Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

Fell a bit flat for me

What is it with Peter Pan retellings that just never get old (haha- get it?) I always enjoy reading retellings and how authors out their own spins on the stories we grew up with and Hooked was no exception taking on the legendary Captain Hook in a new dynamic was so much fun.

This was a bit darker than I was anticipating, but I wanted to give it a try since I’m a fan of Peter Pan and wanted to read a different perspective. I found that the story moved slowly for me so it wasn’t my favorite, but I think that people who are really into the villain plot lines will enjoy this one.

I didn’t realise this was part of a series but I didn’t feel like I had to have read the first one to understand this one because I didn’t read book one and was able to follow along just fine. Maybe they’re companion novels rather than direct sequels? I’m not sure.

What I am sure about is that I didn’t really enjoy this one. I love Peter Pan and was obsessed with it as a kid so I was excited to dive into this dark retelling. The ideas were there but I just found the whole thing overly slow and really dull. The pacing was way off, just as I was getting into the story, it would jump back in time. I know that we needed to understand Hook’s past but each time we went back there it completely halted the progress of the story. It didn’t feel like the snippets we were seeing were relevant to what was happening in the present.

I didn’t like the characters. Hook/James, and Wendy were fine but I hated Jane. I found her so annoying and unsympathetic and did not like following her.

I also hated that the main conflict of the story actually had nothing to do with Pan, this figure we hear so much about. He doesn’t really appear or play any role in the story and I really didn’t like that. I expected him to be the villain and was left disappointed.

Overall the pacing was off, the characters uninteresting and annoying, and the story was a huge miss.

I absolutely loved this novel.
Such a great story with defined characters and a great plot.
What drew me in the most was how fleshed out the characters were
The writing style was fluid and relateable.
The cover was fascinating as well.
A reviting read overall
Definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

I didn't love the writing style, and everything from the world-building to the characters fell pretty flat for me. I pushed through hoping it would get better, but sort of wish I'd just DNF'd.

Once invited, always welcome.
Once invited, never free.

Neverland is not a safe place but not for the reasons given in the books and movies. It’s a poison in the blood, an addiction whose single taste changes a person forever. A long time ago, a malevolent eternal child snatched a young man from his English home and transformed him into an immortal villain: Captain Hook. Never able to win against Peter Pan and always at the mercy of the menacing crocodilian beast, Hook’s world has become one blood-soaked death after another. Then a slowly evolving relationship with his ship’s surgeon awakens memories of the man he used to be, a man capable of goodness, self-sacrifice, and even love. After discovering a door through the sky, Hook and his surgeon return to London, living in the shadows and always fearing the return of the beast and the darkness that lurks just beneath the surface of his mind. On the eve of World War II, a murder throws Hook together with Wendy Darling and her grown daughter, and it’s only a matter of time before Neverland sinks its claws into them again.

The narrative style is intense, dark, and eminently accessible. Moving from one timeline to another, the story unfolds as a spiral, layering connected events, character journeys, and emotional resonances. I especially admired how the author offers understanding without excuses for Hook’s violent deeds. Like other survivors of horrendous abuse, Hook is still responsible for his actions. He is what Peter Pan made of him—the quintessential adversary. He is also what he then makes of the ashen dregs of the man he might have been.

I missed Wendy, Darling, A. C. Wise’s previous novel based on Peter Pan, but I never felt the lack. It’s the mark of a skillful writer to create a sequel (or several) that stand so solidly on their own, no previous experience is required. Instead, Hooked captured me so thoroughly, I’m ready to grab anything else I can find by the author.

Rating: 1/5 Stars ⭐️
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Oof, this is a hard one to have to give such a low rating on. I read Wendy, Darling and literally loved it. I fell in love with the characters, the story the whole retelling of one of my absolute favorite classics, so when I saw this one last year on NetGalley I was like yeah I need that. Got approved and then I kept starting it and stopping, not sure why. I finally finished, but now I’m just sitting here scratching my head like - why, why didn’t I just DNF it last year and save myself the headache.
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Hear me out. Wise is a phenomenal writer, she can depict such vivid scenes and she writes so lyrically that its basically magical; however, I’m not even sure what I just read…
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For starters, I didn’t really care about James’ character, he was either reminiscing or high the entire story; Jane was a whiney brat and Wendy just basically sucked. The three main characters were nothing to rant and rave about.
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I’m usually a huge sucker for multiple timelines and multiple points of view but this one felt to be a jumbled mess of times flittering in and out of the past and present and just no real consistency. I literally was confused basically 97.5% of the book and the other 2.5% I just didn’t really care what happened. I’m just a little butthurt because there were a few parts where I started to care and I was like oh, this is going to be the turn this book needed, and nope - these “plot twists” were merely shallow plot dips.
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I felt like this story was more descriptive, which is usually okay, except again, no idea what was happening; and very very little dialogue. What dialogue did happen, had me even more confused because again, James was usually high..?
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Ugh unfortunately this one totally missed the mark for me, and again, I’m not even sure I even know what I just read… Which sucks, I had high hopes for this one.. Oh well, onto the next one.
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Huge thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books and A. C. Wise for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

It wasn’t terrible….but it also wasn’t my favorite. Kind of a struggle to get through. I struggled getting through Wendy, Darling. It just wasn’t what I was expecting and Hooked was much the same way. I really expecting something completely different for Hook.

