I did not expect such a dark and gritty retelling of Peter pan but here we are!
I loved the difference in timelines and what happened after Neverland
This book is more like a thriller than anything else and I loved it!
Please, I hope this author does more retellings like this!

I just don't know what should I say about this book. It's a dark version of Peter Pan. I've known Peter Pan story as a child and come here, as an adult, to read a retelling of PP here. On the first, I've never been a fan of PP original story so I thought I might give it a try again and it's a big no. There are some scenes here that just pretty disturbing and not necessary.

It's so slow and just painful for me to finish.
Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC

Unfortunately I didn't connect very well with this novel and I didn't finish reading it. I was intrugied by the premise, but the characters didn't pull me in and the plot seemed to move very slow in the beginning so I kept losing focus. Thank you for the opportunity to review and I'm sorry I couldn't enjoy this novel.

I was personally never a fan of Peter Pan. I always found him to be too fickle, spoilt, controlling and sometimes downright abusive to romanticise him or Neverland, so I tend to really enjoy any retelling where Peter Pan is not portrayed as a hero. Wendy, Darling fit right into that category, but at the same time did so much more by giving Wendy a voice and allowing her to tell her story - and this time it is not a bedtime story for children.

Wendy, Darling was beautifully structured, alternating between Wendy's first time in Neverland, her experience of life in London after returning from Neverland, and her return to Neverland to rescue her daughter Jane, whom Peter has kidnapped to become a new mother for the Lost Boys. We also get to see things from Jane's POV, as she tries to make sense of what is happening to her and work out how to survive Neverland and return home. I really liked this structure, and I thought it worked very well to really show all that Wendy endured while slowly peeling off layers of Wendy's memories to reach the truth of Neverland, Peter and the darkness lurking within.

This book takes some really dark turns, and I think after reading this no one will be able to look at Peter Pan or the Lost Boys in quite the same way again. Together with Wendy, we readers are brought to questioning everything we thought was true. But what is real and what is fantasy?

Wendy was a fantastic character. She is a survivor, having experienced suffering and abuse for years following her return from Neverland. Unlike her brothers, Wendy has not forgotten their time in Neverland, but she is disbelieved by everyone until she is finally committed to an asylum where treatments are brutal and dehumanising. The chapters recounting Wendy's time in the asylum were particularly harrowing, especially because of all the bullying and abuse she suffered at the hands of the staff so maybe be cautious in approaching this if that might be triggering for you. Knowing her pain gives so much more weight to Wendy's decision to go back to Neverland as a grown woman to save her daughter and is a testament to her strength.

Even though Wendy, as the main character, carried the show, all the characters felt really well developed, including the minor ones. I am all about the characters, and these ones really delivered! From Wendy's brothers to the Lost Boys, and from old Neverland friends to her new family, everyone has something to offer and I was totally here for it! Peter is of course a key character in this, and I really liked the author's take on him.

There were times when I got a bit frustrated as things seemed to be moving too slowly, but it somehow didn't feel as though there was an issue with pacing. The slower passages felt very deliberate, and especially in certain sections I could feel the characters' frustration, which I think was the point? The book takes its time, building a picture of all the characters bit by bit until we think we can see the whole of them... but can anyone ever do that?

Overall, Wendy, Darling is a wonderfully dark retelling that takes on a life of its own, almost independently from the original story, to explore very real and modern issues around misogyny, mental health, trauma and survivorship, family and many, many more.

"Wendy, Darling": 4 ⭐

(Unpaid review: thanks to @netgalley, @acwise and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review).

What a fun way to change the original fairytale's ending. We can consider this book part of the dark academia genre. It is a dark tale on what happened after Wendy left Neverland. Peter Pan comes back to get her daughter, Jane and we see Wendy going back to save her.

I was completely obsessed with this book, the world-building was remarkable and stunning! I loved to see how empowered the women are in this story!

As you can probably guess from the name of my blog, I love anything and everything to do with Peter Pan so when I saw this book on NetGalley I knew I had to request it. It was described as a feminist and dark retelling of Peter Pan, and that is exactly what I read.

‘Her own name taken from her and turned against her – a gag, a chain.’

In this retelling, Neverland is not a place of unburdened joy, but it has a dark quality that is explored throughout. There is often talk of a monster or something similar that is hidden at the heart of it. I really enjoyed this book as it dealt with the aftermath of Wendy, John and Michael returning from Neverland. There were three different story lines in this book but it was very easy and clear to follow. The book begins with Peter arriving to Wendy’s house and taking her daughter, Jane away to Neverland. Wendy then takes it into her own hands to rescue her daughter from Peter and Neverland. I loved how Wendy and Jane were brave and courageous when facing Peter and the horrors of life in Neverland.

