The Lost Hall

by Eva Thornberry

Everyone in Thorn’s Hollow knows there is something wrong with Seraphine Vale. The trouble is, no one can remember what.

For as long as Seraphine can remember, conversations have faltered when she enters a room, smiles have faded, and even her father has retreated behind silence whenever she asks about her mother. She has learned to endure the distance. She has never stopped searching for answers.

Then a dragon messenger names her among those chosen for Merrenhaven Academy.

High above the clouds, Merrenhaven is older than the Seven Kingdoms: an academy of rival Halls, ancient Patrons, dragon bonds and magical creatures whose trust cannot be commanded. But Seraphine’s arrival draws attention to secrets the school has buried beneath centuries of history.

A black pendant bears a symbol no record can explain. Lunavael—creatures that avoid humankind—watch her from the shadows. A ruined tower appears where no tower should stand. And every clue points towards a missing part of Merrenhaven's past.

With Tessa, Rowan and Prince Kaelen beside her, Seraphine begins tracing the fragments of a history no one remembers losing. Soon, the mystery surrounding her mother, the strange way people react to her and the forgotten Hall become impossible to separate.

Someone made the world forget.

And the answers Seraphine has sought all her life may lie inside the history they tried to erase.

577 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2026

About the author

Eva Thornberry has been writing stories, creating characters and building imaginary worlds since childhood. For many years, those stories were never shared. They lived mostly inside her head, scattered across notebooks and unfinished pages, and within the richly detailed world she returned to whenever reality became a little too loud.

Until now.

Through her shorter stories, Eva gradually created Merrenhaven—a magical academy hidden among the Frostvane Mountains—and the Seven Kingdoms surrounding it. It is a world of dragons, green witches, enchanted glasshouses, ancient Halls, unexpected friendships and magic that reaches far beyond the academy walls.

Some of Eva’s stories explore meaningful real-world themes through fantasy. Tales such as Honeywick were inspired by environmental concerns and carry gentle messages about responsibility, courage and protecting the natural world. Others take a lighter and more humorous approach, including The Dragon Ate My Homework. Each story reveals another corner of Merrenhaven and introduces the creatures, characters and legends woven through its world.

Eva’s imagination has always offered her an escape from reality. Living with anxiety and PTSD, she has often found comfort in disappearing into the places and friendships she creates. Her writing offers readers that same opportunity: a chance to step away from the real world for a while and enter somewhere filled with wonder, warmth, mystery and possibility.

Through richly drawn characters and immersive world-building, Eva creates stories for young adults and adults who still believe books should feel like doorways. Whether exploring the dragon sanctuary, wandering through Merrenhaven’s glasshouses, climbing its towers or uncovering the forgotten secrets of its ancient Halls, readers are invited to experience the world as though they are standing inside it.

What began as a collection of shorter tales eventually grew into Eva’s first full-length novel, The Lost Hall. The story follows four unlikely friends as they navigate their first year at Merrenhaven Academy and discover that some parts of the school—and its history—have been forgotten for a reason.

The second Merrenhaven novel is already well on its way to completion, with further stories, mysteries and adventures still waiting to be told.

Eva never believed she would have the confidence to share her stories—or introduce readers to the friends she had created within Merrenhaven. She has also begun bringing some of her characters and creatures to life through artwork and imagery, allowing readers to glimpse pieces of a world that once existed only in her imagination.

Now, the gates are finally open.

Enter Merrenhaven. Explore the dragon sanctuary, the glasshouses, the ancient Halls and towers, and the magic that flows from the academy into the Seven Kingdoms.

There is always another story waiting beyond the Frostvane Gate.

Reviews

[Sam]

The Lost Hall really drew me in. It’s one of those books that carries you along quite naturally, and every time I put it down I found myself wanting to pick it back up and see what happened next.

What I loved most were the characters. They started to feel like people I actually knew, and I genuinely cared about what happened to them. There were moments that made me laugh, moments that made me emotional, and a few where I just sat there thinking, wait… WHAT?

The mystery is probably my favourite part of the story. It doesn’t simply give you one question to solve; it gradually unfolds and grows as the book goes on, so every new discovery makes you want to understand a little more. I really enjoyed that.

Merrenhaven itself is wonderfully immersive too. I could picture the academy, the creatures and the places so clearly that at times it felt as though I was there with Seraphine and the others rather than just reading about them.

