3.5 - a cozy, wintery romance. If I'm being honest, I was on the brink of dnf'ing this for a while, but by the end I figured it out: I was looking for the wrong things in this book. F. T. Lukens' typical strengths are lackluster here - but this book is also significantly stronger in areas where their previous novels were very weak.

The F. T. Lukens formula is lovable characters plus a top tier, giggle-inducing romance in a thin world with very little plot to speak of; Otherworldly is almost exactly the opposite of that. I struggled to get invested in this book because Knox and Ellery weren't just underdeveloped as characters, they were in fact copied and pasted directly from Spellbound. I'm serious. I understand and expect some degree of similarity from time to time in an author's body of work, but these are the exact same two people, with the same personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, falling in love for the same reasons and hitting the same emotional beats. Not only that, the romance arc honestly felt more abrupt and less fleshed out. I was expecting that to be the part that hooked me, and I found it underwhelming compared to my hopes and expectations for it.

The saving grace is that this book is actually paced and plotted more tightly than either of the other two I've read by this author. I certainly won't claim this is a particularly ground-breaking or intricate plot, but it was fun, cohesive, and made sense the entire time - and as much as I dearly love Spellbound, I cannot claim the same thing for it. The worldbuilding was also genuinely intriguing, pulling in a lot of enjoyable fantasy elements in creative ways that won me over.

By the end of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed the treacherous, magical journey and the realm of gods and goddesses while accepting that I just did not care about the romance at all.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for a copy of this wonderful story!
Um, YES.
Pretty original storyline. Loveable characters. Off the charts CHEMISTRY. Queer. Found family. The coziness. Magic. What else could you want?
I love them all so much.
Zara and Charley’s cute nicknames for each other, oh my gosh. I need someone in my life.
Will definitely read more of Luken’s work in the future.

-non-binary
-queer
-found family
-magic
-gods and goddesses

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

a special thank you to netgalley and publisher for the arc!

this book was WONDERFUL. i had such a fun time reading it. it’s charming and it has this cozy feels that is just *chef’s kiss.* quite literally in love with the atmosphere of this book. not to mention, the diversity (!!!!) and queer representations included, along with the exploration of pretty complicated topics (such as belief, difficult relationship with parents, financial problems, etc).

i love love the main four characters, i’ve become very fond of them as i went through their shenanigans throughout the book. ellery and knox of course, but charley and zada!!!!!!!!!!! you two will be missed.

i love seeing their dynamic with each other— how they went about their days and how they developed as a pretty major change happened in their life (ekhem sudden supernatural being’s existence under their roof!). it was so natural and heartwarming at times, but also *wildly* entertaining and hilarious because most of their interactions read like a sitcom and i had a BLAST. (especially charley, i’m very very fond of her <3)

ellery and knox were so!!!!!! their bickering at the beginning, them slowly warming up to each other, how soft they were after, and the angst and guilt and uncertainty that came in between was so so SO GOOD. this has dual povs (which already is a bonus point honestly ) and i enjoy both so much. i love love being able to see both perspectives of the relationship and get to know more of them beyond their designated role in said romantic relationship— (which is also why every romance book with dual povs done right is always always superior 😁)— and FT lukens just did it RIGHT.

ellery had their own struggles and backstory, and so did knox, and i’m so happy we got to see each of them explored and how these two ended up recovering and finding the best solution to their respective problems, both with help of their new otherwordly acquaintance and by their own will. i love love both of their character arcs, most especially with ellery.

now! the romance! ellery and knox’s story pulled at the heartstrings! it was all in good fun and cutesy cute, but then someone suddenly said things like “how love remembers” and i had this sudden urge to scream, cry, and throw up. knowing how one of them was feeling while the other was close to them or when something bad happened to the other, and how it was just either longing and affection and adoration and this feeling of safety and contentment intensified, or purely angst and pain and worry and *screams* IT WAS SO GOOD. i love them so much.

sorry this has turned more into a rambling rather than a *checks notes* proper good actually intelligible review, BUT with all that said, i DEFINITELY do recommend you to check this out! there’s definitely lots of things that i missed, but if you love a good, diverse, cozy ya romance with a touch of supernatural, then i think it totally deserves the try!

4.25 (★ ★ ★ ★ .25) stars! 3.1.24

“This story… has ‘star-crossed lovers’ written all over it.”

Otherworldly is FT Luken's latest dual POV fantasy romance release with a non believer in a town forgotten by the local goddess and a Familiar on the run that they save. Ellery moved to the big city to work after their family couldn't afford to feed them at the family farm after an eternal winter hit their town. They spend their days working at a diner with their cousin Charley, and then living with said cousin and her girlfriend Zada.

