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Nevermoor #4
Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow
Enter the fantastically Wundrous world of Nevermoor – perfect for all adventurous young readers. Morrigan Crow has a dangerous choice to make in the fourth of this bestselling, award-winning series …
Praise for Nevermoor: ‘Exciting, mysterious, marvellous and magical … quite simply one of the best children’s books I’ve read in years’ Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike.
In the magical city of Nevermoor, long-buried secrets are coming to light, and Morrigan Crow’s life is about to turn upside down.
When Morrigan is invited into Nevermoor’s wealthy Silver District, she discovers a world of extravagance and a family mystery she’s eager to unravel. She could never imagine where it will lead: a white wedding, a golden dragon and a red pool of blood.
Embroiled in suspicion and danger, Morrigan leaps head first into a murder investigation, while also grappling with her ever-growing Wundersmith powers. And although her friends are there to help, she fears that could change if they learn she’s keeping a terrible secret of her own.
As shadowy forces awaken in Nevermoor, can Morrigan find a killer and solve the mystery in her own past … before the clock strikes midnight?
Jessica Townsend weaves a spellbinding tale of magic and mystery in this thrilling new installment of the Nevermoor series, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and with film rights sold to Fox.
Praise for Nevermoor: ‘Exciting, mysterious, marvellous and magical … quite simply one of the best children’s books I’ve read in years’ Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike.
In the magical city of Nevermoor, long-buried secrets are coming to light, and Morrigan Crow’s life is about to turn upside down.
When Morrigan is invited into Nevermoor’s wealthy Silver District, she discovers a world of extravagance and a family mystery she’s eager to unravel. She could never imagine where it will lead: a white wedding, a golden dragon and a red pool of blood.
Embroiled in suspicion and danger, Morrigan leaps head first into a murder investigation, while also grappling with her ever-growing Wundersmith powers. And although her friends are there to help, she fears that could change if they learn she’s keeping a terrible secret of her own.
As shadowy forces awaken in Nevermoor, can Morrigan find a killer and solve the mystery in her own past … before the clock strikes midnight?
Jessica Townsend weaves a spellbinding tale of magic and mystery in this thrilling new installment of the Nevermoor series, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and with film rights sold to Fox.
Hardcover
First published June 24, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,267 reviews
August 13, 2025
So I'll just check this page obsessively until something changes.
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Funny this is set in the Silver District just when I'm obsessed with The Gilded Age 🤭 quite fitting.
Just when I thought absolutely every single adult in Morrigan's life was failing her, Jupiter comes through 😭
I guess some parts of the story felt slower, but I think it's because some of the Deucalion's charm and its people were missing. However, I'm so happy Morrigan has had the chance to learn more about herself and to explore her powers... safelish? as safe as it can be with the projection of a murderer around her? anyways.
Every time I'm in Nevermore I'm swept by the world. And I love Unit 191, how close together they've become since book two 🥺 they are the best.
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Funny this is set in the Silver District just when I'm obsessed with The Gilded Age 🤭 quite fitting.
Just when I thought absolutely every single adult in Morrigan's life was failing her, Jupiter comes through 😭
I guess some parts of the story felt slower, but I think it's because some of the Deucalion's charm and its people were missing. However, I'm so happy Morrigan has had the chance to learn more about herself and to explore her powers... safelish? as safe as it can be with the projection of a murderer around her? anyways.
Every time I'm in Nevermore I'm swept by the world. And I love Unit 191, how close together they've become since book two 🥺 they are the best.
Want to read
July 18, 2024I just *hiccups* need you to stop changing the release date
Want to read
March 2, 2021 I can't wait for this book to come out! Literally love everything about Nevermoor!
Want to read
December 31, 2025Pre-reading thoughts: (24/4/2025)
Babes, it’s been years and now you’re finally giving us this book? I’m not complaining but I’ve literally forgotten every plot point and character😩
I wonder how quickly I can get my hands on this and devour it…
Pre-reading thoughts: (3/6/2021)
October 2022?! Ugh that’s so far away!
Things I want to see in this book:
- Jupiter and Ezra Squall fighting. I want my 2 fave characters to interact!
- All of Morrigan’s friends finding out she’s agreed to go with Ezra. Maybe a tear-inducing confrontation.
- Morrigan learning something about her mother. There’s definitely something behind that and she needs to know more.
- Morrigan studying the Wretched Arts... and why are they called that?! Can’t wait to see a super powerful Morrigan!
- I want some more heartfelt moments from Ezra. I want to know why he flipped and turned evil and killed all his friends. He seemed happier in the Ghostly Hours, what happened?
- Finally, I want to know WHAT THE HELL A SAFEGUARD PACT IS!! What will it do to Morrigan once everyone learns she’s in cahoots with Ezra?!
Aaaah I can’t wait to read this! It’ll probably be my fave book of 2022!!
Babes, it’s been years and now you’re finally giving us this book? I’m not complaining but I’ve literally forgotten every plot point and character😩
I wonder how quickly I can get my hands on this and devour it…
Pre-reading thoughts: (3/6/2021)
October 2022?! Ugh that’s so far away!
Things I want to see in this book:
- Jupiter and Ezra Squall fighting. I want my 2 fave characters to interact!
- All of Morrigan’s friends finding out she’s agreed to go with Ezra. Maybe a tear-inducing confrontation.
- Morrigan learning something about her mother. There’s definitely something behind that and she needs to know more.
- Morrigan studying the Wretched Arts... and why are they called that?! Can’t wait to see a super powerful Morrigan!
- I want some more heartfelt moments from Ezra. I want to know why he flipped and turned evil and killed all his friends. He seemed happier in the Ghostly Hours, what happened?
- Finally, I want to know WHAT THE HELL A SAFEGUARD PACT IS!! What will it do to Morrigan once everyone learns she’s in cahoots with Ezra?!
Aaaah I can’t wait to read this! It’ll probably be my fave book of 2022!!
August 26, 2025
After five years, I can safely say this was worth the wait. Silverborn is a chonky read (672 pages), making it notably larger than previous books in the series. It also veers into a slightly different genre than the others, with a murder mystery gamely taking up a large portion of the book.
Morrigan Crow, now apprenticed to the antagonist Ezra Squall, learns she has family in Nevermoor, and Silverborn is very much a discovery of her roots. Her romp into the Silver District is a cross between a classic detective novel and Bridgerton (the district having its very own Lady Whistledown), but at the end of the day, we know this is a story about found family. After a suspicious wedding death, Cadence takes a wonderful turn as lead detective with the help of Unit 919, and Hawthorne sees some strides (and losses) in his dragonriding career. Poignantly, we learn more about Jack and Jupiter's past, their shared losses, and how they are tied together. It all comes together beautifully in an excellent climactic scene of chaos, time, and wunder.
My favourite parts were the apprenticeship scenes with the dour Squall facing the unmatched sass of Morrigan Crow. I could have read an entire book of Mog mocking Squall for sniffing windowsills and snarking his "smoky dogs". Squall's matter-of-fact personality is very much unlike Jupiter's (AKA Captain Wonderful) happy-go-lucky attitude, and I'm interested to see them square off in the future. There are also a few important character-buildings moments between Mog and Jupiter that had me put the book down because I had something in my eye (like a twig, you know, or a branch). My least favourite parts were the long stretch spent in the Silver District, purely because it meant time away from the Wundrous Society and Hotel Deucalion (and its wonderful cast of kooky characters). Fen, my favourite character in the series, has a criminally low amount of scenes!
I've heard concerns the book may be too complex for its younger readers and while that is definitely a concern, I do think it matches the growing audience (considering the kids I first sold the book to were 7 in 2017 and are now 17(!) There are times where it feels overstuffed with characters and converging plot points, but there is also a chaotic joy to this and it definitely lends itself to a reread. Larger-narrative-wise, there are hints at political unrest between the realms, and though there aren't any huge leaps forward (this book is very much focused on the past), Silverborn does reveal compelling plot points to be unraveled in future books, a lot of necessary backstory is revealed, and there is a great deal of character growth, so this book gets four-and-a-half fallen stars from me, and I suspect I'll love it even more on a reread.
Morrigan Crow, now apprenticed to the antagonist Ezra Squall, learns she has family in Nevermoor, and Silverborn is very much a discovery of her roots. Her romp into the Silver District is a cross between a classic detective novel and Bridgerton (the district having its very own Lady Whistledown), but at the end of the day, we know this is a story about found family. After a suspicious wedding death, Cadence takes a wonderful turn as lead detective with the help of Unit 919, and Hawthorne sees some strides (and losses) in his dragonriding career. Poignantly, we learn more about Jack and Jupiter's past, their shared losses, and how they are tied together. It all comes together beautifully in an excellent climactic scene of chaos, time, and wunder.
