This captures the essence of everything you want from a Peter Pan and Neverland retelling and turns into an almost gothic-like, dark, and gritty story about the aftermath of Wendy's visit.
Its so cleverly written that if you didnt know and love the original story, it could let you forget its magic and delight and become a place of entrapment (more so of the mind.)
Twisty, whilst focussing on controversial issues of that time- homosexuality, mental health, treatment of women.
Very clever indeed.

I was never ever interested in picking up a retelling, but, A. C. Wise may have convinced me to be a lot more open to try them out after reading this book.

I have received this book (via wishing for it) in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity.

I have my own blog now, so please do give it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)

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My only connection to Peter Pan (like I hope many others) was through the films; I've seen the Disney film, I've seen Hook starring Robin Williams and the 2003 live action as well and while they each have some brief darkness to them, they easily pale in comparison to this book. I knew that it was a darker retelling before I started it, and while that only increased my interest in reading it, I didn't quite think of how dark it could be.

I didn't really expect that there will be a lot of fought battles before Neverland comes into focus again, and have those be very personal battles made the book feel like an incredible journey of growth I got to take with Wendy. Since it is told in alternating point of views while adding flashbacks when needed in Wendy's usually longer chapters, I got to see how much pain she had to endure because of that whimsical trip into Neverland. The synopsis describes her as a patient and a survivor among others, where the author doesn't pull any punches of showing how exactly did she end up with those symbolic battle scars.

There are hard to read scenes in this book, specifically those in the flashbacks and it's not only affecting Wendy per say. But since I do get to see them through her own eyes, my view is mainly of how she personally changes or adapts to the situation to work around the sometimes suffocating darkness where she has no choice but to endure and grow stronger slowly. Everyone has battled with some form of mental illness in their life, myself included given my current real life situation and because of that, this book gives a very interesting character study of sorts when seeing the different ways someone might deal with something.

It doesn't necessarily only focus on Wendy for those either as I mentioned a bit ago, since even her interaction with someone might end up revealing a deeper form of PTSD they suffer, abuse, situations they have to endure that they don't want to and even using others as some form of a scapegoat to name a few examples. This added cruelty or sense of helplessness was something I appreciated in this book, not because I enjoy reading about this, but because it makes the development of those under those situations end up being one of the highlights of any read for me. This one was no different and the theme of empowerment of women in it was the icing on the cake.

When Neverland does come into focus here, it's a lot different place than the "fun no-grown ups" zone I got to see in other adaptions and while reading this part of the book, I got a closer look at how different the whole fun and games aspect of it felt when there is a more obviously sinister feel to it all. I do believe that I enjoyed the revelations concerning Neverland as a whole a lot more than I previously expected to, because on one hand, it explained a lot of the things I was thinking about while reading the book and seeing what the characters were seeing or thinking about. And on the other hand, it created a suitably darker truth to the island that made it all the more compelling to follow for me.

The only few of pages that I didn't love as much were in the climax of the book, even when it was very suitable to the whole idea of this fairy tale, to be totally fair. That feeling thankfully, only lasted for a few pages as it was very difficult for me to read this story of struggle and not be very proud of the places the characters reached or feel incredibly satisfied over the deserved fates of others which this book also had for me to enjoy.

I enjoyed myself a lot reading this book and I will definitely be on the lookout for more adult fantasy retellings moving forward which was never something I ever thought I'll ever end up doing :)

Wendy is torn between the world not feeling black or white, neither good nor bad. All the suffering she has experienced since returning from Neverland is explained to us, alongside a heavy dose of reality for how women were treated at the time. By this point Emily is grown, yet she still has to bend to the will of the men around her.

It was fascinating to see her struggles with acceptance and seeing the past through rose coloured glasses. I was fighting with her in my mind to stop seeing things as she did and was glad of her closest friend Mary’s support.

From around 60% into the book, I found that instead of picking up pace it instead falls behind on itself a little bit. I loved the first half of the book so much but I stopped to think, where are we going with this? Peter is so demonised at this point that I couldn’t focus on the end in sight.

