A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

This is an intriguing and beautifully written take on the characters from Peter Pan. While the plot took directions I couldn't fully appreciate, reading A.C. Wise's prose was still an enjoyable experience.

Peter Pan is one of my favourite stories and I love finding new retellings that keep me engrossed and captivated until the very end, and this story did that.

I loved that the story focused on Hook, and explored his trauma with peter, and how the events of Neverland affected him, but that during the story we also got to see Wendy and Jane's (Wendy's daughter) point of view, regarding how they were affected, and how their memory of Hook was manipulated and tarnished by Peter. The relationship between James (Hook) and Samuel, was really heartwarming, it was nice to see him care for someone and be loved, juxtaposing the villainous and murderous side we see of Hook.

The themes were quite dark, but I personally really enjoyed that, as it made the story more realistic, and challenged the Disney adaptation, giving Hook more definition than we saw in the movies. As a character, I felt bad for him, he was suffering and lonely, and I couldn't help but root for him, and in some way, see him as the hero. Where as, with Jane, I struggled to connect to her, as she still seemed quite childish and misdirected her anger a lot, which made her quite unlikeable, despite her constant efforts to make the correct choices and save everyone she loves. I also loved that Jane and her best friend, Peg, challenged stereotypes, and trained to be female doctors, the determination translated from Jane's work ethic, to the way she held herself and treated other's.

The world building was quite lackluster, but it was obvious that Neverland was in ruins, due to the fact that peter was losing control and angrier than ever. The small references to the original peter pan stories were nice to see, and I really enjoyed what the author decided to do with the story as a whole, it was full of mystery and action, and had a refreshing voice.