Second Star to the Left is a re-imagining of Peter Pan. However in this version, Tinker Bell is a pixie selling her pixie dust in order to find her cousin Lily and return home. She runs into Captain Hook, has a one night stand, and steals jewelry from him. He hunts her down, kidnaps her and makes her part of his crew on the Jolly Roger. Chemistry bonds between them and they fall for each other. They end up having to work together to find answers to what they both want.
I gotta say I was thrown off a bit with this one. We all know the tale of Peter Pan. The smut between Hook and Tinker Bell was 🔥. This one was just okay for me

This book was amazing! Loved the romance so much. Two strong characters joining together to become even stronger together. Can’t wait to read her next one.

Second Star to the Left was a highly enjoyable reimagining of Tinker Bell and Captain Hook that made for a quick, easy read. It incorporates ideas from a number of different tales and mythology besides Peter Pan and combines them with some popular, yet timeless tropes in an exciting (and hot!) pirate adventure!

Plot: 4/5
Overall, the plot was a great blend of fantasy mystery and pirate adventure in a Peter Pan-themed skin. It was fairly even-paced throughout and it has a nice balance of narrative and dialogue, though there was a lot of inner dialogue (not enough to overshadow it though) There were also a couple of big twists that surprised me, which gave the otherwise fairly straightforward story some shock and tension. The romance was also a big part that I thought was done well and worked in good balance with the adventure. One thing that did annoy me was the “instant fall in love” trope at the start, which I am not a fan of, BUT. It was early enough and inconsequential to the rest of the plot that it ended up not being an issue.
It was, however, pretty basic. Not in a bad way, but if you’re looking for something that will shock you at every turn, this isn’t it. Aside from the big twists, it was a classic adventure novel that still managed to pull off a cute romance, nice found-family vibe and left it open for more in the future (though I believe it is just a standalone).

Characters: 4/5
I absolutely loved this interpretation of Hook and Tink - so different from their traditional counterparts, but still honoured them so well! For a stand-alone, they were developed really well and their motivations and goals were pretty strong. I wouldn’t say I found them particularly ‘relatable’ as a reader because their flaws/issues were very ‘fantasy’ rather than real (that is, rather than struggling with identity issues or depression, they struggled with trying to find a mythical item), but it was easy to empathise for them. The romance was laced with sexual tension and a forbidden allure that made the spice even better!
The rest of the book was populated with loads of interesting characters all with their own unique traits. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of diversity though.

World-Building: 3.5/5
The book is set in ‘Neverland’, which is more or less a slightly more fantasy-version of our own, even featuring some real locations like Tortuga. For the length of the book, there was a decent amount of world-building, as well as hints of other places, like Tink’s homeworld. It is definitely a world would love to explore more, but there was enough fleshed out to feel submerged in it.

Writing: 4/5
The book was written in third-person limited from both Hook and Tink’s POVs. I really noticed how different their inner voices sounded and I actually have come to love this format. I like how it helps develop a romance and adds so many more layers than what you’d get from just one perspective! It was really easy to read without and had a great balance of narrative and dialogue as well. One thing I did find was that it read a little fan-fictiony, but I’m not sure if that was just because of the characters? Probably, tbh.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Second Star to the Left, especially to anyone looking for some adult fairytale retellings! I would love to read another book set in this world as there was still enough threads left open, but for what it was, this book was done really well!

Second Start to the Left is a retelling of Hook and Tinker Bell. This is no child's fairy tale this book was spicy and the adventure always moving. Tinker Bell has been banned from returning to the pixie homeland for selling her pixie dust to save her cousin. While trying to get home she steals from Captain Hook, a filthy pirate she can't stop thinking about. Together they have to retrieve a magical item for the mermaid queen and things don't always go as planned. I enjoyed the story and look forward to the rest in the Reimagined Fair Tales series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (3 stars)

This was a really enjoyable retelling/reimagining of the original Peter Pan tale, instead focusing on the characters Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. I requested this ARC because I was intrigued by the quest as outlined by the synopsis. Unfortunately the adventure aspects of the plot didn't kick in until after the 50% mark, felt really rushed, and were heavily overshadowed by the romance plot line (also rushed). The author's application of the details of the original story was very clever, and I loved her new twists on Hook's origin story and the incorporation of Peter and the Lost Boys. I think this one is worth the read for the nostalgia.

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for the free ebook arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Myth: 4/5

A delightful reimagining in the world of Neverland. Second Star to the Left takes your favorite characters from the classic Peter Pan world, but tells a wholly new adventure, with Tinker Bell and Captain Hook as the leads. You’ll find plenty of references and callbacks to the classic fairy tale, but this story is wholly Megan Van Dyke’s.

Focusing on the characters of Tinker Bell and Captain Hook leaves the door wide open for a fantasy romance. Tink and Hook are thrown together, adversaries on a shared quest, with sparks and pixie dust flying.

Magic: 4/5

The world of Neverland has plenty of magic, with Tink as one of the main characters the majority of this story focuses on the fairies magic, pixie dust and travel between her world and this one. This magical adventure also gives a heavy dose of magical pirate treasure hunting and mermaid trickery.

