I real.ly wanted to like this one but there were parts of it that just didn't stick for me. I thought the pacing was off and the characters were kind of meh at best. I end up not finishing about 30% of the way through, but it might be one of those books that I just needed to be in the right mindset and I wasn't!

The first thing I noticed about this book was its absolutely gorgeous cover! The color scheme and font choice just drew me in so much that I had to learn more about this book. Then when I learned that it involves the story of Peter Pan, I was hooked.

One of the aspects that I loved most about the story is how much darker this telling of Peter Pan is. It gives the classic children’s story a twist and even it seemed a bit unnerving at times. Though I will say that even with its moments of darkness, there is also some lighter moments that helps readers care and understand the characters.

Descriptions provided of the protagonists, Wendy and Peter, were beautifully done. Not just physical, but their emotional states and their personalities. I loved each one for different reasons and was rooting for their friendship. Wendy is a responsible and independent young woman that had to finish her teen years on her own since her parents weren’t always mentally present. This made her strong, yet also left with feelings of guilt and loss due to her missing brothers. Peter is a kind and brave young man who wants nothing more than to help anyone everyone that he can. Sometimes, the burden of being the shining light for everyone may seem to be too much for some, but Peter thrives on the joy he brings to others.

There is some romance here, but it is more young first love type of romance. All the scenes where some flirtation would occur or a moment of love would happen, they were sweet and innocent. With every slightly romantic scene, I felt the butterflies that the characters were feeling and when the love or touch was reciprocated, my heart leapt for joy. To have these emotions while reading any book deserves some praise!

Themes of grief and loss is very much real in this novel. These relatable themes are woven throughout the text extremely well and are shown through the emotions the characters feel. Being told in Wendy’s perspective, readers understand her feelings more completely, but Wendy does a wonderful job in describing other characters emotions, too, specifically Peter.

If there is a place where I find needs improvement is some scenes that were unnecessarily descriptive or places in the text where the characters seemed too joyous at times. Yes, I love when I can visualize what is occurring in the text and appreciate not having to guess what is happening; however, describing french fries, for instance, isn’t really necessary. Then, there were moments when Wendy and Peter would be laughing and act silly when there were children’s lives at risk. Especially since Peter takes care of lost children, Wendy’s own brothers have been missing, and children that Wendy knows keep disappearing, these scenes seemed out of place. Perhaps the intention is to lighten the mood, but it just didn’t seem natural.

The ending was very much to my liking. It seemed fitting and not rushed, which I completely appreciated. It wrapped of this version of Peter Pan well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what else Aiden Thomas has in store! For those who have enjoyed Peter Pan and would like to read a story that takes it a step farther, a darker step farther, with some romance, then this is a read for you!

I haven’t read many retellings and they’re not something I usually pick up, but I knew I had to read Lost in the Never Woods after I adored Aiden Thomas’ debut novel Cemetery Boys last year. It can often feel like an author’s second book has a lot to live up to when a debut was so damn good, but Lost in the Never Woods didn’t fail to keep me hooked all the way through, and I loved it!

This book takes the story of Peter Pan and flips it on its head, adding so much more to the original story and exploring what actually happened when—and why—Wendy and her brothers went to Neverland when Wendy was a girl. Now, a few years later, Wendy is 18 and her brothers have been missing ever since… and now more children in the neighbourhood are being taken too. Why does Wendy have huge gaps in her memory from when she was 13? Where are her brothers and the other missing children? And who is this mysterious boy who keeps trying to get Wendy’s attention? Wendy has no idea who he is… or does she?

It was so cool to see the story of Peter Pan retold in a contemporary setting, with nods to the original story but becoming entirely its own. It deals with heavy themes like grief and trauma, and the story took some very dark turns that I definitely wasn’t expecting. I was hooked from the beginning and I was sucked right into the dark, twisty, and atmospheric tale that turns the idea of Peter Pan’s shadow into a terrifying character of its own.

It took me a little while to get into the story simply because I felt odd reading a story with all of the characters from the original Peter Pan story—Wendy, John, Michael, and Mr and Mrs Darling, for example—but I quickly found myself being sucked in and reading it as a unique story with a life of its own. Once the story got going, it kept a perfect pace and actually had my heart racing at one point where I was dying to see what would happen next.

