F. T. Lukens

I absolutely loved the way Lukens writes the relationship between Tal and Athlen. From the moment they meet, their circumstances are shrouded in both secrets and a constant thrum of urgency. However, they support each other in ways that are really sweet. They were willing to rely on each other for the important things and each felt so protective over the other. There was also an inherent respect for each other and their wishes that is evident in a lot of their decisions being made. The show more adventures happening simultaneously was also intriguing, and added a level of fast-pacing that made it hard to put the book down. show less

Ok listen. LISTEN.

first of all: hell yeah.

it's a wide known fact among my friends and family that if you toss a thing with pirates in the air near me, it will not touch the floor because i will have caught it. that's just how it is I dont make the rules, yes, blame pirates of the caribbean, whatever. but you add some gays? you give it a cover THIS STUNNING?? im automatically sold.

so. i may not be the most impartial, let's get this out of the way. im in a FRENZY consuming all passable queer show more content i find because The StraightsTM tire me, but i'm still capable of discerning when something is mediocre.

here's the thing: this is not. and yeah, the secret athlen hides is not that hard to figure out but you know what? thats okay. its poetic and we'll let it slide, because i dont think it was meant to be so mysterous- after all, it DOES get confirmed before the plot even begins to thicken. (and the other half of his secret is also kind of predictable but in a charmind kind of way. like, in a "tal you idiot how can you not see what's going on this is why we say all gays are dumb" kinda way.)

tal himself is NICE. hes a NICE DUDE. you know what im saying? he could very easily not be, but hes genuinely a good guy, yet hes not so perfect that it makes you gag from how bland he is. you know those guys? yeah, tal's got substance to him. like a good stew. and he has some bite to him as well, like yeah he'll free the pretty prisoner but he also WILL put on his royal voice and order people around if required.

and athlen is kind of clueless in a really cute way. like. also not clueless? but definitely clueless. they genuinely have a nice dynamic. they MAKE SENSE in a way thats not forced, it just. clicks.

and the fantasy aspects- i wish there was more of it. not because there's too little or its underdeveloped, but because its FUN and well done and not GROUNDBREAKING but also not the magic youve seen a million times over.

also, more nice things: no homophobia AND WE LOVE TO SEE IT. sweet sweet escapism. we're TIRED of the tragedy gays and the authors seem to finally have caught on. the downside: no gay panic. personally, i love the gay panic -quintessential to the queer experience, in my experience, no matter how accepted you are. but i'll take this utopy of no homophobia traded for the couple days of gay panic.

another nice thing: did you know the prince, tal, is the dark(ish) skinned, dark haired one and not the pale ginger? no, really. this is really cool because its not usually like that, unfortunately. the prince is always the pale one and im TIRED OF IT. and since i just mentioned them both in the same sentence, i'll say: MY GOD the sheer tenderness. too good for this world, too pure.

i have so many feelings about the whole thing. not many of them are coherent, i'll admit. but i gave it five stars, so, to close, my final words- tal and athlen: you're my honeybunch sugarplum, pumpy umpy umpkin, you're my sweetiepie. you're my cuppycake gumdrop, snoogums-boogums, you're the apple of my eye.

that is all. thank you. show less

These books are an absolute joy to read and laugh-out-loud funny. This is one of those stories that will make drive your partner nuts by reading parts of it to them. (Personal experience. I know this.) This is the second installment in Lukens’ The Rules series. I would recommend reading the first book as it sets up and explains a lot of the insane world in which Bridger lives. You see… what’s awesome is that his world is perfectly normal… until it isn’t.

In this book, legends and show more myths are often very real and, for the most part, much friendlier than one might think. Friendly, that is, if you’re armed with an instruction book on how to deal with the world of mythical and legendary creatures, you have a boss who is an Intermediary with magical skills, and a best friend who kicks ass and a boyfriend who is a hero.

Bridger’s world changed drastically in The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic (The Rules, #1), he realized that werewolves and pixies and the like were real and that he had a crush on Leo… the heroic quarterback. When book 2 begins… Bridger is in his last year of high school, dating Leo, still learning the ins and out of the mythical world, still working for Pavel and still his loveable, bumbling self.

When a Ghosthunters type of TV show arrives in town, things begin to get complicated again for Bridger. The host is relentless, digging into the lives of Bridger and his friends. One of the lovely things in this book is that way that Bridger slowly comes to realize that he’s created a chosen family. Having his estranged father back in town really illustrates to Bridger that family is about a lot more than blood relations.

There is a little heart-ache in this book and the perfect amount of sweet friends to help Bridger move forward. These books definitely give me a warm fuzzy feeling while being incredibly entertaining! Very enjoyable. show less

Thank you to F.T. Lukens and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in return for my honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Ellery is a human who doesn't believe in the supernatural; Knox is a familiar who has to convince them to believe in order to stay safe. Shenanigans ensue, and with the help of their cousin, her girlfriend, and an oddball cast of supernaturals Ellery learns to trust while Knox learns what it means to be human. Read if you like: a sweet romance plot, grumpy-sunshine, and a show more whole lot of found family.

I think Lukens really created a cozy fantasy masterpiece here. The vibes of this book were immaculate; the characters, worldbuilding, and prose were all wonderful. I didn't want to leave the characters behind when the book was over. The use of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth was a particularly good choice, given Ellery's character and their growth; they struggled to trust others cared about them throughout the entire book and the scene of them walking back to the crossroads showed not only that they learned that they could trust Knox to follow, but that they trusted in themselves enough that if he didn't they wouldn't break. It was immaculate. My only (very minor) gripe and the only reason this didn't get 5 stars is the action scenes. They felt weird to me; almost like they were moving too fast? I get that "cozy" doesn't really go with "the bad guys are attacking," but something about them didn't match the writing in the rest of the book in a slightly off-putting way. show less