I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

thank you to Entangled Teen Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC of this book 💜

what I read of this book wasn’t necessarily bad…it just didn’t feel right for me! however, this could very well be the book for you. I don’t usually review books that I dnf so I’m gonna post some quotes instead!

1. Today was a lot, and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. “I miss you so much. I wish you and Dad were here. I need you.”
I keep driving down the road, and I don’t know whether there’s something in the wind or if I want my wish to come true so badly that my mind’s playing tricks on me, but I feel a pair of lips kiss my cheek and something like a hand touch my shoulder.
We are always here with you, Ya-Ya. Mommy loves you so much.
We are here with you, my son… I promise.

2. I stop for a few seconds, completely focused on her, unable to move. She’s so pretty, no wonder I have so much trouble talking to her. I mean, look at her.

3. Still, there’s something about a STEM girl. If you know, you know.

4. I close my eyes to bask in the warmth of the waning heat of the sinking sun. Nothing else matters. Not the insanity of being in yet another new high school, not the anger of being away from the A, not even my rising angst over whether Zahra would hit me up to talk. The sunset provides a simple lesson: Don’t rush. Stressing won’t change its outcome. Things have a way of working themselves out.

₦ɆVɆⱤ₩Ɽ₳ł₮Ⱨ
Mulling over the plot, I was reminded by Saya from the manga Blood: The Last Vampire meets the Venom of Marvel - Yasir, the MC is new to town and school and there he discovered something inside him that can be triggered by his temper.

While the world building is decidedly YA, there were some peaks here and there plot-wise. It has some of the standard elements of a fantasy book which makes this a good entry level to urban/grimdark YA fantasy.

Neverwraith is a YA urban fantasy following Yasir Salah, a 16-year old from Atlanta, whose life is uprooted when he is forced to move to a small town in Georgia. Running from a dark and mysterious past, he navigates his new high school and makes promising connections. Trouble somehow still finds him despite his efforts to keep a low profile, and soon he discovers alarming changes in his body - voices in his head, enhanced senses and superhuman strength. While seeking answers, he discovers shocking information about his past, and embraces the important role he has to play to protect his people.

The local flavor in this book is strong - I'm happy to support authors from the A! It was interesting to follow Yasir and learn about his culture. The story took off after the halfway mark and there is definitely potential. I appreciated the mystery and intrigue, especially after his powers manifested a la Bruce Banner. Thank you @entangledteen for the advance copy!

“To become your truest self, you have to embrace the light…and the darkness. It is only then that you will be able to control the rage that is in all of us.”

This was a nice read, I´m not the intended audience so my guess is that younger people will enjoy it more.
That said, I liked it, s little bit of paranormal with a touch of super heroes.
Action and some romance although in the second half of the book is where the pace picks up.
Overall, amn enjoyable read.

Yasir Salah is the new kid at his high school. He’s trying his best to fit in without drawing too much attention to himself. There is a storm brewing inside Yasir that he doesn’t understand. Why does his eyes change colors and where is this extreme heat coming from on his skin? His family always warned him to be careful. But no one ever told him about his past and exactly what he is.

Shakir Rashaan brings us into an entertaining paranormal world with Neverwraith. Rashaan does a good job with bringing Yasir’s story to life. It was refreshing to see an African American male teen as the lead character in this kind of story. While reading this book, you want to know more about Yasir’s background as he is going though his own self discovery. Rashaan does an excellent job of giving the reader just enough information without giving too much away. From the camaraderie among Yasir’s friends to him dealing with everyday high school issues, Neverwraith is definitely a YA book that is relatable to teens. But adults will enjoy this book as well. With Neverwraith, Shakir Rashaan lays down the proper foundation for an exciting series that will have you clamoring for the next installment.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and the author for this ARC.

I was intrigued about this book from the description online, but I had a difficult time connecting with the main character and it took me out of the story. However, I think it would be a great book for those who can relate to him!

This story is about Yasir Salah, who is unlike anyone at his new Georgia high school and undergoing some strange changes. His eyes shifting colors and his skin heating up in confrontations added a thrilling dimension to the story. As if adapting to a new school wasn't enough, it's a new town with its own rules, making his life feel smaller than his former one in Atlanta. I felt Yasir's struggle to keep a low profile and manage his growing anger. While I loved Yasir's character and the unique storyline, the instant romance and repetitive elements were slightly off-putting. The mystery and fantasy elements kept me reading, this is a promising start to a series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying this: I did not finish this book. At 20% complete, I was struggling to find the plot and connect with the characters. But I hate DNFing books, so I kept going. At the 60% mark, I finally put it down for good.