My favourite parts were the apprenticeship scenes with the dour Squall facing the unmatched sass of Morrigan Crow. I could have read an entire book of Mog mocking Squall for sniffing windowsills and snarking his "smoky dogs". Squall's matter-of-fact personality is very much unlike Jupiter's (AKA Captain Wonderful) happy-go-lucky attitude, and I'm interested to see them square off in the future. There are also a few important character-buildings moments between Mog and Jupiter that had me put the book down because I had something in my eye (like a twig, you know, or a branch). My least favourite parts were the long stretch spent in the Silver District, purely because it meant time away from the Wundrous Society and Hotel Deucalion (and its wonderful cast of kooky characters). Fen, my favourite character in the series, has a criminally low amount of scenes!
I've heard concerns the book may be too complex for its younger readers and while that is definitely a concern, I do think it matches the growing audience (considering the kids I first sold the book to were 7 in 2017 and are now 17(!) There are times where it feels overstuffed with characters and converging plot points, but there is also a chaotic joy to this and it definitely lends itself to a reread. Larger-narrative-wise, there are hints at political unrest between the realms, and though there aren't any huge leaps forward (this book is very much focused on the past), Silverborn does reveal compelling plot points to be unraveled in future books, a lot of necessary backstory is revealed, and there is a great deal of character growth, so this book gets four-and-a-half fallen stars from me, and I suspect I'll love it even more on a reread.
Read
August 23, 2023Every time the release date for this book is moved I feel a little more dead inside
December 20, 2025
Review originally published 20 December 2025 at Falling Letters.
Preamble
1999 saw the publication of the second book in Bruce Coville’s The Unicorn Chronicles. By 2002 or so, I had given up hope the series would ever continue. (I hadn’t known, then, that there had been five years between the publication of book one and book two…) Book three, finally published in 2008, cemented that series in first place for the longest I ever waited for a sequel. Silverborn takes second place for longest wait.
I remember reading Hollowpox in a downtown Vancouver hotel at Christmas when I couldn’t go home in 2020. Silverborn, originally scheduled for October 2022 publication, held the crown for my “most anticipated read of next year” for the past four years. All this is essentially preamble to say, you can maybe imagine why I may have been putting off this review. When you wait for so long for something, it’s not exactly inevitable it will disappoint, but the chances go up. Anyway, lock in now for one of those posts that’s more about my entirely uncritical feels and reactions to the book, rather than a more formal review. I had three main reactions to Silverborn, two of which were not particularly positive.
Aristocratic Murder Mystery
Little information was available on this book, even when it was published in Australia a couple months before it made it to North America. I didn’t have much idea what to expect. But maybe I should have paid more attention to the blurb lol because it’s pretty clear about what to expect – “world of extravagance and a family mystery”, a murder investigation. Because I didn’t expect it to be as much of those things as it is. I was not a fan of Morrigan spending most of the book living with her extravagant family. It means readers miss out on the delightful Deucalion and Wundrous Society settings and characters we’ve come to love from the other books. This works in terms of plot generation. It doesn’t work so much in appealing to my wee heart. To be fair, I also just do not care about murder mysteries. So, that aspect was always going to be a tough sell for me, even when it’s part of one of my all time favourite series.
What is Going On Here?
I’m gonna wander into extremely vague territory here and say something just doesn’t feel right about Silverborn in comparison to the first three books. In Hollowpox especially, the story began to seriously delve into a grander, intriguing plot. With Silverborn, things feel like they’ve veered way off course. Very few of the threads picked at in Hollowpox are further plucked at in Silverborn. And the whole atmosphere of the book just didn’t quite sit right with me.
I saw one reviewer suggest this book had been partially ghost written because “the style is different, the characters are OOC […], there are contradictions with previously established mechanics […], and the overall quality is just worse.” That’s a wild claim which I don’t buy myself but I can see how one might come to that conclusion… I think the different ‘feel’ of the book can simply be attributed to the time taken to write it during the pandemic and the structure of the story itself. Townsend herself has acknowledged the challenges of finishing Silverborn:
A wee aside: I’m starting to think nine books is too many for this series. If it’s going to continue at this pace (and I don’t even mean the pace of publishing, though I doubt the series can survive a 4.5 year gap between future volumes) – I mean the pace of overarching plot development, I’d prefer see six or seven books.
Jupiter
Now, to end on a positive note: There wasn’t quite as much of on-page Jupiter as I would have liked. Although I don’t think there will ever be as much on-page Jupiter as I would like. 😝 I need to keep reminding myself that the series is not about him, it’s not his story… Can we get a series written for adults that’s from his perspective? I would even be willing to pick up some good fanfiction if it’s from that POV!! But I digress… Jupiter’s role in the plot of Silverborn is actually the most significant its been in the series so far. The development of his and Morrigan’s relationship impressed me. The stress tests that relationship goes through were realistically painful (even if dragged out for far too long over a miscommunication). Once again it was a scene between those two that had me tearing up. (Actually there were several such scenes in this book.)
The Bottom Line 💭 Silverborn might not feel like what an ardent fan of the series would hope for, but it’s still an enjoyable continuation of the series.
***
Edit 20 June 2025: I’VE GOT A COPY IN MY HANDS NOW! IT’S GO TKME AT LASSSST
Edit May 2025: It’s almost time at last!! Starting a reread of HOLLOWPOX now in preparation.
Edit July 2024: April 2025... okay... that's fine that's less than a year from now... 😅 Hachette's website says JUNE but it also has a cover so go check that out if you like...
Edit Feb 2024: It looks like this book is definitely coming out this year!! See this event at Adelaide Festival, whose description statees "In 2024, Jessica Townsend will publish the fourth book in her Nevermoor series. What can we expect from the next instalment? In this session for middle grade readers, Townsend joins chair Clare Sawyer to reveal some of the secrets of her fantastical world." I am so excited 🥹.
Edit May 2023: Barnes & Noble is saying delayed until fall 2024.
Edit Jun 2022: When did it change to Sept 2023? 😭
I shall have to keep reminding myself that release date says "October 2022", not 2021, alas...
Preamble
1999 saw the publication of the second book in Bruce Coville’s The Unicorn Chronicles. By 2002 or so, I had given up hope the series would ever continue. (I hadn’t known, then, that there had been five years between the publication of book one and book two…) Book three, finally published in 2008, cemented that series in first place for the longest I ever waited for a sequel. Silverborn takes second place for longest wait.
I remember reading Hollowpox in a downtown Vancouver hotel at Christmas when I couldn’t go home in 2020. Silverborn, originally scheduled for October 2022 publication, held the crown for my “most anticipated read of next year” for the past four years. All this is essentially preamble to say, you can maybe imagine why I may have been putting off this review. When you wait for so long for something, it’s not exactly inevitable it will disappoint, but the chances go up. Anyway, lock in now for one of those posts that’s more about my entirely uncritical feels and reactions to the book, rather than a more formal review. I had three main reactions to Silverborn, two of which were not particularly positive.
Aristocratic Murder Mystery
Little information was available on this book, even when it was published in Australia a couple months before it made it to North America. I didn’t have much idea what to expect. But maybe I should have paid more attention to the blurb lol because it’s pretty clear about what to expect – “world of extravagance and a family mystery”, a murder investigation. Because I didn’t expect it to be as much of those things as it is. I was not a fan of Morrigan spending most of the book living with her extravagant family. It means readers miss out on the delightful Deucalion and Wundrous Society settings and characters we’ve come to love from the other books. This works in terms of plot generation. It doesn’t work so much in appealing to my wee heart. To be fair, I also just do not care about murder mysteries. So, that aspect was always going to be a tough sell for me, even when it’s part of one of my all time favourite series.
What is Going On Here?
I’m gonna wander into extremely vague territory here and say something just doesn’t feel right about Silverborn in comparison to the first three books. In Hollowpox especially, the story began to seriously delve into a grander, intriguing plot. With Silverborn, things feel like they’ve veered way off course. Very few of the threads picked at in Hollowpox are further plucked at in Silverborn. And the whole atmosphere of the book just didn’t quite sit right with me.
I saw one reviewer suggest this book had been partially ghost written because “the style is different, the characters are OOC […], there are contradictions with previously established mechanics […], and the overall quality is just worse.” That’s a wild claim which I don’t buy myself but I can see how one might come to that conclusion… I think the different ‘feel’ of the book can simply be attributed to the time taken to write it during the pandemic and the structure of the story itself. Townsend herself has acknowledged the challenges of finishing Silverborn:
Firstly, it’s a murder mystery – the first one I’ve written – which has its own formula and set of rules to work within. And the murder had to play out not just in a fantasy world, but in the fourth book of a nine-book fantasy series. So alongside the murder subplot, there were many other threads I needed to pick up in Silverborn from the first three books, and new threads to lay down for the rest of the series. Basically, just a LOT of things needed to happen in this book, because it’s kind of a turning point in Morrigan’s story.
Ultimately all of this has made Silverborn the most satisfying book to (finally) finish, and my personal favourite in the series by FAR… but maaannnnnnn she was a nightmare to wade through. Interview @ The Nerd Daily
A wee aside: I’m starting to think nine books is too many for this series. If it’s going to continue at this pace (and I don’t even mean the pace of publishing, though I doubt the series can survive a 4.5 year gap between future volumes) – I mean the pace of overarching plot development, I’d prefer see six or seven books.