Personally, I didn't find the storyline to be fresh enough for me to stay invested in the book. While there are many people out there who can read retellings of the same story forever, I'm apparently not one of them since I found this book to drag on. However, if you are someone who enjoys retelling this book had good representation and lots of action. It was by no means a bad book it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

The unfortunate side for me is I was not a fan of the writing style and it kept making me not want to read on- it felt a bit disjointed and dare i say clumsy at some parts. The constant swaps in views and the timeline were a struggle for me to keep up with and made me take quite a while to read this. There were some great parts, but not enough for me to enjoy the book fully.

Hooked sends fans of A.C Wise’s novel ‘Wendy Darling’ will be want to look out for this book as their next read.

The book follows a scene just set before Wise’s previous book, where Hook escapes never land onto the streets of London, England and chaos is created amongst normal life. Only, readers will be shocked that it is not Hook that needs to be defeated.

This dark, twisted retelling of classic ‘Peter Pan’, created a new way of telling Captain Hook’s story that readers never would have considered. It is simply one for those who are fans of Peter Pan and loved a story told from a Villain’s perspective

"Hooked" by A.C. Wise is a captivating and imaginative retelling of the classic Peter Pan story that kept me hooked from beginning to end. I loved how the author breathed new life into the familiar characters, introducing depth and complexity to their personalities. The dark and mysterious atmosphere of Neverland was beautifully depicted, creating a sense of enchantment and danger. Wise's prose was evocative and lyrical, drawing me into the story and making me feel like I was part of this twisted and enchanting world. Overall, "Hooked" is a fantastic read that offers a fresh take on a beloved tale, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠, 𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 – 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩-𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙝.

📍 Read if you like:
• Captain Hook
• Queer Romances
• Multi POV
• Fairytale Retellings

I didn’t realize this was a sequel going into it, I really wish I knew beforehand so I could read the first book in the series before picking this one up.

I always love a Peter Pan retelling, especially when it focuses on Captain Hook. I wasn’t expecting this book to be as dark as it was, but I surprisingly liked that aspect of the story.

I loved the idea behind James Hook and the many ways he survived and escaped Neverland. The romance between James and Samuel was also fun to read about.

However, the story was super slow. I feel like I missed out on a lot, not having read the first book. I didn’t feel a connection with many of the characters.

I always appreciate multi-POV, but in this case, it was too chaotic. At this point, I’ve read so many Peter Pan retellings, and unfortunately, this one is probably my least favorite.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Titan Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Addiction, death, drug abuse, child death, drug use, kidnapping

Loved the feminist take of this book. I absolutely eat up Peter Pan retellings and this did not disappoint

I'm a simple reviewer- I see some reimagining of Peter Pan and i'm hitting the request button. Many Thanks to Netgalley and Titan for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
Plot- So it was another different take on the story, and seeing Hook's backstory was really interesting. The unfortunate side for me is I was not a fan of the writing style and it kept making me not want to read on- it felt a bit disjointed and dare i say clumsy at some parts. The constant swaps in views and the timeline were a struggle for me to keep up with and made me take quite a while to read this. There were some great parts, but not enough for me to enjoy the book fully.

Worldbuilding- This was actually done really well and I loved this version of Neverland.

Characters- I had zero investment in them except for James, and even that is because I am all for a villain getting their story view told. I had zero interest in Wendy and Jane's viewpoints though.

Overall:
It's not the worst retelling of a Peter Pan Story I have read, but not the best either .

This story was well written but has heavy content dealing with survivors' guilt and trauma. I am not sure if I was in the right mindset to fully enjoy this story. To me, it was good but not great. I would recommend this take on Neverland.

I just reviewed Hooked by A.C. Wise. #Hooked #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I LOVE this new litany of Peter Pan re-imaginings and retellings, and Hooked is no exception! This one is centered on Captain Hook, and what happens to him after the events of the Neverland story we all know and love. A grownup Wendy Darling is key in this one, except there's a beautiful twist that bonds the two characters together in unexpected ways. A followup to Wendy, Darling, this is a magical and dark tale of freedom, happiness, and the danger of never growing up.

Unfortunately, this one really wasn't for me. While I usually really enjoy "Peter Pan" retellings, especially ones that focus on side characters or villains, this one didn't connect with me. I had a hard time feeling invested in either the character of Hook or Wendy, and generally just struggled to keep myself interested in the story.