And, as someone who loves fantasy but doesn’t need romance in every story, I found it genuinely refreshing to read a fantasy novel with zero romance at its centre. The friendships, mystery and world were more than enough to keep me invested.

It’s a big book, but it didn’t feel like a difficult read. I enjoyed spending time in Merrenhaven, I wanted to know how everything fitted together, and when I reached the end I definitely wasn’t ready to leave.

I received the book from the Author as part of the ARC team.

[Aileen Baxter]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

The Lost Hall was such an engrossing read! I absolutely loved the pacing of this book, there was always something happening, and it kept me turning the pages because I constantly wanted to know more.

The mystery was my favourite part. There were enough questions and secrets to keep me guessing and completely invested in uncovering what was really going on. Add in the magic, the fascinating creatures and a cast of characters I genuinely enjoyed, and this was such a fun combination.

I loved discovering more about the world and the characters as the story unfolded. There was a great balance of mystery, magic and adventure, and I was completely absorbed from start to finish.

A really enjoyable 4.5⭐️ read that left me wanting to know so much more. I’m definitely looking forward to continuing the journey!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathy S]

Difficult to put down once I'd started. Characters you could invest in, a little difficult to decipher who was saying what at the very beginning due to it being written as 'quote' and answer rather than 'he said, she said' but after a very short time it was easy due work out by knowing the characters and how they would speak.
Loved the lesson, before the leading four had embarked on any adventures discussing myths/facts/forgotten/lost and the differences between. This really primed me for understanding what was happening with the first hall.
Answers not pushed down your throat, they came naturally as the characters discovered them.
The authors descriptive powers are excellent, at the end of the book there is a picture of a nyxvora, I was surprised to come across it when I finished the book and I'm glad I didn't find it earlier, it was exactly how it had looked in my imagination!
There are still questions to answer which I assume means a sequel, I hope there is, I would look forward to reading it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stacey Whiting]

ARC Review – DNF at 52%

I received this book as an ARC, and I’m so sorry to say that I DNF’d it at 52%.

I really tried to get into this one. I would read a little, move on to another book, and then come back to it hoping it would click for me, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with it.

I’m not sure whether it was the writing style, but I found myself feeling lost at times, particularly during conversations between the characters. It wasn’t always clear who was speaking, which made some scenes difficult for me to follow. I also found the sentences quite short in places, and certain details or phrases felt unnecessarily repetitive, which affected the overall flow for me.

That being said, I think the plot and the idea behind the book have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it just wasn’t the right book for me.

As always, reading is completely subjective, and what doesn’t work for one reader could be exactly what another reader loves. I genuinely wish the author all the luck in the world with this book and its release. 🤍

[Helen Wright]

I really enjoyed reading this, the world building is excellent, lots of cosy magic world vibes and mystical animals reminiscent of studio ghibli. Its a great mystery with plenty of twists and turns, curses, fantastical creatures and settings and multiple character plots. Overall its an enchanting read and a firm first book for a fantasy saga.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Frankie Dimmock]

This book hooked me from the get go. An incredible pure fantasy book. Not distracted with romances or any other such things. Just a pure fantasy in such an inviting world of wonder. I loved the friendships that sprouted, the group dynamic was everything. The constant mystery had me on the edge the entire time I read this book. I could feel it in my chest as if I was a character alongside them. Honestly such a good book I already want to read it again and re experience it all.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jennifer L]

I received this as an ARC. I really enjoyed the plot however I also struggled with how it was written. From the start, the sentences were short and choppy and the dialogue between the characters was very hard to decipher who was actually saying what. This continued throughout the whole book and is the reason why I didn't rate it higher. I also felt that it was quite repetitive and I can't work out if this was intentional or not.
Like I said though, the story line was great and once I got to about half way in, it really picked up pace and became more interesting. It just took a while for me to get to that point as I struggled with all the dialogue and working out who was saying what.

[Charl]

I received this as an ARC copy, and while I really enjoyed the plot and really wanted to like this book, i sadly could not follow the storyline, with the way it was written and I sadly couldn’t not continue with it. I was confused with who was saying what and dialogue was short, looking at other reviews this is all the way through the book and I couldn’t continue but I cannot get on with the writing. I hate giving this review as the plot sounds really good and I am desperate to know the secret. I just didn’t know who was talking.

[Leslie Twitchell]

The lost hall is book 1 of Merrenhaven. Such a great start. A mundane life gets a upheaval at a magical academy. Great if you love magic, dragons, paranormal and academy stories.