Ellinore may be the most celebrated quester in the kingdom, but her legendary reputation is built on carefully kept lies. Ready to leave her false fame behind, she plans to retire without a fuss—until her reckless twin brother gambles his life on her ability to retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast.
Forced into one final journey, Ellinore teams up with her brooding rival, an ambitious barmaid, and a young bard as they face dangerous creatures, shifting loyalties, and unexpected feelings along the way. With time running out, Ellinore will have to confront both the truth about herself and the cost of saving the people she loves.
Much like the traditional hero’s journey, I experienced some ups and downs with Ellinore’s trials. Let’s get into it.
F.T. Lukens creates a magical setting that feels like you could spend an eternity in it. Some may not like it, but I actually love the mix of very modern words and slangs used in fantasy stories because they make them feel more accessible for newer and younger readers—and even as a vetted fantasy reader, I just always love the funny juxtaposition of magical creatures like dragons with the usage of expressions like “clocking someone”. Never gets old for me.
Character creation is, as always, where Lukens absolutely devours.
Ellinore, especially, is someone I immediately took a liking to. From the way she describes the pressure she feels to live up to the image this kingdom and its rulers has built up while absolutely not wanting to ever hurt someone all the way to how she has done everything in life to provide a better and safer future for her family and especially her brother Zig just had me feeling for her. Here is a girl who would sacrifice everything for her family to have a better life and yet can’t tell them the truth because it could cause them to lose everything they hold dear—and not only because Zig has a history of struggling with keeping things to himself.
Zig is a bit of a spitfire. You can tell where he gets his attitude from—always overshadowed by his sister, trying to get attention in the worst possible ways and much of their fragile relationship is due to miscommunication, which was hard to stomach. Yet Zig is also fierce in his loyalty when it comes down to it, which I appreciated.
Also, can I just say how much I love that we have a gender-nonconforming love interest? It felt so nice to see that representation in a fantastical world and while the romance isn’t very present in the novel, it still made my heart so happy! Give me queer characters in any setting, any age, any world, I am here for it! Aven is at times deadpan, at others ridiculously sassy and yet they have this energy about them that made them feel almost unreal? It’s hard to describe but at any given time I thought they could just float up into the sky and rule the entire kingdom, which I guess tracks with their lineage. The interactions between them and Ellinore also varied from outright confusion to downright sass competitions and this push-and-pull really drew me in.
We also have a variety of fantastical beings that enrich the story. Dave, in particular, a dragon Ellinore supposedly “slayed” but in reality ended up being friends with, is a fantastic addition to the story. He brings a sense of calmness to the whole situation with his sarcastic commentary, yet obviously deeply cares for Ellinore and wants to keep her and her brother safe.
And while some characters, both those that joined the journey and those that opposed it, did remain in a one-dimensional “villain” vs. “helper” role throughout the various encounters, I think it worked as a nice background to what are fully fleshed-out main characters that breathe fresh life into the narrative.
And speaking of the narrative: When it comes to the plot of The Last Best Quest Ever, you might guess that it’s a hero’s journey. We have a reluctant or, well, pretend hero who is forced to go on a seemingly impossible quest to save her loved one. Classic, right?
I guess I just expected a bit more. With a set structure as the hero’s journey, it’s really all about putting your own spin on it to make it feel new and exciting to a reader. For instance, So This Is Ever After is my favourite book by Lukens and while it also follows the hero’s journey, it adds so many spins to it that at times you forget you are reading a quest-structured book at all.
Yet The Last Best Quest Ever definitely fell into the pitfall of going through the motions a few times and it wasn’t helped by the fact that some encounters just felt exactly the same without ever heightening the stakes. Don’t get me wrong, the world building was wonderful and we meet a variety of different magical creatures and individuals that add to the tapestry of the fantastical world.
Somehow, though, Ellinore always finds a way to talk herself and her companions out of trouble with little to no resistance from the antagonists, which was frustrating. What’s more, they sometimes even help her get farther along which is great in terms of story progression but feels earned too easily considering her quest is supposed to be impossible to achieve.
I would have loved more grittiness to the journey or obstacles that truly hindered the questers. Even the “final” beats of the story fell somewhat flat because the lead-up just didn’t make me worry at all for the characters.
So in the end, despite the stakes being so high, it never felt like there was actually a moment where Zig’s life was really about to be forfeit.
Despite the structure not hitting quite right for me, I did love the underlying message pervading Ellinore’s journey about how hard it can be to find your place in the world where you are struggling to live up to other’s unrealistic expectations, especially when you have an entirely different outlook on what life is supposed to be about and what should really matter. I loved this juxtaposition of Ellinore absolutely not wanting to be a hero, yet ending up being one just by being herself and trusting her instincts.
So while The Last Best Quest Ever didn’t entirely floor me, it still has all the ingredients to be a perfect read for others (who perhaps have not spent three years dissecting Campbell’s hero’s journey for a dissertation and can quote the stages and plot points to hit by heart)!
If you’re a fan of the epic hero’s journey formula and want to dive into a new adventure with a ragtag group of questers and magical beasts to best…or befriend, then The Last Best Quest Ever might be the perfect read for you!
The Last Best Quest Ever is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 26th 2026.
Will you be picking up The Last Best Quest Ever? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
A fraudulent teen quester must team up with a brooding, royal rival on a perilous adventure to save her brother’s life in this “witty…lively, heartfelt” (School Library Journal, starred review) young adult romantasy full of mythical creatures by the New York Times bestselling author of Spell Bound and So This is Ever After.
Seventeen-year-old Ellinore has the best questing record in the kingdom. Not even Aven—the infuriatingly charming royal who’s become her fiercest rival—can compete. But every one of Ellinore’s triumphs is a lie. The monsters she’s slain? Staged. The treasures she’s claimed? Planted. Tired of the charade, she shocks the realm by retiring during a royal feast.
Her hopes for a quiet life vanish when her reckless twin brother, Zig, bets his life on her ability to retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast—a creature no one believes is real. To save him, Ellinore must return to the spotlight for one final quest. She’s joined by Zig, eager to prove himself; Aven, determined to finally outshine her; and a ragtag crew of unlikely questers with big dreams, questionable skills, and a knack for trouble.
As the stakes rise, Ellinore must decide who she really wants to be: the fraud the kingdom celebrates, the hero it needs, or someone entirely new.
