The Last Best Quest Ever
by F.T. LukensAlso by this author: In Deeper Waters, So This Is Ever After
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on May 26, 2026
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Rating:
A fraudulent teen quester must team up with a brooding, royal rival on a perilous adventure to save her brother’s life in this cozy young adult romantasy full of mythical creatures by the New York Times bestselling author of Spell Bound and So This is Ever After.
Seventeen-year-old Ellinore has the best questing record of anyone in the kingdom’s history. She also has a secret: her fame is built entirely on lies. Tired of the charade, she shocks the kingdom by retiring at a royal feast. But her plans for a quiet life are disrupted when her twin brother Zig bets his life that Ellinore can retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast. To save Zig, she reluctantly sets out on one last, perilous quest.
Accompanying her are Zig, determined to help despite his recklessness; Aven, her envious rival eager to prove their superiority; an ambitious bar maiden turned adventurer; and a young, magic-wielding bard. Together, they face an arduous journey fraught with mythical challenges and shifting alliances. As they search for the Elder Beast, Ellinore grapples with her growing feelings for Aven, her fear of losing Zig, and her identity as a reluctant hero.
With time running out, Ellinore must confront not only the legendary creature but also her own truths. Can she save her brother, embrace her potential, and finally decide her path?
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- An adorable rivals-to-lovers slow burn romance with pining
- Non-binary and gender nonconforming rep
- Very cute sibling bonds and banter
- A fast-paced adventure with danger and magic
- Subverted expectations with a fun squad
- Banter and humor
- A dragon!
Overall
F.T. Lukens is one of my go-to authors at this point. I don’t always love their work, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that I didn’t solidly enjoy, and with how picky I can be, that’s quite an impressive track record, considering how many of Lukens’ books I’ve read! So of course, the moment I saw they were releasing a new one, I was all over it! The fact that The Last Best Quest Ever also features a non-binary character was a cherry on top, as that’s a type of LGBTQ+ rep that’s often overlooked.
The Last Best Quest Ever is a fast-paced young adult romantasy with strong women, nonbinary rep, rivals-to-lovers, and an action-packed adventure. Oh, and there’s also a dragon!
This one absolutely didn’t disappoint! The quest was very questy, thrusting the characters into danger. Lots of twists and turns and new dangers around ever corner. Plus, this was is a super fun squad to travel with. Not exactly the heroes we might want, but they’re doing their best, and what more could we possibly ask for? Obviously, the snarky dragon is my favorite character, because why wouldn’t he be, but the others had their moments as well!
I received a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
My Thoughts
Ellinore the Brave is wildly acclaimed throughout the kingdom for being the best quester . . . or she was, anyway. Because after beating the other questers in the latest challenge–including her rival, Princet Aven–she announces her retirement from questing.
In fact, Ellinore only took up questing as a way to provide for her family, and with this last quest, she finally has enough money to do so. Which means, at the ripe age of 17, she can finally hang up her questing gear. and become plain old Ellinore . . . once she, y’know, discovers who exactly that is. She’s been Ellinore the Brave since she was 12 years old, which hasn’t left her a whole lot of time to figure herself out.
The trouble is . . . Ellinore the Brave is little more than a persona that’s been invented over the years. And she’s a fraud. Of course, no one knows this, least of all her rival Princet Aven, who takes her retirement a bit personally. Ellinore has worked hard to prevent anyone from discovering the truth regarding her amazing feats. Mainly, that she’s had help. And she hasn’t technically followed the letter of every quest, just the spirit of them. But it’s fine, right? She’s retired, and no one’s the wiser. Her secret is safe.
I pressed my fingers into my eyes, which were stinging from both the sunlight and fatigue. “Princet Aven, I smell like dead spider, and I want to go home. Please have your existential crisis on your own time.”
They blinked. “I’m not having an existential crisis.”
“You literally are. In front of me. It’s not cute.” Actually, it was kind of cute, especially when the red of their ears deepened and a blush seeped into their pale cheeks.
Despite Ellinore’s best attempts, her retirement is cut short when her twin brother, Zig, makes an ill-advised bet that Ellinore can do the impossible. And if she fails, it’s his life that’s at stake.
Brothers, am I right? *eye roll* To be fair, Zig is thoroughly tired of hearing how great and wonderful his sister is, while he’s a bit of the black sheep of the family. He also has no idea what exactly he’s agreeing to when he makes the bet, so he’s not entirely at fault. Just . . . mostly. But she’s Ellinore the Brave, with a long list of beasts she’s conquered. What could possibly go wrong?