Jupiter
Now, to end on a positive note: There wasn’t quite as much of on-page Jupiter as I would have liked. Although I don’t think there will ever be as much on-page Jupiter as I would like. 😝 I need to keep reminding myself that the series is not about him, it’s not his story… Can we get a series written for adults that’s from his perspective? I would even be willing to pick up some good fanfiction if it’s from that POV!! But I digress… Jupiter’s role in the plot of Silverborn is actually the most significant its been in the series so far. The development of his and Morrigan’s relationship impressed me. The stress tests that relationship goes through were realistically painful (even if dragged out for far too long over a miscommunication). Once again it was a scene between those two that had me tearing up. (Actually there were several such scenes in this book.)
The Bottom Line 💭 Silverborn might not feel like what an ardent fan of the series would hope for, but it’s still an enjoyable continuation of the series.
***
Edit 20 June 2025: I’VE GOT A COPY IN MY HANDS NOW! IT’S GO TKME AT LASSSST
Edit May 2025: It’s almost time at last!! Starting a reread of HOLLOWPOX now in preparation.
Edit July 2024: April 2025... okay... that's fine that's less than a year from now... 😅 Hachette's website says JUNE but it also has a cover so go check that out if you like...
Edit Feb 2024: It looks like this book is definitely coming out this year!! See this event at Adelaide Festival, whose description statees "In 2024, Jessica Townsend will publish the fourth book in her Nevermoor series. What can we expect from the next instalment? In this session for middle grade readers, Townsend joins chair Clare Sawyer to reveal some of the secrets of her fantastical world." I am so excited 🥹.
Edit May 2023: Barnes & Noble is saying delayed until fall 2024.
Edit Jun 2022: When did it change to Sept 2023? 😭
I shall have to keep reminding myself that release date says "October 2022", not 2021, alas...
July 3, 2025
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I HAVE TO WAIT A
YEAR
?????
(Sorry; my need for instant gratification is showing 😉)
(Sorry; my need for instant gratification is showing 😉)
May 6, 2025
An underwhelming disappointment
SPOILERS for Silverborn (and the previous Nevermoor books)
I love the Nevermoor books, they're one of my favourite series. I do think there's a tendency with folk nowadays to five star everything to such an extent that five stars no longer holds any useful meaning, but despite that I still gave the first three books five stars each, and I think they deserve them. So why not the same for book 4?
If this book had come out before Hollowpox, and if it hadn't been delayed to the point where it took five years to be released, I might have been fine with this one and rated it a four out of five. But it came after the huge crescendo high stakes wham episode that was book 3, and it did take five years to release, and no, I don't think it was worth the wait.
Book 3 had a magical plague/monster threatening to destabilize the free state, all a prelude to President Wintersea (a frightening mystery of a villain who terrifies Ezra Squall, a mass-murdering godlike Wundersmith!) invading and conquering Nevermoor in the name of the Republic.
Book 4 is a cosy murder mystery about a bunch of rich snobs, in which not even Morrigan is in any real danger, save from her own stupidity.
What, you wanted to know what President Wintersea's deal was? Waited five years to find out how bland politician Maud Lowry can terrify and control Ezra Squall? Hard luck, she's not in this book, you get no answers or even hints. Morrigan doesn't even think to ask Squall how she has control over him, or why she is worse than him, or if she is the enemy he warned her about back in book 2 that was a bigger threat than him. Nope, you gotta wait (another five years?) to maybe possibly get any answers there. Oh, you wanted to get a hint or even an answer about the safeguard pact? That thing established back in book 1?! Nah, not mentioned. Keep waiting another five years. We have rich snobs to waste hundreds of pages about instead! Excitement!
I'm poor. I frequently go hungry because I can't afford to eat. I'm not alone in this, it's an increasingly common story these days. Reading hundreds of pages of lavish descriptions about Morrigan's rich relatives and their neighbours was not fun, or interesting, and left me feeling mostly cold. At one point Morrigan – the same Morrigan who went to school early and stayed late and shunned her friends to learn the Wundrous Arts in Sub 9 – skips school for two weeks and even skips her lessons from living Wundersmith Ezra Squall, to … attend social events, and dinners, and balls, and parties, and such. Yeah she gets mocked for this, but it still seems wildly at odds with her established character, and she had to be dragged out of her rich high-life haze by Rook and Squall.
Speaking of being out of character! At one point Jupiter behaves so at odds with his normal personality, grounding Morrigan and generally talking/acting as if he owned her, that I actually thought that Squall was mind controlling him in order to manipulate Morrigan. Nope! It turns out he was just worried for her safety, and didn't want her investigating a murder mystery because she might get hurt. By this point however, Morrigan has stood up to a mass murdering psycho with godlike magic, defeated a magical sentient monster plague, crashed two Ghastly Markets, and signed up as a scholar of Wunsoc where she is expected to risk her life on the regular to prove her usefulness to society (where getting mauled by a bear is just another Tuesday). Jupiter trying to ground her for fear of her investigating a murder seems so bizarrely quaint in comparison I cant help but wonder if he has amnesia. But then I realised it was just a trope from cosy murder mystery novels with kid detectives, shoehorned into this series despite it not making any sense.
Don't even get me started on Ezra Squall, who has gone from frightening mass murdering master manipulator to … Morrigan's magical butler, who swoops in to clean up her messes and grant her wishes. Oh, but he says he ISN'T that, so that's all right then. And does everyone remember Sofia? Morrigan's foxwun friend from book 3 that she cared about so much she was in tears over losing her to the pox, and was willing to basically sell her soul to Squall to save? Yeah, not mentioned at all, doesn't appear in this book, screw Sofia. I suppose she's grateful that Morrigan saved her from a fate worse than death, but Morrigan seems to have memory holed her. Then again, book 4 seems to go out of its way to avoid mentioning book 3 – I could count on one hand the callbacks to Hollowpox in this one. It almost feels as if Hollowpox has been disavowed by the publisher *cough* I mean author. Maybe Holliday Wu forced a rewrite on this one for PR reasons.
I could go on for a while about my issues with this book, but there's a word limit on reviews. TLDR; it's not a terrible or even bad book, but it is inferior to the books that came before, particularly book 3, the stakes are non-existent, we waited five years for answers to many questions and mysteries, and we're still waiting for most of them (yeah, we learn about Morrigan and Jack's family, but that was about it). The story is anticlimactic in the extreme, particularly compared to the previous books. And for a book series that had no problem with calling out bigotry and hatred in previous volumes, this story about rich families doesn't really do a whole lot to address wealth disparity, despite that being a pretty massive issue in our world right now. If you enjoy this series for Wunsoc, the Deucalion, adventure, and Fenestra, you'll be disappointed, because all of those are just cameos in this kid-detective cosy murder mystery, and the Nevermoor characters and setting feel more like a thin coat of paint applied to someone else's cosy mystery novel. Have I said cosy enough for you yet?
Here's hoping we don't have to wait another five years for book 5.
EDIT 06/05/25
On reflection I'm bumping my rating down to 2 out 5 stars. I simply do not believe that Jessica Townsend wrote this book. Not all of it. I think she wrote the start and the end, because the characters actually sound like themselves there, and the writing is on par with the previous books at those bits. But the rest? Someone else. Ghost writer. The style is different, the characters are OOC (particularly Morrigan, Jupiter, and Squall), there are contradictions with previously established mechanics (that whole thing with Morrigan using her 'reach' in Weaving contradicts all details given about Weaving in Book 3), and the overall quality is just worse. I don't know why, but I'm sure it has something to do with this book being delayed FOUR TIMES. My guess is the publisher had no choice but to hire a ghost writer to do the bulk of it, or else give up on the series altogether (with a movie deal in the works? Not likely).
The thing that really makes me knock a star off though, is the treatment of wealth and money in this story. A book about a rich gated community, and the ghost writer somehow managed to avoid having ANY POOR PEOPLE as a contrast? Like Squall takes Morrigan to Eldritch, the poorest most run-down part of Nevermoor, and there are no poor people there! No homeless folk, no one quietly starving to death or freezing or huddled around a burning bin. No, the only people she meets in the poorest part of the city are her future friend rich kids teleporting into the area. Yes, I know they try to justify it by saying folk steer clear because of the creature living there, but what about the entire rest of the book? HOW do you write an entire book about wealth and money and privilege and NOT contrast it to the huge numbers of poor, destitute and homeless people that MUST exist when you have people that obscenely rich??!! The closest the book comes to someone poor is Bertie the Vulture (in that he was formerly poor and had to EARN his wealth), and the visceral disgust Morrigan and the narrative has towards him makes me want to punch the ghost writer.
Last year I read through the Murder Most Unladylike books by Robin Stevens, and I'd swear the publisher got her to write this book, because Silverborn reads much more like one of those than an actual Nevermoor novel. Bottom line, if I had any money I would wager it that Jessica Townsend wrote maybe 5-10% of Silverborn, and someone else wrote the rest. Can't prove it, but I know I'm right. And I'm not the only person to notice that this book doesn't feel like the other books. Not sure what this means for the future of the series either, because if they get the same ghost writer back for book 5, then I am done following these books.
