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micaelamariem's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was so excited to read this book even though I put it off for so long. (It was my BOTM pick a year ago). I love fairy tale retellings and I love when they’re dark and gritty too, like a homage to the originals which were meant to be dark and gritty. But this book was mostly disappointing. It took me a while to decide how to rate this, because some of it was actually well-written and I did feel like I was in New York and London.
But there were things I really didn’t like and it wasn’t until reading the other reviews that I could put words to it. I will say that a main complaint of others is not of mine—BUT still check trigger warnings. There is SA in the book but I thought it was going to be more graphic based on the complaints and it wasn’t the main point of the book. The book is more about Peter Pan kidnapping children (which again is kind of a homage to the original).
I think it had potential if we saw more of Peter and how he grew dark—or even got to see what Neverland has become! That would have been much more interesting than just chapter after chapter of Holly worrying and sad with very little action to fix the problem.
Also, someone else said they were annoyed how Holly wanted to sleep with everyone she met, and honestly that was kind of annoying. Though I’m all for sexual freedom, I felt like this took away her agency.
The author also tried to push a romance that didn’t work for me—there was very little burn in it, it was just 0-100. In a sense, my main complaint for everything is that. 0-100, details of worrying but no detail of the action and how they solved the problem. I’m not going to be keeping this book.
But there were things I really didn’t like and it wasn’t until reading the other reviews that I could put words to it. I will say that a main complaint of others is not of mine—BUT still check trigger warnings. There is SA in the book but I thought it was going to be more graphic based on the complaints and it wasn’t the main point of the book. The book is more about Peter Pan kidnapping children (which again is kind of a homage to the original).
I think it had potential if we saw more of Peter and how he grew dark—or even got to see what Neverland has become! That would have been much more interesting than just chapter after chapter of Holly worrying and sad with very little action to fix the problem.
Also, someone else said they were annoyed how Holly wanted to sleep with everyone she met, and honestly that was kind of annoying. Though I’m all for sexual freedom, I felt like this took away her agency.
The author also tried to push a romance that didn’t work for me—there was very little burn in it, it was just 0-100. In a sense, my main complaint for everything is that. 0-100, details of worrying but no detail of the action and how they solved the problem. I’m not going to be keeping this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, and Suicide attempt
katieimre's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Medical content
mccutiereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“To the Darling women. The stars are not only above us, they are in us. May we shine brightly, dream deeply, and fly high all on our own.”
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” - J.M. Barrie
This was a very interesting take on the original Peter Pan tale! Dark, but different than most modern retellings. Stay with me now - I’ll explain!
SUMMARY
We follow Holly, daughter of Jane (yes that Jane) and grand daughter of Wendy (YES that Wendy), as she copes with the aftermath of an ancient family tragedy. Holly has longed to escape the infamous Darling name and its legacy. From the extravagant balls to the ever looming prescience of Peter Pan (and yes, I do mean that Peter Pan).
While the world may delight in the tale of the charming young boy who never grows up, Holly Darling knows the sinister truth. And she is willing to do anything to keep her son from finding it. She has done unspeakable and questionable things in the name of protecting her child, all while going to the ends of the earth to hide away her comatose, and magical, daughter. When another tragedy strikes the Darling house, Holly takes matters into her own hands and sets out to track down the only person who might have an answer: Peter Pan.
REVIEW
This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t know how to feel about our star Holly Darling. After losing a husband, son, and daughter (basically) all while trying to hide from the Darling curse, she protected herself and her surviving son from everything. Including Peter Pan. And she went to CONSIDERABLE lengths to protect Jack. Now, seeing as I am not a mom I don’t know how well I can weigh in on what a mother would do in her shoes… but I did feel strongly that she was taking things a bit too far 🤐
But, strangely enough, I was singing a different tune about three quarters of the way through the book. Could Holly have saved herself, and son, heartbreak and pain by being honest from the beginning? Absolutely. But I finally understood that motherly instinct to care and protect. To nurture and keep your loved ones from harm. Hell, I do that to my friends AND family.
I’m going to go ahead and say that there was no “right” way for Holly to raise her son and cope with her losses. Because, after reading this book and sitting with the themes of motherhood, sacrifice, loss of innocence, and fear of growing up I realized that despite all the parenting books and guides out there there is no right way to 1) mother and 2) live your life. We will all go about it the best way we can. And we will ultimately fail, because we’re human.
Anywho, I promise this review has a point. I wouldn’t say this book is about Peter Pan. It’s about MUCH more than that. And I’m glad. So go read this book!!!
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” - J.M. Barrie
This was a very interesting take on the original Peter Pan tale! Dark, but different than most modern retellings. Stay with me now - I’ll explain!
