DNF. The characters in this were way too young for me personally to feel comfortable reading about them in a dark romance format. It just felt a bit icky.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I learned about Peter’s origin story coupled with a few added twists to the original tale. I believe this book has potential, but it just needs a little tweaking. I liked the story, I just didn’t love it. But I have high hopes that book two will answer several questions I have about the side characters.

I read this and Losing Neverland and enjoyed both for different reasons. I really enjoyed the added aspects of this version, but I think that they need to be combined fully to really appreciate the story! I love the blend of characters and bringing everything full circle.

ARC of Hooking Peter by @evelynbrittany.montgomery

⭐⭐⭐/5

This book piqued my interest due to it being about Peter Pan, though I knew it may not be the same. Here are my main thoughts... SPOILERS SWEETIES!

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*George Darling: walking red flag alert. Likes to gaslight.
*Interesting turn of events in he. It comes to Peter's Mother. One I don't believe was followed through during the story.
*Never too old for a fairytale.
*Go Nana! She was one brave cookie.
*There were some parts of the story I was unsure on Wendys age which clouded the times where it was more R rated.
*Linking with the above point, I feel there was a lot of jumping around and not enough explanation on what had happened.
*Glad I read the book, I would look out for other books by author.

#HookingPeter
#NetGalley

This one gets 3.5 stars from me. I really liked everything about this retelling of Peter Pan. I loved the characters and the world building. The only criticism I have is that I was so confused about Peter and Wendy's ages. Were they 13? Were they older? I know at the end of the book we find out that Wendy was older. But how old was Peter? With that being said, I can not wait to read the next one!

Thank you NetGalley for three arc in exchange for my honest review

I started off enjoying this book learning about Peter’s back story and how he came to Neverland. But as I got further into it i wasn’t enjoying it as much. I liked how each chapter was from the point of view of the different main characters.

I really enjoyed this! I love a Peter Pan retelling and this didn’t disappoint!! I wish there had been more but that’s just me loving a long book.

You think you know all about Peter Pan and Neverland? You think there is nothing new about the story? Well then step into this world and read about another way the story can be told!

Wow! This is my first reaction to this newly told story of Peter Pan.
I really like the story and already read other versions of a story we all think we know so very well.
When the story starts I really loved that we are still in the old setting with old standards and I really loved the wording used here.
Right from the start we have some small changes showing us Wendy in a totally different light than the original story and the Darling´s are not a loving family. Their marriage is not happy and Wendy shall adopt becoming a wife who accepts all her husband is doing, not saying anything about him and do what her father is telling here to do. She doesn´t want this life and is desperately looking for an escape. She and Peter Pan are friends since quite some time and also he doesn´t want to grow up and be as his father is, life the live his father is expecting of him.
I really like the idea that we learn here who Peter´s mother is and how Neverland is created. Also both characters are not kids any longer compared to the original story. They are a bit older with 18 years and also the dark is lurking in the dark and is showing its ugly face. Who is James Hook, and also how he ended up in Neverland gets here a totally new twist.

For me a wonderful new version of Peter Pan which is not suitable for children any longer. It shows also the dark side of life, how two persons don´t want to live a live their fathers expect them to be and their hope to find a happily ever after.

I couldn’t continue with this book after reading it as a dark romance but with children/teenagers. Something didn’t sit right with me.

Retellings are a favorite type of book for me. Loved this version of Peter Pan. Can’t wait to read the other 3 books to this series.

This book was a difficult read for me. I always loved Peter Pan growing up and I had different expectations for this book. When I reached about 30%, it took an unexpected turn. For me, I do not like reading about teens having a dark romance and several make out sessions at a young age. I am not sure what age range this book is intended for with situations such as Peter unbuttoning her nightgown or Wendy letting out a "sexy moan" because in these scenes, they are still kids and at least one of them is. The whole point of Peter Pan and Neverland is so he never grows. I understand the age gap but the situations aren't appropriate for children that age. I was also super upset that the dad was painted as such a terrible husband who cheats on and beats his wife. The book was a spin on a popular tale and after reading the rest of the book, this was not my cup of tea.

The classic story of Peter Pan with a fun and dark twist.... or it was supposed to be. Unfortunately this one falls short of the mark. This book is so fast paced it difficult to keep up with what is happening. On top of that the timeline is so confusing. Its very unclear how much time passes throughout the book and while the general ages of the characters seem to be important and mentioned briefly its vey unclear exactly how old they are.

It feels at lot like the author had general ideas and plot points they wanted to hit but couldn't figure out how to connect the dots and weave together a well written story so we as the reader are kind of just thrown from scene to scene. It really stood out to me during the pivotal moment in the book when Wendy leaves Neverland without telling Peter goodbye. After that happens the story just flashes forward several weeks in time and we don't get to see Peter's reaction to the news like you would expect.

The romance scenes in the book also feel very bizarre and just like they were thrown in at the last minute because someone just wanted the characters to kiss.

Every chapter and scene in this book had me just questioning what was happening and how we got there and by the last quarter of it I kind of just had enough and decided to skim. In short, the idea for the story was there but the execution just wasn't.

As an avid lover of Peter Pan and Wendy j was very excited to read this retelling. Having the story start off with real life experiences and then adding in the “Neverland fantasy” was a great way to tie in the hope that neverland could be a happy thought away. The middle section of the story set up the struggle Peter and Wendy both faced deciding where they wanted to live their lives forever - and how. And those villains were really plotting as well! There was a bit of a Romeo and Juliet feel to the story as well as a type of real life fated mates. The ending set up the second book well and I am looking forward to seeing where the second book will lead! Thanks for the opportunity to read your story, Brittany!

