Thank you to Simon Teen for providing this book as a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
My Review:
Like the other book I’ve read by F.T. Lukens, I found this book fun and sweet at times, but not my favorite ever.
First, characters. I really loved both Sun and Rook, but the other characters were great too. My overall fave was Antonia because she was simultaneously amazing and horrible. I didn’t see a whole lot of depth in anyone, but it didn’t keep me from enjoyment.
Next, relationships. Sun and Rook were really sweet, but I also loved the friendships and familial elements, primarily the tentative relationship between Fable and Antonia. I thought they were all really fun.
Finally, worldbuilding and plot. There wasn’t a lot going on for those, but there was some buildup and, ultimately, execution. Was it intricate, complex, or perfect? Nah, but I enjoyed myself.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not more than most others. I liked a lot of elements, I just didn’t find them super compelling. I’d still recommend this to fans of casual fantasy or shorter, lighter YA.
⭐⭐⭐/5
The Fiction Feature 