Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me a chance to read and review this book. Unfortunately, this book was not one that could get into (in part because I did not realise it was the second in a series I had not started). I did not finish it and for that reason I have given it a middling star rating.

What drew me to this series was, admittedly, the cover and title of The Rules and Regulations of Mediating Myths & Magic. I’m just a sucker for all things mythology and will even read YA to get my fix. It did help that this was also queer. And really, a pretty great novel with a very solid sequel and I enjoyed Monster of the Week just as much as I did the first book in this series by F.T. Lukens.

In the centre of this story is Bridger Whitt, high school student and anxious bisexual mess. He is horribly afraid of coming out while still living in his home town and desperate to find an after school job that will help him pay for a college – the farther away, the better, so he can finally be his true self. Obviously, that’s not how the whole thing works out.

His new job is as assistant to Pavel Chudinov, intermediary and mediator for all kinds of magical and mystical beings. So suddenly Bridger has to come to terms with the existence of magic. He is getting chased by unicorns and meets a Sasquatch and all kinds of other things he thought were purely fictional. And on top of that he is crushing hard on the new guy, Leo – and promptly embarrasses himself in front of him. Plus, there might be something magical going on with Leo.

However, the main element of these novels definitely is fluff. They are adorably cute and often pretty cheesy and sometimes the plot or rather the motivations are slightly flimsy. But because the characters are adorable, hilarious and enormously likable, this wasn’t a problem for me. I liked Bridger quite a bit but I loved the supporting cast – his love interest Leo, his best friend Astrid and most of all his new boss and mentor Pavel and all the weird creatures he meets along the way.

And The Rules and Regulations of Mediating Myths & Magic really focusses on Bridger coming to terms with all this weird stuff going on in his life and the relationships he builds. The way F.T. Lukens combines magic and reality is superb and a lot of the time Bridger’s encounters with the more absurd elements of his job are absolutely hilarious. And in Monster of the Week keeping this magical world safe from discovery becomes a central topic.

Both The Rules and Regulations of Mediating Myths & Magic and its sequel Monster of the Week by F.T. Lukens are great books if you are looking for something light and entertaining, with lots of familiar monsters and creatures, fabulous characters and an amazing dry sense of humour. I really, really enjoyed both novels and can wholeheartedly recommend them!

With just a few short months left until high school graduation, Bridger is a bundle of nerves for more reasons than one. Yes, he is dating Leo, baseball star and gorgeous hunk, and things are going well, but let’s face it, Leo is bound to wake up soon and figure out he really got the short stick when he agreed to be Bridger’s boyfriend. And, yes things couldn’t be better with his best friend, Astrid, now that she knows all about his work with Pavel. And Pavel is still the slightly crazy, but loving and warm boss and friend Bridger can confide in no matter what. So what really had Bridge losing it? That would be Summer Lore, host of the TV show Monster of the Week, showing up and her insistence that Bridger is keeping secrets about what really happened last summer when all magical hell broke loose in the small town of Midden, Michigan. Between Summer stalking Bridger’s every move and his tendency to give away too much information when she manages to push his buttons, Bridger’s dad suddenly showing up after a ten year absence, and graduation looming, Bridger is about to lose it and threaten not only the mythical world that exists around him, but everyone he loves as well.

Let me begin by saying that if you have not read F.T. Lukens’ first novel, The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magics, then this second book in The Rules series, Monster of the Week, will not make a great deal of sense to you as it evolves naturally from the first installment. Also, my review may contain spoilers about the first story in the series, so please be forewarned.

Bridger, Leo, Astrid, Pavel, Elena, Nia, and Bran are all back and I couldn’t be happier. Once again F.T. Lukens weaves a special kind of magic in creating a fast-paced novel full of uniquely magical creatures, well-meaning but fumbling teenagers, and one marvelous wizard who keeps everyone safe in his own stumbling way. Our pixies, Nia and Bran, are still running their strange cosmetics line with Bridger fetching the much needed unicorn poop and other strange ingredients for them. They are just as sassy and secretive as before, yet they obviously love Bridger and will influence his life in a very real way before story’s end.

