Review – The Never Heir by Courtney Millecam

Hello, friends, and welcome to a bookish review post! Today I wanted to give my thoughts on The Never Heir by Courtney Millecam. This YA fantasy novel is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan story, with a dark twist and an expanded universe. I had the opportunity to read this book as an ARC, and I’m excited to share thoughts as it releases today! Hope you enjoy!

The blurb

Here’s the summary of The Never Heir as provided by Amazon and goodreads:

Charlie risked everything to escape the spell binding him to Neverland. Now seventeen and living in 1923 London, he’s finally free to create his own future, but a chance meeting with Evie, one of London’s Bright Young Things, changes everything.

Evie’s sister is missing and she’s being blackmailed by a strange, ageless boy to locate Pan’s missing relics of power in exchange for her sister’s safe return. The Neverland demands a leader, and with Pan deposed, and the lost boys scattered, chaos from the land of Faerie spills into the mortal world.

Charlie and Evie must work together to locate the missing relics and set things right in Neverland, but the price for rectitude might be too steep for either one of them to pay.

This blurb, combined with the author’s highly effective posts on social media, drew me in and made me want to read this book. And the real thing did not disappoint!

I also enjoyed reading this and other Peter Pan retellings back in March, as they played well with my March bullet journal theme : ).

My review

This book lived up to the hype!! I was drawn in by the author’s very effective social media posts, and was not disappointed by the real thing. The Never Heir is a Peter Pan retelling, but it’s different from some of the others I’ve read in the fact that it spends most of the time in the real world. We don’t see Neverland until the very end, and Peter Pan isn’t one of the protagonists. He isn’t even a main character, in fact.

I love the character development of the story. Both Evie and Charlie are highly realistic and believable characters, and I love seeing them interact. They’re so cute together! I’m sure I annoyed/entertained many a family member and co-worker with my squeals of delight and romantic sighs. This book has just the right amount of romance without feeling overly forced or focusing too much on the physical attraction. There are some truly lovely scenes where you can tell that they have grown to understand and cherish each other on a deeper level.

The writing in this book is lovely, with charming scenes and detailed descriptions. The characters’ emotions are immersive and poignant, again making you feel like you’re a part of the story yourself. Probably the reason that I devoured the book in just a few days!! I also enjoyed the fact that Neverland is presented as part of a larger Fae realm, with two rival kingdoms fighting for control over it.

Overall, this book is full of lovely descriptions, compelling characters, and shocking twists. It has my favorite type of characters-appreciating-and-accepting-each-other romance, and so many layers! Highly recommend for anyone who loves fantasy and historical fiction.

Conclusion

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading my review of The Never Heir by Courtney Millecam. You can purchase it on Amazon in ebook, hardcover, and paperback form starting on Tuesday, May 16th 2023.

Have any more book recommendations for me? I’d love to hear them!

Happy reading!