EDIT 2 – PS
The LGBT+ representation in this book is like the textbook definition of token representation. A tiny handful of lines sprinkled into the text, most likely after the book was finished. Blink and you'll miss it. You could very easily edit these lines out and you would barely notice a drop in the book's wordcount, to say nothing of it having zero impact on the story. Just an absolute laughably small effort that, IMO, was probably grudgingly done by the ghost writer at the behest of an editor or PR rep. Not that I expect anyone to care, but y'know, this is my first book review, so I felt I should mention it.
SPOILERS for Silverborn (and the previous Nevermoor books)
I love the Nevermoor books, they're one of my favourite series. I do think there's a tendency with folk nowadays to five star everything to such an extent that five stars no longer holds any useful meaning, but despite that I still gave the first three books five stars each, and I think they deserve them. So why not the same for book 4?
If this book had come out before Hollowpox, and if it hadn't been delayed to the point where it took five years to be released, I might have been fine with this one and rated it a four out of five. But it came after the huge crescendo high stakes wham episode that was book 3, and it did take five years to release, and no, I don't think it was worth the wait.
Book 3 had a magical plague/monster threatening to destabilize the free state, all a prelude to President Wintersea (a frightening mystery of a villain who terrifies Ezra Squall, a mass-murdering godlike Wundersmith!) invading and conquering Nevermoor in the name of the Republic.
Book 4 is a cosy murder mystery about a bunch of rich snobs, in which not even Morrigan is in any real danger, save from her own stupidity.
What, you wanted to know what President Wintersea's deal was? Waited five years to find out how bland politician Maud Lowry can terrify and control Ezra Squall? Hard luck, she's not in this book, you get no answers or even hints. Morrigan doesn't even think to ask Squall how she has control over him, or why she is worse than him, or if she is the enemy he warned her about back in book 2 that was a bigger threat than him. Nope, you gotta wait (another five years?) to maybe possibly get any answers there. Oh, you wanted to get a hint or even an answer about the safeguard pact? That thing established back in book 1?! Nah, not mentioned. Keep waiting another five years. We have rich snobs to waste hundreds of pages about instead! Excitement!
I'm poor. I frequently go hungry because I can't afford to eat. I'm not alone in this, it's an increasingly common story these days. Reading hundreds of pages of lavish descriptions about Morrigan's rich relatives and their neighbours was not fun, or interesting, and left me feeling mostly cold. At one point Morrigan – the same Morrigan who went to school early and stayed late and shunned her friends to learn the Wundrous Arts in Sub 9 – skips school for two weeks and even skips her lessons from living Wundersmith Ezra Squall, to … attend social events, and dinners, and balls, and parties, and such. Yeah she gets mocked for this, but it still seems wildly at odds with her established character, and she had to be dragged out of her rich high-life haze by Rook and Squall.
Speaking of being out of character! At one point Jupiter behaves so at odds with his normal personality, grounding Morrigan and generally talking/acting as if he owned her, that I actually thought that Squall was mind controlling him in order to manipulate Morrigan. Nope! It turns out he was just worried for her safety, and didn't want her investigating a murder mystery because she might get hurt. By this point however, Morrigan has stood up to a mass murdering psycho with godlike magic, defeated a magical sentient monster plague, crashed two Ghastly Markets, and signed up as a scholar of Wunsoc where she is expected to risk her life on the regular to prove her usefulness to society (where getting mauled by a bear is just another Tuesday). Jupiter trying to ground her for fear of her investigating a murder seems so bizarrely quaint in comparison I cant help but wonder if he has amnesia. But then I realised it was just a trope from cosy murder mystery novels with kid detectives, shoehorned into this series despite it not making any sense.
Don't even get me started on Ezra Squall, who has gone from frightening mass murdering master manipulator to … Morrigan's magical butler, who swoops in to clean up her messes and grant her wishes. Oh, but he says he ISN'T that, so that's all right then. And does everyone remember Sofia? Morrigan's foxwun friend from book 3 that she cared about so much she was in tears over losing her to the pox, and was willing to basically sell her soul to Squall to save? Yeah, not mentioned at all, doesn't appear in this book, screw Sofia. I suppose she's grateful that Morrigan saved her from a fate worse than death, but Morrigan seems to have memory holed her. Then again, book 4 seems to go out of its way to avoid mentioning book 3 – I could count on one hand the callbacks to Hollowpox in this one. It almost feels as if Hollowpox has been disavowed by the publisher *cough* I mean author. Maybe Holliday Wu forced a rewrite on this one for PR reasons.
I could go on for a while about my issues with this book, but there's a word limit on reviews. TLDR; it's not a terrible or even bad book, but it is inferior to the books that came before, particularly book 3, the stakes are non-existent, we waited five years for answers to many questions and mysteries, and we're still waiting for most of them (yeah, we learn about Morrigan and Jack's family, but that was about it). The story is anticlimactic in the extreme, particularly compared to the previous books. And for a book series that had no problem with calling out bigotry and hatred in previous volumes, this story about rich families doesn't really do a whole lot to address wealth disparity, despite that being a pretty massive issue in our world right now. If you enjoy this series for Wunsoc, the Deucalion, adventure, and Fenestra, you'll be disappointed, because all of those are just cameos in this kid-detective cosy murder mystery, and the Nevermoor characters and setting feel more like a thin coat of paint applied to someone else's cosy mystery novel. Have I said cosy enough for you yet?
Here's hoping we don't have to wait another five years for book 5.
EDIT 06/05/25
On reflection I'm bumping my rating down to 2 out 5 stars. I simply do not believe that Jessica Townsend wrote this book. Not all of it. I think she wrote the start and the end, because the characters actually sound like themselves there, and the writing is on par with the previous books at those bits. But the rest? Someone else. Ghost writer. The style is different, the characters are OOC (particularly Morrigan, Jupiter, and Squall), there are contradictions with previously established mechanics (that whole thing with Morrigan using her 'reach' in Weaving contradicts all details given about Weaving in Book 3), and the overall quality is just worse. I don't know why, but I'm sure it has something to do with this book being delayed FOUR TIMES. My guess is the publisher had no choice but to hire a ghost writer to do the bulk of it, or else give up on the series altogether (with a movie deal in the works? Not likely).
The thing that really makes me knock a star off though, is the treatment of wealth and money in this story. A book about a rich gated community, and the ghost writer somehow managed to avoid having ANY POOR PEOPLE as a contrast? Like Squall takes Morrigan to Eldritch, the poorest most run-down part of Nevermoor, and there are no poor people there! No homeless folk, no one quietly starving to death or freezing or huddled around a burning bin. No, the only people she meets in the poorest part of the city are her future friend rich kids teleporting into the area. Yes, I know they try to justify it by saying folk steer clear because of the creature living there, but what about the entire rest of the book? HOW do you write an entire book about wealth and money and privilege and NOT contrast it to the huge numbers of poor, destitute and homeless people that MUST exist when you have people that obscenely rich??!! The closest the book comes to someone poor is Bertie the Vulture (in that he was formerly poor and had to EARN his wealth), and the visceral disgust Morrigan and the narrative has towards him makes me want to punch the ghost writer.
Last year I read through the Murder Most Unladylike books by Robin Stevens, and I'd swear the publisher got her to write this book, because Silverborn reads much more like one of those than an actual Nevermoor novel. Bottom line, if I had any money I would wager it that Jessica Townsend wrote maybe 5-10% of Silverborn, and someone else wrote the rest. Can't prove it, but I know I'm right. And I'm not the only person to notice that this book doesn't feel like the other books. Not sure what this means for the future of the series either, because if they get the same ghost writer back for book 5, then I am done following these books.
EDIT 2 – PS
The LGBT+ representation in this book is like the textbook definition of token representation. A tiny handful of lines sprinkled into the text, most likely after the book was finished. Blink and you'll miss it. You could very easily edit these lines out and you would barely notice a drop in the book's wordcount, to say nothing of it having zero impact on the story. Just an absolute laughably small effort that, IMO, was probably grudgingly done by the ghost writer at the behest of an editor or PR rep. Not that I expect anyone to care, but y'know, this is my first book review, so I felt I should mention it.
Want to read
October 4, 2024Actually crying bc the release date keeps changing 😭😭
This is like the fifth time please im gonna have to reread the series for the third time in preparation 😓
IVE WAITED FOR THIS SINCE I WAS 12
This is like the fifth time please im gonna have to reread the series for the third time in preparation 😓
IVE WAITED FOR THIS SINCE I WAS 12
May 2, 2025
--02/05/2025--
OH. MY. GOODNESS. GOOD LORD. GOOD GRACIOUS.
That was... BRILLIANT!
Ladies and gentlemen. We have a literary genius on our hands.