Safe to say, it's a pretty boring life for Ellery - the only highlight is keeping an eye out for "hot weird guy", a customer in the diner. Ellery would never talk to him though - until their paths cross when Ellery saves Knox when he's getting attacked in the alley. Knox, being a familiar on the run without a bond to the human world knows he needs to find a new one soon.

Rather than returning to the Other World, he wants to experience the human world and a chance comes in the form of Ellery - if only he could get the other to believe in the supernatural once more. They enter a bargain, information on the local goddess in return for "living the human experience". With Knox's position safe for now, these two embark on the small joys of being human from hockey games to frat parties and sleepovers.

But all bargains must end - and while these two run the risk of falling in love, Knox is bound to forget his memories when it's over. The clock is running out on both them and this town if they can't fix the eternal winter.

This book was just such a comforting read with low stakes and a fun setting. I loved the side characters too - Charley and Zada are the epitome of "In LOVE" and they are warm in taking in someone that needs help. Over and over we're shown the truth of platonic love in their hearts and how much Ellery cares for them back.

My only issue with this book was the romance itself - I just couldn't get over the uncomfortable feeling with the pairing. Knox's memories get wiped each time he enters the realm, but he's technically thousands of years old. Ellery is by all accounts human and a child. Even if Knox was new to the world it just seemed icky to read. I liked how it worked out in the ending but the middle had me touch and go for a minute.

This book has ALLL of my favorite things - found family, queernormative world, grumpy x cinnamon roll, a checklist (I'm type A!) and hockey games! I really loved how there was no discussion on Ellery's gender, it was accepted that they used They/Them pronouns and people rolled with it. Overall, I'm a fan of anything Luken's writes and this one hit the right notes for me.

rep// MLM, WLW, Bi rep, non Binary MC

cw// death, murder, stalking, blood, violence, abandonment issues

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC!

First – A huge thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Full discretion: F.T. Lukens is one of my favorite authors on this planet (definitely an auto-buy author for me iykyk), but I have to say despite my already absolute adoration for their work... I really, truly LOVED this book so much! Such a cozy, endearing YA fantasy read for me. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year (obviously) and I am so honored to have been able to read it a little early but also get to gush about what spoke to me most about it.

Ellery is a skeptic in every way, shape and form. They've so far made it through a "winter-pocalypse" of sorts that has plagued their small town for five whole years. A primarily farming community that believes in and prays to a goddess who many believe to bring a bountiful harvest to their lands each year. Except Ellery (quite logically) struggles to believe in said goddess who – if she does even exist – has forsaken them & their family's farm for half a decade. For this reason, Ellery lives with their cousin and their cousin's partner in the city to work and send money home to their family to get by. There, at the diner they work, they meet a very unexpected handsome stranger named Knox, who is not entirely as human as he might seem. One thing leads to another and these two make a magical deal to help end this never-ending winter and maybe find something magical between them along the way...

When I say I am obsessed with how sweet this little supernatural found family is, there are truly NO WORDS. The tender goodness I love from F.T.'s other works shown through so brightly in this book and I was not prepared for how attached I would get to these characters 😭 (but I do this every time) The little glimpses at Charley & Zada's relationship were so sweet my teeth were achingggggg. And the way Ellery & Knox's relationship bloomed was just so perfect for them 🥹 If you're a fan of cozy queer books, this one is for you! There is definitely still lots of action and adventure, but overall just felt really comforting to read.

Please do yourself a favor and add this one to your up next reads. And be grateful for the warmer days ahead because the next season could never come if a goddess feels so inclined...

Side note: The cover artist for "Otherwordly," Sam Schechter, is SO talented! I just started following their work on Instagram (@sam.spectre) and am blown away. This cover is stunning and I couldn't help constantly turning to look back at the cover as I read because it's so stunning. They've worked on some of F.T.'s other covers and I just had to shout their work out!

This was a wonderful little romance. Sweet, bittersweet, and warm in all the right places, I loved the word and all the characters. They grown and change which is one of the most important components in a story like this to keep it from being to saccharine or stagnating. Would happily read more

Huge thank you to NetGalley for having this available to read!

I tried to like this one so much. It had some decent world building at the start, and I love the inclusion. My biggest issue with being able to complete this book was the creative decision to have multi POV chapters (split between two main characters) written in 1st Person POV and a non-binary MC. I had to re-read the same passage 2-3 times to realize when we were and were not referring to the MC. I got to 34% and just realized that while I do want to know what happens to the characters, it was too confusing to read through the actual story. It is also strange to me that Knox, our silly little familiar with a heart of gold, just automatically assumes the MC (Ellery) goes by "they/them" instead of other pronouns and assumes everyone else is standard (she/her or he/him based off of appearance). I might be thinking too far into it, but it still felt odd to me that this would be the direction we go with the multi POV's.

