Before even beginning Hooked, I was initially confused if this was a sequel to Wendy, Darling or not as they feature the same characters and seemed to be related. There is enough information in this story to read it as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the two stories together. Hook was introduced in Wendy, Darling where readers learned that Captain James Hook and his crew escaped Neverland on their ship. In Hooked, readers learned what happened to them. Many years have passed, and Hook is no longer a pirate and has developed an opiate addiction.

Hook lived his life in Neverland after washing up on its shores a long time ago where he became the enemy of Peter Pan. The two fought the same battles repeatedly where Hook had to relive losing each time. When the chance to escape, he took it without thinking; however, the link to Neverland is never lost. Samuel, the ships doctor, escaped Neverland with Hook. Samuel was a great character, although I wish he were explored in greater detail. The two of them were greatly enjoyable as Hook is clearly a broken man, but Samuel still cares for him. Samuel’s character was the highlight of the novel, for me.

The pacing for this story is a little slow as it takes awhile to build up everything. The timeline changes between present-day London and Hook’s past in Neverland. The POVs also switch between Jane, James, and Wendy. Jane, Wendy’s daughter, is now studying medicine after her own adventure in Neverland eight years prior. Her relationship with her mother, Wendy Darling, is complex, especially after everything they went through with Neverland. The three characters meet when they begin to investigate a monster haunting London, which brings them all to face Neverland again.

One main issue with this novel is that it is not really marketed as a sequel nor is it written completely as a sequel yet, for me, it is a continuation of Wendy, Darling and this should be a duology. Due to this disconnect, I believe this could change how the reader relates to the story. The story focuses on James and Jane, mainly, with some Wendy, so it was nice to see the continuation of Jane and Wendy trying to navigate the tension that exists between them. The characters made a very interesting team and I enjoyed how they came together to try and defeat the monster and deal with their past experiences in Neverland. Overall, this was an interesting story, and I would read more from the author.

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Titan Books, for a review copy of this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

A new take on the Peter Pan and Neverland tale, a childhood classic with a twist that’s never been told before. Captain James Hook and Wendy Darling are living a new life in London after leaving Neverland, but Neverland is not giving up on them that easily.

The amazing graphics on the front cover is what really attracted me to this book. The red and black silhouettes really stand out and would be a beautiful addition to any bookshelf.

This was a unique take on a classic fairy tale. After growing up with Peter Pan as the “good guy” and Hook as the villain of the story, it was refreshing for it to be turned on its head. A.C. Wise allowed a
different picture to be painted, one in which I felt pity for Hook. His horror of being taken away from his beloved and subjected to thousands of deaths by crocodile, sword or plank in what was the games and whims of a boy and his dark imagination. You get to see the other side of Neverland where it wasn’t fun and games for all its inhabitants. The internal struggles between who is James and who is Hook is well written, as is the relationship between him and Samuel.

I’ve not read A.C. Wise’s previous work, “Wendy Darling”, and perhaps would have liked to in order to have gained more context. However, I do not think that this is necessary as enough information about her journey in and out of Neverland is given throughout the story to get the gist of what has
happened previously. Though I would like to read more about her role with Peter and the Lost Boys.

The story flicks between a couple of points of view, as does the timeline between the present and past in Neverland. This can be a bit confusing, particularly if you are like myself and read a few different books at a time, this is definitely a book that needs your focused attention with an aim to
read to completion in a few sittings.

If you like dark twisted fairy tales with a hint of queer and if you secretly rooted for Hook as a child -this is a must read for you!

I generally don't read that many retellings but after reading this one of Hook, where we see how being a villain in Neverland affected him mentally and physically, it has started, making me love retellings a bit more.

This Book is different in the sense that it is a dark retelling of Hook's story, different from what we see in the fairytale, we see it all from Hook's (James) POV. Although there are characters from the other boo Wendy, Darling here it is mostly seen through Hook's eyes. We get a glimpse of trauma, love and regret throughout the book as well as reminisce and face the past that we can't always run from.

The writing is really good and fast-paced, it doesn't drag out and gets to the point of the story even with a few flashbacks of how James escaped. There is definite character development and growth as we see depth in James's character and how he has grown or well-tried to even though there was a part of his past still tied to him that he couldn't fully escape and tried to drown out.

This book is a journey I am glad I took, I took. I got to love and cherish a villain that didn't have much of a choice in his role, feel sympathy and understanding in his behaviour and compassion for the way he felt towards the one he loved. I am grateful for this arc and will never get over how good this retelling is.