The concept is unique and compelling: a teenager in the South is hiding out with his uncle, after his grandmother shares that he’s being hunted by his past because of the beast hidden within. The main character narrates his journey navigating a new city, a new love interest, new friends, and his new powers.

Where I struggled was the pace at which the book moves .. the plot starts slowly, but the characters move at a break-neck pace to fall deep into relationships and for-life friendships. The point of view tracks as a teenager, but often stays at the surface/shallow level while not necessarily telling you what’s happening.

Characters 2
Story 1
World-Building 1
Spice (N/A)

Total Stars: 1

Would I buy this book for myself or a friend? No
Will I recommend this book to readers? No

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.

3.25 out of 5 stars.

The mystery of Yasir will keep readers guessing and turning pages to see where him and Zhara somehow fit into our world.
I believe this book will resonate with most the teens that read it. For me, it was a bit young and the “teen speak” became too much. I’m also not a fan of instant romance, so that took me quite a bit to grasp. But that being said, the second half sped up well and the mystery was fun. I recommend this to all teen fantasy lovers!

Thank you Entangled Teen for the copy!

If you like insta-love action and paranormal romance then this book is for you! I enjoyed reading this and hope the next book continues with the epic building this series seems to be.

Yasir Salah is trying to stay under the grid and adjust to a new town and school, but life won't let him.

He becomes a target as the new kid and has to handle his sometimes overwhelming anxiety, the constant conflicts, and the emotional connection to Zahra, his love interest.

Neverwraith keeps the reader immersed in Yasir's viewpoint and the challenges he encounters as he navigates who and what he is, which has yet to be explained properly to him. He's primed to be a superhero and protector of his homeland Kindara, but has to remain hidden from those who seek to destroy him.

By the end of Neverwraith, Yasir comes into his own. This one-man battle machine is physically ready, but not yet mentally prepared for the imminent danger and the adventures coming in Book 2.

If you like YA with supernatural elements and a lively cast of characters, you'll enjoy Neverwraith.

Stand by the people that love you!
Yasir has moved to Oakwood Grove to live with his uncle. He had to leave Atlanta, where he lived with his Nana. He doesn’t know why he was forced to leave, other than his Nana telling him he was in danger. Now that Yasir is in Oakwood Grove, he’s dealing with new problems with bullies coming out of the woodwork. He feels changes in himself and he’s trying his best to get a grip on life and keep calm. When some of his past is revealed, Yasir starts to wrap his head around the importance of standing by the people he loves.

Likes/dislikes: The slang is difficult to get used to. The story didn’t pull my interest until the last third of the book. I was relieved when the characters stopped saying that everything will be revealed later and finally started explaining what was happening to the main characters.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking
Language: R for 92 swears and 5 f-words.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black. Taylor has tawny skin. Kendyl is Afro-Latina. Ms. Tyler has beige skin.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I can not say enough about this book. Read this book, you will fall in love with YA-YA and the gang just like I did. I need book 2 now. Honestly this book was so much more than I thought it would be. Such a great story..

Unfortunately reading this book was tough. I hoped that I liked it and despite the interesting things I couldn't connect with the story. The cover and the title are a nice combo that led me to have expectations on this book and they recall much more of the urban fantasy genre than the plot. In addition to being vague, it doesn't give many hints on what kind of fantasy is shown.
There are so many things that didn’t work out for me and I’m disappointed because this book had great elements that can give a great reading. Instead, I suffered till the end. I will summarize the parts that didn’t work out for me and I will try to not make huge spoilers.

The narration and writing style. That was the hardest part to read. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t read many YA but until now I had no problem reading a book of this target. I don't even know if it was a choice made by the author to attract a specific target, the fact is that the continuous inclusion of slag in dialogues was a real torture. Maybe I’m the only one who hasn’t been updated to the new idiom(?), but I found this aspect at some point exhausting. Also, the writing style was affected because it seemed not very flexible, but schematic almost forced. I didn't perceive any rhythm that would allow the story to evolve, indeed each chapter presented actions or situations totally at random that interrupted the previous actions. I found the scenes excessive, while others were meaningless where the characters literally exploded. There were neither nuances of emotion nor reasoning behind certain meaningless actions.

