Today’s review is about SO THIS IS EVER AFTER by F.T. Lukens. It’s a Young Adult standalone romcom fantasy. Arek and his friends fulfilled the prophecy and deposed the Dark Lord. But in temporarily holding the throne, Arek accidentally trips a magic spell that dictates he must marry before he turns 18 or die.
Author: F.T. Lukens
Series: None
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publish Date: April 04, 2023
Print Length: 384
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So This Is Ever After Synopsis
Synopsis
Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this subversive, “delightfully original and whimsical” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult fantasy about what happens after the chosen one wins the kingdom and has to get married to keep it…and to stay alive.
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.
So This Is Ever After Review
SO THIS IS EVER AFTER is a Young Adult romantic comedy. Arek and his quest companions just defeated an evil ruler, thus fulfilling the prophecy that said he’d save the Kingdom of Ere. To temporarily fill the vacuum of power, Arek reluctantly agrees to rule until they identify someone good and suitable to do so long term. Unbeknownst to Arek, becoming king comes with acquiescence to a magic law. He must marry by the time he turns 18 in three months or die. So shenanigans ensue as he tries to covertly see if he has chemistry with any of his friends.
There are six characters in this story. Arek is the main character, with his best friend Matt the mage playing the secondary character. Bethany is a bard, Rion is a knight, Lila is a half-elf rogue, and Sionna is a fighter. The point of view is exclusively that of Arek’s. So the reader is privy to all of his snark, worries, and, of course, his pining for Matt.
The writing in SO THIS IS EVER AFTER is excellent, which is what I expect for F.T. Lukens. Lukens provides a Goldilocks amount of detail, which keeps the pace moving as Arek tries to find himself a spouse. Overall, the tone of the story is light and fun. It’s not outrageous even considering the fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons-like setting. Even though Arek faces the possibility of dying, the main angst stems from his seemingly unrecquitted feelings for Matt.
It’s pretty clear to the reader how much Arek likes Matt and that Matt likes Arek. Unfortunately, though, Arek takes Matt’s distance as disinterest. This kicks off the popular trope of a lack of communication, which is something I personally dislike. So by the end of the book I’d had enough and was glad to move on. The response, or the lack of communication, is probably on par for a band of 17-year-olds. So my annoyance with it was more likely just a sign that I’m not the target age range for this book.
However, the snark and sarcasm were fun. And I liked that the world is one that is queer normative. I want to note that SO THIS IS EVER AFTER is not Arthurian related despite the marketing suggesting as such. There’s not a hint of that in the story. So don’t expect to find any ladies in lakes or mysterious swords or the like. At the end of the day, though, this is a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy. It’s a great option for the YA audience or even those outside of that age range who don’t want to ready something too heavy.
Rating: 3.75
Content warnings: gore, blood, death
Reading format: Hardback
While I also had the lack of communication, I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s such a fun group of characters.
Agree that the characters were fun! 🙂
I read this one a couple of years ago (I think), and… it worked less well for me. I still had fun with it, but in the end I didn’t love it, I rolled my eyes so much and I had the impression that the author was trying a bit too hard at being humorous or funny. I didn’t hate it, and I agree on a lot of the things you said in your review, but still… I wasn’t a fan. But I am glad that you were a tad more lucky with it!!
That’s fair…I can see why you’d feel that way. I didn’t mind the humor so much, but by the end I was ready for the miscommunication (or lack thereof) to be over!
I’m glad to see that you (mostly) enjoyed this one. It is one of my favorite Lukens books because I just absolutely love the group of characters so much.
This is my favorite cover of the Lukens books I know about. 🙂