‘Wendy finds the second star from the right, knowing it like an anchor to her soul, and sets her course, flying straight on ’til morning.’

As well as Wendy’s point of view, we see Jane’s perspective of Neverland and the author describes her nervousness and reluctance to blindly follow Peter’s rules perfectly. Jane is confused as to why she can’t remember her own name, as Peter believes she is Wendy and wants her to be Wendy. The third storyline is Wendy’s life post-Neverland and how she dealt with being in St Bernadette’s, which was essentially a mental hospital. I loved the way the author described Wnedy’s struggles of not being taken seriously and the relationship she built with Mary, another patient at St Bernadette’s.

‘As much as that long-lost part of her wants to run, to fly, to be utterly free of responsibility, the star she navigates by now is Jane.’

This book was a brilliant retelling of Peter Pan. Although, if you want the joy of the original by J. M. Barrie, this is perhaps not the one for you, as this Peter Pan and this Neverland is full of mystery and a darkness, which can only be described as intriguing.

An absolutely breath taking retelling of one of my childhood favorites.
I could rave about this for hours but instead all im going to say is read this. You wont regret it

A dark and sinister retelling of Peter Pan. Thinking about how much I loved Peter Pan as a kid I think this book may have changed that for me. This told the story of just how far Peter would go to not only not grow up but also to make sure that everyone around him didn’t either. There didn’t seem to be anything that was off limits to Peter to protect the world he and the lost boys lived in. When he took Wendy’s daughter Jane, Wendy knew she had to save her. All her life she tried to get others to believe that Peter was real and went through many dark years because of it. However once she gets back to Neverland her memory of Peter is changed as she discovers just what he is capable of.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an Arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this advertised as a new feminist take on the classic "Peter Pan" story, and while I'm all for unique retellings this one was alarming. I definitely think this book needs a graphic content warning, or at least some kind of warning for the reader. When I think of a Peter Pan feminist retelling, I'm thinking of Wendy taking over Neverland and maybe some pirate wars, What I was not prepared for was Wendy being starved in an asylum, several instances of gaslighting, and physical abuse that involved the lost boys all within the first hundred pages. While I love the concept of Wendy being able to fly back to Neverland as a grown up, this book didn't feel feminist so much as it was bleak and disheartening.

Wow... You need to read this book, seriously.

The story happens 27 years after Wendy left Neverland and came back to her home with her brothers, Michael and John.

Wndy has grown up, and now she's a married woman, and a mother to her lovely little daughter Jane. One night she hears something and decides to go to Jane's room. There, in the window, she sees, after a long time, Peter. But the boy from Neverland doesn't recognize her and takes with him Jane, thinking she is a real Wendy. And there is where the story begins.

Wendy decides to fly again to Neverland and bring back her daughter. But she never knew, that the magical land has changed so much...

This story is incredible. It touched my heart and my soul in so many ways.
Firts of all, I adored how the book was written. We have a lot of flashbacks from the Wendy's past, the story told by Jane (her daughter), and the story told by Wendy in the real time.

The fact is, that Wendy's past was terrible after Neverland. Her parents died and she raised her brothers alone. She refused to forget about Neverland, when her brothers John and Michael have forgotten absolutely all of this adventure. John and Michael have grown up, and decided to bring Wendy to the mental hospital, with the hope to see her healed. Instead of the quietness, she found cruelty and physical abuse. But a real friend too...

When Jane arrives to Neverland, Peter doesn't seem so nice and funny, in fact, Jane thinks Peter is a dangerous creature, and Neverland, is a strange and scary place...

Now, that I've explained a bit of the story, let's speak about why you should read this book.
I loved how the author has structured the story. It's divided into different point of views, plus we can connect, step by step, with Wendy and know what she has lived after Neverland.
The story never gets boring and when you start to read, after a few pages you can't stop, and you need to know more and more.

It's very beautifully written and the author easily makes a reader feel all kind of emotions : grief, simpathy, pain, sadness, bravery, happiness, fear...

And the most important thing, she connects perfectly the original tail with her story. It's like you can see the tale like an adult, and the childish and magical story becomes from the fairytale to some kind of nightmare.

