I have come to expect a certain level of joyful chaos in FT Lukens work and Spell Bound delivered exactly that! I have been a fan and follower of Lukens work since the beginning and the premise of this story had me excited as it didn’t fit the fantasy mold I have come to expect from them. This modern urban magic take was refreshing and world building felt more concrete and real than I even hoped for! This gave me a The Devil Wears Prada vibe (I genuinely could not tell you why, maybe it’s Antonia’s office downtown and her eccentric ways … or maybe it was just all the coffee running Rook does lol.) 

The writing gave what I’ve come to expect of Lukens, which is witty and lighthearted - even when the situations become a little dire! The characters are all chaotic and lovely and full of so much heart that I just want to hug all of them ( I’d ask permission from Sun first, of course). What this story does really well is ease us as readers into the characters - Usually I’m not a fan of slower beginnings but it was necessary here for us to become attached to Rook and Sun individually before they are thrown into an intense situation together.

Also, the grumpy/sunshine trope here? Fantastic. Showstopping. Round of applause. Sun had just the perfect level of general annoyance at the world around them and Rook was just so happy to be along for the ride - their dynamic was funny but also made sense in a way that played to both of their strengths. 

In the end this is a wonderful story about finding one’s own self worth and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who can see it too. Found family is something I know I will always get out of an F.T. Lukens book and what is more found family than a non-magical magic guy and his grumpy little partner and their wary of breaking the rules magical teacher and their scary all powerful frenemy that has taken up the non-magical magic guy as her apprentice? 

And finally, can we have a round of applause for the cover?! Sam Schechter never fails to amaze me with their work. Holy cow. I want wall posters of every cover they have done. 

Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review!