Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for a copy of this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I liked the magic system, the camaraderie between characters and the romance development. It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts so you’ll probably enjoy this if you liked them. Looking forward to the sequel!

This started off really well, I was hooked early on and really interested to see where this went.
However less than halfway through I was forcing myself to get through this purely because I thought it would pick back up.

I would say this is a very YA book so maybe if that’s your preference you may enjoy it more, however for me I can’t say I massively enjoyed this.

Really enjoyed this one, I enjoyed Harlows character development and the subplot of the romance aswell.
Magic system
World building
Great characters
Faced paced book xx
Great cliff hanger- I'm looking forward to the next one.
Wasn't the best written book I've read but it is a good time.

Unbelievable this was my first Shannon Meyer book, but it will definitely not be the last.

I really enjoyed this story. I was hooked from the beginning. The world building and magic systems were amazing. This was a fast paced adventure with twists you do wont see coming.

I loved Harlow, as an older FMC with so much sass she was so easy to connect with and route for. The dynamic of her having to go back to school as an adult was a fun twist. As for the romance it is a real slowwww burn with a possible love triangle? Interested to see how that develops in the next book! I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for a copy of the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Harry Potter meets dark academia, with romance, tension and plenty of twists & turns. Oh and a raccoon that’ll be your favourite character - seriously, I love him.

Harlow is almost 30 year old and forced to return to the school she abandoned as a teen because it was too traumatic. Forced back into uniform and classes, where her old tormentors are her new teachers and told she’s needed to stop evil and save the world.

I loved Harlow’s character development throughout this - as the story unfurled she developed so much. I really liked her character, strong and protective of the ones she cares about - putting them above all else. She was so likeable as well!!

The romance subplot was also a highlight. The tension she has with Typhon and how they interact in this book was so good!! The way he tries to balance being her teacher and his warring feelings - they’re just so complicated. I also liked the mystery of Liam - I hope his character is explored more in the next book.

My favourite is element of the book was the found family with her new housemates. I love how their friendship developed throughout the book and how they became a team. I cannot wait to see how this progresses in the next instalment.

Such a cliffhanger of an ending - this will keep me up at night and I need the next book immediately.

ARC copy provided by Michael Joseph & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Harlow & Typhon
Enemies to lovers
Magical school
Found Family
Chosen One

This book is so good!!!

Harlow is a 29 year old magic school drop out, living in a non magic world. Until shes found by Typhon, her old classmate, and forced to return back to magic school in order to complete her training!

This book is giving Harry Potter vibes for sure, and I'm so here for it!!

I love all of the mystery in this one and uncovering new things!!

I do wish we had more from the romance side in this, but it's just the first book so we've got time for that in the later books!

I need book 2 now!!!

Neverthorn was a real mixed bag: promising setup, wholesome found-family moments, but the pacing issues were hard to ignore. It starts slow and stagnant, with early chapters dragging on while keeping the world-building vague and mysterious. The biggest issue, though, is that well past the halfway point, it still feels like nothing substantial has happened. The plot takes a backseat to relationships and character bonding in a way that feels detached from the main story (whatever the main story is, since the central plot remains a mystery for far too long).
While the friendships have charm and plenty of wholesome moments, they lack the kind of integration you’d typically see in a plot-driven fantasy. It’s as if we’re constantly pausing the story to check in on these side dynamics.
Despite the MC being 29 and having spent years in the “non-magical” world, her backstory feels largely disconnected, as if nothing emotionally meaningful happened in all that time. When she returns, it’s like she’s still frozen in her teenage heartbreak era.
To its credit, the book does redeem itself near the end. The pacing finally picks up, and for a brief moment, we get a glimpse of what this book could have been all along. That sudden late development was enough to bump my rating up to 3 stars, but it’s also a shame, because if I’d given up earlier, I never would’ve seen it. I’m still not quite sure how I feel, somewhere between intrigued and frustrated? The ending left me wanting more, but also wondering why everything leading up to it felt like extended setup, rather than a complete and fulfilling story in itself.