Leo is still gorgeous and so incredibly sweet, yet somehow never comes off as a character who is over the top or fake and is just the perfect calming influence to stand up against his boyfriend’s nervous anxiety. Bridger is in love, Leo loves him back, and these two together make my heart so very happy. They are perfection together and I loved every moment they interacted.

Astrid is till the snappy and delightful gal pal to Bridger, always watching his back and never questioning the insanity that always seems to surround her bestie. Pavel, Bridger’s boss, is still befuddled, loyal, and caring, yet badass when he needs to be—the dad Bridger never really had. Speaking of which, in a plot twist that nearly broke my heart in many ways, Bridger’s real dad shows up and while I can’t say much more, I can tell you that the two major scenes between them were so incredibly realistic and heart-breaking, while still managing to feel almost freeing and self-affirming. Those moments, along with the growth I could see in Bridger and Leo’s relationship, made my estimation of this author’s abilities as an outstanding storyteller rise dramatically. I knew Lukens was a gifted writer from reading the other works they produced, but this book knocked that fact out of the park—the scenes I referenced above were simply brilliant. Again please forgive my being vague, but to say any more would really spoil them for future readers.

Monster of the Week was everything and more that I could ask for in a sequel. I sincerely hope we have not seen the end of these characters and this author has at least a third novel up their sleeve. Until then, I can only highly recommend this series to you. I loved it and hope you do as well.

*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

5 stars

After finally getting around to reading book one in this series I can say this book is such a breath of fresh air. For many nerds like myself I watch a lot of TV and the monster of the week format has been a huge part of that, but this book and its adventures were something new. I loved getting a look into this world that reminded me of some of my favorite stories. Having read the first book, I can say you don't need to read it before this one, but it'll definitely improve the experience.

Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this book and unfortunately it was a Did Not Finish (DNF) for me.

OMG how much did I love this book? Soooo much! I haven't read the first in the series, but I don't feel that I was at all lost when it came to the plot. The writing was tight, the tone was so much fun and the dialogue as snarky as I like it. This was just a super fun book and I hope there are more coming in the series.

I really wanted to like the book and am willing to concede that it just might not be for my generation. But I thought the writing desperately needed editing and the plot was a bit too schizophrenic to be able to be followed. I do not want to discourage sales in the book, keeping in mind that it was not written for my generation. But I have read many young adult novels that are similar and have not found the same issues with them. The author seems to be trying to evoke mid-teen voice but does it from such a distance from a real voice it is hard to see a character there at all.

Bridger Whitt is a high school senior with mere months to graduation. He's dating an almost-hero, Leo, and a fab job helping intermediary Pavel Chudinov to help keep cryptids (think sasquatch), myths and magic folk from being noticed by humans. IN this he's aided by his human bestie Astrid, Elena the werewolf, and a pair of pixies, Nia and Bran, and now his familiar "Marv" (aka Midnight Marvel) who looks like a kitten, but is not. Marv was a gift for his 18th birthday. Though Bridger and Leo have been dating a few months, they're both still "unicorn-friendly" which means they're virgins, because a unicorn will not approach a person who is sexually impure.

Bridger has been raised by his mom, but his absentee father has inexplicably returned and wants to build a relationship now that Bridger's about to head off to college. It's shady, but Bridger is used to the weird. What he's not used to is having a reporter hanging around his tiny town of Midden, Michigan. Summer Lore is the host of the "Monster of the Week" show, and though she seems to be rather bored of doing her bit, she's still an investigative reporter. It's not long before Summer is trailing Bridger all over town, and trying to find out what happened when Bridger nearly drowned last term--in a rare and unexpected merpeople attack. While Astrid and Bridger try to diffuse this situation, some of his classmates are vying for the TV camera attention.

Summer's aggressive tactics may be freaking Bridger out, but Pavel's not that worried. Well, he puts Summer on warning, but Bridger knows it's a matter of time before she's at him again. Prom's coming and Bridger and Leo are in the running for Prom Kings--which is a situation Leo's dad has trouble understanding. But that's not the worst thing. No, the worst thing is Summer trying to pry cryptid secrets from Bridger, even if she has to steal them...

