The Last Best Quest Ever

What I Liked: FT Lukens does a fantastic job of creating various worlds filled with fantastical creatures in which the main characters fit in perfectly. You can sense the danger in this world as you learn more about it, and there's an underlying sense of doom with the passing time. It's fascinating to see how others respond to the tales of Ellinore the Brave, especially as you know the truth of those tales, and it's nice to see all the misunderstandings that others have. It's great to see how Ellinore interacts with different beings in the world and how she's managed to make things work without force or violence.

The characters throughout this book are well fleshed out, especially Ellinore, Aven, and Fig. The characters that are introduced throughout this book are a fun group of misfits, as they are so different from one another but work well together. It's fascinating to read as Ellinore works with the others who have now joined her team, and as Aven points out how the others' strengths complement Ellinore.

The relationship within this book is a rivals-to-lovers one, and it's pretty apparent that Aven feels some kind of way about Ellinore from the start. The relationship between Princet Aven and Ellinore is fun as she really dislikes them from the start, so it's interesting to watch as she develops feelings for them.

The whole book has an underlying tension because of the passage of time and the quest they are on, being time-driven. It highlights the severity of each decision, and how each decision that they make might cost them because of the time. As more time passes, you begin to get even more worried, and this suspense immerses you further into the story as the stakes get higher.

Final Verdict: The Last Best Quest Ever is a cute, adventure-packed romancy book that manages to capture your attention from the start, and also delivers a cute romance story alongside the action. This book is perfect for anyone who has enjoyed any of F.T. Lukens other stories or who enjoys LGBTQ+ romance, adventure, and fantasy.

Ellinore the Brave is the best quester in the kingdom, having constantly beat out her rival Princet Aven on various quests. She wants to retire and live a quiet life, weighed down by having lied about her conquests. Her plans are shattered when her brother Zig bets his heart to a duo of mages. Joined by a ragtag group, she must find and retrieve the horn of a mythical beast before time runs out. THE LAST BEST QUEST EVER is a cozy YA romantasy that follows Ellinore and her group as they adventure to save Zig’s life.

Ellinore is a fantastic character and the band of misfits that join her make the story fantastic. Each character feels three-dimensional, especially Ellinore, Zig, and Aven. They all play different parts in the story, but none of them feels unimportant. The story wouldn’t feel as fun as it does if the party had been missing a character. The bonds between these characters, both new and pre-existing, ties them together in a messy chaotic little party that somehow manages to keep pushing forward despite the odds.

F.T. Lukens does a fantastic job at weaving a world together. You can feel the energy of the many worlds that Lukens creates, and this book is no different. The world feels fun and lived in, but it also feels constantly dangerous. There are different ranks of beings and, while I didn’t understand all of it, enough information is given to help you glean the hierarchy system that they are under.

There is a constant urgency in this book because of the stated time limit. It’s a limit that is stated very clearly towards the beginning of the book and it underlies the entire narrative, driving the cast of characters forward even when they are faced with seemingly insurmountable tasks. I really liked that the time limit was said so plainly because that urgency really did amplify the story in my eyes. It made every decision, every day, feel heavy.

I’m also a pretty big fan of the plot. Parts of it were predictable, but others weren’t and I was left pleasantly surprised by how certain things turned out. I don’t want to spoil things for readers, so I’m staying vague on this part.

The romance between Ellinore and Aven was cute. It wasn’t the main thing that drew me into the story, but it definitely was a factor. I loved Princet Aven from the second we met them, so I was already on board with the relationship. Getting to see it develop, both in good and bad ways, was fantastic. I wish this book had been dual-POV so that I could’ve spent more time with Aven during this book.

I would also be very remiss if I didn’t mention the LGBT rep in this book. It’s basically everywhere and in such a simple way. The world Lukens has created seems to be very friendly to LGBT identities, even having the term Princet as a gender-neutral form of Prince/Princess. The casual existence of the LGBT characters is fantastic!

THE LAST BEST QUEST EVER is a cozy romantasy that always manages to feel dangerous at the same time. Never tipping too far out of the cozy vibes, the novel delivers a fun story with fantastic characters and great bonds.