If I could give this masterpiece, like, a million stars, I would. It was SO WORTH the four-and-a-half year wait - and those were some VERY high expectations to reach. Somehow - incredibly - our national icon, Jessica Townsend, has managed it.
JUPITER NORTH IS TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD. Chapters 27 and 57 in particular... UGH STOP I CANNOT HANDLE THIS.
I might add a full review once other countries have gotten their hands on this book. But for now, we can look back on and laugh at all my fanatic pre-reviews for this book.
What a journey it's been to get here. Bring on book 5!
----------------PRE-RELEASE---------------
--28/02/2025--
OK first off, the UK cover is so much better than the Aus one. I'm jealous. Second, it seems we have a synopsis! I had to check several sources to make sure this was legit, because something about it is just so... I dunno... un-Nevermoor-like. But still - a murder mystery? Sounds amazing!
--02/07/2024--
Y'ALL?!?! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS?!?! LITERALLY TWO WEEKS AFTER I POSTED THE LAST UPDATE - T W O W E E K S - we got the COVER! It is BEAUTIFUL! And an official RELEASE DATE! Australia, it's 30 April for us - and I know it seems ages away but we've waited FOUR YEARS. FOUR PAINFULLY LONG YEARS. I fully believe we can wait another 10 months. I am SO relieved that there's still hope for this series!
Apparently this is a long one and I am SO here for it.
--21/06/2024--
I've officially given up hope for this series. If we get a fourth book, great. If not, fine by me. I'll just keep reading Keeper and being a fangirl of a series that might be getting a little out of hand but at least I know when the books are getting released!
-- 11/06/2023 --
Well, crap.
I've been seeing that we might have to wait FOUR years for this.
Jessica, this is getting absolutely ridonkulous. I know you want it to be mind-blowingly amazing- but now you've caused some problems for yourself, because if it's anything less than completely mind-blowing this is going to be, like, two stars.
Bruh Keeper of the Lost Cities is going to be done by the time we finally get this book I bet
- ORIGINAL REVIEW-
Can everyone (*ahem* the Keeper of the Lost Cities fandom) stop complaining about books that get pushed back ONE year? This thing's been pushed back TWICE and the excuse was never valid I reckon. We're having to wait THREE YEARS so yes, it's annoying waiting two but IMAGINE WAITING FOR THREE!
This is a fourth book and if the pattern continues... Goblet of Fire is my favourite HP book and Neverseen is my favourite KotLC book so this one better be amazing or Imma riot
OH. MY. GOODNESS. GOOD LORD. GOOD GRACIOUS.
That was... BRILLIANT!
Ladies and gentlemen. We have a literary genius on our hands.
If I could give this masterpiece, like, a million stars, I would. It was SO WORTH the four-and-a-half year wait - and those were some VERY high expectations to reach. Somehow - incredibly - our national icon, Jessica Townsend, has managed it.
JUPITER NORTH IS TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD. Chapters 27 and 57 in particular... UGH STOP I CANNOT HANDLE THIS.
I might add a full review once other countries have gotten their hands on this book. But for now, we can look back on and laugh at all my fanatic pre-reviews for this book.
What a journey it's been to get here. Bring on book 5!
----------------PRE-RELEASE---------------
--28/02/2025--
OK first off, the UK cover is so much better than the Aus one. I'm jealous. Second, it seems we have a synopsis! I had to check several sources to make sure this was legit, because something about it is just so... I dunno... un-Nevermoor-like. But still - a murder mystery? Sounds amazing!
--02/07/2024--
Y'ALL?!?! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS?!?! LITERALLY TWO WEEKS AFTER I POSTED THE LAST UPDATE - T W O W E E K S - we got the COVER! It is BEAUTIFUL! And an official RELEASE DATE! Australia, it's 30 April for us - and I know it seems ages away but we've waited FOUR YEARS. FOUR PAINFULLY LONG YEARS. I fully believe we can wait another 10 months. I am SO relieved that there's still hope for this series!
Apparently this is a long one and I am SO here for it.
--21/06/2024--
I've officially given up hope for this series. If we get a fourth book, great. If not, fine by me. I'll just keep reading Keeper and being a fangirl of a series that might be getting a little out of hand but at least I know when the books are getting released!
-- 11/06/2023 --
Well, crap.
I've been seeing that we might have to wait FOUR years for this.
Jessica, this is getting absolutely ridonkulous. I know you want it to be mind-blowingly amazing- but now you've caused some problems for yourself, because if it's anything less than completely mind-blowing this is going to be, like, two stars.
Bruh Keeper of the Lost Cities is going to be done by the time we finally get this book I bet
- ORIGINAL REVIEW-
Can everyone (*ahem* the Keeper of the Lost Cities fandom) stop complaining about books that get pushed back ONE year? This thing's been pushed back TWICE and the excuse was never valid I reckon. We're having to wait THREE YEARS so yes, it's annoying waiting two but IMAGINE WAITING FOR THREE!
This is a fourth book and if the pattern continues... Goblet of Fire is my favourite HP book and Neverseen is my favourite KotLC book so this one better be amazing or Imma riot
June 2, 2025
Nevermoor's Morrigan Crow was thirteen, getting close to fourteen, when she was invited to the Silver District where she learned revelations about her mother, Meredith, that she'd never known before. Meredith had died when Morrigan was born and over time she had tried to find out more about her mother. Now it seemed, she could delve into the past to learn as much as she could, even though there were obvious secrets. When Morrigan attended a lavish wedding between an expert dragonrider and a young woman from the Darling family, she didn't expect the evening to end as it did. Murder had made its way into Nevermoor...
Morrigan, her best friend Cadence as well as friends from Unit 919, decided to investigate the murder, and with Morrigan using her Wunder, and Cadence her mesmerising, their list of suspects grew. But there was trouble on the horizon with the monstrous Guiltghast, due for the annual feeding which kept it sleeping for another year. If it wasn't fed, the terror would spread through Nevermoor. There was a plan A, but would they have to activate the plan B? Morrigan was working hard to sort the problems, with Ezra Squall in the background...
Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow - all 663 pages of it - is the 4th in the Nevermoor series by Aussie author Jessica Townsend and I loved it, just as I have the first 3. Entertaining, filled with Gossamer magic, a beautiful golden dragon and Vesta, her rider; angst, murder and mystery, I enjoyed catching up with the regulars from the earlier books. Fenestra, Morrigan's patron Jupiter, Jack, Ezra Squall, Miss Cheers - and plenty of others :) A Wunderful story, and an excellent addition to the series, I have no hesitation in recommending it to fans!
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
Morrigan, her best friend Cadence as well as friends from Unit 919, decided to investigate the murder, and with Morrigan using her Wunder, and Cadence her mesmerising, their list of suspects grew. But there was trouble on the horizon with the monstrous Guiltghast, due for the annual feeding which kept it sleeping for another year. If it wasn't fed, the terror would spread through Nevermoor. There was a plan A, but would they have to activate the plan B? Morrigan was working hard to sort the problems, with Ezra Squall in the background...
Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow - all 663 pages of it - is the 4th in the Nevermoor series by Aussie author Jessica Townsend and I loved it, just as I have the first 3. Entertaining, filled with Gossamer magic, a beautiful golden dragon and Vesta, her rider; angst, murder and mystery, I enjoyed catching up with the regulars from the earlier books. Fenestra, Morrigan's patron Jupiter, Jack, Ezra Squall, Miss Cheers - and plenty of others :) A Wunderful story, and an excellent addition to the series, I have no hesitation in recommending it to fans!
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
May 17, 2025
Honestly, I was kind of disappointed in this book. It just felt so removed from the other books, and maybe the time between publishing had something to do with this.
The reason I liked the previous books is because of the personal connections to the characters. Books 1&2 are all about Morrigan, and her journey, and whilst Book 3 does focus on the Wunimals, the story is still necessary for Morrigan to grow and change as a person. She learns more about her gifts and the Wundersmiths, and all this is vital for her character. And when new characters are introduced, like Sofia, a connection is built across the book, so that when she's infected with the Hollowpox, we can feel more of a connection with the stakes.
In this book, I genuinely did not care about any of the characters. The whole thing with her rich family just felt unnecessary. In previous books, we've already talked about how since Morrigan doesn't really have a biological family, her unit and Jupiter and co. are her 'found family.' We don't need an added element to this - it doesn't progress the story, or Morrigan as a character. Plus, as characters, they aren't particularly interesting or likeable.
It was hard for me to feel invested in the murder mystery BECAUSE WE MET THESE CHARACTERS FIVE PAGES AGO. Morrigan doesn't even really have a personal connection to the characters, either. Plus, there were just soooo many new characters - in most series, there'll be a core group of characters and maybe a few new characters are added to each new book. Here, it felt like the opposite - a new list of characters with occasional reoccurrences from old characters.
I get that we're trying to paint Ezra Squall as 'morally grey.' Hollopox did a great job at this. But this book didn't add much to his character, either, and it's just him rolling his eyes at Morrigan about how inexperienced she is.
Overall, it felt like a letdown. I know the author is capable of producing better work, because I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books. But to me, this one just wasn't it.