I think I would like to come back to this eventually. But it just felt like a chore to read. I will give it 3 stars for potential and the inclusivity, but to be plainly honest it lacked everywhere else.

🤍💜 Otherworldly ARC Review 💜🤍

Thank you so much to FT Lukens and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Otherworldly is a standalone queer fantasy read. Ellery doesn’t believe in magic. Their family is struggling to get by and the world has been stuck in a five-year winter. But everything changes when they meet Knox, a magical assistant who helps humans

This book was such a fantastic read! Ellery was a wonderful character and I loved the growth of their relationship with Knox in this story. The world building was super unique and I really loved the lore! It definitely had some nods to mythology that I really enjoyed!

Overall this was a five star read! I adored the characters and the magical world building! This book was super cute with YA levels of romance, so one flame for spice

If you’re a fan of YA fantasy with strong characters, fun banter, engaging world building and unique lore, then absolutely pick this one up!!

Please note: review will be posted on Amazon upon publication

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

I'm a huge fan of all of Lukens' books that I've read and this one was no exception. I loved this book so much! I feel like my favorite aspect of this book is the found family dynamic which is something that I feel Lukens does so well. I loved getting to see Ellery and Knox's relationship develop throughout the book. The two of them were so adorable! I also thought that Charley and Zada were super cute too from the little bits of their relationship that we got to see. I really liked the supernatural elements that this book had. It gave me the same type of vibes that I got when I read Spell Bound because of that. If you've read Spell Bound by Lukens, you'll probably end up liking this one.

Side note: whoever does the covers for Lukens' books does such an amazing job. Every single one of the covers they design is stunning.

Back when I had the chance to review an ARC of Spell Bound, I wrote that FT Lukens somehow manages to get better with every book they write. With Otherworldly, I am absolutely confident that I can stand by that statement. This one was on another level of storytelling and I will read whatever Lukens chooses to write.

Solis City and the surrounding area having been under five years of unending winter. While everyone else seems intent on believing that they have been abandoned by their goddess, Ellery is a nonbeliever. After all, what type of deity would leave their people to suffer like this? Not believing is the only acceptable option. At least... until Ellery (literally) runs into the hot customer from the diner, Knox, who claims to be a familiar from the Other World and a servant of the goddess. And Knox needs to make a new bargain fast, before he's dragged back to the Other World - but maybe he can help Ellery solve the mystery of this eternal winter.

One of my favorite things about all of Lukens' works is the strong sense of found family that pervades each story. Otherworldly ramps this up to eleven. Charley and Zada and Ellery have created their own little family, and they're so quick to welcome Knox into the fold. Their dynamic is funny and sweet and so warm and really is just a highlight of a lovely book.
Which isn't to say that the romance isn't equally delightful. Seeing Ellery go from crush to chilly to love with Knox, who is the magical equivalent of a golden retriever, is so swoon-worthy. And their romance plays such a huge part in the last quarter of the book in a way that Greek mythology fans will be sure to adore!

This a truly heartwarming story of found family and love . And let me tell you, I CACKLED at the slow cooker. The world building is so intriguing. I read it in one sitting.

This may be the first FT Lukens book I haven't loved. I tried! I got 50% in and gave up. Unlike SO THIS IS EVER AFTER or SPELLBOUND, I just didn't find myself connecting to these two main characters, which in turn made me not care about the stakes of the novel . I'll likely try to read it again once it's published after I've put some time between reading this ARC and giving it a second go, but right now I can't say I'd recommend this book on a personal level. Do I think it's as well-written as Lukens' other work? Sure. But I have not found myself caring for the plot, and that's where it falls flat for me.

This was such a delightful read! I fell in love with the characters from page 1, and I felt fully immersed within the world with how FT Lukens described everything. This was such a cozy read that was perfect to pick up after long days at work.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an arc of Otherworldly! This doesn’t influence my review. So first off, I want to say that I thought this story was incredibly cute generally. I wasn’t sure what kind of story we were getting as this is the first work of the author I had read. At first, I was expecting full on urban fantasy. It’s hard to explain because while the fantasy elements were important to the plot, the most important aspect was the relationships in the story. The fantasy was a vehicle for certain things to happen but the relationships that Knox develops with Charley, Zada, and of course Ellery are the heart of the story. While the writing for me skews middle grade at times, it’s a YA that was a fun read. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the family aspect between the characters. They would do anything for each other. The love story between Knox and Ellery was sweet and aching. I was rooting for them the whole time. All in all, the book was a cute and fun read. It didn’t make cry or scream, but I was smiling throughout.

