To be honest, I wasn't even able to finish this book. It was so out of my comfort zone that I just cannot read it. I don't like the profanity or the sexual aspects of it. I guess I didn't read enough into the description before choosing this book. Unfortunately, its just not for me.

Phew!

Second Star to the Left is a 100% adult-only Neverland retelling with swashbuckling adventures, amazing sarcasm and enough steam to fill a sauna!

Tinker Bell is trapped in the world of humans, desperately trying to find her way home. The Queen of the Mermaids has the means to help her but first Tink needs to prove she is trustworthy by stealing a certain treasure from a dashing hook-wielding pirate Captain!

Once Tink and Hook's worlds collide they find themselves entangled in an intense, fast-paced quest, fighting against curses, pirates and their own growing infatuation.


I'm not sure how Van Dyke manages it but her characters are simultaneously those from our childhood and, at the same time, sexy as hell! Think more Hook from Once Upon a Time rather than the ponytail animated maniac!

The romance between Hook and Tink was perfect in my opinion, it wasn't insta love at all and was initially pure attraction. Yes, the enemies to lover trope is everywhere right now but I am never going to complain about that! And the fact that he fell first? I'm 100% here for that!

I also loved how the story, the POVs and the whole focus of the novel was on Tink and Hook: sure, Peter and the lost boys feature but I Peter doesn't take over the story at all. Smee, however, I LOVED Smee- we need a Smee spin off for sure!


Second Star to the Left rivals Serena Valentino when it comes to humanising Disney villains. Beware though, this is no kids story- the steam and tension between Pixie and Pirate is palpable.


Thank you to Netgalley and Megan Van Dyke for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first fairy tale retelling book, so wasn’t sure what to expect but it did not disappoint! (Safe to say I’ll be reading more after this)

Loved that the focus was Hook & Tinker Bell instead of Peter Pan. Meant it didn’t make me feel too weird about the spicy scenes in a story that I loved as a kid haha!

Really enjoyed some of the details - like Tinker Bell’s name meaning & Hook’s back story.
I will say that I did manage to guess at a few of the ‘twists’ but still enjoyed them.

A fun and quick paced read 👍🏻

I’ll definitely be looking into the authors other planned books in this series!

Really enjoyed this one!
It's set in Neverland where Tinkerbell was exiled from her homeland for selling pixie dust and she end up having a run in with Captain Hook while on a mission to help restore her only way of returning home.
Loved the twists and turns and how pirates cam actually be nice people (reminds me of the quote: "just because we are bad guys doesn't mean we have to be bad guys" from wreck it Ralph 😅)
Didn't expect the amount of spice though! 😅
And was able to figure out a few things before they happened. Love how Peter turns up but isn't the main focus, like in other books (as he often ends up taking over the story I found!)
Enjoyable throughout and recommend for Peter Pan or Tink fans!

I loved this awesome take on a classic fairy tale! I never would have thought to put Tink and Hook together but it was incredibly intriguing. It’s engrossing and quick to read but I feel like it lacked some depth? I wanted more of Tink and Hook’s backstory. Though, I believe this is to be a series, so maybe there’s more to come? Overall, I really appreciated the characters and the magical world of Neverland that was reimagined in such an enjoyable way for adults!

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! 3.5/5 Stars!

I loved this book! I read it in one day. I have always loved Tink. Once Upon A Time made me love Hook. This was perfect! I couldn't put it down. It is a beautiful story of what Home really is!
Thank you Netgalley

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

~4.5~

"Home isn't just a place, it's a people, and I could never be truly home without you."

I am a sucker for retellings and a new adult retelling of Captain Hook and Tinkerbell was right up my alley. This dual POV book about a pirate searching to break a curse (or two) placed on him and a pixie on a treasure hunt to go home end up crossing paths and the rest you can read for yourself. I loved this book, the characters didn't make dumb decisions going from their hearts, and they survived.