The reason I liked the previous books is because of the personal connections to the characters. Books 1&2 are all about Morrigan, and her journey, and whilst Book 3 does focus on the Wunimals, the story is still necessary for Morrigan to grow and change as a person. She learns more about her gifts and the Wundersmiths, and all this is vital for her character. And when new characters are introduced, like Sofia, a connection is built across the book, so that when she's infected with the Hollowpox, we can feel more of a connection with the stakes.
In this book, I genuinely did not care about any of the characters. The whole thing with her rich family just felt unnecessary. In previous books, we've already talked about how since Morrigan doesn't really have a biological family, her unit and Jupiter and co. are her 'found family.' We don't need an added element to this - it doesn't progress the story, or Morrigan as a character. Plus, as characters, they aren't particularly interesting or likeable.
It was hard for me to feel invested in the murder mystery BECAUSE WE MET THESE CHARACTERS FIVE PAGES AGO. Morrigan doesn't even really have a personal connection to the characters, either. Plus, there were just soooo many new characters - in most series, there'll be a core group of characters and maybe a few new characters are added to each new book. Here, it felt like the opposite - a new list of characters with occasional reoccurrences from old characters.
I get that we're trying to paint Ezra Squall as 'morally grey.' Hollopox did a great job at this. But this book didn't add much to his character, either, and it's just him rolling his eyes at Morrigan about how inexperienced she is.
Overall, it felt like a letdown. I know the author is capable of producing better work, because I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books. But to me, this one just wasn't it.
Currently reading
July 5, 20222023??? I thought this was coming out in 2022 😭
May 15, 2025
Sigh.
Let me start by saying I’ve absolutely LOVED the first three books in this series. A small piece of me died every time the release of this one was postponed, and I was beyond excited when it was finally announced!! That’s why it pains me to say this installment (for ME) just didn’t live up to the magic of the earlier books. 😔
It’s far too long, in my opinion, and we get very little of the school setting, very little of the Hotel Deucalion’s charm, and barely any time with the hotel family we’ve grown so attached to. Instead, we’re introduced to a lot of new characters who unfortunately just aren’t as interesting.
And the most annoying thing: Morrigan spends nearly the entire book avoiding communication with Jupiter, dragging out a super frustrating miscommunication that became more irritating than intriguing. By the end of the book I wanted to shake her.
All that said, I think this series is brilliant and worth picking up by literally anyone and I’m quite looking forward to the next one in the lineup. ✨
Let me start by saying I’ve absolutely LOVED the first three books in this series. A small piece of me died every time the release of this one was postponed, and I was beyond excited when it was finally announced!! That’s why it pains me to say this installment (for ME) just didn’t live up to the magic of the earlier books. 😔
It’s far too long, in my opinion, and we get very little of the school setting, very little of the Hotel Deucalion’s charm, and barely any time with the hotel family we’ve grown so attached to. Instead, we’re introduced to a lot of new characters who unfortunately just aren’t as interesting.
And the most annoying thing: Morrigan spends nearly the entire book avoiding communication with Jupiter, dragging out a super frustrating miscommunication that became more irritating than intriguing. By the end of the book I wanted to shake her.
All that said, I think this series is brilliant and worth picking up by literally anyone and I’m quite looking forward to the next one in the lineup. ✨
October 14, 2025
This is the best book series I’ve read in a long time. I LOVE IT SO MUCH I am physically aching that I have to wait for the next book
June 9, 2021
WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT OVER A YEAR NOOOO😭
July 3, 2025
Murder mystery in a seemingly perfect aristocratic circles of Nevermoor (think The Perfect Couple) ensnares Morrigan in this volume
And small groups of idiots have this funny little thing they do where they become big groups of idiots.
Starting of with the signals of a new age coming to the world of Wunder, an uneasy relationship with an antagonist and supernatural pest control, I found this volume only slowly getting up to speed. Morrigan turning into a more assertive teenager leads very conveniently to her not having much interaction with elders who can actually help.
More thoughts to follow, this was still entertaining and well done but 3.5 stars rather than the solid 4 stars I am used to in this series.
And small groups of idiots have this funny little thing they do where they become big groups of idiots.
Starting of with the signals of a new age coming to the world of Wunder, an uneasy relationship with an antagonist and supernatural pest control, I found this volume only slowly getting up to speed. Morrigan turning into a more assertive teenager leads very conveniently to her not having much interaction with elders who can actually help.
More thoughts to follow, this was still entertaining and well done but 3.5 stars rather than the solid 4 stars I am used to in this series.
May 9, 2025
This just felt like it was written by someone else. None of the magic the previous three books had. Unfortunately, a let down. 655 pages was also too long.
July 23, 2021
waiting for Squall sexiness and how he treats Morrigan by early 5 star
July 14, 2025
I loved this one. You can’t convince me this isn’t the best installment since the first book.
August 11, 2025
June 2025: Y’ALL like 9 days until Gemma Whelan will once again grace my ears I could actually cry right now
Jan 2025: PLEASE LET THIS ACTUALLY COME OUT IN APRIL 😭😭😭 also an extra pretty please that Gemma Whelan continues narrating because these are the absolute best via audio
Sept 2022: i swear this said this fall before?? But now 2023 what I can’t wait that long
I guess I’ll just continue to listen/reread the first three until this one finally comes out 😭
Jan 2025: PLEASE LET THIS ACTUALLY COME OUT IN APRIL 😭😭😭 also an extra pretty please that Gemma Whelan continues narrating because these are the absolute best via audio
Sept 2022: i swear this said this fall before?? But now 2023 what I can’t wait that long
I guess I’ll just continue to listen/reread the first three until this one finally comes out 😭
May 27, 2025
Absolutely worth the wait. Brilliant!
April 30, 2025
definitely worth the wait, catch me continuing to scream from the rooftops about this series
January 14, 2026
THIS SERIES JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER! I am seriously so enthralled and just adore it. All the characters feel like family. This installment was especially fun with the murder mystery subplot. And I loved getting to see Morrigan delve deeper into her powers. Cannot wait for the next book!
June 21, 2025
Honestly, the sheer joy of being finally back in this world, and for 600+ pages, is the reason for my original 4 stars rating. But this should probably be only 3 stars.
I LOVE kid detective mysteries, so I had a lot of fun with that aspect. And I ended up with happy tears in my eyes at those last pages. So yeah, at first impression I was like really happy about this sequel.
But after some reflection and reading some not glowing reviews, I realize that this book did feel off. Like Ezra Squall's complete neutering, and the mostly absent characters we know and love. How some of them barely sounded like themselves. During the last act, it was obvious the author was poorly trying to use Unit 919 and their skills so they'd finally have something to do. It was weird.
A lot of stuff from Hollowpox was dismissed, and Silverborn gave the impression of a huge parenthesis in the series.
There were some answers regarding familial bonds and secrets, and callbacks to the first book, that I was happy about. But it also felt like a very long story completely apart of Nevermoor with a bunch of rich jerks, just to get a few details about Morrigan's mom. And there's still a lot left out. And when I'm told that Jack is like a brother to Mog, yet his presence is like a blink, I feel cheated.
I think the reviews suspecting a ghost writer are onto something. I really hope this is just a glitch and Jessica Townsend can pull off the next book. I love this series too much.
I LOVE kid detective mysteries, so I had a lot of fun with that aspect. And I ended up with happy tears in my eyes at those last pages. So yeah, at first impression I was like really happy about this sequel.
But after some reflection and reading some not glowing reviews, I realize that this book did feel off. Like Ezra Squall's complete neutering, and the mostly absent characters we know and love. How some of them barely sounded like themselves. During the last act, it was obvious the author was poorly trying to use Unit 919 and their skills so they'd finally have something to do. It was weird.
A lot of stuff from Hollowpox was dismissed, and Silverborn gave the impression of a huge parenthesis in the series.
There were some answers regarding familial bonds and secrets, and callbacks to the first book, that I was happy about. But it also felt like a very long story completely apart of Nevermoor with a bunch of rich jerks, just to get a few details about Morrigan's mom. And there's still a lot left out. And when I'm told that Jack is like a brother to Mog, yet his presence is like a blink, I feel cheated.
I think the reviews suspecting a ghost writer are onto something. I really hope this is just a glitch and Jessica Townsend can pull off the next book. I love this series too much.
