As by request of the publisher upon receiving this ARC, I will not publish my review publicly until a month of the release. Luken does it again. Amazing world building and found family tropes mixed with adventure and a touch of angst. As far as magic books goes this one takes from traditional lore and adds a spin to it. Sun and Rook were such aptly named characters and I enjoyed seeing their relationship build and grow. I would have gladly read something longer if we got to see more of their relationship growth, it did seem a little rushed. I would have even been happy to have this as a duology so there would be more from all characters. Overall another great read from Lukens.

Spell Bound is an uplifting story about magic, realizing your self worth, and finding your family among the most crazy and eccentric group of people.

F.T. Lukens does an remarkable job building up the characters in this story. Rook and Sun, the main characters, naturally evolve as the chapters progress. Other characters, like Antonina, have very interesting layers that keep you interested in learning more about her. The magic system in the story is uncomplicated yet quite amusing.

The story is a slow burn and it pays off with a stimulating finale, but it does feel a bit rushed during the last few chapters. Wish we would of learned more about how Ley Lines replenish or come back to life.

I’ve read both In Deeper Waters and So This is Ever After, and by far Spell Bound is my favorite. I’ve enjoyed all three books, but there was something about the magic and the way the story was told this time around that just made me feel more connected to the story.

Rook and Sun were both very easy characters to root for. One thing that I felt most strongly about was their understanding and respect for each others boundaries from their very first meeting. Their interactions were something to look forward to while laughing along with their jokes.

Antonia was someone to look up to. She was strong and knew it, but her arrogance was more endearing than off putting. The found family that came out of this was something that I love to see in stories.

I’ve said this before about a couple of books, but overall I think Spell Bound is beautiful in its simplicity. There isn’t an overly in depth plot, but the story still moved forward. The plot that was there was quick and easy to get into. It’s definitely more of a character driven story, but I think the flow was just right.

I’m looking forward to more stories by this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this early!

FT Lukens already was an auto-buy author for me after loving their last two novels, but Spell Bound just reinforced that. Their writing style just works so well for me, and I’m obsessed with the way they develop characters and the way the characters interact with each other.

Rook was the sweetest baby angel and one of my favourite characters I’ve read about in a while. I feel like this book really benefited from having Sun’s POV as well, but because I am so in love with Rook, I did like that his POV was highlighted a bit more (approximately 2/3 of the chapters were from Rook’s POV, and 1/3 were Sun’s). They were both such great, well developed characters and I loved that even the side characters were developed enough for the readers to really get to know them as well. Antonia is such a badass, but it was also amazing to see how much she cared about Rook. Fable totally grew on me as well; they may not have won me over the same way Antonia did, but it really was clear to see what a good person they were.

I appreciated the representation with both Sun and Fable being non-binary, and Rook being gay, and those things not being anything other than character details. Sometimes it seems like many books feel the need to make that part of the storyline (often in a way that adds conflict) as opposed to it just being who the characters are. I also liked the inclusion of both family (with Rook talking about his grandmother, and Sun with his sisters) and found family! Lastly, important topics were discussed as well, like Rook’s loss of his family and the life he knew, and Sun’s boundaries with personal space. The way they so easily accepted and understood each other really made me see their connection quickly and I loved watching it continue to develop.

This was such a good read, and so, so witty! Yet also made me cry. This book just checked so many boxes for me, and I won’t hesitate to recommend it to others.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you Margaret K McElderry Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book a lot! Rook just lost his grandma and his connection to the magic world. His only hope is Antonia Hex, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, but with no magic of his own will she work with him? Sun apprentices for Antonia’s rival Fable so when they meet Rook the two begin a perplexing relationship. Rook’s work with Antonia is not exactly legal, what happens if the authorities find out? As Sun also begins to help Rook will they get in trouble as well? I loved the witty sarcastic yearning that was Rook and Sun’s relationship! I absolutely adored Antonia! I loved her personality and strength and no cares given attitude! Spellbound is full of adventure, Magic, and sarcastic wit which I love! I had been waiting for this book for so long, so glad I got to read it! Absolutely delightful, can’t recommend enough! I’m excited to read it again!

I will always slam a request/read button for F.T. Lukens, no doubt about it. It's well written in typical F.T. Lukens fashion, and the bond between the characters was fun. It's the epitome of the happy person likes grumpy person trope, but tropes are tropes for a reason and I'm always here for them when done well.