Overall: 4/5

Thoroughly enjoyable! A grown up Neverland adventure with some of my favorite characters.

SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT is a Peter Pan retelling/ prequel that throws together an exiled Tinker Bell and the crew of the Jolly Rodger. It has a great, adventure storyline with a treasure hunt and a curse to break.

As much as I love the idea of Neverland, I’ve struggled to find more than a couple of retelling’s I’ve really enjoyed (Peter Darling by Austin Chant and The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown are good examples).

SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT is another great find, especially if you particularly like your retellings with a heavy side of romance. It focuses largely on the Neverland pirates (a great crew and likeable misfit family), and creates a strong high-seas adventure with dashes of pixie and mermaid magic thrown in for good measure. I really liked the little bits of Neverland-inspired world-building (the mermaids from the lagoon, Blackbeard and the pixie’s homeland) woven into the main story.

It’s a fast-paced story, with lots of adventure. On the romance side of things, the protagonists have great chemistry together, and having the POV switch between Tink and Hook lets us see all the misunderstandings and developing romance from both sides. Personally, I’d have liked the enemies-to-lovers to have been a little bit more… forceful? There’s a hint of dislike at the beginning, but it’s really more of a ‘thrown together’ situation and the romance develops fairly quickly.

A fun and romantic adventure.

*Thanks to Netgally for giving me an ARC*

I loved this! I never expected to read a story about Hook and Tink, let alone a romance one. I loved the adventures and the plot twist with Blackbeard. But I do find myself wonder what happened to the boys and Lily; if there's a sequel to it, maybe we'll find out. The thing with Lily was predictable but nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

The battle on the Kraken was great, it was intense and so good and I loved the characters; Smee!!!

This was a great reimagine and I like how it wasn't Peter centric but rather it focused on Tink's adventure.

I was so excited to read this one, but it really missed the mark. The plot is too convoluted (finding a thing, to find a thing to do a thing, and none of it really mattered anyway). Random characters flit in and out as needed. The romance lacked tension and felt too rushed. Tink's POV overused phrases like "Berin's beard, Beryl's teeth" and various other strange people and parts. One or two would have been okay but it happened so often I really started to notice. Overall I found myself rolling my eyes too much to enjoy the book.

Thanks to Owl City Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

In this reimagined story, we have some familiar friends from Neverland, as well as some new faces. This story centered around Tinker Bell. She's just a lil pixie stuck in the human realm trying to get back to her home in Neverland. In her desperation to return home she contrives a plan to steal from Captain Hook and get the mermaids to help her. What she doesn't count on is Captain Hook being more than a "filthy pirate" and they are throw together by the mermaid Queen to retrieve a treasure.

This is fun adventure story with strong friendships and two lonely people finding a family together. The story started really strong -- it was funny and engaging. There are several sub-plots which take the story a long time to build, but they come together nicely at the end.

#NetGalley #SecondStartotheLeft

While the writing of this was great, I just didn't connect with the characters. I also didn't really get the chemistry between them and why they liked each other. I lost interest in it and didn't finish it. Perhaps it's just not my cup of tea.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m hesitant to call this a retelling so much as a related story to the story of Peter Pan. I could tell from the very beginning that this was going to be a romance between Tink and Hook. I didn’t really enjoy the idea of that. But this spicy, modern adult reimagining of the characters from Peter Pan hooked me in (pun intended). Tink’s backstory and the struggles she faces kept me reading. Hook’s character was very in tune with Once Upon a Time’s (OUAT) rendition of this young and sexy pirate, versus the older vengeance filled Hook from the Disney movie. Combined with the lore from Pirates of the Caribbean, this story had many elements I love.

I really enjoyed OUAT’s version of Hook and I liked how that version was the kind of Hook we knew in this story. I enjoyed the more adult feel and the spice level. Pirates are mean to be obsessed with women, booze, and treasure, and this story delivered.

I did have to get past the pairing of Tink and Hook, but with the writing and story being as good as it was, I was able to do so and enjoy this story!

Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke was not your Disney retelling of the Peter Pan story we all know and love! Tinkerbell and Captain Hook in a serious committed relationship with respect and love between them? And a hot, steamy one at that? This story was a excellent retelling of the tale, with adventure, suspense and a wonderful cast of characters. If you love retellings, don't miss it!

Thank you to the author, City Owl Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Second Star to the Left was an immersive trip to Neverland filled with mermaid lagoons, lost boys, and an absolutely smoldering romance with the captain of the Jolly Roger. Tinkerbell and Captain Hook’s relationship was everything and I was significantly “hooked” from the first page. I have christened my tiny apartment Fairy House and I’ve decorated accordingly: ceramic fairy buildings on the windowsill, Pixie Hollow figurines atop my fridge, and an entire bathroom set featuring Tinker Bell and the gang. When I heard this book recommended by another reviewer, there was no hesitation in requesting this title. Second Star featured all the best elements from Peter Pan, but it was upgraded for a more mature audience. Thankfully, this Captain Hook was more flirtatious like his Once Upon A Time counterpart instead of the slimy Disney villain.

