Let’s start with one of the most asked questions about this book: Do I need to read “Wendy, Darling” before I start this one?
I would say that is not necessary at all. I also have the theory that the author, A.C. Wise, knew a lot of readers could approach this novel without knowing “Wendy, Darling” existed, and so she paved the road for them (Us!, I haven’t read Wendy, Darling either!). There are multiple mentions to something that happened eight years ago, but all the important information is there as well in a way that when the reader finishes Hooked, there’s this itch to go deeper and maybe read Wendy, Darling with this new perspective.
To sum up, that the order feels reversible.
So, now that’s out of the way, let’s dive into the novel per se, shall we? Because there is a lot to unpack.

Hook, now by the name of James (or James, by the name of Hook during a dark time of his life), is living with what is clearly some type of PTSD and substance abuse. He somehow escaped Neverland, a memory that haunts him day and night, and the worst part is that a piece of him is still there, longing, calling him back.
And then someone (or something) starts murdering people in London, the calls from Neverland get almost unbearable and he realizes he needs to pair up with an old enemy, Wendy Darling, before the ghosts from the past get too close.
I really enjoyed this novel. The prose is precise and extremely descriptive, sometimes up to an obsession, which fits perfectly with the mind of one traumatized James. His point of view feels refreshing and real, his doubts and fears genuine, his ghosts from the past creepy and menacing. The story unravels in a very satisfactory way, jumping from James to Wendy to her daughter Jane, to Neverland and then back to London, and, as explained before, the author makes a wonderful job weaving the story that was already narrated in Wendy, Darling.
I do not want to say more than I should, I feel this is one of those novels that are better read without much information beforehand, but it works really well as a retelling of Peter Pan and as an original work on its own.

I really enjoyed this Peter Pan retelling. I thought the plot was heavily refreshing and I really liked the dark aspects of this. I liked the idea of Pan being more so the villain versus Hook and how Pan had essentially trapped everyone in Neverland! This was a retelling that was very well done!

I knew I would immediately love this book as soon as I read the premise on GoodReads. and boy did Wise NOT disappoint. the characters were complex and Wise has really created depth that reaches past their survivor's guilt and is much more complex than it meets the eye; one of my favourite types of characterisation. this book was a tad bit slow for my liking at first but it soon wore off as I realised it was to mimic the characters' healing. Overall, astounding book and I cannot wait for the world to read this masterpiece <3

Wow, what an interesting take on such a well loved story and characters! I haven’t read A.C Wises’ original book in this series “Wendy Darling”, so it did take me a minute to get into this book and truly appreciate this retelling/reimagined world of Peter Pan. I really loved that it focused on Hooks perspective (along with Wendy and her daughter Jane), giving us an origin story of how Hook became the well known villain of the Peter Pan story. Wise found a way to turn hook from the villain to some we the readers could relate to and sympathize with. He had never wanted to be the larger than life Captain Hook, he was just a pawn in Peters world/story. Truly a great read.

The premise behind this book is so intriguing and enthralling that I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed in the first half of the book. It felt aged and dry and at times repetitive.

Not to say that it wasn't worth a read, just not what I was hoping for. I would have liked more dark Peter in the first half. I found myself searching for any little bits about Peter and being disappointed when there were so few.

I enjoyed that Wendy and Jane didn't have a perfect relationship and that it was something they constantly had to work on. I also enjoyed the idea that Neverland was a place you couldn't die permanently until Wendy changed that.

Overall there were ideas in this book that I loved, but the book as a whole just wasn't what I was hoping for.

*Thank you to Titan Book,A.C. Wise and Netgalley for providing me a E-ARC of "Hooked" in exchange for an honest review*

I LOVED "Wendy Darling" when I read it last year. A.C. Wise takes the Peter Pan tales we're familiar with and twists it into something completely new. So I was VERY excited to read about Hook. She did not disappoint!

This was such a fun read! I love a good retelling, and I love reading about a villain. As such, I loved this book. Along with that, the writing as good and the worldbuilding and characterization was done well. Awesome read.

Hook, Wendy, and Jane have tried to move on from Neverland and Peter Pan. But Neverland isn't ready to let go of them.

I found it a fascinating look at Hook, who goes by James now that he escaped Peter Pan and is living in London. I enjoyed seeing how his differing versions of himself clashed and what it meant when it came to his relationship with Samuel. I adored, even if it was with a twinge of sadness, watching Hook/James fall in love with Samuel. Their relationship was very touching and also heartbreaking.

While I can't say I enjoyed the fraught relationship between Wendy and Jane, I appreciated how they worked on it during the story. The epilogue was very sweet.

I did find the pacing a bit slow but it picked up near the middle and made it hard to put down until I finished.