November 13, 2025
what was this absolute let down? who gave jessica townsend the idea to put a ghost writer in for this shit??? WHY DID THIS TAKE FIVE YEARS???
so let's start with how she decided to throw away the entire fucking world she had built prior??? like no, i actually don't want to read about your shitty rich suburb. the whole reason i love this series is the magical universe and world which we're thrown into. like the hotel deaulicon and the beautiful nevermoor itself. the intricate little things in these places and how they run. the incredible magic system that baffles me each time. but we THREW it all away to have some angsty book about "family". if it was really about emphasising her real family, we wouldn't have spent THE ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK WITH THE RICH BITCHES WHO CLEARLY DIDNT LOVE HER??? LIKE I GENUINELY CANNOT GET OVER IT. and the setting change just completely changed the vibe of the entire story, like it didn't feel mystical or magical or cutesy anymore. it felt dull and boring, which fucking breaks my heart thinking in comparison to the first three books.
and i have NEVER in my life read a book more clearly ghost written. her publishers really said im not waiting those five years babe and dragged someone else in. the first 100 pages or so when we're meeting the family and she's mad at jupiter? definitely jessica. but apart from the last 50 pages and about two scenes, this was SO ghost written, and it was not done well. im sorry, but if youre going to hire a ghost writer, idk, maybe, MAKE IT SEEM SIMILAR? THE ENTIRE BOOK THERE'S NO WHIMSICAL MAGICAL DESCRIPTION OR INTRIGUE, IT JUST FALLS FLAT AND FUCKING BORING. im sorry, but after waiting FIVE WHOLE YEARS, for THIS? no. it's disappointing, at the VERY LEAST. i miss the vibes in the first three, like it genuinely feels like something is missing.
again, the start up until mog kinda cracks it at jupiter and bit after, definitely jessica. like you can just feel it through her writing with the avid descriptions and the absolutely BEAUTIFUL worldbuilding. it sets up for such an interesting and rich story, and if the entire book had continued this way - with the writing level of the halloween march and the intricate details included in mog and jupiters argument - i would have devoured it. BUT IT FUCKING WASN'T. THE ENTIRE REST WAS SO CLEARLY GHOST WRITTEN AND IT'S BREAKING MY HEART.
why did we feel the need to introduce the silver district? i mean i get the point, but it got REALLY tedious at some point. i could not care LESS about all these bitches, especially the dumbass twins, LET ALONE FUCKING NOELLE (WHY DID WE BRING HER BACK AS MORE THAN JUST A SIDE CHARACTER???) i mean WHO EVEN ARE THEY? i genuinely didn't pay attention to their characters at the wedding or lead up, because i didn't feel they would be IMPORTANT OR THE ENTIRE FUCKING PLOT(????) so i therefore forgot everybody. like who even were the other 2 aunts? what was the "blackmail" plan in the end? why did we hate noelle's family, apart from the obvious? be so fucking fr. morrigans time spent there was SO dragged out and we could've shortened this to like 200 pages, NOT THE ENTIRE BOOK??
and despite spending the entire book there, in the silver district (drawing us away from our already established cast and my precious hotel dealuicon and the best school ever made), we make absolutely NO effort to investigate the mystery. it just felt like 663 pages of drivel. we'd yap about the silverborn for a good 3-4 chapters, realise there was actually a PLOT hiding in there somewhere (turns out morrigan forgot too) and talk about that for another 1 or 2 chapters. REPEAT.
oh, and isn't morrigan a super cool wundersmith who has amazing powers and a terrifying new enemy to worry about as she charts squalls apprenticeship after destroying the hollowpox? turns out jessica and her ghost writer forgot too! no but i was so prepared to dive into the world of a wundersmith, to really find out about president wintersea, BUT NOOOOOPE! nothing! and where the fuck was the wunimal representation? i mean, what even was the point of the hollowpox if you were going to throw it away for some shitty mystery that never gets solved or a reasonable amount of attention UNTIL THE VERY END. the entire book was fucking mog being an angsty spoilt teen, and if you got rid of it im sure the series wouldn't change in any significant way.
SPEAKING OF WUNDERSMITHS, WHY IS SQUALL OUT HERE BEING A GENIE OR SOME SHIT? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GUY WHO DIDN'T GRANT WISHES AND WANTED A WILLING APPRENTICE? BRO IS JUST DROPPING FAVOURS LEFT AND RIGHT, NO MORE TERRIFYING DIVA. JUST A CONVENIENT GUY TO BE THERE AND TEACH HER DUMB SHIT (off page obviously) AND THEN SWOOP IN AND SAVE THE DAY!
along with all this, it meant we never, ever saw jupiter, jack, fen or any of the other hotel delicauon cast. what devastated me the most was jupiter, because him and mog were getting so close. they were building that relationship and the start (which was actually written by the author) at the birthday party was the sweetest thing ever. i wish it could've been he helped morrigan AND ACTUALLY TOLD THE FUCKING TRUTH and saw through the hush. and i remember staying up for like an hour fully prepared for them to make up and the world to be right again, for mog to open up and everything. NO! I WAS FORCED TO WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END, THE LAST TWO PAGES! WHY DID WE DRAG IT OUT SO MUCH?? COME ON.
and the devastating messages about family were definitely there, but come on. it could've been done so much better, in so many different ways.
the lack of jupiter and their fighting devastated me on another level, because im so connected to these beautiful characters and to see jessica townsend throw it away at the drop of the hat HURT. when they bump into each other awkwardly at the station? MY HEART SPLIT IN TWO. i wanted them to grow and be mature, but no, they couldn't. it made me miserable to read and even though the ending was everything i wanted and the SWEETEST THING EVER, it shouldn't have taken all book. and i mean the devastating feeling was definitely there the entire time, but it could've been done a number of different ways. i was so fucking broken when mog found those letter though, because that was so sweet and sad at the same time. i literally started sobbing reading it.
and the little detail of the cake AND HOW THEY BOTH WENT TO MAKE ONE? FUCKING BROKE ME AND THAT'S WHAT I MISSED ABOUT THEM :( I CANT
the cake scene, the ending uncle jove convo and her birthday party are tied for best moments in this book
there were other aspects i liked. such as the big reveal at the end. it felt just as cluttered as the rest of the book, but at least it was well done here. the squall wish granting pissed me off, however it made for a perfect excuse and did fit very well. the gulighast was traumatising and im SO glad it wasn't just there for nothing. i loved how the story came full circle and really tied in with the start, and it's weird to think about the fact those time keepers or whatever could've had a very different day had it not been for ONE little thing
also i really didnt get the ending with the blackmail for the dragon thing?? idk that went in one ear and out the other
so overall, a huge letdown with some redeeming moments when the author actually picked up her own pen and i sincerely hope this was just a blip and the next one will make up for it
so let's start with how she decided to throw away the entire fucking world she had built prior??? like no, i actually don't want to read about your shitty rich suburb. the whole reason i love this series is the magical universe and world which we're thrown into. like the hotel deaulicon and the beautiful nevermoor itself. the intricate little things in these places and how they run. the incredible magic system that baffles me each time. but we THREW it all away to have some angsty book about "family". if it was really about emphasising her real family, we wouldn't have spent THE ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK WITH THE RICH BITCHES WHO CLEARLY DIDNT LOVE HER??? LIKE I GENUINELY CANNOT GET OVER IT. and the setting change just completely changed the vibe of the entire story, like it didn't feel mystical or magical or cutesy anymore. it felt dull and boring, which fucking breaks my heart thinking in comparison to the first three books.
and i have NEVER in my life read a book more clearly ghost written. her publishers really said im not waiting those five years babe and dragged someone else in. the first 100 pages or so when we're meeting the family and she's mad at jupiter? definitely jessica. but apart from the last 50 pages and about two scenes, this was SO ghost written, and it was not done well. im sorry, but if youre going to hire a ghost writer, idk, maybe, MAKE IT SEEM SIMILAR? THE ENTIRE BOOK THERE'S NO WHIMSICAL MAGICAL DESCRIPTION OR INTRIGUE, IT JUST FALLS FLAT AND FUCKING BORING. im sorry, but after waiting FIVE WHOLE YEARS, for THIS? no. it's disappointing, at the VERY LEAST. i miss the vibes in the first three, like it genuinely feels like something is missing.
again, the start up until mog kinda cracks it at jupiter and bit after, definitely jessica. like you can just feel it through her writing with the avid descriptions and the absolutely BEAUTIFUL worldbuilding. it sets up for such an interesting and rich story, and if the entire book had continued this way - with the writing level of the halloween march and the intricate details included in mog and jupiters argument - i would have devoured it. BUT IT FUCKING WASN'T. THE ENTIRE REST WAS SO CLEARLY GHOST WRITTEN AND IT'S BREAKING MY HEART.
why did we feel the need to introduce the silver district? i mean i get the point, but it got REALLY tedious at some point. i could not care LESS about all these bitches, especially the dumbass twins, LET ALONE FUCKING NOELLE (WHY DID WE BRING HER BACK AS MORE THAN JUST A SIDE CHARACTER???) i mean WHO EVEN ARE THEY? i genuinely didn't pay attention to their characters at the wedding or lead up, because i didn't feel they would be IMPORTANT OR THE ENTIRE FUCKING PLOT(????) so i therefore forgot everybody. like who even were the other 2 aunts? what was the "blackmail" plan in the end? why did we hate noelle's family, apart from the obvious? be so fucking fr. morrigans time spent there was SO dragged out and we could've shortened this to like 200 pages, NOT THE ENTIRE BOOK??
and despite spending the entire book there, in the silver district (drawing us away from our already established cast and my precious hotel dealuicon and the best school ever made), we make absolutely NO effort to investigate the mystery. it just felt like 663 pages of drivel. we'd yap about the silverborn for a good 3-4 chapters, realise there was actually a PLOT hiding in there somewhere (turns out morrigan forgot too) and talk about that for another 1 or 2 chapters. REPEAT.
oh, and isn't morrigan a super cool wundersmith who has amazing powers and a terrifying new enemy to worry about as she charts squalls apprenticeship after destroying the hollowpox? turns out jessica and her ghost writer forgot too! no but i was so prepared to dive into the world of a wundersmith, to really find out about president wintersea, BUT NOOOOOPE! nothing! and where the fuck was the wunimal representation? i mean, what even was the point of the hollowpox if you were going to throw it away for some shitty mystery that never gets solved or a reasonable amount of attention UNTIL THE VERY END. the entire book was fucking mog being an angsty spoilt teen, and if you got rid of it im sure the series wouldn't change in any significant way.