Overall, Neverthorn had real potential, but its slow pacing and lack of resolution made it feel more like a prologue than a complete story.

- ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) provided by NetGalley -

The setting and premise of this book had intrigued me - a band of magical misfits and a dropout being recalled to magic school as a last-ditch resort to fulfill a prophecy and save the world, but not all may be as it appears...

In practice though, the pacing of this story really let me down, with things slowing to a crawl and the character development and plot moving independently from each other, rather than in tandem, meaning large chunks of the story would pass by with little being revealed to the reader. The pacing was salvaged in the last quarter, with some nice character moments, intrigue, adventure and action, which did somewhat save the book for me.

I was so excited to read this book; however, the main thing that let it down was the writing execution. I couldn't wrap my head around it, and while the plot had all the elements to deliver, it unfortunately did not.

3.75 stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy of this book. I did like the concept of this book, it had potential but it wasn't my type of book.

Neverthorn was an absolutely spellbinding read that had me hooked from the very first page! Harlow’s cynicism was a joy to read – watching her navigate new (and old) relationships with an air of suspicion made uncovering people’s true intentions so much fun. The found family was beautiful, and I had a great time watching them slowly learn to trust each other and work together. I also loved the tension between Harlow and Typhon, it had me literally kicking my feet and giggling at times! I cannot wait for book two!

4.5 Stars

I was hooked from the very first chapter. The magic system is refreshingly easy to understand and cleverly woven into a real-world setting—think everyday life meets magical chaos. It’s definitely a bit odd seeing someone nearly thirty heading back to school… but let’s be honest, I’d go back too if someone was offering spell lessons.

The story has major Hunger Games meets Triwizard Tournament vibes, and I was so here for it. It’s packed with danger, trials, and a sense of unpredictability that kept me turning the pages. There are loads of interwoven subplots—some clearer than others—and at times it felt chaotic not knowing where everything was going… but somehow, by the end, it all pulls together.

Special shoutout to the swearing rune—its impact on the story had me giggling out loud more than once. Such a brilliant and unexpected detail.

It’s also very much a slowburn (romance readers, take note), and while there’s tension, things move slowly. And I mean slowly. But that ending? Completely unexpected and left me desperate for book two.

Also… I want a Bandit. And I might be Team Typhon.

If you’re after something twisty, magical, and a little chaotic—but in a way that makes sense by the end—this is absolutely worth the read.

This was a great read. Imagine having to go back to a school you left when you were a teenager as an adult. Your bully is your teacher and the guy that tried to kill you in school is also a teacher and hot.

The magic system is unique, the big evil is curious and layered and the school setting is excellent. Usually fantasy academia is young characters to having adults as the students in the same setting was refreshing and funny at times.

It’s a mix of the real world and the fantasy world but if you dont like that it doesn’t infringe too much on the other.

The story is well written, it’s all single point of view and it reveals histories and expands on the story at all the right bits that keep you reading well into the night.

I don’t know if it this is a trilogy or not but it leads onto the next book excellently without it being a massive cliffhanger which is great.

4 stars because I feel like it can’t decide if it’s YA or adult, I think it would have been better as an adult book.

This book had so much potential, which makes it even more disappointing.

The first third had me hooked and I was really excited for a high-energy magical story. Sadly, it then fell victim to such slow pacing that every page became a struggle.

Nothing seemed to happen for such a long time. Then loads happened but the end still fell flat.

Harlow could have been a great character but I could not believe that she was meant to be 29. For someone who apparently had to look after herself from the age of 16, she was so immature it really annoyed me.

It looked liked we'd get a brooding romance or a love triangle but neither of those came to fruition. Never mind that the main romance focus didn't really make sense and the lack of character development had the one vaguely spicy moment falling flat.