I LOVE a good retelling and I was surprised by this one! Captain Hook was gay and Peter Pan is actually seen as the villain!?! WHAT? I loved this twist on a classic story and I would read more from this author for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So i did not realize that you needed/it would be very helpful to read Wendy, Darling before this book. It seemed like it was a standalone and it didnt really say that Wendy, Darling was a prequel or first book to Hooked. With that, some items were confusing for me. Also with reading it over multiple days versus one sitting, the jumping of POVs and timeline confused me a bit and I had to regather my thoughts each time when picking it up again. I did really enjoy Hook in this book though. Overall, it was an alright read

Madness with a dash of whimsy best describes A.C. Wise's Neverland and the characters who survived its nightmare. The slow pacing allows A.C to press deep into the psychological wounds plaguing Captain Hook, Wendy, and Jane. Scenes set in the past illustrate the lush but twisted world Peter Pan created for his playmates and playthings. I highly recommend this duology if you are looking for a twisted retelling of a classic

The main events of Hooked take place 8 years after the conclusion of Wendy, Darling. It follows a similar structure as Wendy, Darling, with multiple POVs as well as flashbacks to past events at several different times. While the focus is on Hook, sort of, I also felt like I didn't get as much Hook as I wanted from this. Wendy and her daughter Jane are also POV characters here, and Jane's POV in particular felt like more of a distraction that addition to the narrative. Jane is so focused on the events 8 years ago and resentful of her mother, that she seemed childish and frustrating and her chapters were far less enjoyable. I loved the exploration of Hook's mental health issues, from addiction to an almost-identity-disorder thrust upon him by Pan's power in Neverland. I also enjoyed seeing Wendy and Hook interact as adults in the first half of the book. Once our characters end up in Neverland, the events felt very chaotic and I struggled to maintain my interest. It felt simultaneously like not enough and like it overstayed its welcome. Ultimately, I'm glad we got a story from Hook since he was notably missing from Wendy, Darling, but I'm not sure it felt wholly necessary or satisfying as a sequel to Wendy, Darling. I wish we'd gotten this as more of a standalone Hook story, since revisiting the events from Wendy, Darling took so much attention away from Hook.

Who knows me also knows that I love everything related to Peter Pan, therefore I had to read this book.
and I was not disappointed.

This Story is so unique and such a refreshing and new take on the story of Peter, Wendy and Hook - taking place 22 years after the feared pirate Captain Hook left Neverland behind.
He now lives in London, no longer the fierce pirate captain, but a broken old man with an opiate addiction.

The story not only follows the path of Captain Hook, but also Wendy Darlings daughter Jane. (Hooked is in a way a sequel to A. C. Wises Book “Wendy, Darling„, however you do not have to read this one to understand Hooked).
Jane is young woman, studying medicine in a world dominated by men. 8 years after she was stolen by Peter Pan, brought to Neverland and rescued by her mother, some shadows still remain. The relationship with her mother is extremely strained and she blames her mom for everything that happened.

I loved the display of good and bad characters. Hook is the bad captain we all know, the captain who hates Peter Pan and all of his lost boys. However he is also a broken man. A man that was broken and died by Peters hands a thousand times again and again. The immortal captain doomed to battle Peter als loose every time. He did terrible things and is in a way definitely a monster. But the world isn’t just black and white. Abuse and violence are a cycle.
The love story between him and Samuel was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time and as the reader you can really see how Hook tries and struggles to just be better and find himself.

Peter himself does not appear in this story but you can still see his incredible and cruel impact on Neverland and the people he forced into his world. He used them for his entertainment and trapped them in their made up roles. Without Peter his Lost Boys were even more lost, caught between the different parts of their lives, unable to leave Neverland behind.

The Story itself started out rather slow but not in a bad way. It was an emotional story, building up the path and then peaking in the last third, when Jane and Hook enter Neverland again. I enjoyed it a lot and hope there will be more of A. C. Wise in the Peter Pan universe.

This book follows Wendy, her daughter Jane, and Captain Hook, and what happened to them after leaving Neverland. Peter Pan’s monster has found Captain Hook, intent on revenge, and they need to come together to vanquish the beast once and for all. I didn’t realise it was a sequel to “Wendy, Darling” but, to me, it can be read as a standalone. Every aspect from the last book needed to make this one read as a standalone is included and gone over again. I’ve seen other reviews where people have struggled seeing it as a pure standalone though, so it’s an individual opinion.

I’ve seen so much hype for retellings lately and always thought if I were to read a retelling, it would be Peter Pan or Snow White, so thought I’d give this one a go. I definitely found it to be a slow builder. For quite a while, there is a lot of trying to show new characterisation, set the scene on their new lives and how Neverland has had an effect on them all. I personally prefer books with a lot more action, but I could definitely see the pull for this story, as the writing is poetic and beautiful, with incredible imagery.

I would say it’s very character-driven, and I really enjoyed seeing this new side of Hook. He has a lot of guilt and a lot of trying to become a new, better person. Having him as an old, broken man definitely helps with making the reader feel more empathetic. Having read this and taken the point that he was cursed to die over and over again, I now understand his character and the ‘meaner’ sides to his personality a lot more. He doesn’t feel like the bad guy to me anymore.

