F.T. Lukens
Synopsis: Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next.
As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing.
With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.
My Rating: 4.75 stars – Rounded up to 5 stars
cover 5; characters 4; plot 4; pace 5; writing 4; enjoyment 5; cry *
My Review: I know I say it all the time, but THIS BOOK Y’ALL!
SO THIS IS EVER AFTER is a queer pining fantasy romcom of my dreams. I just . . I literally was yelling at our MC and his friends to just “spit it out already!” and I loved that for me. The torture was absolute joy. This is a really weird way to review a book, no?
This takes place in a fantasy world where no one bats an eye at who you love or puts societal constraints on that love and I was HERE for it. Our main cast of misfits felt like the people you’d see sitting around a D&D table getting ready for an epic guild quest and what we actually got in the story was their epilogue. It was the “what happens after” and it was just a joy to read.
If you have issues with the miscommunication trope, I have a note. Personally miscommunication tropes are usually a huge let down for me. They’re one of the things I hate most in romance. But I honestly felt like the way our MC and LI spoke to one another actually made sense for their character and where they were in their journey.
If you like a high fantasy setting but want fairly low stakes (perhaps you’re a fan of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree) this is a good book for you. While the stakes are technically high, it’s pretty clear from the way the novel is written how things are going to go and I never really felt a moment of fear for our characters.
Honestly this was kind of a mix of Legends and Lattes and Heartstopper. Two things I’ve read fairly recently and loved. *shrugs*
I received an eARC of SO THIS IS EVER AFTER from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
To see more reviews & purchase links, check this book out on Goodreads.
To see more of my reviews, head over to the reviews page on my website.
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