This was an entertaining magical story. The world-building was great, and the story was enjoyable. The characters were well-developed, and their backstories were entertaining.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
In a world with magic, two apprentice sorcerers learn their craft while moving from rivals to friends.
The overall plot was interesting and drew me in. The alternating views from Rook and Sun added to the depth of the story and their relationship. I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind reading more about the duo.

I loved this book - the cover is AMAZING; building your community and family - yes! Confidence building and acceptance for self - give me more!
This is my first book by this author - I will definitely be checking out more. Especially after reading the acknowledgments - Lukens telling us why this book meant so much.
Rook and Sun, Antonia and Fable - loved these characters, I absolutely want more.
Lukens does a great job explaining what magic means in this book - at times I skimmed.
Great book!

I really love FT Lukens. This was an adorable magic read. It took me longer than I thought to get through but I enjoyed it as I went.
I love found family. Representation without stating it. Very fluid way of writing. (Non binary)

Magic system was explained but I don’t feel like I need to know more about it then what’s there.

I’m curious about other character’s stories now.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for this digital ARC.

I absolutely loved this warm hug of a book. It was super fun, cute, easy to read and hard to put down. It’s not exactly cozy fantasy but definitely has many elements of it. I loved the romance, the world, the magic, the characters, the found family!! Just everything, but read on if you want more deets!

👍
+ These two are just so adorable. They were almost immediately attracted to one another but the actual feelings took some time to develop. But even when they weren’t friendly, the way they respected each others’ boundaries, the way they helped each other learn things, and the way they took care of each other was so so sweet. Plus there’s one section of the book where one of them goes through some changes. Those scenes might be some of the cutest things I’ve ever read.
+ I found the premise and world of the book very interesting as well. There’s some marrying of magic and technology that I thought was a really cool concept. With great (but not in your face) commentaries on capitalism and politics.
+ I loved the found family aspects of the book. I liked how the characters that had built up walls around themselves slowly let others in. And how well they balanced each other out, and saw that there’s strength in relying on one another.
+ I also love the variety of characteristics in the book, and they all go through some growth and change.
+ Representation: One of the MCs is nonbinary, and so is the magician they work with. What I loved was that even the villains of the book respected their pronouns.

👎
- One of the MCs kept calling himself a genius. A little too conceited and also a little too telling not showing since we didn’t really see that much of his “genius”.
- I loved the world of the book so much, I could have done with more of it. 😀

Overall rating: 4.5⭐️

Thank you Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

(4.5 Stars)

If there is one thing you can count on in this world, it’s that you’re gonna have a damn good time when you pick up an F.T. Lukens book.

Their stories are satirical, tongue-in-cheek, they have that sort of over-the-top humorous queer banter that I just can’t get enough of, and they’re just so much fun from start to finish.

Every time I read something from F.T. Lukens, I leave the story feeling so much lighter than when I came into it. I feel like they take so much weight off of my shoulders just by giving us these imaginative, hilarious, fully immersive queer stories with such endearing characters and found families.

So of course this is yet another laugh-out-loud story with utterly ridiculous characters who are just posturing to the extreme, trying to play it cool, trying to make it seem like they know exactly what they’re doing when they very much don’t.

Besides the humor and the feel-good romance, which are definitely F.T. Lukens’ forte, I feel like this story is a really strong statement against gatekeeping, against those who want to quantify who belongs to a community and who deserves recognition and protection within that community by drawing this imaginary line to determine who is "enough" and who isn’t.

That’s really what’s driving the entire story, because Rook has grown up his entire life with his grandmother, who was magic and who always made him feel like part of that magic. But without her to “legitimize” his connection to magic, he’s been forcefully removed from it. That creates a huge void in his life, and that’s why he decides to invent this illegal device that will connect him to magic again. The only reason why that device poses a threat to this all-powerful Magical Consortium is because that means he has access to magic that they cannot control or define.

That’s what struck me the most about the story: on the one hand, it’s a really light-hearted, fun, magical romp, but it’s *also* taking a very firm stance against authoritarianism and gatekeeping, like I said, by showing that there are so many more ways to exist than can be anticipated when we try to establish these hard limitations of what humanity can or should look like.

I also appreciate the magic system in this story, because it opens up a conversation about issues of access and scarcity of resources.

In this world, magic functions in relation to ley lines. If you’re near a stronger ley line, you can perform more powerful magic, if you’re near a weaker line then you can’t perform any magic or very simple magic. Rhat system is, again, challenging this idea that magic, in this case, is monolithic—the misconception that everyone who uses magic is automatically on equal footing and using magic in the same exact ways.

As the story goes on, you see Rook questioning whether there truly is such a thing as being an incredibly powerful, naturally gifted sorcerer in this world. Are there people who have a natural affinity for magic, or simply people who have more opportunities to access stronger and better magic?

You know I love a good parallel as well, and I love how Rook is someone who is constantly searching for magic, and Sun is someone who has a very good sense of seeing magic both in the world and in other people around them. So there’s a really beautiful emotional arc between them as Rook finds what he’s looking for in Sun and Sun is able to see the magic—metaphoric and perhaps literal—that has always existed within Rook.