What happens after Neverland... especially for a captain who has suffered so much? The story follows the events of the previous book, Wendy,Darling, but more of an emphasis on the character of Captain Hook, also known as James. After the events of the previous book Wendy has made death possible in Neverland and killed Peter as well as rescue her daughter Jane. Years later Jane is now a medical student still reeling from the horrors she experienced in Neverland, especially the fact that her first real friend died in her arms there. When a mysterious monster is out killing people and leaving their shadows there... and Jane’s own roommate is murdered, Jane and Wendy feel like something more is going on, and when they run into James they realize that something escaped from Neverland with them. James is in England, having escaped Neverland, but he is being hunted by Peter Pan’s monster, and more people are being killed. They must come together and destroy the monster and more lives are lost... but this is no ordinary monster and the only way to properly deal with it, is to go back to Neverland once again and destroy it. In this book we get more of Jame’s backstory, of his experience and pain of being tortured and held captive by Peter Pan, we get to see him fall in love with a doctor and see the pain of loss and grief. This was another wonderful exploration of what happens to all these characters as they what actually happened to them in Neverland. This is a darker take and for older audiences, but definitely a wonderful read of fans of the classic story.

*Thank you Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really wanted to love this book and although I didn’t quite reach that level, I did enjoy it to an extent. It was decidedly not what I was expecting, though I sort of went into it without knowing much, aside from it being a Peter Pan retelling. I typically appreciate retellings, so figured this story was right up my alley. I also appreciate a story with multiple perspectives, when done well. The author did a good job keeping the perspectives cohesive, though I did find the story to be a bit monotonous at times. Overall, I enjoyed the author's take on a classic story, but the book itself could have been a bit shorter and still achieved the author's purpose in writing it.

This is a tough book to review. I thought the premise sounded incredible. I love Peter Pan retellings. However the execution was just a bit...off for me, and I can't describe it. It was well written, with some interesting plot points. I didn't realise there was a book before this either, focusing on Wendy and Jane, and perhaps I'd have liked that more. As it was, I never felt that invested in the characters, despite wanting to so badly. I read it relatively quickly, but after the half point I realised I didn't really care as much about what came next. I'm not really sure what exactly the author could have done to make this better for me personally, but I'm sure others will greatly enjoy it.

I am really glad this was my first exploration of a Peter Pan retelling. A lot of the ones I have on my TBR lean more towards heavily towards the romantic aspect, while this was just lovely and magical. it encapsulates a lot of that magic of Peter Pan but explores the dark underbelly of the the tale.

This retelling really captured the dark side of Peter. Now I’m am older, I am more aware of the... disconcerting nature of Peter. As a kid I always thought he was wild, charming, and handsome. And he is. But there’s something unsettling about him beneath all that charisma and A. C. Wise captures that perfectly, honestly. The version of Peter we meet in this story kinda made my stomach turn, not going to lie. It was elevated by the author’s wonderful writing style, wow! Above all else, Wise knows how to write and it’s the main take away from this book for me having not read their writing before.

The story flits between three perspectives— Captain Hook, Wendy Darling and her daughter, Jane. And hands down, my favourite part of this was Hook/James. I honestly think the book would have benefitted from solely focusing on him and not giving Wendy and Jane such a big part. They weren’t as interesting as him, they definitely had their moments, particularly towards the end of the novel, but he was truly fascinating. Wise explores Hook as a flawed, complex anti-hero and it was riveting. So I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t get as much page time as I would have liked.

The book was initially pretty disorientating. I have no idea if that was the author’s intention because it partly did feel purposeful since James was a very... strange character to grasp. Flitting between worlds and timelines, it wasn’t always easy to keep up with him. Hook even says how he’s lived too many lives and how they all weigh him down, and you definitely feel that disorientating weight of his layered character. I just can’t pin down if it was something I liked or not. That disorientated feeling was carried throughout the book and it was definitely a strange experience. It worked to elevate the uncanny nature of Neverland and Peter, but at times I was left a bit confused by the direction of the plot.

Despite loving Hook, Samuel and the writing style, I think my main issue with this was it felt very low-stakes and at time parts of the story were a bit surface-level. I didn’t think Wendy and Jane had a lot of depth to them, unfortunately. While Hook was nicely fleshed out, Samuel would have benefitted from a bit more focus and exploration. I still feel like I don’t know him all that well. Again, I would rather have this solely been Hook’s perspective so that the time split between Wendy and Jane could have been used to flesh him out more because he stole the show here. He was multifaceted, engaging, disturbing and surreal. On the other hand, Jane and Wendy felt very similar and bland to me. The story is called Hooked for a reason and wish we’d stuck with him more.

The choice of Samuel and Hook was beautiful. They made my heart hurt in the best way and I believe they needed to take centre stage way more but it was hard with Jane and Wendy infiltrating the narrative so often, like I said earlier. The LGBTQ+ aspect of this novel was the main reason I wanted to pick up this retelling, and I think the choice suited Hook’s character amazingly.

So overall, this was delightful despite being a little slow at times to get into. I liked the almost quiet and subdued tone of it because it just heightened the disturbing nature of Neverland, Peter and Hook. Definitely chose the perfect retelling as my first! I highly recommend to people who like a bit of romance with their fantasy but not too much and to those who love a good classic retelling.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book keeps switching povs and different time frames (hook, Wendy and her daughter, and in between the past and present)

I LOVE how Peter Pan is seen as a villain in this book and making Hook as a morally grey character because as readers we see his struggles etc. i also loved Wendy and her daughters relationship, as it showed the flaws between them as they both couldn’t get through past incidents.

First, thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I was SO EXCITED when I was accepted to read this book. This is a novel that I have been waiting for!. It does not disappoint. A.C. Wise knows how to do a Peter Pan retelling/expansion without losing the magic of the story, world, and characters. The different povs and time periods kept me in suspense. I enjoyed being able to explore James(Hook) as more than just the villain pirate in Peter Pan's world. He's morally grey, yes. But he's a character that a reader can sympathize with and better understand. I greatly enjoyed reading this book. Definitely a favorite of the year!

Absolutely delightful. Captain Hook was always my favorite Disney character growing up and this book made me love him even more! A C Wise captures his character effortlessly and expands upon it in so many amazing ways. I want to say so much more but any hint of a spoiler would ruin the fun that is reading this novel.

It took a while to get into this book and appreciate the retelling but once it got going it was amazing. We know the story of Peter Pan but the origin of Hooke was interesting. It may perhaps have not been my usual style but i appreciate the writing.

Thank you netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to read this book.

First things first, I am a hard critic of retellings, especially of fairy tales. The magic is often lost and I find myself wishing for something more than the original offer.

Hooked, however, was one of the best retellings I have ever had the joy of reading. Hook has always been a complex character but to see that explored was so enjoyable and each theme was explored in a hard-facing way. The writing was to die for and not once did I lose sense of the plot of what the author was trying to accomplish.

I'm not going to lie I actually screamed when I got accpeted for this book. Peter Pan is one of my all time favourite reads and so any retellings based on his and the book itself will be on a pedalstool for me.
I loved the authors first book in this series Wendy Darling and so I was double excited for this one and it didn't disappoint.
I loved getting the story from Hooks perspective amongst the other characters - it won't suprise you at this point that Hook is one of my favourite villains and he was portrayed perfectly in this book through his backstory to be relatable and believable and also a character that readers can empathise with as just another player in Pans twisted world. I loved it and I really hope there is more soon

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this eARC in return for my honest opinion.
Wow… what an interesting take on such a well loved story and characters! I haven’t read A.C Wises’ original book in this series “Wendy Darling”, so it did take me a minute to get into this book and truly appreciate this retelling/reimagined world of Peter Pan. I really loved that it focused on Hooks perspective (along with Wendy and her daughter Jane), giving us an origin story of how Hook became the well known villain of the Peter Pan story. Wise found a way to turn hook from the villain to some we the readers could relate to and sympathise with. He had never wanted to be the larger than life Captain Hook, he was just a pawn in Peters world/story. Truly a great read.

THIS NOVEL WAS AMAZING!!!!!

I wasn't sure about requesting it but I read some of the reviews and thought, okay, this sounds good and IT WAS!!

Y'all will probably think I live under a rock or something when I tell you I wasn't wholly familiar with the whole Peter Pan thing but that's the truth. I have obviously heard references to it in songs, and in books, but I never really got curious enough to look up the whole thing. Yes, I'm not really "cultured" enough about the fairy tales and bedtime stories from the West. Not even the mainstream ones xD

BUT, but, this novel finally had me curious and I looked it up and then had a terrific time with this book. Everything was just so on point and amazingly done, I just LOVED it so much!!

It is a take on what happens to Wendy Darling and Captain Hook in the aftermath of Neverland. The story is told by switching between three characters, Jame (or Captain Hook), Wendy Darling, and her daughter Jane. The timeline keeps shifting between past and present for Hook and sometimes for Jane.

The storytelling is done really well, I love the beautiful writing style and the way the emotions literally seep through the pages right into my very being.

The most complex character in this novel is of course Hook. The author has written him with great detail and always keeps his faults, struggles, and good things at the forefront, making him a perfect morally grey character who has done some terrible things but you can't do anything but root for him.

I've no idea if Peter Pan is seen as a villain or a hero in the original story (I just read the summary okay, don't sue me) but I loved the chillingly haunting take on him throughout the book. Neverland is written in a way that has a haunting quality to it, it seems beautiful but at the same time, you know that it is anything but.

AND ALSO GAY PIRATES!!!! This book gave me what I expected from Our Flag Means Death and I'll forever be grateful for that. I really liked Samuel and Hook's relationship, even though it was clearly a bit toxic at times but hey, I appreciate that James tried his best. My heart broke a million times for Samuel and Hook throughout the story. There is just so much pain, love, and grief woven into their story, especially when it is in the present and Hook is reliving some of it.

The daughter-mother dynamic between Wendy and Jane was also written very well and I loved every word of it. The author very clearly showed the conflicts between them and how they were both trying but wouldn't take any of their past actions back even if they could. Such great female MCs, I loved them both <3

And then there was Michael Darling and Samuel. Two side characters but written with so much depth and care, I really felt for them both and hoped for the best for them. I think I didn't get much closure where Michael is concerned but Samuel's story gave me full closure and he is definitely my favorite character in the book.

The themes of the book include belonging, war, dealing with grief, pride, trying to find who you are, and doing the best you can.

Highly recommend it to everyone who loves retellings, pirates, a bit of creepiness, and really great storytelling and prose!

TW: violence, war, grief, death

Actual rating: 4.5