Spell Bound

By: F.T. Lukens

Narrated by: Neo Cihi, Kevin R. Free

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times bestseller!

Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this “charming and engaging” (School Library Journal) young adult romantic adventure from the author of In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After.

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.

©2023 FT Lukens. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Free and Cihi’s performances capture the young mages' nerves and joy as they fall in love for the first time, ultimately keeping the narrative light and energetic despite its dark themes." (AudioFile Magazine)

adorable and fun

Good flow, sunshine/grumpy, The owl House influences, just a huge fun fast read ! ,

loved it

cute heartfelt grumpy/sunshine with lots of magic ✨
this is equally my fav as the 2nd book

Cute Story - Wanted More

Really enjoyed the story and would love to see more of these characters and this world.

Give it a shot, especially if you like the author.

I liked it. It had a bit of a slow burn start. The characters were unique and strong. They were very well done. I did have mixed feelings on the story beats and how they felt a bit random, but it wasn't an issue overall. I enjoyed how it was a bit unpredictable.

Charming with Non-binary rep

The works by Lukens are all so adorable. They give me hope and fill me with so many bittersweet emotions like how I wish I had more of these coming of age stories that normalize people like me (Trans masc/ Non-binary). It’s a lil goofy, but the jokes actually land…and it’s earnest and sweet with a solid plot line. It was definitely worth the credit.

a little slow on the uptake but fun!

wish the ending had been more drawn out like the first half of the story but overall very fun. hopefully we will get a sequel

an adorable read/listen

i absolutely loved the book, Rook and Sun are robustly written characters, their interactions are belivable and heartwarming.

the way magic is explained, but left vauge at the same time is fantastic, because it immerses you just enough you are excited for more.

Hex and Fable have an amazing chemistry, and add so much to the story.

my only real qualms, is that in a few sections, the narrator of Rook's chapters referes to Sun with "she" when near as i could tell, the character is mesnt to be exclusively They/Them?
as well as there are a few noticeable cuts in the recording, where different takes have been spliced without out a good regard for audio flow

Absolutely adorable

Can always count on FT Lukens for an adorable and heart-felt story, and this is no different. I could not stop listening but at the same time I wanted it to never end. Rook and Sun are the cutest couple and the found family aspect really hits home and is amazing. 10/10 would recommend to anyone and everyone.

Best Lukens book yet

I treasured every chapter, and every character. You will not be disappointed if you buy it!

Loved it!

Currently unable to leave a coherent review without large spoilers as I am still amped up over this so I will only say this: Antonia is my goals! 💙