Let me start by saying thank you to Netgalley and the authors for this ARC. I’m new to the site and I appreciate you all taking a chance on me.

However, I’ll be completely honest - I had to DNF this book halfway through because of the simple fact that they’re only THIRTEEN years old, and the book reads like a dark romance. If the characters were in their 20s or 30s, it be much more enjoyable. But reading about literal children making out and sensually unbuttoning nightgowns and saying they want to explore each other fully, I feel gross. I keep waiting for a time jump to make it a little better but so far the only jump has been Wendy going from 11 to 13.

The description said NOTHING about it being a dark romance. Nothing about ages. Nothing about the amount of sexualized content there would be. Peter Pan even described Wendy as sexy at one point and he is constantly calling her “good girl”… let me remind you they are THIRTEEN.

I liked the overall idea of the story. It was incredibly intriguing to me. However, as some other reviews have said, there were just too many ideas for the length of the book, the world building was good but a little confusing, and the romance was too mature for the age of the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The world building was done well, but otherwise this was not my cup of tea.

Premise? Promising. Execution? Exhausting.

The dialogue was cyclical - for almost the entirety of the book they say the same things, in different locations. And the timeline? How old are these people?

There was really no flow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany Montgomery for access to this book in return of an honest review.

This is book 1 in the Escapism series; it follows a young Peter and Wendy in London and Neverland.

I'm going to start with things I really liked about this book.
I read this after reading 'Losing Neverland'; they both follow the same story, however 'Losing Neverland' has time jumps between Wendy in her 40s and chapters that are memories from when she was 17 with Peter. This book starts with Wendy being around 10, and follows her time with Peter whilst she's 17/18. I liked that this version follows the natural timeline rather than jumping to and from different points in their timeline.
I liked that this was a much more PG version that the one I originally read; whilst there's an intimate scene towards the end, it's much less graphic. There were also changes made throughout the book that read better - the original had an attempted SA scene between Wendy and the Lost Boys, whereas this one was just attempted m*rder, which was less uncomfortable to read.
I really like that Jake was made into Peter's brother. Even though this is revealed in the first few pages, my mouth dropped because that just impacted what I had read of Jake in 'Losing Neverland' so much more.
The wedding ring!! At the end of 'Losing Neverland' Peter gives Wendy a ring, which is nice and all but ok. Whereas in this version, it's a wedding ring, and they wake a vicar to marry them, and it just makes that ring mean so much more, especially if the author keeps the part where Peter returns for her 20 years later and she's still wearing it despite how things ended in this book.


Now onto things I didn't like.
I really don't like why Morgan Le Fay has been made into Peter's mother. This just feels so unnecessary to me at the moment, and any powerful fae could have been his mother.
The mating bond. I get that Peter has been made into a "halfling" fae/mortal. But not everything has to be mating bonds. I'm so sick of mating bonds. Like a childhood sweetheart that's kept close and turns into love as adults is beautiful. The "mating bond" ruined it for me.
I really struggled with following their ages; at the beginning Wendy is 10ish and Peter is turning 13. Then there's a time jump and I don't really remember it being specified how old they were after the jump. So part of me is imagining the kids from the animated cartoon we all know and love, and part of me is imagining the 17 year olds that they were in 'Losing Neverland' that I read a few days prior to this. Then pretty much at the end, it's specified Wendy is 18 and everything is legal.
There's also a comment at the beginning, 10 year old Wendy refers to the [the father] "gaslighting [the mother] as always". It feels too much tell and not show - no child would talk like this regardless of what they've witnessed at home, because it's not in their vocabulary at their age. It felt like this word was only used to tell the reader what's happening, rather than being the voice of young Wendy.

Overall it was a fun read, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I've enjoyed this more than the original 'Losing Neverland' that I read, as it's more developed and I genuinely care about the characters more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany Montgomery for allowing me access to this ARC**

I loved this twist on a classic story. Peter and Wendy are neighbors in London who long to escape their families. There’s more romance than the original Pan and this story strays from the original quite a bit for a fun refreshing new version. It’s a bit of how the characters came to be who they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany & Evelyn Montgomery for allowing me access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“Hooking Peter” is a retelling of the classic tale of Peter Pan, with some unique twists along the way. In this version of the story, Peter & Wendy grow up next door to each other in London and dream of escaping their controlling and abusive families. Peter finds his freedom in the adventurous & lawless Neverland, but can Wendy fit into this new life? The story spans themes of escapism, magic, love, lust, and innocence lost.

I’m a sucker for a Peter Pan retelling, and I loved some of the fresh ideas in this version. Peter Pan having a backstory in London was a unique take, and the duality explored between Peter Pan and Jas Hook was painted in a new & exciting light in “Hooking Peter.”

However, there were also some elements of this book that fell flat for me. Primarily, there were too many characters and ideas for a novel this short. I was left without a clear understanding of the fae lore that was introduced, the passing of time in Neverland was unclear, some of the main characters seemed inconsistent, and many of the side characters left me wanting to know more (John & Michael, Tiger Lilly, Morgan Le Fay, and even Tinker Bell.)

Overall, this was a fun read and I gave it 3 stars.

Well, this book certainly answered the question "What do you get if you mix Fifty Shades of Grey with Peter Pan?" - a question I'm sure not many people have asked before.

I was very disappointed by this book. The description promises a different type of story than the one that was given. Instead of a retelling of the Peter Pan story, it is instead a smutty fanfiction.

Not what I initially anticipated from this book. The description was rather misleading.
This book feels like it was written for a much younger audience than I originally thought. While it's not terrible I feel the world building and character development is clunky and rushed which is strange since its heavily based around a story that's been around for a long while. The plot often feels confused and like it's trying way too hard. I was very disappointed with this.