NEVER EVER AFTER

A powerless teen struggles to forge her own destiny in a tyrannical kingdom in this Chinese-inspired fantasy world.

In this series opener, Yining lives in a small village in the Iron Mountains, one of the Three Kingdoms, earning a meager living by pretending to be a fortune teller—and all the while yearning to make her own fortune and explore the outside world. Adopted as a child, she knows nothing about her birth parents and only has two possessions from her original life: a wooden ring and a threadbare handkerchief. Yining’s downtrodden life begins to change after she meets a talking carp in a pond, who reveals that she has a magical heritage connected to her ring—a “great gift and responsibility.” Having learned fighting skills from her now-deceased uncle and been taught to pickpocket by her abusive step-aunt, Yining embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads her to the Iron Mountains’ handsome Prince Zixin—and far beyond. The atmospheric descriptions slow the pacing, but they underscore Yining’s awareness of the beauty of palace life, which contrasts with the prince’s merciless rule. The themes of power, inequality, and truth ground this story, balancing the fantastical fairy-tale motifs that draw upon both Chinese and European tales. The romance, a slow-burn relationship that’s hampered by distrust, provides a nuanced exploration of love and power dynamics.

A satisfyingly complex and magical introduction to a new world.