The Secret Commonwealth was received as a significant and ambitious work, though more divided in critical response than its predecessor. Reviewers praised the courage of following an adult Lyra through a genuinely difficult psychological and political landscape, and the novel's engagement with contemporary political realities was widely noted. Some readers found the fractured relationship between Lyra and Pan emotionally difficult in ways that felt deliberately punishing, and the novel's ending - which leaves multiple threads unresolved pending the third volume - frustrated those expecting more closure. It won the Galaxy British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year in 2020.

Locus Award

Young adult book category, 5th place

Grand Prix Imaginaire

Foreign YA novel category. Awarded jointly for La Trilogie de la Poussiere volumes 1 and 2.