If you love YA retellings, atmospheric stories with dark themes but glimmers of hope, and well-written characters that jump off the page and into your brain, then Lost in the Never Woods is the book for you!

I don’t even know where to start. I have, as you all may have read, been in a reading slump but this book pulled me out as if it were a lifeline. I absolutely adored Cemetery Boys. I preordered this book the moment its title dropped pretty much and I am also a HUGE fan of Peter Pan.

Thomas’ writing style continues to impress me, it’s full of life and the ragged grief and sorrow that can be felt from the characters straight into your own heart. Wendy Darling is a girl in Astoria who has no idea what happened to her brothers and herself or why she was the only one they found. But now other children are going missing and the town looks to Wendy, wondering if there’s a connection, if she knows more than she’s said all these years.

Seriously this book had me extremely emotional. Wendy suffers from PTSD and some severe symptoms from it and the anxiety born from it.

5/5 cups of coffee from me! Thanks so much to XpressoTours, NetGalley, and the publisher for an eARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion as part of the blog tour!

After the complete joy of Cemetery Boys , one of my top 2020 reads, I immediately requested to read this new novel. Typically, I am not the greatest fan of Peter Pan as it is just not a tale I gravitate towards, however, I was extremely curious to read a retelling as they are few and far-between. Lost in the Never Woods takes the story of Peter Pan and gives it a modern twist with a darker undertone. It was a very entertaining read with an unbelievably gorgeous cover that immediately pulls you in before you even read a synopsis.

Wendy Darling is turning 18 and has just graduated high school in Astoria, Oregon. She volunteers at the local hospital performing any task given to her, but she loves to be with the children there. She has current plans to become a nurse after university, but has some inkling to possibly go further and become a doctor, although she is very unsure she wants to go that far. She is brought back to a tragic memory of her past as some children have started to go missing. Five years ago, Wendy herself went missing along with her brothers, Michael and John. After only Wendy returned, Michael and John remain lost and Wendy has no memory of anything that happened during this dark time. With these new disappearances, Wendy’s feelings are consumed again by the trauma from her past. She feels connected to the missing children and wants more than anything for them to be found safely.

On her way home from the hospital one day, she meets a boy lying in the road. His name is Peter and he bears a striking resemblance to a boy she thought only existed in stories. Peter Pan exists in the real world and is not just a made-up tale that she heard in her mother’s bedtime stories. He needs her help to rescue the missing children and to solve the mystery behind these disappearances. The two of them form an alliance and hopefully they can eventually find the mysterious villain. The need to find the villain becomes more intense as one more child disappears after another and Wendy seems to be a person of interest as she is the only one to have disappeared and returned. The police are convinced that Wendy knows more than she is letting on, but unfortunately she cannot remember anything from the time she was missing.

Peter is a true gem of a character as he is experience his own changes due to the disappearances, but he does not let it fully affect the child-like, innocent, and curious character that everyone is familiar with from other tales. Wendy was a good lead character as she connects the magical world of Peter to the real world. Similar to other versions, Wendy and Peter share a special bond where they each are connected to the other in a way that’s hard for either of them to completely explain. One thing I did wish was included is some backstory into Peter and what he was up to since he and Wendy parted five years ago.

The story runs through the day to day as Wendy tries to continue her life without rousing suspicion about Peter’s true identity and the want to find the missing children. The pace does slow down a little in the middle as there is a lot of discussion between the characters and not a lot of action. Once the latter half of the book begins, the pace picks up a lot as the plot intensifies to the rousing conclusion. In addition to Wendy’s trauma from her past, the reader experiences her parents’ emotions as they have an extreme fear that something will happen again to Wendy and they want to protect her at all costs. This is countered by the fact that they are also semi-absentee parents as they still have grief from the loss of John and Michael. It is a story that goes through a lot of emotions that brings the reader to a both heart-breaking and heart-warming conclusion as it is a roller coaster from start to finish.

