F.T. Lukens has my heart in a tight grip. And it all started with So This Is Ever After, a book I randomly discovered as an Amazon recommendation. When I found a copy in the local bookstore I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough because the summary had sounded so tempting. And I was hooked.
I discovered that there were even more books by F.T. Lukens and started running after an English copy – until there was a sale on English books online and I used the opportunity to order both a copy of In Deeper Waters and Spell Bound. Since then, I had been waiting for the right time to finally read one of those two – and now the time has come and I finally dived into yet another fantastic queer adventure. It took me less than 24 hours to finish the entire book and here’s what I thought of it.
Tal is a prince with magic abilities. He inherited his magic from his great-grandfather, who abused his powers to extend the borders of his kingdom, spread fear and terrorise the continent. Because of their family history, Tal’s magic needs to be kept a secret. Yet, rumors spread that he’s as powerful as King Lon, his great-grandfather, used to be and people are not only scared of him and his abilities, but in consequence also very hostile towards him. So for a large part of his life, Tal stays hidden, his family spinning a web of lies to excuse his absence from the public. Until he turns 16 and is finally allowed to leave the castle to go on his coming-of-age tour that each family member does at said age to gain experience and see more of their kingdom. Accompanied by his older brother Garrett, Tal heads out into the world for the first time.
Right at the start of their journey, they find a boy chained to the floor of a derelict burning ship. When the boy notices Tal’s powers and is not scared of him, Tal bonds with him and decides to free him – only to lose him again moments later when the boy jumps over board. Luckily, their paths cross again and Tal is more than excited to find out that Athlen, as the boy is called, has survived – but he’s also curious how Athlen has done the trick.
Slowly they start sharing their secrets with each other. Until Tal gets kidnapped in front of Athlen’s eyes, with Athlen being unable to step in and help. The kidnapping not only puts Tal himself into danger, but also his family and the entire kingdom, as of course there are political interests behind capturing the magical prince of a kingdom that is in severe need of allies. Now Tal relies on his magical abilities – and Athlen to help him save his life, his family and his country.
Generally speaking, I was hooked mostly because of the pirate vibes of the book. While reading, there was less of the pirate-theme than I had expected, but it was still there and the few moments were very intense. Intense is actually a good word to describe the overall plot of this book. It’s full of action, full of tension and full of fear and worry. An emotional roller coaster ride that kept me from sleeping until I could no longer keep my eyes open at around 4 am. Throughout the whole story there were hints that might or might not help you solve the mystery behind Athlen’s secret, the kidnapping and just everything – but more than once I had to notice that I had put the pieces together in the wrong way. So it wasn’t until very late in the book that the true villain was revealed. It was a bit easier though to guess what’s the issue with Athlen, but at the same time I still didn’t manage to figure it out completely on my own.
What I love about F.T. Lukens’s books is that in those fantastic worlds, queerness is nothing unusual and just not the issue. In most contemporary books with queer characters, their queerness is often presented as the major issue of the story, as society is just not ready to accept anything off the norm. F.T. Lukens though creates fantastic worlds in which the characters have other issues than being gay or bi or pansexual. Nonbinary characters or polyamorous relationships aren’t questioned in the slightest way. When Tal’s brother Garrett and his guard Shay start teasing him about meeting with a mysterious guy in the market place and shaking off Shay for what they think was some „alone time“, they tease him because Tal’s growing up, showing interest in someone for the first time and sneaking away to enjoy that. It’s not about him meeting a boy – it’s about him meeting someone. And that is what makes these books wholesome and lighthearted for me even when the plot is tense and sad at some points. Because damn, for years queer relationships in media were destined to fail, queer characters were struggling, tormented and it was hard to find fluffy, cozy romance that would give you hope for a happy ending.
For years, my escape into worlds where queer people stood a chance to be happy and find love was through reading and writing fanfiction because there were hardly any happy, fluffy, lighthearted queer books (or movies) with a happy ending available in the stores. I am more than happy that this changed – and I am more than happy to have discovered F.T. Lukens, who writes exactly the type of book I enjoy massively.
And the characters in those books are absolutely loveable. There was one point where I smashed my forehead about Tal’s repeated question as to why Athlen was scared of being left behind after Athlen had already told him his background story and it was evident that those two things were connected – but other than that, Tal is an amazing character. So is Athlen. And Tal’s entire family. Damn, even Prince Emerick turns out to be a somewhat likeable idiot. Of course, the villains are villains, and they are despicable – but even that goes without making use of stereotypes like making them as ugly on the outside as they are on the inside. If they are described as ugly, it is because they are sailors living a rough life out in the sea that had worn them down – not because their appearance is reflecting their character.
So all in all … In Deeper Waters ends on my „Favourite reads in 2023“ pile. Together with So This Is Ever After. And while I somehow wish I could just dive into Spell Bound straight away, I feel like I need to read something else first.
