Reviews

Edited on 1/9/2024 - I was informed (and I thank the person for commenting on an unrelated topic that brought my attention back to this book) that I used the wrong language and used words that do not accurately describe this book. The AAVE language is foreign to me and that I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t just reading a book about teens in the south who don’t look like me, but that they have their own language that is unique to their culture and calling AAVE slang is demeaning and wrong. I apologize to the readers who read my review and were turned off from this book. The story is truly interesting, and although I struggled with the language (once again because I was ignorant of the fact that I was reading AAVE and it wasn’t just teens being teens), I did enjoy the book and have thought about the book several times since reading it.

Original review:

Let me preface this review with I am not the target audience for this book.

Thank you to Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read this book early via the free eARC. I thought that this was a very interesting book concept and if I was in the target audience I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

I loved the main characters, Yasir and Zahra, but having to translate every single sentence from slang to something that I understood wore on me, and I debated about DNFing up to about 40% of the way in. By then I had figured out all of the slang and I could speed up my reading to something close to my normal speed. There are a ton of references to pop culture items that may not age well (tiktok viral sounds for one) given how fast things fade in and out of fashion.

There was a fantastic line about 72% in that really grabbed me, and honestly sums up my thoughts about this book. "Can the uninitiated get an entry-level information packet or something?" This is needed on so many different plot points and I get that this is the beginning of a series but help a reader out? Please.

I really wanted to love this book, but I struggled so much.

If you love comic book heros like Hulk, Spider-Man (Miles Morales not Peter Parker), Black Panther, and you can vibe with the slang (it is through the entire book), then you will possibly like it a lot.

booknallnight's review

Go to review page

slow-paced

3.0

Neverwraith is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand I love Yassir and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air vibes. Man did that take me back. I really enjoyed the story itself and believe the next installment will be better.

That being said, I didn't enjoy the insta-romance or the repetition. Most often instant connections make sense, but the way this flowed didn't, or at least not for me. It felt rushed with little believability behind it.

Also, it felt like scenarios were either being retold or rehashed in monologue right after introduction...and too often. It disrupted the flow a lot for me and I would end up just skimming through the repetition.

Overall though, this is one readers will either love or not. It's not a bad start to the series and I would love to see what happens next. If this is on your radar, grab it and give it a go.

I sincerely appreciate Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

enchanted_reads26's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.5

This is a great fantasy adventure story. You know the Chosen trope and all that amazing jazz I really enjoyed this book!

More...