Ellinore comes out of the shortest retirement ever to go on her very last (for real this time) quest. Unfortunately for her, not only do Princet Aven and Zig insist on tagging along, but their squad continues to grow along the way. It’s really difficult to keep up the persona of Ellinore the Brave with so many witnesses, and even harder to keep her secret from getting out. Ellinore wants so desperately to be the person everyone thinks she is, but Ellinore the Brave doesn’t exist. She never did. But with her brother’s life on the line, failure isn’t an option. I’m an absolute sucker for reluctant heroes, and you’d be hard pressed to find one more reluctant than Ellinore.
“Are you certain? She could be a fauness in disguise.” Aven peered around my shoulder. “She’s quite intelligent for a sheep.”
“Takes after her owner!” Zip chirped as he leaned by the door of the house.
I rolled my eyes. “You do know how ridiculous it is to try to intimidate a sheep with verbal threats and a dagger, right?” Rainbow butted her head against the back of my leg, then proceeded to nibble on my trousers in an act of blatant betrayal. “She’s only mildly irritating,” I said, yanking my leg away before she could bite off a chunk of the fabric. “Which is another trait she inherited from her owner.”
Zig frowned. “Hey!”
The Last Best Quest Ever delivers on everything you’d want from a “best quest”, including fast-paced adventure, high-stakes situations, plenty of fearsome creatures, and a ragtag squad.
One thing I particularly enjoyed is the way Lukens takes traditional quest tropes and subverts them in fun ways that I won’t spoil for you. Suffice it to say, everything you know about questing won’t help you predict what our adventurers will encounter next. The pace is quick and moves right along, so there isn’t a lot of time to get bored. This does mean that the characters aren’t as fleshed out as they might be otherwise, but also, once it grabs your attention, it holds on. There is a creepy forest in this, and I am of the mindset that all great adventures need at least one creepy forest. Also, I refuse to tell you where the dragon comes in, though there is one. You’ll just have to find that out for yourself.
This squad is a teensy bit hopeless, and not at all prepared for what they’ve gotten themselves into. They don’t exactly have the skills, but they do have determination, and they have each other’s backs, which surely counts for something. That’s not entirely fair. Ellinore and Aven, having previously quested before, obviously have some skills under their belts and experience with this sort of thing, to some degree. But they’re joined by Zig, whose only skill seems to be making mischief. Plus Aven’s cousin Farrah, who is a huge fan of Ellinore the Brave, and a bard-mage named Rylan, whose only goal in life is to prove once and for all that Ellinore the Brave is a crock and her exploits a mere ruse. Obviously, this is a team set up for success.
Aven shook their head. “Flirt later. Now it’s time to win.”
“If we win, there will be much more than flirting later.”
Aven’s face turned beet red. “Ellinore.”
“What? Just speaking facts. That said, let’s go.”
I really enjoy the representation in this book, from a nonbinary love interest, to a gender nonconforming main character, to the sibling bonds, and even the idea of coming of age and finding yourself.
Ellinore knows very well who the world thinks she is. After all, bards sing tales of her triumphs. But Ellinore the Brave doesn’t exist, and she’s never had a chance to discover who just Ellinore is. Retirement was meant to be that opportunity, but that hasn’t gone very well for her, either. Worse, being surrounded by others and trying to live up to her image while also keeping them safe just puts them in more danger. I appreciate Ellinore’s coming of age, because I enjoy her perspective and the way she sees “beasts” as living creatures to be respected, not eradicated.
There’s also a very cozy rivals-to-lovers slow burn romance with lots of banter and sarcasm. Those are, of course, some of my all-time favorite things. Princet Aven is non-binary, and there are some wonderful moments where they describe what that means for them, which I thought was some awesome representation. It’s clear from the start that these two like each other to some extent, especially after being rivals for so long, but neither are willing to admit it. There’s no spice in this book, but plenty of flirting, which is the perfect balance in my opinion.
Sticking Points
While the stakes are really high on this quest, it feels like Ellinore doesn’t really do anything to accomplish the wins the team gets, which was kind of a bummer.
I mean, that’s kind of part of the point of Ellinore the Brave being a fraud, I suppose. But even as the story unfolds, it feels like Ellinore is just handed each win without really having to fight for it. Coincidence, or some other similarly convenient plot point, delivers exactly what she needs into her lap every time. I was ready to buy into Ellinore being this cunning quester, but really, it feels like she was just extremely lucky more than anything intentional.
I did very much enjoy the overall moral that there’s more than one way to complete a quest. That part was so well done, including all the non-traditional ways our squad succeeds. However, I really wanted Ellinore to be less passive and take more of an active role in getting things done so the wins feel earned.
About F.T. Lukens
F.T. Lukens is the author of four young adult novels published through Interlude Press, and her book Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction, won the ForeWord INDIES Book of the Year Gold Award for YA Fiction, and the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction, and it was also recently named to ALA’s 2019 Rainbow List. F.T. lives in North Carolina with her husband, three kids, three dogs, and three cats. Visit her at FTLukens.com.
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