I recommend this book if you’re into slow builders with beauty in the words and conjured images. I would read a retelling again after this but would try for a more action-packed one next time.

Thank you to NetGalley, A.C. Wise and Titan Books for this DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Titan and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Hooked in exchange for an honest review!

CWs: addiction, drug use, death, violence, blood/gore, grief, death of loved one, PTSD from war, injury from war.
***
If I had a nickel for every time I read a Peter Pan retelling with a gay Captain Hook, I’d have two nickels. :)

I’m a big fan of what A.C. Wise has done with the story of Peter Pan in both Wendy, Darling and Hooked. The concept of Peter Pan as monster and abuser is incredible fascinating and disturbing. Where Wendy, Darling explores how Pan used his “friends” as playthings, Hooked takes place post-Pan and explores themes of grief and lasting trauma when the dust settles after you’ve escaped your tormenter.

Hooked follows former pirate James as he grapples with the trauma he experienced in Neverland. As Captain Hook, before he escaped Neverland, he was a chess piece in Peter Pan’s sick and endless games, subjected to repeated death and resurrection so the game could continue forevermore. Now in London, the figurative and literal ghosts from another world haunt him and he has to reckon with his role as ‘villain’ and what he did in order to survive.

I enjoyed this book, especially the characterization. I wasn’t sure whether this book was actually a sequel or not, but it’s pretty critical to have read Wendy, Darling to have the appropriate context for Hooked. The characters and the concepts are what this series really has going for it - Wise took a classic, and made its hero nightmare-fuel as well as traumatized all of the characters. And it works! I did find the action sequences and climatic moments somewhat convoluted and hard to follow, but the vibes were strong.

If you’re into Peter Pan retellings, or dark fantasy retellings of any kind, this is definitely one to check out.

Retellings are a particular favorite of mine, so I was thrilled to receive this book based on the story of Peter Pan. A quick note, this isn’t, that I saw, being marketed as a direct sequel to Wendy, Darling but it directly references that story several times, so you’ll probably want to read that one first.

Captain James Hook, suffering and tormented, reunites with a now grown Wendy Darling in 1930s London as a creature from Neverland is loose and hunting those who have escaped Peter Pan and Neverland.

So first of all, this does what I’ve wanted from a Peter Pan story since I first read the book. This story directly acknowledges the horrifying aspects of a boy who refuses to grow up and has an unlimited power in his own imagination. Peter Pan can be a terrifying and fae creature whose only drive is his own pleasure.

The descriptions and scene setting are excellent. Lush and vibrant but a little unreal in Neverland, and grounded and muted and real in London. Wise seems to be particularly adept at painting the scenes. The dialogue never felt overly modern, but instead flowed naturally for every character.

What I am most impressed with is the care given to the main characters. I can see Barrie’s Captain Hook and Wendy in this story, but Wise has given them room to expand and grow, with the characters having both major flaws but also good qualities. Hook isn’t a one dimensional villain, and Wendy isn’t the innocent child heroine. And both them and Jane, Wendy’s daughter, change as the narrative progresses in comparison to the stagnation of Neverland.

Unfortunately, this book is also very unevenly paced with POV switching between Hook, Wendy, and Jane, as well as switching between flashbacks to multiple timelines. This made it a little difficult to keep track, especially when the switches happened in the middle of chapters.

Many thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

I did not realize that this book was somewhat of a follow up to the previous Wendy, Darling book. I do feel that my reading experience may have been better had I read that first, but it definitely isn’t “required”. The switching POV isn’t my favorite writing format, but all these characters were compelling so I didn’t find myself dreading one specific POV like I have in my other books. It was a very unique twist on the characters known and loved in Peter Pan, but of course much darker. The struggle of having to go back to neverland despite it being a place of severe trauma for all the MCs was compelling. Overall, it was a bit confusing, though again that may be due to me not reading the previous book. I still really enjoyed the read and the lines between good and bad was quite blurred, which I love because nobody in real life is all good or all bad like so many pro-/antagonists often are. In the end it was a really enjoyable read I would highly recommend to lovers of fairy tale/story retelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Not My Cup of Tea!😢
Hooked by A.C Wise

I received this book, with thanks, to both the publisher and netgalley.