The heavy material is handled well in the writing and is balanced with some light and humorous moments that bring some joy to the darker themes. The aftermath of Wendy, Michael, and John’s disappearance is well-done in how it affected Wendy, her mother, and her father in different ways as it gives a nice overview of how a single event can have different lasting affects in an individual and no two will deal with it in the same way. There is a lot of sympathy without judgement for the family and I liked the way it was portrayed as it seemed fairly authentic. (Having not gone through these events myself, I cannot judge fully if I find it accurate or not.) The romance between Wendy and Peter was done naturally as the two of them are connected from the time they first met, but they are still getting reacquainted now that Peter has shown up in Wendy’s life again. To me, their story was written more as a growing connection than a typical romance, but it was captivating to read about every time the two spent time together. This story is an excellent young adult novel that is perfect for fans of retellings and, especially, those of Peter Pan. While this novel was different to Cemetery Boys, it was a very enjoyable read, overall, and I would gladly pick up any works from Aiden Thomas in the future!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Swoon Reads for this excellent and entertaining ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I expected to like this when I went into this (I absolutely loved Cemetery Boys) and I did! It's so good! I'm ready to read anything Aiden Thomas writes.

Children start to go missing in the little town of Astoria, Oregon and everyone looks at Wendy Darling. Because, once, she was the child who was lost. When she was younger, her younger brothers and her went missing in the woods. Six months later only she showed up again with no memory of what happened. We meet Wendy on her 18th birthday as everyone's eyes turn toward her - if Wendy remembered what happened, would it help find the kids who're missing now? Would she be able to find her brothers again?

Also, you might have noticed by our main character's name, but this is a Peter Pan inspired story so there is magic! I enjoyed our characters and enjoyed this darker take on the story.

To me, this read as a book about trauma and grief and loss. I'm not going to get into all of how because it could get into spoilers, but I think Thomas deals with these topics in such a sensitive way. There are small details that stood out to me as being both thoughtful writing and loving handling of the topics they were addressing.

And that ending! What a good use of an epilogue! I felt like it left me with both enough closure and enough yearning.

There's a thread of a romance in this one, and if you read Cemetery Boys you know how sweet it is to read Aiden Thomas's romances (but this book is not the same sort of story as Cemetery Boys, so don't go in expecting that!). I just absolutely love how they do them. Oh, and with this one - they also write kids SO WELL. I loved reading every scene with a child in this book.

Rating: 4/5 Acorn Necklaces

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank the author and Swoon Reads for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

To sum up:
Wendy Darling lost her brothers in the woods five years ago and ever since her memory of what happened has been erased. Lately, she keeps drawing the same tree and the same boy over and over; there is something familiar about them but she can’t quite figure out what. When kids in town start to go missing again, the boy she has been drawing shows up in her life, asking for her help. What follows is a journey that will require Wendy to believe in the impossible, but that will help her remember what happened five years ago too.

What I enjoyed:
There are a lot of reasons to dive into this book:
A Peter Pan retelling in a contemporary setting!
A touching discussion of memory/trauma/loss
Super creepy woods
A dark & mischievous villain
Slow burn romance

I really loved the character descriptions in this book. All the characters felt so vivid and real, especially Peter. Peter and Wendy’s chemistry is off the charts, I loved their scenes together. I also loved the ending and how Wendy must remember what happened, must face her trauma, in order to save herself and others. It was done so beautifully and the grief portrayed so accurately it broke my heart.

What was meh:
The only issue I had was the first 60% or so was fairly predictable. I liked the premise and had hope that Aiden would dig deep and go somewhere interesting with the metaphors, and he did! But it took a while to get there. I think there wasn’t quite enough plot to fill in those middle chapters. I think I remember having a similar issue with Cemetery Boys, but both books have so much heart and really deliver a fantastic ending.

Overall, I thought this was a sweet and moving reinterpretation of Peter Pan. It touched on topics of grief, memory, and loss, which I found really emotional and beautiful, and the descriptions kept me engaged in the characters for the whole ride. I am excited to see what Aiden Thomas writes next!