*spoilers*

I love the fact that he was just 'cursed' by his memory of Tink. The 'he fell first' trope is one of my favorites and James was SUCH a likable character, good man for being a pirate, and his bond with his crew just made him such a good character. Tink trying to go home, but not fighting her attraction and giving in to what she wants, the life she wants with Tink was just so satisfying because characters who ignore what they want to try and follow through with their initial objective that has changed frustrate me.
All in all, this was a good book, and exactly the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. I really recommend for fans of retellings because while using the characters and being a more mature content book, the fantasy element was there as well. Such a good and enjoyable read for sure!

** Received a copy for review.**
I love good fairytale reimagining. I always felt like Tinker bell got a bad rap and maybe Peter was not the hero in that story.
I really liked how all these characters were depicted in this story. Smee being the hottie was awesome!
Really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Ahhhh! This was so freaking good. I am such a sucker for retellings & Megan hit this one out of the park. I am so excited for the rest of the books she has planned for this series. But this one definitely delivered in adventure, twists & turns, romance, spice, and story telling! I loved how it focused on Hook & Tinker Bell. They each had their own issues but were able to understand each other and work together throughout their quest. The spice was 🔥 and i loved the little details she put into the book like the pixie dust, how tinker bell got her name, and other the characters in the book. Absolutely loved this & going to recommend it to everyone!!

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 shiny, pixie-dust filled stars for this retelling! (and 3 spicy peppers!)

Everyone knows Tinker Bell. Everyone know Captain Hook. But what if what you knew about them, wasn't exactly the real story? What if there was more to them?

This book aims to retell the story of Tink and Hook. Tinker Bell finds herself needing a to repay a favor to the mermaid queen in order to have a shot at getting back home. And to do so, she needs the help of one very insufferable pirate: Captain Hook.

Let's just say the end up getting a lot more than they bargained for.

A lovely fantasy, with a dash of enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity and a whole lot of adventure!

I loved this book. I had a great time with it. The only thing I could have wanted was just a bit more spice to the sexy times.

I really enjoyed this, it was such a fun read! This was an exciting reimagining of Peter Pan that focused on Tink and Captain Hook. It was witty, had adventure, and a steamy enemies to lovers romance, all of my favorite things. My only wish is it didn’t have to end, it was so good and I wasn’t ready to let of the beautiful world and it’s characters!

I’ve made no secret of my general hesitancy and dislike of rewrites and adaptations as a whole as I don’t find them necessary, but there Ed something intriguing about this. Maybe because it focussed more on Tinkerbell than on Peter Pan so it’s not a direct reboot.

This is Neverland like you’ve never seen it. It’s adult and risqué and definitely not suitable for Kids.

The writing is good and the story inventive but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t accept Tink and Hook in intimate situations. The characters scream ‘childhood’ to me so I was beginning to get a bit too comfortable with it.

I went into this book with an open mind, and really was ready to love it since I'm such a fan of the original story of Peter Pan. Sadly this just fell a bit flat for me, and I ended up skim reading the second half of the book.
I quite liked the premise- Tink being exiled from her home and needing to team up with Captain Hook in order to have a chance of returning was fun and original, but I felt the execution was lacking. I think the problem for me was the insta-love. I never enjoy it in books, and this was no exception. I could never really understand why Tink and Hook were so in love with each other, beside the fact they were both physically attracted to each other. There was nothing deeper than that and no real exploration of feelings. Perhaps the main thing I hated was every time Hook called Tink 'love'. It grated after about the second time he said it. I really didn't like it at all, and if it was supposed to be banter then it was uninspired and repetitive.

Another thing I found slightly weird was Hook continually calling Blackbeard either 'the croc' or a 'crocodile'. Now I'm not stupid, I understand the reference to the original story, I just don't understand why it had to be Blackbeard- a pirate who is already well-known in stories and history. Furthermore, Blackbeard is already a nickname, so for him to have another one on top that only Hook used was weird. I saw no reason why Blackbeard's character couldn't have been an original character called the Croc.

