Never Ever After (Never Ever After, #1)

MikoOctober 2026

★★★☆☆

🌑 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓼, 𝓢𝓲𝓵𝓴, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓮’𝓼 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝔂𝓮𝓭 𝓔𝓭𝓰𝓮 🕯️ <blockquote>“Wherever I am, wherever you are - I’ll come for you.”</blockquote> <i>Never Ever After reimagines Cinderella through the lens of Chinese folklore, set in a world where survival often demands sharp hands and sharper lies. Yining has endured the brutal life of the Iron Mountains by becoming both a skilled thief and a master of deception. When an enchanted ring, her one chance at something more, is stolen by her step-aunt, she’s forced to infiltrate the imperial heart of the kingdom to reclaim it. Within the gilded walls of the palace, Yining is drawn into a dangerous web of ambition and power. A ruthless prince offers her a glimpse of a life she’s never dared to imagine, while a cunning advisor from a rival court becomes her most unpredictable ally, one who carries secrets as perilous as the court itself. As betrayals surface and loyalties blur, Yining must confront the truths of her past to claim a future that both terrifies and tempts her.</i> As much as I wanted to fall into this story, I struggled to fully connect with it. The pacing felt very fast, moving from revelation to revelation without giving the characters, or the reader, much time to breathe. Because of that, I never quite grew attached to anyone, even when the story clearly wanted me to. Jinyong and Prince Zixin were easily the most compelling parts of the book for me. Both were well-developed, had distinct personalities, and were given plenty of space to shine within the love triangle. And yet, despite their presence, I never fully connected to either of them emotionally. The speed of the story made it hard to settle into the tension or feel truly invested in the choices being made. I also found myself wishing for deeper world-building. Sue Lynn Tan’s writing usually immerses me completely, but here the world felt more sketched than lived in. Some major revelations, particularly regarding family ties, happened so quickly that the emotional weight didn’t fully land for me, and I found myself wanting more hesitation, more doubt, more space for trust to be earned. That said, the final stretch of the book surprised me. One betrayal and plot twist in the last 20% genuinely caught me off guard and was easily the most engaging part of the story. While the ending itself felt somewhat predictable, it does set up the sequel in a way that makes me curious enough to continue. This is my least favorite of Sue Lynn Tan’s books so far, but even so, her storytelling still holds a quiet pull. Never Ever After lays the groundwork for something that could grow stronger with more room to unfold, and despite my reservations, I’m likely to see where the story goes next. 📅 Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan released on October 28, 2025. Special thanks to NetGalley, Sue Lynn Tan, and Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.