Five years ago, Wendy Darling and her two brothers went missing in the woods. After months, Wendy reappeared with no recollection of where she’d been--and her brothers were never found. Now, at 18, Wendy is still grieving the loss of her brothers and still has no memory of those months when she was missing. Children in her town have started to go missing, putting the spotlight back on her brothers’ disappearance. Then, one night, Wendy nearly runs over a boy in the road. His name is Peter, a boy from her imagination who she never thought was real; he tells her the missing children are in danger of meeting the same fate as her brothers. If she wants to find the missing kids--and her brothers--she’ll have to face the dark of the woods.

Lost in the Never Woods is a unique YA Peter Pan retelling that explores themes of family. Wendy is still haunted by not knowing what happened to her brothers five years ago. The bond between her and her brothers is palpable, and the hope of seeing them again becomes Wendy’s driving motivation throughout the novel. What I found most compelling was how Aiden Thomas explores fear. So much of the conflict comes from Wendy’s fears: of the past, the woods, the dark, the truth, and the future. Throughout the story, she’s forced to confront all of these fears and to interrogate the power that fear holds over her. Wendy’s story is very much about what fear does to us, how it shapes us, how it holds power over us, but also, how we can take that power back.

The relationship between Wendy and Peter is the center of this novel. Wendy grew up listening to her mother’s stories about Peter Pan, never believing he was real. But ever since she came back from the woods, she’s been unable to get Peter’s image out of her mind. Confronted with the fact that Peter is real, and that she might have spent those missing months with him in Neverland, Wendy is rattled. Peter is now 19, and tells Wendy that a dark force is causing him to age. Finding this dark force and stopping it might be the only way to prevent Peter from growing up and to save the missing kids.

As Wendy and Peter work together, the gaps of her memory slowly fill in and a bond forms between the two. Wendy and Peter are connected through their time in Neverland, but now older, they find themselves gravitating towards each other in new ways. The budding romance between them is tender and sweet, and I think it’ll make many Peter Pan fans swoon.

I think Lost in the Never Woods also explores agency in a unique way. Wendy was thirteen when she returned from the woods unable to remember what happened to her brothers; now, at 18, she still struggles with feelings of helplessness as her town searches for the missing children. She’s a teen who wants to help and fight back, but the world around her is constantly telling her that she’s powerless because of her age. While this book is obviously inspired by fairytales and fantasy elements, I think many teens will relate to Wendy’s story.

Lost in the Never Woods is set in Astoria, Oregon, and the setting was one of my favorite parts. It feels atmospheric, and the foresty surroundings lend themselves to the dark, mysterious vibe of the book. In terms of diversity, the main characters were primarily white, straight, and cis, with some supporting Latinx characters. I do think it is important to note that the author, Aiden Thomas, has stated that this was the first book they wrote, and that it was written at a time when they didn’t think they could write characters like them. Readers who loved Aiden’s debut, Cemetery Boys, should be aware that Lost in the Never Woods has a very different vibe and style.

Ultimately, Lost in the Never Woods is a unique, dark take on Peter Pan in a modern setting that explores what happened after Wendy left Neverland. If you’re not a fan of Peter Pan, this might not be the book for you--but if you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this retelling. I’ll also be recommending this one to readers who’ve enjoyed retellings like The Twisted Tales Series, Once & Future, or Cinderella is Dead.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I love Peter Pan retellings, and I was so excited to get my hands on this one, but unfortunately it just fell a little flat for me. I couldn't connect with Wendy, no matter how hard I tried, although Peter was well-done and I really liked his character. The shadow and the woods were definitely creepy at times, although I was expecting more of that creepiness, to be honest. The best part, in my opinion, is finding out the reason Peter Pan and Neverland exist. Unfortunately, the reveal at the end just went by way too fast and was wrapped up too quickly/easily to be satisfying. I really wanted to love this one more than I did.

Lost in the Never Woods is a fascinating examination of loss and grief with beloved characters. Wendy is still Wendy and Peter is still Peter, but Thomas has written them as believable grown up versions of familiar characters we know and love. Although the characters are familiar, the story is much more mature and gritty than the Disney movie that introduced most of us to Peter Pan and the Darling family. The story is dark, mysterious and full of adventure.

For the record, I love anything and everything related to fairytale retellings—and I mean love. Peter Pan was a tale that particularly interested me when I was younger, so I was intrigued as soon as I read the blurb for Lost in the Never Woods (bonus points for it working with the nuances of Wendy Darling’s perspective!). Also, as a side note, I haven’t read Aiden Thomas’s debut novel Cemetery Boys yet, so I won’t be making any comparisons between the two.