A huge thanks to Netgalley and Titan books to geve me a copy of this beautiful story

This book puts a dark twist on the story of Peter Pan that we all know and love. We start the book post Neverland where Wendy is now an adult with a husband and daughter. Her daughter Jane is whipped away to Neverland and it falls on Wendy to get her back. Through flashbacks, we learn that after her return as a child, Wendy has had to struggle through obstacles resulting from her trip to Neverland.

As far as a retelling goes I wouldn’t label it as one more so as a grown up behind the scenes extension. The bridge between what we remember as children and the reality we are faced with, flushed out in the form of satisfactory revenge and redemption. I loved every second of this, the writing style, the character development. Every bit of it was captivating and grounded.

This book is for fan of Circe. The writing style and feel to the book is very similar.

This book wasn’t a favourite of mine, however I found it a really interesting and fascinating direction for a character that is universally known. It is a reimagining that I didn’t know I needed to experience. I would definitely recommend

It took me a whole month to finish this book.

It wasn't bad, the idea was actually pretty good because, after all, Peter is a selfish boy who always gets his way and, when she came back from Neverland, Wendy was a girl in the early 1900s who talked about some boy flying her to a magical place with pirates and mermaids.

Wendy, Darling is told in double timeline. On the one hand, we see what happened to Wendy after she came back from Neverland and refused to forget about it or deem it a little girl's dream. We see her come to the realisation that Neverland is a lie, a place to run away and hide when you don't want to face consequences and accept that life is everything, the good and the bad.

And on the other hand, we follow the events that unfold as Peter goes back to London and takes Jane, Wendy's daughter, to Neverland.

My main issue with this book is that it was so slow. There was barely any dialogue and all I felt like we never got anywhere. And the conclusion was somewhat anti-climatic too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for a digital review copy in exchange of an honest and voluntary review.

I very much enjoyed it! I’ll start with this.

This is like seeing the story totally from the opposite angle and I’m all in for this!

I loved the dark vibe. I liked that we get to see what happens after Neverland. What happens when people leave and for those left behind. Also, I found very interesting reading the bad side of Peter and Neverland, the cost paid for this place.

Additionally, what made real impact is the mention to ‘real adult issues’: sexual orientation, mental illness, PTSD, abuse. The choice of the main character to raise higher from the expectations and defend herself and the people she loved. Been independent and not settling for what they ask her for.

I generally like retellings and this feminist, dark retelling of Wendy’s story is one of those you need to read as an adult!

This book felt like a fanfiction, but in the best way possible! It was a dark, fascinating turn on the familiar Peter Pan story we all know and love. It's easy to follow along with even if you haven't seen the film. As long as you know the gist of the Peter Pan story, you'll be fine.

All characters are familiar, yet vastly different. The storyline is much darker and haunting than anything Disney would put out, but that's what I loved about it so much. Reading about Wendy venturing back into Neverland as an adult is something I never knew I wanted to read. The pacing was nice. I can see why the first half of the story may seem slow to some- but personally, I don't mind slow/dragged out beginnings as long as it's entertaining.

I was a bit surprised that we spent more time reading about Wendy than we do about Jane, her daughter. I would have liked to read more about Jane, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Overall, I really loved this book and I'd love to read more from this author!

The point, or at least the point as I understand it, is when you take a classic, and rewrite it, you do so to right a wrong. To get the right perspective on the story that was lacking in the original. You do it to add new life to it, to show how it could have been told, or how it should have been told.

And while that is what the author was trying to do with this story, it didn't feel that way to me. The reviews walk about it being feminist, but I didn't feel that when reading it.

In this retelling of Peter Pan and Wendy, Wendy comes back from Neverland, and is put in an insane asylum, where she spends three years, before she is released.

But, like in the original, she goes on to marry and have a daughter, who Peter Pan comes to take as well. But in this version, Wendy goes after her daughter, somehow. Somehow she can still fly.

I think the reason I have always had trouble with Peter Pan is that the story is written from a male point of view of what fun would be. I never got how fighting pirates, and hunting and doing all the mean things that Peter does were fun.

And that is why this story takes on that Peter is evil, but for those who have read the original, there is no way not to come to that conclusion.

So, other than Wendy's time in the asylum, and her going after Jane, the rest, to me was filler.

So, I finish this book, but was tempted to not do so, after being bored in the first two chapters. I finished because there were so many that loved this book, who though this was a fresh new look at the story. It wasn't for me.

You want a fresh new look, that takes on the problems of the story? Then check out Sisters of the Neversea. This addresses the problem of Injuns, as well as the sexism of Peter Pan in general.

