids, three dogs, and three cats

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!