These wonderfully silly self-acclaimed “frenemies” definitely get up to some hijinks in this book, and it was really fun and emotionally rewarding to follow their story through to the end. As I said, this book truly brought me so much joy every second that I spent with it. F.T. Lukens has never once let me down, and I doubt they ever will. I encourage you to pick up any one of their books if you want to experience something truly special!

First of all, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Secondly, the world building in this is so good! I loved the magic system and how they pulled magic; the description of the spell casting made me feel like I was legitimately watching it. Lukens has become an auto-buy author for me; their writing is so interesting, unique and immersive--I have bought copies of all their books for my high school classroom so my kids have easy access to them!

This book is everything I could have wanted from Lukens. Their writing style feels like a warm hug and I absolutely love their characters and stories. This book did not disappoint and is one that I will continue to come back to time and time again.

What an excellent read!

Lukens excellently balances magic and technology in a way that doesn't feel forced, but insteads is intriguing up to the last page. Rook and Sun, or MCs, are fully developed characters and this never falters, The side characters are also fully developed, and memorable.

I want to be friends with Rook and Sun, and the growth of their friendship is excellently written.

This was a wonderful world to be in.

Lukens has become one of my auto-buy authors. Everything he writes makes me smile and leaves me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Spell Bound is a fun jaunt through a world of magic, following two young apprentice sorcerers as they try to save their teachers from the very magical government that they all work for.

Rook and Sun are the perfect depiction of the Grumpy and Sunshine trope, and I loved every minute they were on the page together. Their growing friendship, and then love, was so cute, and set at a pace that worked for me.

If you’re in the mood for a queer, medium stakes, cozy urban fantasy, then I would definitely recommend that you try this one out.

I have absolutely adored every single one of F.T. Lukens’s books, and ‘Spell Bound’ was no exception. I just loved this book so much from the gorgeous cover to the fantastic world building to the romance - as well as the super intriguing magic system! - and I highly recommend this complete gem. If I could give it ten stars I would!

I liked this more than So This Is Ever After. The characters in Spell Bound feel more fleshed out, the pacing is better, and the relationship between Rook and Sun felt believable. Wouldn't mind another jaunt through this world, to see what becomes of the Consortium.

Arc provided by Netgalley

I ended up waiting fo the audiobook of this and I really enjoyed it I thought it was a cute story and I liked the main characters. I do think the magic system was a little confusing/didn't make sense.

F.T. Lukens upped their game with Spell Bound, which I feel is easily their best work to date! The story grabbed me from the first line, and I am a little obsessed with the magical world its set in. I enjoyed the dual perspectives, but Rook was definitely my favorite character in the story (besides maybe Herb the magical coatrack). I wish I could read another book set in this world, because I really love the ways that F.T. Lukens played with the divide between the magical and non-magical communities!

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy urban fantasy, Spell Bound is going to be a MUST READ for you! I think this book perfectly embodies the genre of urban fantasy, and was such an addictive read

Edison Rooker desperately wants to be magical, but he's just smart and cute. Once he loses his connection to magic when his grandmother dies, he approaches a powerful sorceress in the hopes of a job. He gets one, but it pits him against both the powerful Magic Consortium and the sorceress's rival… who happens to have a cute apprentice as well.

My main complaint about this book is it reads like a middle grade story rather than YA. Many things are handwaved away (like Rook's ability to create a magical detection device). The romance is cute but without tension or substance.

Pluses: welcome nonbinary representation here and the cover is spectacular

This novel has a fun magical ecosystem that more directly interacts with the non magical world. A coming of age, with found family, and a few fantastic twists we follow a technology savvy main character as they try to find their place in the world. What follows is an adventure that changes the structure of their society, and they may even get a date along the way. 4/5
Thank you Netgalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending the book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

This book was cute, but was a bit of a let down. I found myself just not reaching to pick it up and was kind of slogging through it.

The main characters were so sweet and I want nothing but the best for them, but I didn’t really see a ton of growth in them throughout the story.

The bit of romance was sweet and lovingly predictable, but helped my enjoyment of the book:

I'm a fan of F.T. Lukens' other books, so I (rightly) assumed I would like this one too when i requested.

This was a fun magical story!
I really enjoyed the grump/sunshine aspect and the found family trope is almost always a win for me.

The adventure was fantastic, and I think readers will enjoy this! A great YA read.

This was my introduction to Lukens work and I will absolutely be seeking out their other books. This was such an excellent blend of cozy, snarky, and adventurous. One of my favorite reads so far this year!

Spell Bound is about non-magical early high school graduate Edison Rooker (Rook) working for the most powerful sorcerer at her call center as office staff, while simultaneously trying to learn magic in secret.
Spell Bound started off kind of slow for me, but ended up being a really fun book. When I began my reading journal I was really into YA but as I read more adult novels, it's harder to connect with a genre I once found very fun and cute, this book kind of re-sparked that though for me. It was silly, and had a lot going on, and although the start was slow it was pretty well paced throughout. Like most YA books, the conflict though was resolved in an entirely unrealistic and far too easy way.
The consortium was a delightfully frustrating concept, it's essentially the magic cops, and there was a lot of back and forth between the two groups of characters, one being pro-magic police and the other being against it. This whole plot line made me very sweaty, but overall I was pleased with the message it send across.
This book would be good for this who are anti-capitalism, and who enjoy found family and rivals-to-lovers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions are my own.