Overall this sadly wasn't the book for me. It lacked world-building, and I didn't particularly like the characters or the romance. I do think though that if you're a fan of this genre you might enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book started off pretty nice, and we got some well-written descriptions that made the world easy to imagine. However, the more I read, the less world building there was, and I began to feel like I was reading dialogue mixed with some unnecessarily steamy romance. Almost as if I was just reading someone’s diary. The writing just felt way too simplistic.

I honestly expected more from this book especially since it’s a retelling of a very famous fairy tale. I wish there was more world building, more description, and more gripping situations. It was pretty action packed and something was always going on, but it wasn’t enticing enough to be eager to find out what happens next.

When working with a retelling, I believe there’s so much potential and so much that can be done in terms of world-building, story telling, adventure, etc. to really do the fairy tale justice, but we really got the bare minimum of that. This is the author’s debut, so I hope there’ll be greater things in the future.

Way to go Megan! This book was amazing! I loved this from beginning to end. This retelling is definitely one of my favorites and I’ve read a lot of Peter Pan retellings! Hook is smoking in this and Tink is fiery and full of her usual spunk. The angst and spice way delicious! I need to Smee book though! I highly recommend to anyone who loves fairytale retellings! The world building and creativity was amazing! Five stars for sure!

I'm not going to lie I squaled out loud when I saw that I got to read this book. I love anything to do with Peter Pan (I mean anything) and so any retellings that come out are always way up there on my covet list. When I saw this was a retelling and more than that, that the protagonists were both Captain Hook and Tinkerbell and they were romantically linked,my heart actually jumped for joy.
Was it the most believeable romance in history - no, but was I there for every steamy, instantaneous and lust filled moment - you bet.
There were so many things that made this book in my opinion, not just that it was a steamy retelllng of Pan, but that also the book was full of twists that I didnt see coming and that added an extra layer to the story.
This was a quick, easy and fun read that made me very happy.

*Thank you for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I honestly expected to enjoy this more than I did.

The beginning was a solid 3 stars. I’m a huge fan of Peter Pan and although a Hook-Tinker Bell romance isn’t something that I’d usually go for… I was willing to keep an open mind.

The author’s writing was easy, fun and enjoyable. This book was fast-paced and there was always something happening. I’m not a fan of slow books, so I enjoyed this aspect.

However, I wasn’t convinced by the romance. It only seemed to be based on physical attraction and that was pushed in my face way too much. Not to mention that it made me incredibly uncomfortable. I wish there was more attention on the plot rather than intimacy. I never wanted to DNF a book so badly specifically because of this. It was all physical and then 2% of “thank you for saving my life”. I wished there was more emphasis on her brains.

MAJOR info dump towards the end and was so rushed. I lost interest half way and I’m guilty of skimming through the rest.

This book had potential but wasn’t executed to my liking.

This is a steamy retelling of Peter Pan with Captain Hook and Tinker Bell as its main characters and romance.

I really loved the premise of Tink selling her pixie dust and the adventure plot with all its twists and reveals was well-woven. This doubles as a new origin story for the character of Peter Pan as well, which I though was really fun.

The found family aspect between Hook and his crew was enjoyable, and I liked joining them with Tink for the adventure.

The romance between Hook and Tink was steamy, albeit a little insta-lovey for me. We didn’t really go very deep into their characters which meant that I didn’t really understand their attraction to each other. But I did love the disability rep in this (Hook obviously is missing a hand) and how Tink really loved Hook just the way he was.

The strongest part of this novel were its twists which I felt were really satisfying.

(Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Van Dyke and City Owl Press for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions in this review are my own.)

I'm blown away with this debut, a steamy retelling of Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. You're thrown into a mystical world of pirates and a pixie who caught the infamous Captain's eye. I love their backstory, the world building, and the adventure. There were unexpected twists and lots of heat between Tink and Hook. I love this retelling and looking forward to reading more from Megan.

Thank you Owl City Press and NetGalley for the eARC. My opinions are my own.