This is my most disappointing read of the year. I wanted to love it but instead I ended up not wanting to pick it up while wishing I could just get to the end quickly.

Oohhh. Give me book 2 now!!!

I was hooked from page one.

This is very much like an adult Harry Potter, but with more badassery.

My favourite bit = the magic that took away the ability to swear (haha, genius) I chuckled all through the book. I might have to start saying sheet now.

I was so invested in this, and am rooting big time for House Phoenix. Where is Zeed though? He'd better be okay, or I won't be.

Honestly, this was a good time read. Highly recommend.

Fast paced - yes, definitely, but in some places too fast to really catch everything that was going on.
I found the main characters annoying for most of the book to the point I was close to DNFing in a few places, however I did make it to the end and there is one he** of a cliffhanger - but will I read the next one, I dont know

This truely is a five star read. The world building is amazing, the characters capture you. It is fast paced with twists you do not see coming. I would highly recommend this book.

I loved this book. Harlow is in her 20's, raising her sister Opie, performing her own Rune magic, being a cat burglar, minding her own business until one day she is accosted by Typhon, an old crush from a past life who is now a teacher at the school and has taken her sister Opie to Neverthorn and tells Harlow that unless she comes too and helps protect the school then Opie will die.

This is an un put downable romp of a book that has multiple love interests that im still undecided by, has enermies to lovers, slow burn, magic, runes, friends becoming family, and a huge secret that could destroy everything.

Ends on a cliffhanger.

Loved it. Cant wait for the sequel which i assume will be called Heathermoor.

This is a book I've been struggling to review.
I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced, and exciting. It had a few twists that I really didn't see coming. I'm not sure who can be trusted, but I'm pretty sure that Noctis is not the evil we're expecting. The political machinations are interesting, and the various conflicting relationships are adding to the tension throughout. I'm invested, and will surely be picking up book 2.

However, there are clear parallels with Harry Potter. It was immediately noticeable, and meant that I kept superimposing things from Rowling's world into Neverthorn. Forgivable, it didn't really diminish my enjoyment of the book, though I have no doubt I will forget some names and end up referring to Noctis as Voldemort when I'm talking about this book.

My biggest bug-bear was the ages of the characters. Harlow was 29 - yay, an adult! A fantastic premise - pulling adults back into magic school for a second chance. It made for some super interesting dynamics, such as ex-classmates now being teachers - the conflict of power and discipline that could create, the disparity in respect, and manner of communication. Add to that, Harlow was a failing student and left after only a few months tutelage, while these are people that have graduated and gone on to become professors. How would an adult feel about that, what kind of reactions does that elicit? Especially an adult that has struggled, and gone on to run a safe house for abandoned teens.
Well. We don't know. Harlow reads like she's barely out of school. While much is made of her 'street smarts', we don't see much emotionally maturity from her. She isn't jaded and cynical, struggling to get back into the rituals of education, she instead reads like a rebellious teen, perhaps a little older, early 20s.
It's the same with the rest of her cohort in Phoenix. I couldn't place ages. These are all people who have left school, gone out into the real world. Found partners, jobs, houses. Most of them struggled with finding their place, with fitting in, finding fulfillment. They're from various school years, we have a range of ages. But none of that comes across on the page - I couldn't tell you who the youngest is, I didn't see any indication of how that impacted their bonding with each other, where they had commonalities or disparities.

While I will 100% be continuing the series, and am invested in the storylines, Neverthorn was a New Adult book for me - it didn't have the maturity of character to cross the line into adult. There may be gore, and spice, and triggering elements, but the characters feel a bit younger than I anticipated.
As a New Adult fantasy release though, absolutely one to recommend!

I Loved loved loved this book! It has found family, friendships, will they won't they! I love that the FMC is a badass and she has options too, she loves hard!
I want to know who is actually the evil one, I feel like it will change in the next book! I think that Opie is going to play a huge role and I can't wait to see where the next book goes.