4.5 stars
This is one of those books that as soon as you begin reading, you get all excited and just want to hunker down with a cozy blanket and warm cup of tea and have everyone leave you alone for the evening so you can dive right in. This story, with its beautiful prose, captivated me from the first chapter. I loved it! The characters are flawed and real. The story is very well written.

Darling Girl is a dark twist on Peter Pan. It is a sequel , but it reimagines the story we are all familiar with and tells us the original story got it all wrong: Peter was never the hero. This is a story about grief and loss. About motherhood, guilt, and sacrifice. And it is a story of forgiveness and new beginnings.

I highly recommend this novel!

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group, Dutton for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

#NetGalley #DarlingGirl

Oh my! This book exceeded my limitations! I think I might have more than 10 retellings of Peter Pan in this year and so far this book became my favorite one!

This time the author approached from different direction to the story by choosing the main character as the famous Wendy’s granddaughter Holly!

The plot was well constructed. The dark tone of the story was also perfectly executed. The character development was well-built.

Everything about this story is magical, intriguing, enchanting, capturing!

I was instantly drawn into the story and I never wanted it to finish! I highly recommend this book not only to long time Peter Pan story fans but also to greatly written fantasy book addicts!

The plot of the story is centered on Holly who built her successful skin care company, raising her son Jack alone, nursing her wounds from the tragic past. But when she gets a phone call informing her that her daughter Eden who is in coma for a long time gets missing, she gets alerted. Because her daughter has a rare condition: she can age faster than normal human being. Her special blood type is valuable for the enemies lurking around, who can threat everything Holly has built.

Holly cannot let her son Jack learn the secret about his half sister Eden. She has to take the matters into her own hands by teaming up with ex soldier Christopher Cooke who has unusual methods to solve the problems.

Overall: I truly enjoyed it! Giving my five magical, Neverland stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Liz Michalski gives us another Peter Pan. This one may be a little darker than what we loved in the original story, but it is no less magical. a perfect fairy tale for grownups. And one of my favorite books read in 2021.

I don't know how much of a Peter Pan fan you have to be to love this, but I am that fan, and I really, really love it.

Michalski's knowledge and love of the Peter Pan mythos shines through this book - apart from the obvious connections, there are little referential gems everywhere, and the tone of the novel is spot on. <i>Peter Pan</i> was always scary, behind the glitter, and it feels somehow really joyful to read that dialled up to eleven - and there are touches of playfulness that keep it from becoming tiresome.

I even liked the romance, and I am a romance Grinch.

I'll probably read this again.

I don't know how many more ways to say that I loved it and think it's great.

My thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC.

As someone who loves Peter Pan and pretty much enjoys getting her hands on any type of unique retelling. I knew I had to check this one out!
About
In this beautiful, grounded, and darkly magical modern-day reimagining of J. M. Barrie’s classic, to save her daughter's life one woman must take on the infamous Peter Pan—who is not the innocent adventurer the fairy tales make him out to be . . .

Life is looking up for Holly Darling, granddaughter of Wendy—yes, that Wendy. She's running a successful skincare company; her son, Jack, is happy and healthy; and the tragedy of her past is well behind her . . . until she gets a call that her daughter, Eden, who has been in a coma for nearly a decade, has gone missing from the estate where she's been long tucked away. And, worst of all, Holly knows who must be responsible: Peter Pan, who is not only very real, but more dangerous than anyone could imagine.

Eden's disappearance is a disaster for more reasons than one. She has a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly—ironic, considering her father is the boy who will never grow up—which also makes her blood incredibly valuable. It’s a secret that Holly is desperate to protect, especially from Eden's half-brother, Jack, who knows nothing about his sister or the crucial role she plays in his life. Holly has no one to turn to—her mother is the only other person in the world who knows that Peter is more than a story, but she refuses to accept that he is not the hero she’s always imagined. Desperate, Holly enlists the help of Christopher Cooke, a notorious ex-soldier, in the hopes of rescuing Eden before it's too late . . . or she may lose both her children.

Darling Girl brings all the magic of the classic Peter Pan story to the present, while also exploring the dark underpinnings of fairy tales, grief, aging, sacrifice, motherhood, and just how far we will go to protect those we love.

I didn’t really care for such a dark undertone especially to peters character, but I appreciated the unique concept and all the lessons and how thought provoking it was.