Neverland isn't the land of dreams, it's the land of nightmares. It is a haunting reimagining of the classic tale focused on Hook's story. What happened to him? This is his side of the story, and it isn't filled with faeries and mermaids.

Once Neverland gets its hook in you, it never lets you go. Captain James Hook is immortal. He has died countless times in more ways than he can name. But each time, Pan forces his resurrection. Until he found an escape.

22 years later, Hook is in London. But leaving Pan and Neverland behind can never last forever. Pan's own monster is after him, seeking revenge. Hook isn't sure how he will survive, until he fids an unlikely ally in someone who knows Neverland's dark side as intimately as he does. Wendy Darling. But Hook doesn't want to be a villain anymore, except it seems it might be the only way he gets through this alive.

The book is dark, haunting, and heavy at times. There is grief and trauma, drug addiction and death. It switches POV's between three characters which can make the story very choppy at times and I wish it stayed just between Hook and Wendy, or Hook alone. Hook is painted as a tragic figure, an anti-hero in a way, who is merely a victim of circumstance. He isn't the ruthless, coldhearted killer he is portrayed as.

Fans of Peter Pan will love this.

First, I love anything to do with Peter Pan. Any retelling that has been pushed out into the world, I own. This is the second book in A.C. Wise and I regret to inform you that I haven’t read the first book. That’s a fail on my part and could have changed my opinion on this book.

But we shall move full speed ahead with my thoughts regarding, Hooked. The first chapter was a little hard for me to read. There was a lot going on that I didn’t understand or couldn’t picture it in my head. But, once I got past that it was smooth sailing. Peter Pan being the villain is everything that I could ask for because not going to lie, he is pretty creepy if you think about it.

This is a very unique and modern take on Peter Pan. It does switch between a few POV’s and timelines, so it’s possible to get a bit confused if you are not fully paying attention. So, I recommend reading this in one sitting if you have the time to do so.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as best as I could. Do I recommend? Yes!

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hook is one of my favorite literary characters, and I am always looking for more books about him. And this one created such an interesting dichotomy between Hook, the confident, cruel, dominant pirate captain of the past, and James, the normal man with an aging body, a drug addiction, and a well of grief. It felt like it could believably be his character, and it also felt believable in general. This was a haunting take on Neverland. Haunting in its portrayal, but it also seemed to haunt the characters, never really letting them go, always calling out to them.

I saw this book was a Peter Pan retelling and couldn't help myself, I had to read it! Told in 3 POVs it got a little tricky to follow in some parts but overall I really enjoyed reading. It really encapsulates the original story but with a darkness running through, which is always fun! I definitely recommend this book

At first I was thrilled about this book. The writing and premise seemed promising. But I SLOGGED through it. I didn’t really connect with the characters and the shifting view points and time periods were too much at times.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC.

Thank you to Titan and NetGalley for this eARC. This is a queer Peter Pan retelling centring Captain Hook, told through 3 POVs (Hook, Wendy, and Jane (Wendy’s daughter)). It also switches between different timelines.

This was such an interesting read with beautiful writing. I love multi-POV books, but I did struggle with the changing of the timelines so it took me a while to read through it. I appreciate the disability Rep in this book for Hook.

I have been a huge fan of peter pan ever since i was a child, so i when i came across Hooked i jumped on the chance to read it and A.C. Wise did not disapoint. This is one re-imagened fairy tale that every fantasy lover MUST read.

A dark Peter Pan retelling. Yes please. This book was excellently written and kept me intrigued the entire time. It would be helpful to read Wendy, Darling [only to have the backstory of this book] but it is a standalone.

An lgbtq+ Peter Pan story? Hit me up. That was my first thought when I read the back of this book. I enjoyed this retelling, to be honest, learning more about the backstory of Captain Hook: a yes for me.

It took me a while to get into this book and writing a review was even more challenging. Although this book is marketed as a stand-alone with loads of connections to 'Wendy, Darling', it was still fairly easy to follow. There were many explanations for certain parts, but it felt like I was unable to have any emotional attachment to the characters (Wendy and Jane).

The switches in the timeline were something I found a bit more challenging to read. There were moments in chapters in which three different timelines took place, this made it more difficult for me to follow the book.

Thank you to Titan and Netgalley for my copy of Hooked to review! Set many years after Jane returned from Neverland, Hooked is a brilliant retelling of a world that is much darker than we ever thought.

Wendy and Jane’s relationship is strained by the experiences in Neverland and the secrets Wendy has kept. Jane only ever saw it as a place she was held captive in, whereas Wendy still longs for the magical realm of her childhood.

James is the one who is the most damaged, having played the role of villain against his will for so long. The grief and pain has led him to drink and drugs and we finally see his true character, this soft man who would have made a wonderful husband and father if it wasn’t for the fact he had that life stolen from him.

When something monstrous slips into the world from Neverland, Wendy and James reunite to stop more from being killed and face the facts about their pasts.

I’m always fond of a retelling, but this one was done so beautifully and paid homage to mythology as well. I love that instead of Disney heroes and villains, we have these damaged characters who all have a different experience of Neverland and have to face the facts of what really happened to them.

It’s almost painfully sad, as though there is magic there is also an underlying horror, but that’s what makes this retelling so fascinating and unique.

Wise has managed to channel J M Barrie’s old classic whilst writing something truly spectacular and broadening our understanding of that world. She’s also stayed true to the post war era and the little details that make the setting tangible are always included.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me eBook in exchange for the honest review.

This book is deliciously dark. Oh so dark and I loved it. I am not usually fan of retelling but I Hook is my favourite character so I decided to give this a try. I enjoyed to read his perspective despite it being dark, melancholically tragic.