The insta-love. It’s a big NO. I can understand that I am in a YA and therefore the heart-shaped eyes are instantaneous, but I can not stand when the characters approach in a short time and it is immediately love at first sight. Here it's worse because Yasir meets Zahra twice and already wants to kiss her, but she refuses him and this crushes him. Not to mention that in the future their relationship develops through thick and thin.

Yasir Shala. I didn’t have a connection with this character despite having a very interesting background. He's not the classic teenager who seeks answers and is not even curious about his origins or the strange things that happen to him because everything is pushed for over 45% of the story. He manages to make strange visions, his eyes light up and he gets for a few moments great abilities, but all this does not intrigue him since the romantic aspect comes first. I don’t know how to judge him because, for most of the book, I seemed to read about a normal teenager than someone whose life will change thanks to mystical powers.

The fantasy part. If it hadn’t been for the cover or some scattered items here and there this book might have shown itself as a YA romance. I don't know if it was the author’s choice to remain vague until almost half of the book, but the fact remains that the premises that he pulled were thrown away. I will make here SPOILER so skip this part because I need a deep explanation. In an urban fantasy as soon as strange things happen the protagonist immediately begins to ask questions and investigate. Or there’s a mentor who leaves clues. As I wrote before Yasir is indifferent to his situation and despite the phone call he made with his Nana (by the way I don't understand why sometimes it's written in uppercase and other times it's lowercase) which should be the beginning of the turn for the fantasy part Yasir puts the subject aside to focus on the romantic aspect. It almost seems that Zahra (the female protagonist) is Yasir’s key to opening the world to the paranormal aspect. It would have been interesting and also new, but the way it was handled didn’t make me crazy. Especially since Zahra father is a Kindaran historian and explicitly said that he was looking for Yasir. How come he didn't appear before since her daughert have a relationship with him? The point is that there should be hints sown in the chapters not that everything is explained towards the end. It doesn't hold because it almost seems that I read two different genres and not a mix of the two. It's a pity because the fantasy element was so nice to read. I think if the story had presented itself in another way, it would have made this urban fantasy unique.

I’m sorry to leave a negative review because the ideas inside the story were interesting, but regardless of how it was developed, I found the story unripe.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Shakir Rashaan, and Entangled Publishing for this e-ARC.

I couldn't really focus on what was going on because of the slang, which was completely unnecessary; no one wants to read a book like a gen Z text message. I'm sorry I have to say this, but it almost feels like the author googled "what do kids talk like nowadays" in an attempt to appeal to younger audiences.

I wasn't able to connect with the characters because everyone in this book is always starting a conflict. They pass each other by on the street and they literally start fighting. Most of the rivalries don't seem to have an obvious reason behind them, so it's just mindless kicking and punching at each other for no reason.

The instant love was so instant that I couldn't enjoy the romance at all. They saw each other, got together and that was that.

The dialogue is very repetitive and it doesn't help to get to learn new things or to develop the characters further. It's just a back and forth with no purpose.

The one thing I did enjoy is that the MMC is dealing with anxiety and it was described perfectly whenever he started feeling it.

I want to say that there is potential here but unfortunately, I don't see it. I'm not one to put down books and authors but this one was a real pain to get through and I have to be honest about it.

This was an interesting read with an awesome storyline; however, I wasn't too interested in the main character, which sorta took me out of my experience of reading. The characters didn't seem to be the most developed. But I did enjoy the overall story, and I really think that this is a good story for people to get sucked into. I loved the anxiety rep. I def recommend to teens who love fantasy!

Shakir Rashaan is a masterful storyteller and world builder. From beginning to end, this story is engaging and a page turner that takes you on a rollercoaster ride. It allows you to experience Yasir Salah's heartfelt journey of emotions and self-discovery. Kudos to Shakir on his debut YA/Fantasy novel that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I highly recommend this book ... Happy Reading!

I really did like the fresh prince of bel-air vibes for this book and think it has potential for a great series, & was one reason I definitely wanted to get my hands on this to bring me back in nostalgia.

the slang was heavily repetitive and hard for me to hang on to, as I’m not used to seeing it normally. I would say however it would probably be a bigger hit with younger adults, and I say that although I do enjoy YA novels I don’t read them often but romcoms or fantasy.

I did give this a 2.75 stars, and I think it has potential to see how the story progresses.
-insta-love
-young teens adjusting to new life
-mystery/suspenseful vibes
-fantasy