The world building was fun, though as another review stated I did feel it was slightly too similar to the rules and regulations for mediating myths & magic, but I loved those books so it didn't totally bother me.

My biggest complaint is that I wished we spent more time with Sun. They're amazing, and I would have loved a little bit of a deeper dive into them than what the book gave us.

Overall, a solid read and another great entry into the F.T. Lukens catalogue. I didn't love it quite as much as their other works, but it was still great and a fun use of my time.

Also, that cover tho.

Very sweet and love the found family aspects, but otherwise struggled to get through this. I found the pacing to be uneven, and the plot unsatisfying as it was a bit predictable, though the prose was lovely. The characters are all such a joy, however, that I stuck with it to the end. Recommended!

Rating: 8.5/10 Spell Bound was, without a doubt, F.T. Lukens' best book to date. The concept is completely fresh. Urban fantasy is generally underutilized in YA fiction and this was breath of fresh air. The plot was slow moving and, in doing so, gave readers a chance to become fully immersed in this world before getting swept away by major plot points. I will most likely purchase a copy when this book is released! My only complaint has nothing to do with the actual content of the novel--it is for the description of the book. Not only does it spoil parts of the book that don't show up until the 50% mark, but they are a little deceptive about the relationship between the main characters (by the time those spoilers happen). I personally don't like when the summary gives too much away. It takes away from the reading experience.

5/5 stars! I adore F.T. Lukens and devoured this almost as quickly as I read "So this is Ever After" last year. This book does have a slightly different voice/tone but it is equally amazing. I loved the magical angle to this story and Rook and Sun are both fabulously wonderful. I think I connected with Sun earlier because I'm also a big ole grump, but Rook absolutely grew on me. I'm always hesitant to embrace the hopeless optimist too quickly, but his character was perfection. I would like to formally request there be 15+ more books in this series.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

A boy who wants nothing more than to be part of the magic community and the lengths he will go to to get it, even if it means teaming up with a cute frenemy apprentice sorcerer to save both of their mentors. Edison Rooker “Rook” isn’t magical, he can’t see the magic lines, but his grandmother was magical and raised him to know of magic... but sine he can’t do any or see it himself he has been cut out of the community and now will do anything to get back in. Rook gets an apprenticeship with Antonia Hex, a powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. While apprenticing for her he is working on creating his own device to see magic and finally prove that he belongs to the community, even if it means he has to lie, manipulate, and do whatever it takes. Rook is thrown for a loop by just how chaotic Antonia is and how her own past will impact him... particularly the fact that she had a previous apprentice who is gone and now she is banned from having any apprentice at all. Then he runs into Sun, a cute but grumpy nonbinary apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. Sun and Fable are stick to the rules kind of people while Rook and Antonia are all about breaking the rules. Everything Rook and Antonia do is essentially illegal to the Magical Consortium (think of that as basically the government) and when the Magical Consortium gets hints of their illegal work soon both Antonia and Fable are being brought in to get their magic bound (which is like death to sorcerers) and Rook and Sun are on the run. They’ll have to find a way to work together if they want to save their mentors all the while dealing with their growing feelings for one another. This one was an okay read, I just didn’t find myself all that interested in the characters despite how much I wanted to be. I found Rook to be a bit overbearing, but that’s just me, the romance was eh, and honestly I was expecting something else from this when I went into the book. I really liked the author’s previous works and this one was okay for me. I did enjoy Antonia and Fable, their history and how their friendship was. Overall, it’s a good read for maybe someone younger than me who likes stories about magic with a tiny bit of romance.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

F.T. Lukens does it again! This book was spectacular. If I could have given this more than 5 stars, I would have.

While this wasn’t quite what I expected, it did not disappoint. Rook and Sun were the absolute best main characters. I’m a sucker for grumpy x sunshine. They had me laughing, crying, and feeling all the feels. I do wish that we learned a little more about Sun and their background, but that’s more of a personal preference. It wasn’t needed to enjoy the story, but I loved Sun so much that I would’ve liked to know more about them. Rook easily became a lovable character. He was amazing all throughout the book. I was rooting for him the entire time.

The storyline flowed perfectly and was very well written. I adore F.T. Lukens writing style, it is enjoyable and easy to read. Overall, I would like to reread this immediately because I am now severely attached to these characters (especially Antonia because she’s so cool). I highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.