Arek never really thought much about what would happen once he and his ragtag team of friends complete the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. What Arek definitely didn’t expect, though, was finding himself accidentally crowned king and caught up in a curse that requires him to find his soulmate before he turns 18 or either end up killed. Utterly desperate and with no romantic partner in sight but confident in the knowledge that a good relationship is based on a solid friendship, Arek begins wooing his friends with some hilarious yet devastating results. But as the failed attempts at wooing his friends one by one pile up and the deadline to find a soulmate fast approaches, Arek finds himself at his wit’s end—only to realise that his one true love was in front of him all along.
Listen up, y’all, this book is to be devoured in one sitting. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them. So This Is Ever After turned out to be an unputdownable, subversive and hilarious extravaganza that turns tropes on its head and delivers a magnificent slow-burn friends-to-lovers with a lot of emotional depth.
F.T. Lukens has a talent for situational humour. Obviously, this is already a highly entertaining situation Arek finds himself in, but the way humour is added in the right moments felt like watching a beloved comedy show. These tropes that we all know and love so much—the chosen one, the eternal sidekick and so on—are subverted in the most entertaining of ways in So This Is Ever After. To have the Chosen One accidentally land on the throne only to find himself having to marry to keep the kingdom he didn’t even want in the first place was all kinds of spellbinding.
And much of that can be attributed to the incredible (and wonderfully queer) cast of characters. It’s always a gamble when you have a relatively short book with so many characters as in this one, but Lukens manages to give every single one their moment to shine and refrain from making them static. We have, of course, Arek who is as kind as he is funny, his best friend Matt who is the mage, Bethany, the group’s bard, Sionna, a fearless fighter, Rion’ a knight with a heart of gold, and Lila, whose mysterious past makes for some entertaining mystery moments. The sense of camaraderie between them felt so real and I loved how they all stayed behind to help Arek in his new role as reluctant but fair and kind leader. Their friendship had a tangible quality to it and we really get to see everyone fighting to make the kingdom great again while finding what they’re good at or what they want to do with their lives. During the “wooing” part of the story, Arek learns so much about his friends that he didn’t before and it was eye-opening to see what a person keeps to themselves and for what reasons. Honestly, this is where the magic in this book really lies—the way Lukens manages to balance the laugh-out-loud with the tender moments. This story has so much heart and you can tell.
Now, Arek and Matt’s friendship deserves an entire paragraph for itself. It’s one of my favourite ways to deal with the friends-to-lovers trope when both parties are so hopelessly in love with each other and literally everyone around them can see it except for the two of them. Arek and Matt delivered all the mutual pining, disgruntled jealousies and hilarious “wait, you’re in love with WHO” moments that had my eyes glued to the pages. You could also tell how much respect they have for the other because neither is willing to make the other sacrifice something they shouldn’t and even before they realise just how perfect they are for each other, there’s so much love in these pages that you can’t help but feel absolutely smitten with them. Arek is so in love with Matt but somehow, there’s always something from keeping him confessing that love. Meanwhile, Matt doesn’t want to be an option instead of a choice. It’s so harrowing yet incredibly entertaining watching these two dorks be so devoted to each other yet not taking that final leap of faith.
With a marvellous cast of well-rounded characters, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and even more heart, So This Is Ever After puts a hilarious, queer and wholesome spin on the beloved Chosen One trope. Fans of Carry On and Merlin won’t want to miss out on this!
So This Is Ever After is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 29th 2022.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this funny, subversive 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.
