This Will Be Fun

I really enjoyed this book! Some quick notes:

• Really fun and creative world building!
• A unique magic system and some pretty cool magical items and gifts
• Told through 3-4 main POVs, which I thought worked really well!
• TWO SEPARATE MAIN ROMANCE COUPLES! (f/f and m/f)

I went in expecting a typical fantasy plot where you begin with a dramatic event and jump straight into the main storyline. I really appreciated how this book shook that structure up. The adventure plot actually didn’t happen until halfway through the book, and I didn’t mind at all because the character development in the first half was so engaging to me. I really fell in love with each character and reading about their journey felt very cathartic.

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]