This Will Be Fun
Ratings5
Average rating2.9
15
Ratings5
Average rating2.9
Former friends and former flames reunite on a mayhem-spike quest in this cozy romantasy perfect for readers of Legends & Lattes and lovers of Shrek.
“This delightful novel has the best The Princess Bride vibes.” —Jodi Picoult
TEN YEARS AGO, THE SAVED THE REALM. IT RUINED THEIR LIVES.
Everyone in Mythria knows the story of how best friends Beatrice and Elowen, handsome ex-bandit Clare, and valiant leader Galwell the Great defended the realm from darkness. It’s a tale beloved by all—except the heroes. They haven’t spoken in a decade, devastated by what their quest cost them.
But when they all receive an invitation to the queen of Mythria’s wedding, it’s a summons they can’t refuse . . . and a reunion for the ages—with Clare secretly not over his long-ago fling with Beatrice, Beatrice fighting the guilt she feels over how everything ended, Elowen unprepared for the return of her ex-love (the cunning Vandra), and all of them lost without Galwell. And if reuniting with former friends and lovers wasn’t perilous enough, dark forces from their past have also returned.
Dusting off old weapons and old instincts, Beatrice, Clare, and Elowen will face undead nemeses, crystal caves, enchanted swords, coffee shops, games of magical Truth or Dare, and, hardest of all, their past—rife with wounds never healed and romances never forgotten.
This time around, will their story end in happily ever after?
Reviews with the most likes.
I'm feeling a bit raw two days after the US election, but I'll try not to let that color my review of this book. Which might be difficult because This Will Be Fun is a mess, and leading candidate for my Most Disappointing Read of 2024. When I learned that “E.B. Asher” is in fact three authors*, I was immediately reminded of movie productions that bring in “script doctors” in a futile attempt to keep them from bombing at the box office. The book is billed as a cross between [b:The Princess Bride 21787 The Princess Bride William Goldman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327903636l/21787.SY75.jpg 992628] and [b:People We Meet on Vacation 54985743 People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618913179l/54985743.SX50.jpg 67832306], but I found it to be more similar to Mel Brooks' 1993 slapstick comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Only not as funny. The setting is a generic Ye Olde Fantasy Worlde, with princesses and castles and heroic quests. But there are numerous winking anachronisms, such as magical versions of Uber and Starbucks, autographed Hero Cards, and TV shows (excuse me, “shadow plays”) with overly enthusiastic fandoms. Which, okay, I get that we're not supposed to take the world building too seriously, but the attempted satire of contemporary culture lacks any subtlety. Then we have our characters. Beatrice, Elowen, and Clare (he's a guy) are the surviving three of The Four heroes who saved the kingdom from evil ten years ago. There's certainly a lot of material that could be mined from taking an unsentimental view of what happens when the Happily Ever After is in the rearview mirror. Just ask Stephen Sondheim. But instead of insightful commentary on fantasy vs. reality, we get three lusting lunkheads whose failure to communicate with each other is exceeded only by their ability to ruminate endlessly about their own failings. So we have recently divorced, fiery Beatrice (can see the past when she touches someone else's hands) who hates/lusts for preening rogue Clare, who hates/lusts for her in return (they have a fan-generated couple name, of course: “Claretrice”). And grumpy Elowen (absorbs other people's emotions when she touches them) who hates/lusts for former paid assassin Vandra. For a group of heroes whose bravery and cunning is celebrated with a national holiday, Beatrice, Clare and Elowen are complete morons. They spend most of their time feeling sorry for themselves, lusting after their Ones Who Got Away, and sniping at each other. This allows them to be caught by the Bad Guys several times, only to be rescued either by Vandra or pure dumb luck. Their brilliant plan to save the kingdom again is laughingly simple, which is appropriate because the Bad Guys are straight out of Central Casting for the Evil Villain Who Monologues. There are several abrupt “confess your feelings because you realize your beloved could get dead” moments, and a WTF twist that negates the supposed lessons learned by our horny but clueless trio.The books escapes (barely) a one-heart rating, because I actually liked the only non-POV character, Vandra, who is refreshingly straightforward about her feelings towards Elowen. She deserves a better story. And while I wanted to smack Clare for his constant moaning about hating/wanting/not deserving Beatrice, his willingness to put his name and likeness on numerous products to make a buck is admittedly funny. He's an adorable himbo when he is not angsting about true love.Unfortunately, election hangover is not enough to explain why This Will Be Fun didn't work for me as a comedy, fantasy, or romance. In a magical alternate universe where DT had lost, I'd still feel meh about it. *husband-and-wife [a:Emily Wibberley 10788120 Emily Wibberley https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519955999p2/10788120.jpg] and [a:Austin Siegemund-Broka 16370247 Austin Siegemund-Broka https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498928389p2/16370247.jpg], and [a:Bridget Morrissey 8203633 Bridget Morrissey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1696643920p2/8203633.jpg]