This is as sweet and funny a story as the first book in the series. Bridger is an awkward and compassionate character and all his friends are interesting and cool. There's some really troublesome issues surrounding Pavel's position and Bridger's status as his assistant--because of Summer's interference. I loved getting to see Prom with a dash of magic a la magic portal, and graduation that becomes a bit of a showdown, what with the clashing guests. Bridger barely makes it to graduation, thanks to an out-of-control myth, but ends the book happily, in a lightly less unicorn-friendly state. It's all tender and YA appropriate, and a book I'd read over and over. The one part I'm sad over is it seems that we've reached the end of this series! Otherwise, highly recommend.

“Growing up is about gaining experiences so when you encounter a situation a second time, you know what to do. It’s about having good judgment because you’ve made mistakes in the past and you learned from them.”

Listen, I’ll always be a fan of coming-of-age books. Add in sweet, hilarious boys falling in love and some folklore creatures and it’s a perfect recipe for me.

This book is about growing up, falling in love, and learning how to be true to yourself.

The dynamics between Bridger and Leo continue to amaze me—the openness between them is something you should always strive for in a relationship.

Highly recommended.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of the book itself.

Well, that was as quick of a read of a sequel as I have seen in a very long while. The book didn't take long for me to get through and I owe it to the fact that this fantastical aspect to our world just appeals to me in so many ways. Not only that but the wit and sarcasm that can be found between the pages is epic in a whole other way. While it may not seem nearly as original as the first book, it really did flow very well. I am so glad that these two books each took a separate semester of the story instead of stitching them into just one book. I can't wait to see where this series goes and can only hope that it will continue because I need the cuteness that is the characters and the awesome creatures that we find in the story.

While this story did concentrate on the relationships between the characters and figuring out the details and little parts of said relationships, it is so much about family and being true to yourself. There is really some amazing rep in here in my opinion. Our main character, Bridger, is really quite amazing and in this book we see how hard it is for him at times, he has anxiety and this really shows how bad anxiety can be when under pressure. This book also addresses homophobia, our adorable main character is bi (or pan, he isn't sure) and some of my favorite quotes are ones such as: "Both? Both. Maybe all? I'm not sure yet." This is in reference to his sexual orientation and I love how this book shows that it is ok if you don't know and it's good to be accepting of everyone. There are other parts that I love about this but I don't want to get into due to spoilers. I do wish that Marv had been more fully explained in this book and that he had a bigger role that was explained rather than what I picked up later on when I realized what he was.

Overall, this book was a lovely sequel to where the first book left off. I cannot recommend this series enough if you have an interest in ya urban fantasy. It really is an entertaining story. This gets 4 out of 5 from me.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

Really enjoyed reading this, it comes with an interesting premise which doesn't disappoint. The characters are great and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this second book in the series.

A fun and sweet paranormal romp about growing up with great LGBTQ representation, so exactly what I hoped for!

Monster of the Week is the perfect continuation to Rules and Regulations! While Bridger has a lot of things going good for him, a gorgeous, amazing, hero boyfriend Leo, the most perfect bff Astrid, a super understanding (can we exchange?) mom and the lovely found family of pixies, the kinda grumpy unicorn, incredible boss Pavel Chudinov and the fierce werewolf Elena. This story is full of some mishaps thanks to everything that happened in book 1 (no spoilers if you haven't read although i did give away about bf) and the appearance of TV show hostess that bring a whole 'nother set of complications to Bridger's life.
This book is a bit different from the first because this one is more about Bridger realising he can prioritise himself and learn from his mistakes, this book is as much about growing up and maturing, like the first one was about discovering his worth and being true to himself.
I really hope there's more to this series as I can't wait to see if we get a glimpse of Bridger post-high school, starting out university with all the cryptid knowledge and what will happen with his relationship with Leo?

First of all, I have to admit I was not aware this is a second part of series, but even so – it was a pleasant read & I don’t feel like my lack of knowledge diminished it in any way. I probably will read the first book, though, because I love those characters now.

Monster of the Week ticks off all the right boxes for me, so I have to go through them one by one before this turns into a three-page long rambling nonsense.