The imagination of the author is what kept me going, seeing the dark Neverland, seeing what happened after was incredibly interesting for me. There were epic scenes that gave me goosebumps, there were small emotional moments that made me cry.

The descriptions of the Neverland felt at some points almost lyrical and dreamy, which perfectly fitted the mood of the book. These descriptions reminded me of Schwab's Gallant especially the darkness, the abstractness of the Neverland.

I enjoyed this book very much despite this not being anything new or groundbreaking it was a emotional, cozy read perfect for autumn and winter.

The cover is incredibly beautiful. I immediately fell in love with it. It is a beautiful feast for the eyes and draws all eyes in the bookstore. I especially like that it's full of details that you don't necessarily discover at first.
The writing style is fluid and enjoyable. I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't put the book down. The author manages to create a unique world that invites you to stay in it. I love the perspective of the protagonist. It is totally exciting to read the story from his point of view.
It is totally exciting and thrilling from the first page. The characters are individual and exceptional. I like their nature and personality. The author manages to create a world full of images. I can recommend this book to everyone.

Hooked seems right up my alley (when I heard it's a queer retelling of Peter Pan I knew I had to get it) but sadly I couldn't end up finishing it. Maybe this is because I wasn't reading it the right time, but I couldn't stay focused with all the POVs and I just ended up being confused on how the story went.

I would still recommend if you're looking for queer retellings!

A very good retelling of the classic Peter Pan. I really enjoyed the direction this story went!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Sadly I had to DNF this. I do enjoy a good retelling, but this wasn’t it for me. I really loved the idea of a queer Captain Hook so I was excited to get my hands on this. However, I think there was just too much going on. There are multiple POVs and timeline jumping which made it difficult to read. This could probably be fixed if the book is read in one sitting, but that is almost impossible for me at the moment.

2.5/5 stars

I really thought I was going to love this. I enjoy retellings and especially from the "villains" point of view. Sadly though this wasn't what I was expecting... I'm not sure what I was expecting but I just know this wasn't it. The characters weren't very likeable, except maybe Hook. I did like getting a look into his backstory, though. The book felt messy and I honestly thought this was a debut at first. The multiple timelines and switching POVs was confusing at times and everything felt jumbled up. I didn't read 'Wendy Darling' because I was/am under the impression that these are standalones, but now I'm wondering if it would have made this book more enjoyable. The ending was predictable to me but I still liked it. There were some really good scenes in here and one relationship in particular that was quite enjoyable, I only wish there was more of it. I was thinking about picking up 'Wendy Darling' but after having to trudge through this book and force myself to finish it, I'm not sure if it's really worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A great twist on the tale, that really made me empathise with Hook and co. There is great emotional depth and conflict. The time changes were a little tricky to keep up with, but that’s nothing for a fantastic fairytale retelling.

I'm honestly not sure what this book was about. Ostensibly it's about Captain Hook, and while he is certainly a character in this book, I couldn't follow what was happening at all. I found Hook to be a compelling character, and I enjoyed the twist of him and Samuel being in love with each other, but it felt thinly written. So much focus was on describing pain and injuries and the confusing nature of Neverland, and so little was on how the two of them forged a connection and fell in love and spent time together.

In fact, it's a bit strange, as this book was very heavy on descriptive details, and yet it was very challenging for me to follow what was happening in the plot. There's a monster from Neverland (the crocodile, but it's a shadow crocodile, but it kills people and leaves a shadow imprint? and it followed Hook here?), and Wendy, Jane, and Hook have to team up to get rid of it (and solve some other problems). It's a creepy idea, but still makes no sense to me as what's actually happening here and why.

The plot gets further complicated due to flipping back and forth in time. We have the current day, we have Hook back in Neverland, and we have when him and Samuel first arrive back in London. We also have Wendy and Jane in the current time, and flipping back to previous Neverland antics. The flashbacks aren't great at filling in information, and it makes the storyline more muddled.

Overall, I think the writing was evocative and the storyline was interesting, but I can't make heads nor tails of what actually happened in this story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

An interesting and unique retelling

Captain James Hook knows death better than himself. He has drowned, been stabbed by Peter Pan, eaten by a sea best...but he has always come back. Until he escaped. Twenty-two years later, Pan's monster finds him again, seeking revenge. But he finds another Neverland survivor: Wendy Darling. And Hook will have to plain the villain one last time if he wants to save the world from Pan's beast.

I'm a sucker for a good retelling and Peter Pan is one of my favorites because I adore Captain Hook. But in this book, I found something I'd never seen before in another story. And I quite enjoyed it. Hook was a very interesting character and I quite liked the role he played in this story. It was interesting to discover his past and what it went through throughout the book. I liked the mystery and magic that followed us at every page and kept us on our toes. However, I'm not a big fan of dual timelines, especially when there are a lot of POVs and I was sometimes a bit lost with everything which prevented me from really getting into the story and getting attached to the characters. Apart from that the writing was quite nice to read and the story was still very interesting. I had a good time reading this book and don't regret picking it up at all.

I recommend if you like Peter Pan retellings that are unique and full of twists!

"I remember you. Even when you forget."

TW: death, abuse, blood, violence, kidnapping

This book was full of potential but I didn’t care for the execution at all. I received and ebook copy from NetGalley and dove in almost immediately. It’s been well over a month and I’ve finally finished it. I gotta say I’m unimpressed.

The story itself is fantastic but it’s filled with so much that just didn’t need to be there for me to find this enjoyable. There are all kinds of timelines and POVs and that’s fine, but many of them were really unnecessary and it felt all over the place. It’s also incredibly wordy. Why use 3 words when 1 will do? I’ll never understand.

In the end, I’m glad I read it but I do wish it had been more concise and stuck to what mattered to the overall story.

⭐️⭐️💫