SPEAKING OF WUNDERSMITHS, WHY IS SQUALL OUT HERE BEING A GENIE OR SOME SHIT? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GUY WHO DIDN'T GRANT WISHES AND WANTED A WILLING APPRENTICE? BRO IS JUST DROPPING FAVOURS LEFT AND RIGHT, NO MORE TERRIFYING DIVA. JUST A CONVENIENT GUY TO BE THERE AND TEACH HER DUMB SHIT (off page obviously) AND THEN SWOOP IN AND SAVE THE DAY!
along with all this, it meant we never, ever saw jupiter, jack, fen or any of the other hotel delicauon cast. what devastated me the most was jupiter, because him and mog were getting so close. they were building that relationship and the start (which was actually written by the author) at the birthday party was the sweetest thing ever. i wish it could've been he helped morrigan AND ACTUALLY TOLD THE FUCKING TRUTH and saw through the hush. and i remember staying up for like an hour fully prepared for them to make up and the world to be right again, for mog to open up and everything. NO! I WAS FORCED TO WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END, THE LAST TWO PAGES! WHY DID WE DRAG IT OUT SO MUCH?? COME ON.
and the devastating messages about family were definitely there, but come on. it could've been done so much better, in so many different ways.
the lack of jupiter and their fighting devastated me on another level, because im so connected to these beautiful characters and to see jessica townsend throw it away at the drop of the hat HURT. when they bump into each other awkwardly at the station? MY HEART SPLIT IN TWO. i wanted them to grow and be mature, but no, they couldn't. it made me miserable to read and even though the ending was everything i wanted and the SWEETEST THING EVER, it shouldn't have taken all book. and i mean the devastating feeling was definitely there the entire time, but it could've been done a number of different ways. i was so fucking broken when mog found those letter though, because that was so sweet and sad at the same time. i literally started sobbing reading it.
and the little detail of the cake AND HOW THEY BOTH WENT TO MAKE ONE? FUCKING BROKE ME AND THAT'S WHAT I MISSED ABOUT THEM :( I CANT
the cake scene, the ending uncle jove convo and her birthday party are tied for best moments in this book
there were other aspects i liked. such as the big reveal at the end. it felt just as cluttered as the rest of the book, but at least it was well done here. the squall wish granting pissed me off, however it made for a perfect excuse and did fit very well. the gulighast was traumatising and im SO glad it wasn't just there for nothing. i loved how the story came full circle and really tied in with the start, and it's weird to think about the fact those time keepers or whatever could've had a very different day had it not been for ONE little thing
also i really didnt get the ending with the blackmail for the dragon thing?? idk that went in one ear and out the other
so overall, a huge letdown with some redeeming moments when the author actually picked up her own pen and i sincerely hope this was just a blip and the next one will make up for it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2025
5/1/2025: Finished the book yesterday!!!!!! This did not go the direction I was expecting at all. There were new things we found out that really intrigued me, some big lightbulb moments, but also some things I didn't love on the first read. This might just be because it was not what I expected so it threw me off, so I'm excited to reread it again in a couple weeks and see if my reaction changes! It was really well-written as always, but it felt quite different from the previous 3 books (almost like a side quest). I'm giving it 4 stars for now but may adjust that once I reread it.
7/2/2024: WE FINALLY HAVE A COVER AND OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE (source: author's instagram)!!!! April 30, 2025 for Aus/NZ; May 8, 2025 for UK; June 24, 2025 for US. It's another delay, but at least we're in the final countdown now with official confirmation and a beautiful cover to prove it!!
6/3/2023: The goodreads publication date is now showing October 2024?! Is this real?!?!?!? Does anyone know if Jessica Townsend is ok, or is this series going to take the Game of Thrones route and just get pushed back indefinitely? I literally just signed up for some random email newsletter so I can try to find out more about when we will actually get to read this book...
6/21/22: Oh my gosh, the publication date just got pushed back to October 2023—NOOOOOOO!!! This was my most anticipated book of 2022, and now I have to wait an entire EXTRA year to find out what happens next?! Tragic.
7/2/2024: WE FINALLY HAVE A COVER AND OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE (source: author's instagram)!!!! April 30, 2025 for Aus/NZ; May 8, 2025 for UK; June 24, 2025 for US. It's another delay, but at least we're in the final countdown now with official confirmation and a beautiful cover to prove it!!
6/3/2023: The goodreads publication date is now showing October 2024?! Is this real?!?!?!? Does anyone know if Jessica Townsend is ok, or is this series going to take the Game of Thrones route and just get pushed back indefinitely? I literally just signed up for some random email newsletter so I can try to find out more about when we will actually get to read this book...
6/21/22: Oh my gosh, the publication date just got pushed back to October 2023—NOOOOOOO!!! This was my most anticipated book of 2022, and now I have to wait an entire EXTRA year to find out what happens next?! Tragic.
April 27, 2022
So excited <3 don't mind me checking every 3 seconds to see if the cover has been revealed lol. Nevermoor is just so comforting and amazing <33
June 28, 2025
Edit: I’ve now read this, and it was 100000% worth the wait. This story swept me away. I adored this book. From the first page to the last, it had me in a chokehold, and the highs, the lows, the silliness and vulnerability and challenges??? The stuff of greatness. I have so many tabs in it.
It continued to open up Morrigan’s world and its characters while taking us further along the journey of Morrigan’s growing up. Most importantly, it had so much heart.
And Page 587 of the US hardback had me grinning like a fool. :)
Thank you, Townsend!
Original note to Author from fall of 2024 below:
———————-
I don’t do reviews before books are released, generally, but I wanted to chime in here on behalf of Townsend.
Dear Author,
I highly doubt you will see this, because authors often don’t read their social media reviews unless filtered by friends and family (a practice I think is wise). On the chance you do:
Please take all the time you need. Your core reader base will be eager to soak in whatever story you give us when it is ready to be released into the world. Most of us are not sitting here, grumbling about impossible standards of perfection. If your heart is in the book, it will be wonderful. Full stop.
I heard a mention of long Covid and other challenges from other commenters—regardless of the situation, please prioritize your health. Good art takes work, but if it hurts the artist, is it good? We love Morrigan, we love the world you’ve put together, and while most of us do not know you personally, we love these pieces of yourself that you’ve put into your work, whether through sheer effort or themes or characters or kindness. I personally know multiple people who have been comforted and helped by your books, and I count myself among them.
If you find yourself run haggard like Jupiter, please rest. Please care for yourself the same way that Morrigan and her friends deserve care. We will be here when the time is right. <3 Most of us are excited for book four and more than willing to wait however long it takes.
Of all the books I read, it’s the ones that have heart that I return to. Your writing has heart. Keep that, and the rest will fall into place.
It continued to open up Morrigan’s world and its characters while taking us further along the journey of Morrigan’s growing up. Most importantly, it had so much heart.
And Page 587 of the US hardback had me grinning like a fool. :)
Thank you, Townsend!
Original note to Author from fall of 2024 below:
———————-
I don’t do reviews before books are released, generally, but I wanted to chime in here on behalf of Townsend.
Dear Author,
I highly doubt you will see this, because authors often don’t read their social media reviews unless filtered by friends and family (a practice I think is wise). On the chance you do:
Please take all the time you need. Your core reader base will be eager to soak in whatever story you give us when it is ready to be released into the world. Most of us are not sitting here, grumbling about impossible standards of perfection. If your heart is in the book, it will be wonderful. Full stop.
I heard a mention of long Covid and other challenges from other commenters—regardless of the situation, please prioritize your health. Good art takes work, but if it hurts the artist, is it good? We love Morrigan, we love the world you’ve put together, and while most of us do not know you personally, we love these pieces of yourself that you’ve put into your work, whether through sheer effort or themes or characters or kindness. I personally know multiple people who have been comforted and helped by your books, and I count myself among them.
If you find yourself run haggard like Jupiter, please rest. Please care for yourself the same way that Morrigan and her friends deserve care. We will be here when the time is right. <3 Most of us are excited for book four and more than willing to wait however long it takes.
Of all the books I read, it’s the ones that have heart that I return to. Your writing has heart. Keep that, and the rest will fall into place.
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