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A review by nthnrgb
So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens
5.0
This book reads like a queer high school friend group's DnD story where one of the people is trying to woo one of their friends, and I mean all of that in the best way possible. This book is DELIGHTFUL.
The overall premise is very reminiscent of Arthurian legend, where a 17-year-old boy (Arek) is found by this old wizard, told he's supposed to defeat an evil wizard king by a prophecy to save a kingdom with a party of questors. His party includes Matt (his mage and childhood best friend), Sionna (a fighter), Bethany (a bard), Rion (a knight), and Lila (a rogue). The story picks up right after Arek kills the Vile One, so in some ways it seems like we jump in at the end of the story but really, that's because this book is a rom-com first and foremost, that just happens to be set in fantasy. Then, Arek gets dared (yes, these are a bunch of 17-year-olds they dare him it's delightful) to put on the crown and declare he's king, just until they can find the rightful ruler (after which Arek is already planning on telling Matt he's in love with him, but he wants to wait until their quest is done and they can return home). Except she's dead and now Arek, again a 17-year-old boy, is king. This is all within the first couple of chapters, very set on a quick set up.
The vast majority of the book is set around the fact that Arek has to soulbond before his 18th birthday (in 3 months) and he refuses to ask Matt because he believes that Matt would say yes because it's his duty and he would just be stuck with Arek. Yeah it's THAT kind of pining. So instead, Arek decides he's going to seduce his friends one-by-one secretly because he would rather be soulbonded to someone who knows him and he knows he likes as opposed to a random stranger. Except he also wants to try to seduce Matt even as Matt is helping him (very obliviously begrudgingly). They attempt to set up a bunch of scenarios, each best befitting the member of the party and following a journal they find from the dead rightful heir.
Genuinely, this book is such a delightful read that I couldn't put down, just too sweet and adorable.
Potential cons (look I loved everything about this book, even these "potential cons" but they're something some folks may not like)
- Writing style. It does read on the younger side of YA, which for me was great - it read in a lot of ways like a VERY GOOD, pining fan fic but I know for some folks it can be too young and they don't enjoy easy/light reads.
What I loved
- Writing style. Personally, I love me a good queer fan fic that's been published, truly they're usually my favourite books and once again this is true.
- Characters. They each get their own little spotlight as Arek tries to woo them one by one, and that's when we tend to learn most about them. They are meeting those typical Arthurian roles so some folks may find them flat, but this is also a first person book so a lot of what we're seeing about these characters is what Arek sees of them, and there's even a scene that touches on that as he's trying to woo Sionna at the beginning, about how they've only know versions of each other and that they need to make an new effort, outside of their responsibilities to the quest, to know who they are.
-The pining. I COULD FEEL IT IN MY SOUL They're so oblivious and in love with each other it hurts sometimes. It feels like hitting your head against a wall, but in a good way. Sometimes I hate miscommunication because it's done poorly, but this is done so well. The way Matt reacts to somethings makes Arek think that there's no way Matt could ever love him so he ignores any signs that Matt may like him until it's almost too late. Matt has his head so far up his own arse that he doesn't see any of Arek's signals (though this is me mostly reading in between the lines, because we sadly never get inside of Matt's head).
- "King Arek the Kind." That is Arek's title and throughout the book he kind of hates on it, but everyone else is like no this is the best title frankly and I agree. I love this imagery of kindness being the best trait and that it has so many different facets and is its own strength. I just loved this imagery.
Overall, love love LOVED this book and the only thing I want now is a prequel of the quest and maybe a re-write from Matt's perspective. I just want MORE of this story.
The overall premise is very reminiscent of Arthurian legend, where a 17-year-old boy (Arek) is found by this old wizard, told he's supposed to defeat an evil wizard king by a prophecy to save a kingdom with a party of questors. His party includes Matt (his mage and childhood best friend), Sionna (a fighter), Bethany (a bard), Rion (a knight), and Lila (a rogue). The story picks up right after Arek kills the Vile One, so in some ways it seems like we jump in at the end of the story but really, that's because this book is a rom-com first and foremost, that just happens to be set in fantasy. Then, Arek gets dared (yes, these are a bunch of 17-year-olds they dare him it's delightful) to put on the crown and declare he's king, just until they can find the rightful ruler (after which Arek is already planning on telling Matt he's in love with him, but he wants to wait until their quest is done and they can return home). Except she's dead and now Arek, again a 17-year-old boy, is king. This is all within the first couple of chapters, very set on a quick set up.
The vast majority of the book is set around the fact that Arek has to soulbond before his 18th birthday (in 3 months) and he refuses to ask Matt because he believes that Matt would say yes because it's his duty and he would just be stuck with Arek. Yeah it's THAT kind of pining. So instead, Arek decides he's going to seduce his friends one-by-one secretly because he would rather be soulbonded to someone who knows him and he knows he likes as opposed to a random stranger. Except he also wants to try to seduce Matt even as Matt is helping him (very obliviously begrudgingly). They attempt to set up a bunch of scenarios, each best befitting the member of the party and following a journal they find from the dead rightful heir.
Genuinely, this book is such a delightful read that I couldn't put down, just too sweet and adorable.
Potential cons (look I loved everything about this book, even these "potential cons" but they're something some folks may not like)
- Writing style. It does read on the younger side of YA, which for me was great - it read in a lot of ways like a VERY GOOD, pining fan fic but I know for some folks it can be too young and they don't enjoy easy/light reads.
What I loved
- Writing style. Personally, I love me a good queer fan fic that's been published, truly they're usually my favourite books and once again this is true.
- Characters. They each get their own little spotlight as Arek tries to woo them one by one, and that's when we tend to learn most about them. They are meeting those typical Arthurian roles so some folks may find them flat, but this is also a first person book so a lot of what we're seeing about these characters is what Arek sees of them, and there's even a scene that touches on that as he's trying to woo Sionna at the beginning, about how they've only know versions of each other and that they need to make an new effort, outside of their responsibilities to the quest, to know who they are.
-The pining. I COULD FEEL IT IN MY SOUL They're so oblivious and in love with each other it hurts sometimes. It feels like hitting your head against a wall, but in a good way. Sometimes I hate miscommunication because it's done poorly, but this is done so well. The way Matt reacts to somethings makes Arek think that there's no way Matt could ever love him so he ignores any signs that Matt may like him until it's almost too late. Matt has his head so far up his own arse that he doesn't see any of Arek's signals (though this is me mostly reading in between the lines, because we sadly never get inside of Matt's head).
- "King Arek the Kind." That is Arek's title and throughout the book he kind of hates on it, but everyone else is like no this is the best title frankly and I agree. I love this imagery of kindness being the best trait and that it has so many different facets and is its own strength. I just loved this imagery.
Overall, love love LOVED this book and the only thing I want now is a prequel of the quest and maybe a re-write from Matt's perspective. I just want MORE of this story.