Forget what you knew from the original story because this couple was bursting with personality. Tinker Bell was an absolute spitfire determined to help her fairy friend at any cost and Captain Hook was oozing with charisma. Their dynamic was electric and I was rooting for them from the beginning. I adored the element of Tink’s pixie dust and how crucial it was to the story. She could only manifest it through extreme happiness or pleasure. This lended itself very well in the bedroom scenes. That was such an excellent writing choice and I must applaud the author for her genius. It really gives a whole new meaning to “faith, trust, and pixie dust”.

My only complaint for this book was that it ran over long and I felt my interest flag near the end of the story. Second Star was jam packed with fabulous references to the source material and offered a new twist on Neverland. The mermaids, Peter Pan’s troupe, and even Tiger Lily got a revitalization. I was absolutely chuffed when I heard about this novel and I hope to read more retellings from this author. I know you’re supposed to take the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning, but the left side seems far more interesting…

Publish Date: February 15, 2022
Review on Goodreads

This was a delightful surprise! I was sent an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.

To be honest, I expected cheese. This is a new-to-me author, it's a fairytale reimagining, it's a romance...I was prepared for cringes and cheese. There were no cringe moments and zero cheese! The story was fun from beginning to end.

Tink is our main character, who has been banished from her home (where the pixies are from) for selling her pixie dust to save her cousin from Captain Blackbeard. In order to return home, she has to fix her bracelet. In order to fix her bracelet, she needs this magical pearl from the merfolk. In order to obtain the pearl, she has to do something for the merqueen in exchange, but before the queen will even hear her, she has to prove herself. How does she need to do that? She has to steal the treasure that was stolen from them. Who has it? Captain Hook.

That is a very long-winded way of setting up the plot, which is really the only thing that made me roll my eyes a bit, but the story was so good, I don't even think about it now. She does trick Hook, but everything just gets more complicated for the both of them because of it. To make things short, they both end up having to work together to fix his curse(s) and get her home.

This isn't an instant love sort of romance; I cringe at those. It is enemies-to-lovers sort of, but there's only lust at the beginning and they both fight it. There are also several surprising twists near the end that really make it climactic.

I love that we really get a sense of the characters. Tink being slightly immature at the beginning was expected, but she grows as the story progresses. Hook does as well. I also really enjoy the rest of the side characters like Smee (very different than the movie-Smee).

I would say that the scenes were tasteful, but they also weren't the focus of the story. This is a very plot-focused romance. I'd even venture to say this is, firstly, a fantasy, and then a romance. I wouldn't recommend going into this expecting smut.

My only negatives were the "to get treasure 4, you have to get treasure 1 then 2 then 3..." and the fact that I wish Hook was slightly more villainous. He's portrayed as a good man with a bad boy reputation, which does play well with the overall story. All in all, I give this a 4.75. I'll definitely recommend it and read any other fairytale reimaginings that the author comes out with.

So, I'm not usually a fan of fantasy books, but I was so intrigued by this premise that I had to grab it. And boy am I glad I did because this book was phenomenal. Spot on world-building for an excellent retelling with two of my favorite fictional characters--Hook and Tink. Their chemistry was fire and the spicy scenes delicious and everything I love to read. Megan is a new auto-buy author for me after this and I can't wait to see what she's got up her writerly sleeve next.

This just wasn’t it for me. I loved the premise, I love retellings, I love Tink and Hook but I just didn’t love this. It was dull, for a short read it should be been easy and engaging but it just wasn’t. The heat between the two was great but that was about it. If you took out the romance it would literally be an almost childish retelling, at times I really was unsure of the audience if it wasn’t for the adult scenes.

Who doesn’t love a good retelling?! But then you throw in an enemies to lovers storyline between Tinker Bell and Caption Hook? Yep, I’m here for it. The world building was great, as were the characters. The adventure storyline was also done well. This really did give you everything - adventure, pirates and of course smut! Such a fun read!

I Gotta say I didn't expect to one star this. The cover is gorgeous the concept is exciting but the book didn't deliver. If they didn't say hook and tink so much I could just imagine it being a random romance novel. This should have had a fun world building with magic and mystery. We got rapey kids who didn't wanna grow up , a thieving tink and hook he wants to hate eff tink...and yet it didn't work for me. Please don't let my review scare you off I think it was me

A steamy and spicy romance that fans of Once Upon A Time’s Killian Jones will absolutely devour.

Tink has committed an unforgivable act and been banished from the fairy realm forever. She has sold her pixie dust to mortals in order to rescue her cousin from the horrible pirate Blackbeard. There is hope though, the mermaid queen may be able to restore her ability to travel to her land. But there is a price. The queen wants a valuable gemstone returned to her, a gem that had been stolen and was now in the possession of a certain Captain Hook.

Notorious and sexy as sin, Hook is a formidable adversary and Tink is tempted by the handsome captain. Hook wants revenge on the thieving pixie but he finds himself drawn to her and unable to resist her. Sparks fly like pixie dust.

A great, easy read adventurous tale of Neverland. Read ever page and picture that dark haired pirate captain.