A fun twist on a well known story! You can't go wrong with a new look at recognizable stories and this is a well done adaptation by an excellent author.

This was an excellent retelling of a classic we all know and love! I adored the world building and characters, and was hooked (pun intended) from the first page. Absolutely loved this and hope to read more from the author again!

A fun little twist on the beloved story.
The switch between timelines and POVs was a little confusing, but nothing I was too concerned about.
The author created a mood that, while beautifully written, it's also creepy and keeps you on the edge. In this instance, Peter Pan is the bad guy, and Hook, who has a really fascinating backstory, is revealed in a completely new light. Captain Hook returns to London and is addressed as James. He would always be portrayed as the bad guy, but as the tale went on, I found myself rooting for his character because I started to feel sorry for him. Though there isn't a lot of romance, I found his brief interaction with the "love interest" one of my favorite storylines and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Hook is now in our world. Years after Wendy, John and Michael. John is married with kids. And so is Wendy! Her daughter, Jane, is studying to be a doctor and lives with Peg. Until she comes home one day to find her in their shared apartment…but also not…

Love how it started, showing us Hook – I mean James – in “our world” and the possibility of Neverland being a lucid dream for him. But of course it’s not.

But after that… I couldn’t get into it. I tried, I really tried. I hate having DNFs. It’s very descriptive writing which is brilliant, but there’s so much! I don’t think it’s my style I’m afraid.

I did enjoy reading how Hook became Hook and met Peter. That’s never really discussed in any other story; they’re just there. And that’s it. So I did like how Hook washed up and how Peter decided he was a pirate (not a sailor) and painted Pan as the evil one really. (In fairness, Pan was a bit of a dick even in the Disney version)

I made it to chapter six, not far into it (26 chapters) but enough to me that I wasn’t gripped enough. I’m sorry!

A really interesting take on the traditional Peter Pan story which follows Hook/James, Wendy and her family and other Neverland characters over a timeline split by worlds as well as time.

This is the second of the series with the first being the story of how Wendy went back to Neverland to rescue her daughter Jane. This time Hook is the main character and we see his relationship with Samuel through timelines and worlds, seeing him in many different guises.

I found some of the switches difficult to follow but did enjoy the story and will look out for the further books in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this, although I do wish it had spent more time on James and less on Wendy, but maybe that’s just me. This is a great read, fast paced, dark, a great twist on the story you know of Neverland, but most of all I just loved James, the story of his PTSD, his romance, weaning himself from addiction abd trying to be a better man. Just brilliant

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I will literally read any Peter Pan retelling at any chance I can get and when I saw Hooked I thought it sounded really interesting, I was especially intrigued by the ‘feminist take’ it was said to have. I knew A.C. Wise had written Wendy Darling which I had interest in before but never got around to reading so when I saw this, I instantly wanted to give it a go.

For me, this book was a little confusing with all the jumping of the time lines and I struggle to remember characters easily, luckily I knew most of these characters from the original movie but I wished some of the others had their backstories and personalities explored more. I also found it to be a slow start but it picked up a better pace towards the end.

I liked the more creepy aspects within the book as it added a nice dimension to the story. I also liked how Wise explore Hook particularly in this story because I always thought his character needed his backstory explored more.

Overall, I didn’t quite click with this book, perhaps because it was an E-Arc and sometimes I find it hard to concentrate on them? But I would still recommend for fans of Peter Pan to consider reading Hooked as perhaps they may still enjoy it.

Absolutely loved this new spin on an old tale. It was a great read with relatable character that showed depth and growth.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

Hooked is a sequel to A.C. Wise's Wendy Darling which was released last year in which you see a different perspective of what Neverland is really like, of how what happens to those who return home and those that - don't quite return home whole. Wendy Darling, her daughter Jane and Hook return to this installment. I was very happy to hear that Wise was returning to explain some of the missing pieces that were left in the first.

This was a very intriguing read for me. You get to see time jumps between present day London with Wendy and her daughter as well as some other characters. Things aren't quite right in the streets of London when murders start happening with unexplainable deaths.

While flashbacks of Hook in Neverland, paint the picture of what transpired before Wendy returned to Neverland to save her daughter. I found Hook's past both tragic and fascinating. There were parts that I wished were fleshed out more but can understand why it wasn't.

Overall, I had a fun read with this story and hope to read more from this author!

My Rating: 4 Stars!

This one sounded like it had potential. I love a good twisted fairytale and reimagining of beloved character. This was poorly written and not my favorite retelling. Just a lack luster story.

In reality, I would rate this a 2.5-star but I've decided to round it up because of the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Where to begin? Aside from the Robin Williams' Hook movie, I never really explored the Peter Pan universe, and this book brought up a lot of the things that I think even I as a child recognized were super problematic and self-serving from the original story. I enjoyed the fact that a lot of the underlying conflict was rooted in just how horrific and toxic the Peter Pan story really is.