<em> Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I love recycled storytelling and twists on familiar tales. I identified from the very beginning a feminist voice stemming from the silencing of female trauma, prescribed gender roles, and the way male character asserted their own will over female characters. I really enjoyed this fresh, creative and entertaining take on the Peter Pan story by focusing on the feminine side of the story.

I very much enjoyed the direction this book took from the original telling of Peter Pan. From the perspective of a grown woman, with her own child, Wendy is able to address issues I had with the original story. It is much darker and complex than I thought it would be but in a wonderful way. The trials that Wendy faces as her life progresses after returning from Neverland are at their core, things we all struggle with.

actual rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up--I want to see this turned into a movie SO badly.

<i>I'd like to thank NetGalley, A.C. Wise, and the Publisher for allowing me to have this e-ARC of Wendy, Darling in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Wendy, Darling follows a non-linear timeline where Wendy Darling and her daughter, Jane, are facing life during and after trips to Neverland. Wendy handles the consequences of not wanting to let go of her childhood place of happiness, including the effects her behaviour has on her brothers. There is so much more to Wendy than meets the eye, and the same can be said for Peter and all of the fellow Neverland residents.

When Peter appears at the window of Wendy's daughter, Jane, and spirits her away to Neverland, Wendy is heartbroken. She is struggling to remember what exactly wasn't right about Neverland, and why she and her brothers left. Once the memories break free, she remembers something dark at the heart of the island, and the heart of her friend.

+1: concept; okay I know in the acknowledgements Wise mentioned that this began as a funny 'what if' concept, but the liberties that she takes with this story are phenomenal. I also love the fact that she took the gender and racial stereotypes of the timeline and worked them into her story, helping to characterize Wendy as the stubborn, defiant woman she grows into after leaving Neverland.

+1: non-linear timeline; this was executed SO well! The present-day timeline correlated with the past timelines in a manner that made them seem almost flawlessly stitched together, and every jump back in time had an immediately relevant point that the reader gets more context of in the present. Wise also doesn't just info-dump on us, as some fantasy writers tend to do. She knows that she is working with a well-known faerie tale. Gorgeous execution.

+1: Wendy; I love this character. Wise really took the responsible, independent, leader of a young girl that Wendy was in the original tale and enhanced that as the character aged. The trauma that she experiences when she's the only one to believe in Neverland after the siblings' return home feels incredibly real, and the fact that she was able to take such god-awful experiences and draw strengths and understandings from them is remarkable. Also, bi queen for the win.

+0.5: pacing; for the first quarter or so of the book, it really is a lot of getting used to the writing style and meeting some of your favourite characters all over again. The pacing is a bit slow here, but once the 30% mark is over and gone the pacing picks up considerably.

-0.5: questions; okay this book leaves me with a lot of questions. The things that happened in Neverland while Wendy was gone are hinted at, but I want to know what <b>really</b> happened. Did Peter go crazy with grief? Did he mourn the loss of Wendy? Did the Lost Boys miss her in the years that followed? As for the ending of the book, what happens between Wendy and Ned once they're 100% honest with each other? How is Jane going to handle this abundance of information? Does Mary's shop do well? I want answers, Wise, answers!!

+1: individual characterization; while this book is about Wendy, it was incredibly nice to see that all of the character development didn't end with her. Watching her interact with Mary during their first days together and learning about her history; getting dynamics between Ned's father and everyone; seeing the world through Jane's observant eyes; knowing that some of the Lost Boys are more rebellious than even Peter could have imagined. Top tier mix of plot, character, and vibes.

This was probably the saddest rendition of a Peter Pan retelling I've read. It's compelling and interesting, but ultimately, left me bereft of any good feeling you might have had in the Neverland universe. Wendy is all grown up, married, with a young daughter of her own. She only told Jane "half truths" of the Neverland stories, so when Peter Pan creeps into her window, he takes the new "Wendy" for himself, not recognizing that Wendy is all grown up now--and Jane has no idea what is happening. This Peter is full of creeps, false bravado and machismo, secret monsters, and shadows everywhere.

This narrative would all be wonderful except that Wendy is often powerless to stop him in both Neverland and post-Neverland in the patriarchal society she finds herself thrown in--this is no adult returning to appreciate a good childhood romp with some darkness thrown in (don't think of the Robin Williams movie version, it will just make you sad). I appreciated Wendy's slow transformation into a feminist, but her character's growth to empowerment felt embittered and full of unprocessed trauma to be fully redemptive. 3 stars. There are better Pan retellings, especially in the YA genre.