Although the writing itself, for this Pan retelling, is very good, I have struggled to connect with the storyline and always felt like I was missing chunks of the story!. I now know there is a prior book, 'Wendy, Darling,' that possibly would've been very helpful to have read first.👍

The pace of this book was excruciating for me and how I read.. In all honestly if it wasn't an e-arc I would have DNF'd it but I felt like I should finish it! I struggled through it by reading around one chapter a week and I NEVER read like that. It made the experience a truly painful one for me! I therefore don't feel my review is a fair one, to the book or the Author. This is because, with hindsight, I don't ever review books I 'do not finish', and I feel it would have been kinder to have done that.😔

The positives are that this author writes beautifully. The descriptive storytelling allowed me to picture the people and settings quite easily!😍

In summary, this book is well written, it was a pace issue for me. Personally, I know this author isn't my cup of tea going forward. I'm sure other readers will love it. I would recommend reading the previous book first.👍

Debbie, 1970, UK

I really enjoyed this new take on the Pan story, We meet up with Hook - James - no longer in Neverland and getting on in years. But you can't run from your past forever. James reunites with Wendy to solve the puzzle which includes an incident with one of her daughters friends, and Jamea ends up enlisting the help of her now grown daughter Jane to right the wrongs from so long ago. We also dive into how James left Neverland and what has happened in this time. I really enjoyed this book, however, my one criticism is that no where (at the time of writing) does it say this is a sequel to the authors previous book Wendy, Darling. Now you could probably have presumed it might be due to being in the same world but it would be helpful to have this confirmed on the advertising as I was a little lost at times and think some major points from the Wendy story are carried over into this book so might be best to read that first. That being said, I followed the story well enough as a standalone read and I would still be inclined to pick up Wendy at somepoint to get the full story of what happened before

Hooked by A.C. Wise is a follow up to last years Wendy, Darling, a dark and dramatic return to Neverland that gives Peter Pan a horror style make over. I would recommend that anyone intending to read Hooked pick up that book first as some of the plot of this book relies on events from the previous one and there are obviously spoilers.
In Hooked we are given an alternative take on Captain Hook's story, one that adds more than a hint of tragedy to his character, making him strangely sympathetic. Following on from the events in Wendy, Darling, he has managed to escape Neverland and his nemesis Peter, but that does not meant that he is free, in fact the same monster that took his hand has followed him to London and is desperately hunting him down, leaving a trail of death in its wake. A chance encounter with another Neverland survivor, Wendy and her daughter Jane may be his only hope of evading the monster one last time.
I enjoyed Wendy Darling and was really looking forward to reading Hooked , but I found it to be more of a mixed bag. I liked the characters, Hook and Jane in particular but I struggled with the multiple timelines which I felt muddied the storyline and slowed down the pace unnecessarily. The beautiful writing style I enjoyed in Wendy ,Darling was once again present here , and the vivid descriptions really came to life on the page. I also appreciated the way the author incorporated the trauma of war and loss into the book, it was beautifully handled and emotional without being maudlin.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Hooked by A.C. Wise is, I believe, the first Peter Pan retelling I’ve read. I got a free copy of the book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Titan Books. And I got… hooked. Heh. And even though it reads like a sequel, you don’t have to read the other story in the universe – Wendy, Darling, to enjoy this one.

Hooked is queer. And I loved it. The love story we follow is tragic. The whole world is tragic, as a matter of fact. A.C. Wise created a dark, grotesque world that can keep you up at night, thinking, what if… If that’s your poison, do not hesitate and get the book. I had trouble with the pacing in the second half of the book, and that’s why it will get only 4* from me, but the adventure is totally worth it. Hooked by A.C. Wise is not a children’s story. Good and bad blend together until you can’t tell them apart.

If you want to revisit Neverland, do it with Hooked.

This book was gifted to me as an eARC in turn for an honest review.

I'm a sucker for retellings so I was so excited to receive a copy of Hooked to review.

I enjoyed the story and the writing was superb, but overall I feel like something was missing. The story unfolded too slowly for me, and I thought Jane's anger was unnecessary. I do wish I had read Wendy, Darling before so that I would have been more familiar with the rewrite of the characters and had a bit more of a backstory.

First off I would say that, although not marketed as a sequel to Wendy, Darling per se, it would help to have read that book first as there are many references to characters and events that took place in that earlier work in Hooked. A.C Wise has created a compelling narrative of Captain Hook's background and his love-hate relationship with Neverland, which made him highly relatable and interesting.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an e-arc of this novel.*

Queer Pan retelling, and this is the sequel to the novel Wendy Darling.
In this book we get to find out what happens to Hook after the classic ends . With everyone god, Neverland is broken and so is Hook. So he heads for London who has to face his very real demons,

I really recommend reading the first book first in order to understand and appreciate what's happening in this book. I think with a bit more finesse + editing, this book would have been really good

While I'm excited to read this book at some point, it's definitely a little bit on the slower side and I just can't garner enough interest at the moment to push through it. I think the author writes beautifully and there's definitely an element to the writing that lends itself well to a slow build story (same with Wendy, Darling, the book before this one) but it's a little *too* slow right now for me. Will try to get back to it later this year!!