Danielle Allen is a new to me author, and I can already tell she’s going to be one of my favorites. 4.5 stars for Nevermore and I cannot wait to dive into more books by her.Nevermore, one of three books by Danielle Allen that are inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, is brilliant. On one hand, Nevermore is a wonderful friends-to-lovers romance that is packed full of heat, emotion, tragedy, and even mystery, and it also contains honest social commentary about cultural double standards, expectations, and biases. On the other hand, it’s also a fascinating story full of nuanced connections and symbolism inspired by Poe’s poem “The Raven.”I’m a sucker for classic remixes. What I liked most about Nevermore, though, was that it wasn’t an attempt at a recreation or even a modern spin. Instead, Allen’s Nevermore runs parallel to Poe’s “The Raven.” The hero, Adriana Raven Biya, is a competitive literature PHD student who is writing her dissertation on Edgar Allen Poe. As a result, Nevermore is chock full of intentional Poe references and analysis. Some of the connections to “The Raven” are explicitly identified in the novel for the reader, and others are more subtle, but they are all well-developed and fascinating.And while the connections to “The Raven” were phenomenal, it’s not necessary to have read the poem to enjoy Nevermore, because the plot and characters can stand on their own. I fell in love with the heroine in the prologue. Adriana Raven Biya is sassy, smart, and sophisticated. She’s confident, she’s logical, and she’s introspective. I especially love how she makes it a point to see all sides of an issue and strives for empathy, even when it’s in reaction to being treated poorly by her best friend’s current girlfriend.Raven knows her worth, and generally she knows and goes for what she wants. Even when tragedy strikes and upends her life, she still tries to maintain composure and rationality. She’s strong in the face of heartache and pain, and she doesn’t give up even when it feels like things are beyond repair, and I respect the heck out of her for that.Raven’s relationship with JP is beautiful even when it’s messy. They’ve been best friends for 14 years, and they fit together perfectly. When their friendship turns into more, the fire ignites and becomes more than either of them expected, and I LOVED it. JP and Raven have SO MUCH CHEMISTRY, and I love them together. JP is gorgeous, he’s supportive, and super sexy. The way he loves Raven totally melted my heart on more than one occasion.I wasn’t expecting this story to have a bit of a darker mystery element to it, though I should have seen it coming (Hello, it’s inspired by Poe. Duh). I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that the twist Danielle throws is unexpected, but not over the top, and it gives Nevermore just the spice it needs to do justice to the macabre mystery of “The Raven.”I’d need to double the length of this review if I delved into the insightful social commentary that Allen includes throughout this story, but know that I REALLY appreciate the honest and real statements that are made in this book. From Parisa’s (JP’s mom) choice to wear her hijab, to Raven’s defense of her natural hair, to the hurtful way Raven’s mom expresses her love, the social commentary is powerful, and really helped push Nevermore from good to great, in my opinion.The ONLY reason I’m going 4.5 instead of 5 is because there were some murky things regarding JP that I would have liked to see clarified, but other than that, this book we SO SO GOOD. If you’re a Poe fan or if you enjoy a good friends-to-lovers trope, check out Nevermore. I loved it.