(1) The found family trope! Bridger (the mc) has an excellent group of friends & loved ones who care about him and he come together for him. It’s truly amazing. But I also want to point out that (1.a) it melts into an almost actual family, with Bridger’s boss being a beautiful father figure for him.

(2) The narrative addresses that! More than once, and especially in a scene with Bridger’s biological dad. It was superb! So not only do we get multiple parent characters, be it bio or not, but they also show different ideas on parenting. And the book is very clear on which ones are appreciated. It highlights how important supportive parents are for kids, which is not something we see a lot of in YA lit. The same goes for extended family and this loving environment is shown time and time again.

(3) The book is pretty great in terms of diversity. I really love that Bridger is bisexual and that the word pops out on the page all the time and that there are a few discussions about what it means to be bi. And love even more that he’s in a committed relationship through the whole book. None of that ‘bi people are flaky & inconstant’ bulshit here!

(4) Speaking of Bridger’s relationship, another thing I adored is the importance put on consent! He and his boyfriend have multiple conversations about whether or not they’re ready to have sex & each time they’re framed as totally natural and just the thing that should be happening. They also just generally talk a lot and constantly support each other. It’s incredible to see a healthy relationship that screams it’s based on a friendship.

(5) This book is so funny!! It’s my exact type of humour, which might not work for everyone, but so what. It reminds me of Buffy a bit in that department and has that very distinctive vibe of “Where are you getting your juice? / My mother is doing all the shopping”.

Monster of the Week is a wild ride, with unicorns and pixies, and werewolves, and boyfriends who are baseball stars, and inside jokes between friends. It’s utterly optimistic and gives you so much hope without feeling like it’s trying too hard.

If you are looking for a funny YA paranormal novel, this would be a great choice, although you might want to read the preceding book, The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic, first for maximum enjoyment.

As the story begins, Bridger Whitt is wrapping up his senior year in high school, with prom and graduation coming up soon. Bridger’s much happier than he was at the beginning of the year, since he now has a terrific boyfriend, Leo, and a great job assisting the protector of the mythical creatures living in his area. Bridger is still anxiety-prone, though, and he finds plenty to worry about when a third-rate “monster of the week”-style cable TV show comes to town to investigate the strange events of the previous fall. Unfortunately, Bridger’s attempts to convince the host of the show that there’s nothing supernatural to find in Midden do more harm than good, putting her on a collision course with the reality of the mythical world he’s trying to conceal.

This was such a fun read. The supernatural creatures take more of a backseat in the plot than in the previous novel, but the ones we do see aren't stock paranormal characters, at least. (I mean, there’s a burrito-loving unicorn. Enough said.) Lukens clearly has a sense of humor, and it comes across in the story, which made me laugh out loud at times. Bridger’s not as caustically funny as in the first book, but I enjoyed the kinder, gentler Bridger seen here just as much. Lukens has a gift for creating likeable supporting characters, including Bridger’s friend Astrid, his boss Pavel, the pixies Bran and Nia, and Elena the werewolf, not to mention his sweetheart, Leo. Oh, and Bridger and Leo as a couple are absolutely adorable together—definitely squee-worthy.

It’s not a totally fluffy story, however, because Bridger’s still got personal stuff to deal with. For one thing, his mostly estranged father shows up wanting to see him after years apart, which sends Bridger into a bit of a tailspin. Bridger is also continuing to navigate coming out as bi, which isn’t always easy, particularly so when his father finds out he has a boyfriend.

In summary—recommended! I’m not sure whether Lukens has another book planned for this series, but I’d be happy to read Bridger’s further adventures if she does.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

In my opinion this book felt more natural than the first one. The first book had the normal humans surrounded by mythical creatures and had that whole “love interest is a mythical heroic figure for saving the high school from its own lame football team” thing, which didn’t feel well-written. It felt unnatural for the world the author was trying to create. This felt natural and rather well-written.

The only complaint I had was the ending. It was kind of annoying how the villain kept coming back. Like two mini battles and one ultimate one and to end it they needed a deus ex machine.

Good book, ending felt a little flat. Would still recommend. But start with the first book first XD.