This is a YA Paranormal Queer book and I was damn excited to read this. We have two amazing main characters.
First is Ellery, who doesn't believe in supernatural powers. He believes that there is a scientific reason for the five years of winter that is going on and it's definitely not an act of supernatural power.
While Knox is a familiar from the Other World, a magical assistant who make bargains with human in favour of a help.
It's quite interesting how a human and familiar met and Ellery who doesn't believe in supernatural powers had to see unbelievable things. Ellery is useful for Knox and even Ellery wants some aid to end his family's misery, so he makes a bargain with Knox and then the story flows in a magical way leading both to something more interesting and new...

This is my first read from the author's work and I have been getting only good reviews of their past works.

I loved this book so much!! From the gorgeous cover to the lovable characters and everything in between, F.T. Lukens has created another fantastic read! It’s full of magical moments, amazing representation, captivating storytelling with all the cozy vibes and wrapped up in a supernatural YA fantasy!

✨ Magic
🔮 Familiar
📜 Crossroads Bargains
🫖 Cozy Fantasy
🫶 Found Family
🏳️‍🌈 Queer Joy
⛅️ Grumpy/Sunshine
😹 Hoot & a Half
❄️ Eternal Winter

Otherworldly was an absolute delight of a read and I can’t wait to see what fantastical tale F.T. Lukens will come up with next!

Method Read: 📖

Thank you @coloredpagesbt @simonteen & @ftlukens for the gifted copy! 📚

OTHERWORLDLY is another delightful, queer, fantasy YA romcom from F.T. Lukens. Like their previous works, this one is full of fun, likable, and relatable characters and all the angsty yearning of young love. It contains just the right amount of world building to follow the story but lets the characters shine as its centerpieces. To be extremely picky, this one had a few scenes that felt odd or unexplained, but overall it's an enjoyable read in keeping with the author's backlist. Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for giving me early access!

Thank you Storygram Tours, F.T. Lukens, & Simon Teen for sending me a final copy for tour. Thank you again Simon Teen for also sending me a physical ARC. And thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC! 🥰🥰🥰
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Do you ever just squeal because you love a book so much? Well, this book does that for me! 😊🫶
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I think it's safe to say I was/am insanely hyped for Otherworldly! 😁 With a pitch like “Supernatural meets Carry On” how could I not?!? This book lived up to my expectations and was even better than I could have ever imagined! ☺️ I just adore all the main characters - Knox, Ellerly, Charlie, and Zada so much! They are all so precious and make the perfect family! Found family! Also, I am absolutely obsessed with Charlie and Zada’s relationship! I’ve never seen two people more perfect for each other! 🥰 I also really loved the romance between Knox and Ellery! They balanced each other out so perfectly! Grumpy x Sunshine! I also love how Ellery is just nonbinary and it isn't an issue at all! They aren’t struggling with their gender; it isn't a big deal at all! It just is and I just love that! 👏 This book has action but it's just so cozy overall! I love all the fantasy elements and how it's grounded in reality! It's so fun to see Knox use his magic! I just love this book so much, and I feel like if I keep talking, I’ll end up spoiling it, so if you're interested at all, please read this book!!! 😊 I just know I’ll be rereading Otherworldly again and again. I think this has to be my all-time favorite F.T. Lukens book! Which is crazy because I’ve loved every book they’ve written! Thank you, F.T. for writing this beautiful book! 💜
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🏳️‍🌈Rep: nonbinary MC, side sapphic relationship
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Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens releases on April 2nd!

I love the connections in this one, and even the broken paths some of them seem to follow. Ellery has a family, but lives apart from those immediately theirs for difference of opinions, or rather lost faith. They still keep in touch (sometimes), send money back to support the farm during this ten year winter (which is not always used as intended), and hold to a shred of hope, no matter how small, that one day things will return to normal. Knox is an unexpected, yet happy distraction, for both the rekindling of beliefs left behind as well as the eye candy. Hey, the world doesn't go round on persistence alone! 😉 Anyway, they come to need one another more than either ever imagined possible, and as they work towards an end that'll meet both their needs, the question remains... what about them? A ten year winter is detrimental to the environment and the livelihood of their town, but what about the heart?

If you're a Young Adult Fantasy fan, this book needs to be on your must read list...as well as the author's other works! For the story, for the characters, for the inclusiveness that is a common theme, the books welcome readers of all backgrounds, and identities, to enjoy a grand adventure through the pages.