Review: Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

Spell Bound
by F.T. Lukens
narrated by Neo Cihi and Kevin R. Free

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Type of romance: m/nb

Blurb:
Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this “charming and engaging” (School Library Journal) young adult romantic adventure from the 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, 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.

My Review

After reading Otherworldly last year, which was my first book by this author, I knew I wanted to read more books by this author. After reading some reviews and book descriptions I decided Spell Bound would be my next read by this author. It even had one of the same narrators as Otherworldly and I decided to get it in audio. When at the start of this year I was in the mood for a fantasy book I knew it was time to read this one.

I really enjoyed Spell Bound, it has some of the same vibes and themes as Otherworldly, like found family and finding your place. I enjoy those themes and was happy to find those again in this book. I like the author’s writing style and the narrators were both pleasant to listen to.

I liked the plot and seeing it all play out, but the characters and the romance are definitely the highlight for me of this book. Almost immediately I liked Rook who know what he wants and is going after it, namely a place in the magical community. I like his personality and determination. I like how he uses humor and seems like a fun and easy going person, but he is also deeply lonely as well as considerate and I liked how that gave him more depth. Then there is Sun who is the grumpy to Rook’s sunshine and I just loved seeing these two interact with each other. I also liked the side characters like Antonia, Fable and Mavis, who all had their own personality and I liked seeing the characters interact with each other.

I really liked the slow building romance. Rook and Sun are such a cute couple and I liked their banter and the way their personalities play off each other. There are just so many great scenes with them. I loved how in the very first scene Rook realizes Sun is uncomfortable with touch and respects their boundaries. And while he likes to joke around, his jokes are never mean and he doesn’t tease Sun about the things they’re sensitive about. I also really liked the scene in the elevator where Rook realizes Sun is anxious and asks what he can do to help. Sun remains standoff-ish at first, but that made it all the sweet when they develop feelings and grow to care about Rook. And then there are all these little hints and then when they eventually admit their feelings and show how much they care it was wonderful. I liked their grumpy demeanor and their sensory sensitivities were relatable.

The world building is interesting and I liked this magical world. It is pretty similar to the modern world, but there are some noticeable differences and I liked seeing the way magic and magical consortium played a role in people’s lives. It also was fun to read about some of the curses, hexes and jinxes they deal with. I would’ve liked to see even more of the world or maybe even more stories set in it, but I think so far this is the only book set in this world.

To summarize: I really enjoyed Spell Bound. I like the author’s writing and both narrators fit the characters and I enjoyed listening to this book. The plot was interesting and I liked reading about the world and the way magic played a role in people’s lives. It also was fun to see some of the curses, hexes and jinxes. The characters, the found family theme and the romance were my favorite elements of this book. I really liked Rook from the start, he likes to joke around, knows what he wants and is determined to get it, but is also very considerate and lonely. I liked the grumpy-sunshine vibes of Rook and Sun’s romance. I really liked seeing how their personalities played off each other and their banter was great. There are some really great and touching scenes between them and I really enjoyed reading about them. I liked Sun’s grumpy demeanor and the way they slowly start developed feelings and show those to Rook. The ending wraps everything up nicely and I had a great time listening to this book.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– Audible
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.