“He said it so nonchalantly, as if Wendy didn’t go through life carrying the burden of what had happened each and every day. As if it weren’t a stain on her childhood, a family curse that they never spoke a word of.”

First, what Lost in the Never Woods did exceptionally well: the depiction of grief. The original versions of Peter Pan offer subtle commentaries on childhood innocence and the subsequent loss of innocence that accompanies “growing up.” In Lost in the Never Woods, the consequences of this maturity are put in the spotlight; Wendy Darling enjoyed this childishness until she was thirteen, when a traumatic event occurred in the woods that resulted in the deaths of her two younger brothers and her own months-long disappearance. Throughout the novel, Wendy carries her brothers’ deaths as a burden, all while blocking out other memories of what really happened. Later, when she meets Peter, these fears and traumas physically manifest themselves as shadows and other evil creatures that plague both Neverland and our reality. I thought transforming these internalized struggles into solidified forms was an insightful way of showing the extent of their effects.

Another aspect that I liked was the romance. Although the chemistry between Wendy and Peter felt a bit iffy at the beginning (probably because there had been such a long time gap between their last adventures together), it naturally developed as the story progressed and Peter aged. I also appreciated the banter between the two of them, which did succeed in making me laugh on multiple occasions (my personal favorite was when Wendy asked Peter if he was eight-years-old and Peter just said, “Sometimes”—I want to borrow this comeback, though I’m not sure I can get away with it as someone who doesn’t age nonlinearly).

“But that’s what happens when you grow up; you forget about the magic you’ve seen.”

However, I think the overall pacing of the novel was a bit off. The first 60% or so felt slow; despite Wendy and Peter strengthening their relationship, I kept forgetting that they were supposed to be searching for the missing children because the urgency was diffused. For example, one of them would express that they needed to gather clues, only for the other one to suggest eating ice cream or going swimming (both of which they did) instead. These moments were still sweet and well-written, but they didn’t build up the suspense that I expected so late in the plot. Even so, I loved the darkness of the ending—Aiden Thomas’s reinvention of the original tale is most ingenious at the conclusion, where Peter’s own emotional burdens, as well as the true nature of his responsibilities to the lost children of Neverland, are revealed.

In conclusion, while I think the pacing could’ve been adjusted to amplify the sense of mystery, I appreciate how Aiden Thomas altered the classic Peter Pan tale to provide an exploration of grief and learning to embrace the changes of adolescence.

WOW. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and was what caught my eye at first – but then there was the Peter Pan twist, and I felt the need to find out more. And I’m so glad I did. This book feels like the natural extension of the original novel (with a few tweaks, of course). If you’re a fan of any Peter Pan edition, I highly recommend picking this one up.

🆂🆈🅽🅾🅿🆂🅸🆂
𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 follows Wendy Darling as she turns 18 and continues to cope with the fact that her family has fallen apart ever since she and her brothers disappeared five years ago – and her brothers never returned. With a suppressed memory, Wendy is the only one with answers, and yet she cannot remember them enough to share her thoughts with anyone. And so everyone continues to mourn.

Until she nearly runs over a small boy in the middle of the street. A boy who looks like the ones from her dreams – her stories – but it couldn’t be. Peter Pan is make-believe. He couldn’t possibly be in her town, on her street, or even in her house … could he?

Wendy has grown up, so she’s no longer supposed to believe. But it’s hard to stop believing when the person from your stories is right in front of you. More than that, seeing him seems to do funny things to Wendy’s heart.

Wendy and Peter have a lot to discover and fight for in this book – and it all starts with Peter’s shadow: the same one that brought them together in the first place.

Lost in the Never Woods was a really great spin-off/retelling (not really sure how to classify it) of the classic story of Peter Pan. In this version, Peter Pan meets up with Wendy to ask for her help getting back his shadow, who happens to be taking children from her neighborhood and town.

While this has a "fun" premise and for me, anything involving Peter Pan and Neverland sounded like an adventure, this was not that. It was dark, took place mostly at Wendy's home and neighborhood, and became intense at points.