However, none of the characters were likeable. Maybe that would have been different if I'd read Wendy first? It's still not clear if this was meant to be a second book in a series but it definitely felt that way due to missing context and callbacks to things that happened "last time" they were there. Regardless, there was very little to draw you in and make you actually like the characters, it was all just depression and melancholy stacked on top of itself - which is fine if you get eased into it, however, this started right out the gate that way and wasn't letting up. It didn't exactly suck me in and make me want to read more, but rather I'd have to take breaks and go do other things just so I didn't get stuck in a rut myself.

Overall, maybe if I'd read Wendy I'd have liked this one more, but I didn't and I don't. It's not a bad book, it just wasn't for me.

Wasn't as great as I expected but was written well. Lots of triggers was hoping be more centered around captain hook ,

Last year I read Wendy, Darling which I reviewed here. I had liked that retelling of Peter Pan so when I saw that the author had written another novel in the same world, I requested it. The story in Hooked takes place 8 years after the events of the first volume and this time follows Captain Hook (now James) who is living in London after escaping Neverland. He is going to run into Wendy and her daughter Jane as a surnatural beast roams in the city killing in its wake.
This time, the story has 3 points of vue : James' (with two temporalities), Wendy's and Jane's.

I've liked this book, as much as the first. In it, we discover a little of what happened to Neverland, but when I say a little, it's very little and I felt kinda frustrated. I also would have liked to understand more how the knife used by James worked, even though I guess it was voluntarily hazy as the characters didn't know what they were doing either.

About the characters, I felt again we didn't get enough of the relationships between, on one hand, Wendy and Jane, and on the other hand, James and Samuel. I also would have liked to see more of the characters we met in the first volume, more importantly Mary, but I was glad to see another side of Michael.

In short, a good book that explores more of Neverland and Peter Pan. I think that if the author writes another novel in this universe, I'll gladly read it, even though I don't think there's nothing more to say about Neverland.

Rep : m/m couple, PTSD
TW : death, amputation, blood, addiction, murder

DNF 20%, could not get into this.


Recieved and ARC through NetGalley

The writing is very lyrical and abundant, which is very pretty. But it just got me confused for the most part.

I cannot wait to purchase a copy of this book for my collection! I went in not sure but was so pleasantly surprised! I could not put it down! Such a fun, emotional read!

Another beautiful story by AC Wise in the world of Neverland. I really enjoyed Wendy, Darling and loved stepping back into this world after that. Such a clever feminist twist on a classic story.

Peter Pan reteliing = immediately at the top of my TBR. Words cannot express how much I loved this book! I loved everything about it. I was quite literally, hooked.

Honestly, I wanted to love this book but in the end it just made me really sad, and that's on me for having different expectations. It does a great job of describing the last effects of trauma and addiction in James/Hook's storyline, as well as the effects of childhood trauma and loss in Jane's storyline. I read Wendy, Darling before starting Hooked, so I ended up feeling really bad for Wendy. I also kept wondering where Mary went (she's an important character in Wendy, Darling but is never mentioned in Hooked). I wish I had gotten some moments or glimpses of happiness during the book because it was pretty unrelentingly grim and depressing. I guess James did get a bit of happiness but it was so fraught with suffering and shame. Overall, I think my review is skewed by my expectations but other readers may find it everything they wanted from a Peter Pan reimagining centered on Captain Hook.

What if Captain Hook wasn’t the worst villain in Peter Pan? What if Peter Pan was a spoiled adolescent who forces people into acting in roles that serve his play? What if Pan forced James Hook into reliving his death by drowning over and over again so that he could play his game of make-believe over and over and over again?

Hooked is a reimagined tale of Peter Pan. The Darling children are now adults living in a world where they now perceive their time in Neverland as a time that wasn’t always fun and carefree.

A string of murders have been committed in England, and James Hook, who has somehow escaped Neverland, feels Peter Pan is somehow responsible. After a chance encounter with Wendy, the two of them, with the help of Wendy’s daughter, take it upon themselves to try to stop “the Boy Who Would Never Grow Up” from doing any more harm.

This book was a great read. Dark and fast-paced it is more than a retelling of an old fairy tale but also a story of the repercussions of war and familial love.

I have not read the first book, Wendy Darling but I decided to give this one a go since the synopsis sounded amazing. I mean, a story focused on Captain Hook and he's gay! That goes right up my street.

The book was hard to get into and I was struggling to read more than about 10 pages everytime I opened it but the more I read, the more I liked it. I'm glad I pulled through on this one.

The story starts with James Hook who has escaped Neverland and is trying to live his life but Neverland keeps calling him back. He must go back once more to fully escape it. We meet characters from the original fairytale and also go deeper into James his character as a villain (or is he?)

3/5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.