I don't understand how F. T. Lukens keeps writing books that speak to where I am in life at the exact time I'm reading them. The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic hit me during the time when I was struggling with the whole idea of coming out, and now Monster of the Week hit me with all those anxious, overwhelmed with life feels. But she can keep spying on me as long as she's writing great books I guess.

Monster of the Week, like its previous book, definitely has rough spots in terms of writing. The beginning is stilted and kinda awkward, made infinitely worse by the over-explanation of pop culture references. Like, I get that you want to explain the references for anyone who doesn't watch, for example, The Good Place — but people don't talk like this:

"[Good Place reference]"
"Haha, [best friend], I appreciate your Good Place reference!"

So that's kind of annoying, but it's a trade off, because in other ways this book really gets how teens talk, and there's a lot of fun banter.

There's mostly the same cast of characters as the first book, but even better, because Leo gets more personality now that he's on-page more, and Bridger is now friends with some of the creatures he was running away from in the first book! The character dynamics are great. Also I maybe cried at some point but you'll never prove it.

So while I don't know why this publisher can't seem to edit the awkwardness out of the first 20% of these books, overall, they're really fantastic.

After finishing "The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic" with a smile on my face, I dove right into "Monster of the Week," looking forward to just as much cuteness and humor this time around. 

"Monster" returns us to Bridger’s world when the ‘Monster of the Week’ TV show comes to film in Midden, putting the local myths and cryptids in danger of being outed. Meanwhile, another less-than-pleasant guest has returned to Bridger’s life...because of course things can’t go right, can they?, even for graduation!

As the second in the series, I expected (hoped) that "Monster" would take us deeper into the world of myths and find us a conflict with higher stakes now that all the characters have been established. After all, it had been the synopsis for "Monster", not "Rules," that had originally brought my attention to the series, and made me want to request it on Netgalley so badly .

Unfortunately, I’m no genie (or rather, I don’t have one at my disposal), and my wish did not come true. If anything we get less magic and mythology than we did in the first book and the stakes are the same, if not less tense.

Let’s break this down...

A quarter of the time in this book is spent catching us up on what happened in the first book, including details that we didn’t necessarily need to know. Although helpful for those who, unlike me, had to wait the full year to get back to Midden, it seemed a waste of page time. 

Between these moments, half of the story focused on demonstrating how dang cute Leo and Bridger are together. Look at them be cutesy! Look at them snuggle! Look at them smooch! I for sure ship Leo and Bridger, don’t get me wrong, but it got a bit too mushy for my taste, and although I love to see a happy and healthy relationship (and some messages about communication in relationships that would be great for YA readers!) I wished that there was something that was bringing tension or excitement to the story in these sections. I almost wished they would fight just for a little drama.

The last quarter is the actual guts of the novel. Just like in "The Rules" there are two conflicts, and just like the first, I found the secondary conflict much more interesting and tense than the main one. Summer Lore, the host of the ‘Monster of the Week’ show is too much of a dedicated-journalist caricature to feel like a real villain. I could never take her dialogue very seriously, partly because of her too-stereotypical mannerisms, and partly because her dialogue just sounded way younger (and whinier) than what I thought would fit her supposed age.

Also...can I just point out that the host of a monster show would probably not be an actual journalist, but an actress? And that whatever moral code she follows and skills she has are anything but what they teach in journalism school (trust me, I went!). A small aspect, sure, but one that consistently peeved me.

Even if I had thought of Lore as more of a threat,  we end up having to wait for any type of real excitement and action until around Chapter 15, and by then we’re pretty close to the end. 

But to be honest, none of this would have mattered that much to me if I still could have had the narration I liked so much in the first book. At times I got glimpses of that self-hating, sarcastic Bridger voice in between the cheesy God-I-love-Leo stuff, but there wasn’t nearly enough. His narration takes a backseat to a writing style that becomes much more summarizing than it was in "The Rules," a choice that ended up being the deciding factor in me really not enjoying this one as much as I wanted or expected to (or as much as "The Rules"). And I’m pretty sad about it!

I rated "Monster of the Week" 3 out of 5 stars. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Duet Books for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!