Although the story was really great, I did feel like it was dragging along at times. Like perhaps we could have done without some of the "extra fluff" and the story would have been just the same, if not better. The idea is GENIUS and I loved the chapters where the plot continued to thicken and the characters developed more, but at times, I just wanted get through the chapter to get to the good stuff (if that makes any sense!).

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who like dark, teen, fantasy novels, or retellings. There are some triggers in this one that I listed below:
- murder
- abduction
- survivors guilt
- death of a family member

Things I love:
- Wendy and her raw emotions, vulnerability with Peter
- Peter Pan and his kind, sweet, gentle self!!
- That even in her own grief, Wendy continued to push and seek help for those who were hurting around her

4.5 stars

It takes mere paragraphs to get caught up in Lost in the Never Woods. Author Aiden Thomas’ gripping prose is as decisive as it is intentional. Emotion fairly drips from the pages as the story unfolds.

While Peter would be the obvious choice for a main character, it’s Wendy who takes center stage here. Her journey — both physical and psychological — throughout the novel makes her one of the more compelling YA characters I’ve read in a while.

While a familiarity with the source work (J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan) is beneficial — and certainly makes for a richer experience, newbie readers will enjoy Lost in the Never Woods. That’s because Thomas not only captures the magic of the original but balances it with darker forces of his own.

Lost in the Never Woods is a suspenseful mystery from beginning to end. It’s a smart, fast-moving read that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

Unfortunately, this just didn’t work for me. I loved Cemetery Boys, and was hoping Thomas’s sophomore novel would be another hit for me, but I was mostly bored and disappointed. The characters were flat, the plot didn’t make a lot of sense, and the writing fell short of what I expected. This reads as very young YA, so while I will still recommend this to tweens, I would tell adult fans of Cemetery Boys to skip this one.

Lost in the Never Woods is a hauntingly beautiful, quietly devastating YA mystery and Peter Pan retelling that sits heavy on your heart.

As with Cemetery Boys, I couldn’t help but stop and stare with wonder at Thomas’ writing. This is an intricate, intimate story that ebbs and flows with such heart. The writing flows so easily, making for purely compulsive reading, as you get lost in this dark and dangerous world. Certainly, this is not the Neverland you think you know. I really appreciated how clever Thomas was with the retelling of Peter Pan. The elements that form the core of the original are kept, but fresh life is breathed into them through a more psychological exploration of the lasting effects it may have upon you. Peter himself is an exuberant embodiment of childhood imagination and so much more, which Thomas acknowledges and uses to create a three-dimension, ethereal and slightly unknowable figure that seems to carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

The plot revolves around a gripping mystery element with the missing children. Hanging over it all is the question of what really happened on that fateful night so many years ago. I don’t want to give anything away, as this is a book that you should go into knowing very little, but it does provide plenty of intriguing twists and turns that had me speculating and questioning every detail. At its core, this book is a stunning exploration of grief and trauma. It doesn’t suggest an easy route, but it does offer light and hope beyond the twisted macabre of the current environment. It is deeply emotional and universal in its themes, giving a nod to the heart-wrenching origins of its inspiration. The ending is simply exquisite.

Lost in the Never Woods is a spell-binding and unique reinterpretation of a beloved children’s tale, given a dark edge that turns into an introspective and emotionally stunning story.

Overall, I thought this book was great. I enjoyed this grown up tale of Peter Pan and Wendy, and thought that the aspect of the shadow being the antagonist was really unique. The book was easy to read and the growing relationship between Peter and Wendy and Wendy's character development were well written. I think it did lull in the beginning and could have ramped up at the end, as to not rush the action parts.

Sadly, I was disappointed in this book. I am not the biggest fan of Peter Pan in general, so I was hoping this retelling would help me change my mind. Unfortunately, I did not connect with the characters at all and though the characters are late teens, this felt very young YA to me. There were some genuinely creepy vibes, and I loved the dark feel to this story. The characters were just not as fleshed out as I was hoping and the interactions between them didn't feel genuine.