When we do get to the ending, it’s bittersweet. All the conflicting emotions and experiences couple together and burst, like a balloon full to bursting. There are questions left unsaid and you have to come to your own conclusions.

Overall, I did enjoy Wendy, Darling. It’s my first experience of a Peter Pan retelling (sequel? I’m not sure exactly what to call it), and I appreciated the element of writing from a female, feminist perspective. I think it’s just hard to get into when all your previous thoughts and opinions are challenged. It may have been a fault of my own that I continuously remembered what I could of all the films I have seen and how Peter was presented.

Any thing to do with Peter Pan and I am there, so obviously when I saw Titan advertising this one as available for 'wish' on NetGalley I had to request it!!I am sooooo grateful my wish was granted .... Thank you so much!!

I actually went into this one completely blind and had no clue what to expect ... I just saw it was a Peter Pan kinda story and that was that - Although I found myself surprised ... not sure why as like I say, I had no clue what it was exactly about ... I absolutely loved it and could not stop reading!
Wendy, Darling is a beautiful and dark reimagining of Peter Pan, Neverland, what actually happened when Peter took Wendy to Neverland and the aftermath of it all.

This was not the happy fairytale I love .... but yet, I still absolutely loved it!! .... A darkly gothic, heartbreaking beautiful, feminist retelling that I never knew I needed in my life!

I don't want to say to much really but if you are a fan of Peter Pan and find you are looking for a version that is a little 'sinister' ... where Peter Pan isn't the nice guy and Neverland is more of a nightmare than a dream .... and also puts a feminist twist on the story... then look no further, This is it!!

A highly recommended read.


Thanks again to Titan and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is very brave author who takes on the sequel of a much loved treasure.

This story gives us Wendy as a grown up, married with a daughter of her own, Jane. But things are not as idyllic as appearances would have us believe.

After their Neverland adventures, both Michael and John denied the events but Wendy never did, and this led to much upset and friction within the family. When their parents died on the Titanic, John became head of the family and felt he had no alternative than to have Wendy institutionalised. In St Bernadette’s she makes friends with Mary, who becomes her Tiger Lily, and they suffer and grow together, finding a way to cope with the terrors of the institution. It is a story about female empowerment, which becomes more apparent as the book goes on.

Fast forward a few years and John arranges a marriage for Wendy with the son of his boss. Ned meets Wendy and they agree to go along with the plans as both of them have deep secrets. It is a marriage of grand passions, though not with each other, just a convenience for them both.

Alongside all of this there are the events of Wendy’s return to Neverland, so the story goes between the two timelines.

The Neverland that Wendy returns to is dark, oppressive and dangerous and she sees what Peter really is, a monster.

Whilst I enjoyed the story of Wendy growing up with Mary, meeting Ned and their passions, this book lost it for me in Neverland, it really was a second star to the right too far for me.

Thank you NetGalley.

In this dark tale of what followed after we left Neverland, Wendy, Darling lifts the curtain.of innocence. The story begins years later, Wendy is now a mother herself to a daughter, Jane. In shock, Wendy watches as Peter Pan returns to takes Jane away, mistaking her for Wendy.

Not only has Wendy grown up, she has survived! While her brothers, John and Michael, forgot Neverland, Wendy never did. Drawing on the strength she has gained in the years following her return she knows that she must return to Neverland to bring her daughter home.

Once I understood that this was a darker story of Peter and Neverland, I was completely engrossed. I especially enjoyed how the women in the story were empowered.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc

A lush, feminist re-imagining on what happened to Wendy after Neverland, for fans of Circe and The Mere Wife.

For those that lived there, Neverland was a children's paradise. No rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests - all led by the charismatic boy who would never grow old.

But Wendy Darling grew up. She left Neverland and became a woman, a mother, a patient, and a survivor. Because Neverland isn't as perfect as she remembers. There's darkness at the heart of the island, and now Peter Pan has returned to claim a new Wendy for his lost boys...

I have read a lot of Peter Pan retellings but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.
There wasn’t definitely a feminist feel to the book which was great but it just felt a bit too slow for me.