Book Review: The Never Queen by Nikki St. Crowe

By Corina De Armas for Aber Stoat Books

Rating: 8 out of 10

Spice Level: 4 out of 5

Ages 18+

Cover: A

We’re finally back with Winnie Darling and her beloved reverse harem—Pan, Vane, Bash, and Kas. Winnie continues to embrace her dark shadow, deepening her connection with Vane.

“Possessing half of the Neverland Dark Shadow, aka the Shadow of Death, can make a girl feel a little . . . wild.”

The fae twin princes have reclaimed both their wings and their rightful places as Fae Kings. But ruling isn’t as simple as taking the throne. Many of their fae subjects refuse to accept the twins choosing Darling as their queen, and unrest is brewing throughout the kingdom.

As Winnie and the Lost Boys search for another missing Darling woman, tragedy strikes when both Winnie and her mother, Merry, are kidnapped. The Vicious Lost Boys will stop at nothing to bring them home. Along the way, their quest intertwines with familiar fairy tale characters, and long-buried family secrets begin to unravel. Even as a captive with limited magic, Winnie refuses to be a damsel in distress, proving once again that her greatest strength has always been her resilience.

“Because he knows with Winnie Darling beside the twins, with me and Vane at her back, we would create an unstoppable force. And weak men are terrified of powerful women.”

My favorite scene was the many playtimes with Bash and his knots that actually proves to save her in a crisis.

I loved returning to these characters and this dark, addictive version of Neverland. Nikki St. Crowe effortlessly pulls readers back into a world filled with romance, danger, intrigue, and twisted fairy tale magic. Fans of the series are in for an emotional, action-packed continuation that expands the lore while delivering everything that makes the Vicious Lost Boys so irresistible. I was lucky enough to be at the LA Times Festival of Books 2026 when Nikki St. Crowe announced she would be returning to the world of the Vicious Lost Boys. The collective gasp from the audience was deafening—it was clear I wasn’t the only one thrilled to revisit Neverland. (8/10)

🖤 Tropes

• Morally Gray Heroes “touch her and die”

• Enemies to Lovers

• Reverse Harem

• Dark Romance

⚠️ Trigger & Content Warnings

• Captive/Kidnapped

• Violence

• Revenge/vigilante justice romanticized

• Explicit content for mature audience

Thank you to Nikki St. Crowe, ZPN, and Edelweiss. I received advance review copies for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bookshop.org (Print)

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Publisher: ZPN/Zando

ISBN: 9781638935995

240 pages

Categories:

Fiction / Romance / Dark Romance

Fiction / Romance / Fantasy

Fiction / Romance / Enemies to Lovers

The fifth book in the bestselling BookTok viral Vicious Lost Boys series, a Peter Pan-inspired enemies-to-lovers spicy romantasy where the villain gets the girl.

Will I ever truly be queen?

I’ve settled into my life on the island of Neverland with no intention of ever returning to the home I left behind. I have Peter Pan and the Lost Boys by my side. What more could I want?

But when we receive word that my mother has gone missing, I’m left with no choice. I must return to save Merry Darling.

As soon as we set foot in the mortal realm, we’re ambushed. Worse, all of our powers evaporate. Vane and I can’t access the Neverland Shadow. The twins can’t use their fae magic. And Peter Pan is not only unable to fly, but he also can’t light anyone on fire.

Pan knows right away who we’re dealing with – Witch Killers.

Without our magic, things turn grim. And just when it looks like we’ll be defeated, a Witch Killer takes our side. The most infamous Witch Killer of all– Hansel.

He reveals a secret that will change my life forever, and it’s this secret that has the Witch Killers determined to hunt me down, until all the Darling women are dead.

But they’re going to have to get through four protective men first…before facing my wrath. Because I’m not going down without a fight.

NOTE: The Never Queen is a reimagining of Peter and Wendy. Characters have been aged-up for this darker, grittier version. If you like your enemies-to-lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy this series. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes. The Never Queen is the final book in the main storyline for the Vicious Lost Boys series.

Please check the author's website for CWs.

Story Locale: Neverland

Series Overview: The Vicious Lost Boys

Author Bio:

Nikki St. Crowe is a USA Today bestselling author of several romantasy novels, including the #1 Amazon bestselling series The Vicious Lost Boys. When not writing about villains getting the girl, and the girl getting the power, Nikki can be found with her husband and daughter on the shores of Lake Michigan hunting for the perfect sunset.

Author Residence: Lake Michigan

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