I think it really didn't help that I don't really enjoy the original story - I was already coming from a place where I had expectations for this to change my mind. I just don't like Peter Pan - manic pixie dream boys are not my jam. I will definitely read whatever Aiden puts out, this was just a miss for me.

<i>Lost in the Never Woods</i> takes the bones of <i>Peter Pan</i> and builds around them an horror tinged tale about grief, loss, and dealing with trauma. It's also a hopeful story about facing your fears and healing, about forgiving yourself.

On Wendy Darling's 18th birthday she almost hits a boy lying unconscious in the middle of the road. He looks like the boy she keeps compulsively drawing every time there's a pen in her hand. He knows her name. There's just one problem: he can't possibly be real. He's a boy from the stories her mom told her as a kid. The ones she used to tell her brothers before all three of them went missing and only she returned. This impossible boy claiming to know her and her brothers shows up just as more kids are going missing. Now it's up to Wendy to face her biggest fears and confront her past. If she doesn't, more kids may be lost forever in the Never Woods.

For the past few months I've been in a huge reading slump and this was just the book I needed to get me out of it. Normally I'm not a big one for Peter Pan stories, but this modern take got me with it's blend of the fantasy and escapism of the original with mystery, horror, and a touch of romance. Thomas deftly weaves together familiar elements from the original story and films with this eerie tale of missing children and evil, both mundane and supernatural.

The true heart of the story is Wendy and her trauma. Living with the grief of her missing brothers and how it's changed her family, plus the fact that she returned alone with no memory of what happened made her internalize it. Instead of processing it, she's let it take over. She blames herself. The novel is largely about her learning to face that and come to terms with it. While that sounds like a meditative kind of novel, Thomas manages to marry that story of grief with a fantasy mystery that drags you deep into the action.

Overall this is a well paced interesting tale that will appeal to teens and adults alike.

I read this book as part of the blog tour organised by Xpresso Tours. Special thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Ever since reading Thomas's debut at the end of last year, I've been so excited for their next book and when I first saw this cover and read the synopsis, I immediately knew that I needed to get my hands on it ASAP! Seriously, let's take a moment to just look at this cover and appreciate the beautiful design! After reading the book you really appreciate the details of the cover more too! Lost in the Never Woods is a bit of a twisted take on the childhood classic tale and though Peter Pan was never really my favourite story growing up, I did enjoy what Thomas did with it by expanding on the romance between Wendy and Peter, and the myth of the Lost Boys.

Thomas' writing was just as easy to digest in this and I thought that the story flowed well although it is more of a slow burn read. The eerie haunted-forest vibes were strong and it definitely sent chills creeping down my spine as Wendy and Peter found themselves being pulled further into the heart of the woods. Thomas did a great job in creating a mysterious and spooky atmosphere! The character descriptions also made it easy to picture these more grown-up versions of the childhood classic and while there were obviously minor differences, it wasn't difficult to imagine these characters and their mannerisms come to life in my mind!

That said, I have to admit that while the mystery was intriguing and the characters were easy to picture, I was a little disappointed to find that I didn't connect to the story as much as I expected to. I do feel a part of it was perhaps not being 100% in the right mood but I also thought the characters were fairly one-dimensional, making it hard to connect to feel invested in their emotions and the urgency of their situation. The story is told from Wendy's perspective which is quite heavily weighed by grief and trauma, and compounded with the unhurried unfolding of the mystery, it did slow the pace down considerably. I also wished that we got Peter's perspective because I felt that we really missed out on the possibility of exploring a more complex and interesting character! I honestly thought that the connection between Wendy and Peter felt a bit more like friendship since Wendy spends a great deal of time initially annoyed by him, and at times I do wish that they stayed friends. By the end, I found their 'young love' quite bittersweet though! With all of that, Thomas still managed to surprise me with that jarring reveal towards the end. I was definitely not immune to the rush of heartbreaking emotions and I might have even shed a tear or two!

One last thing I have to say is that this did read a bit on the younger side of YA (for me) despite the characters being in their late teens, and I can see a lot of [younger] readers loving the story! While this may not have been entirely what I was expecting, I do think it's a story worth checking out especially if you enjoy re-tellings! I look forward to seeing what else Thomas comes out with and I'd be happy and eager to read more of their work.