SUMMARY
We follow Holly, daughter of Jane (yes that Jane) and grand daughter of Wendy (YES that Wendy), as she copes with the aftermath of an ancient family tragedy. Holly has longed to escape the infamous Darling name and its legacy. From the extravagant balls to the ever looming prescience of Peter Pan (and yes, I do mean that Peter Pan).
While the world may delight in the tale of the charming young boy who never grows up, Holly Darling knows the sinister truth. And she is willing to do anything to keep her son from finding it. She has done unspeakable and questionable things in the name of protecting her child, all while going to the ends of the earth to hide away her comatose, and magical, daughter. When another tragedy strikes the Darling house, Holly takes matters into her own hands and sets out to track down the only person who might have an answer: Peter Pan.
REVIEW
This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t know how to feel about our star Holly Darling. After losing a husband, son, and daughter (basically) all while trying to hide from the Darling curse, she protected herself and her surviving son from everything. Including Peter Pan. And she went to CONSIDERABLE lengths to protect Jack. Now, seeing as I am not a mom I don’t know how well I can weigh in on what a mother would do in her shoes… but I did feel strongly that she was taking things a bit too far 🤐
But, strangely enough, I was singing a different tune about three quarters of the way through the book. Could Holly have saved herself, and son, heartbreak and pain by being honest from the beginning? Absolutely. But I finally understood that motherly instinct to care and protect. To nurture and keep your loved ones from harm. Hell, I do that to my friends AND family.
I’m going to go ahead and say that there was no “right” way for Holly to raise her son and cope with her losses. Because, after reading this book and sitting with the themes of motherhood, sacrifice, loss of innocence, and fear of growing up I realized that despite all the parenting books and guides out there there is no right way to 1) mother and 2) live your life. We will all go about it the best way we can. And we will ultimately fail, because we’re human.
Anywho, I promise this review has a point. I wouldn’t say this book is about Peter Pan. It’s about MUCH more than that. And I’m glad. So go read this book!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
emilyjeanne's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME
Main character is a textbook helicopter parent, and can’t figure out why her kid keeps pushing her away. She’s described as having multiple PhDs, but is somehow so, so stupid. She also kept mentioning she’d do ANYTHING for her kids, but never actually did anything, just threw money at other people to do stuff for her.
I could not root for her as a protaganist because I really just could not stand her character, and all the other characters fell completely flat. They had no personalities, and none of them really progressed the plot at all.
Also, this book has a huge amount of content that should come with content/trigger warnings but doesn’t.
CW: sexual assault, drug use, death of a minor, forced medical testing on minors, suicidal ideation, death of a spouse, kidnapping.
Honestly there’s probably more but this book was so bad I can’t even remember them all, since most of them had nothing to do with the plot anyway.
Main character is a textbook helicopter parent, and can’t figure out why her kid keeps pushing her away. She’s described as having multiple PhDs, but is somehow so, so stupid. She also kept mentioning she’d do ANYTHING for her kids, but never actually did anything, just threw money at other people to do stuff for her.
I could not root for her as a protaganist because I really just could not stand her character, and all the other characters fell completely flat. They had no personalities, and none of them really progressed the plot at all.
Also, this book has a huge amount of content that should come with content/trigger warnings but doesn’t.
CW: sexual assault, drug use, death of a minor, forced medical testing on minors, suicidal ideation, death of a spouse, kidnapping.
Honestly there’s probably more but this book was so bad I can’t even remember them all, since most of them had nothing to do with the plot anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Rape, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Car accident, and Gaslighting
audreyd93's review
2.75
While I got into the book the second half, I can't give it a higher rating. The buildup was so slow and so drawn out and when it did happen, it was so lackluster. The main conflict we heard about because Holly was not involved. She was drugged (again!). This book is a great example of where the author told us what happened, instead of showing. Holly was told what happened to Peter when Jane went to rescue her son. Holly was told he disappeared. Holly was told about the lost boys. Holly was told about Jack and Ed. But we don't see any of it. All that buildup that was at times boring, lead to nothing. What was the point of her going back to New York? What happened with the scientist that was fired? Why did I get a weird feeling about Barry but nothing happened? What actually happened to Peter and Bell? And Eden for that matter? That was no good explanation for any of it. It was rushed. It took me so long to get into this book and when I finally did, I was let down. Also, no one needs graphic scenes of Peter Pan raping the main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Drug use
ggreen1379's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Medical content, Child death, Grief, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Drug use, Murder, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Blood
audreyreadz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Grief, Drug use, and Car accident
saramoser's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
TW: SA, Rape, drugs, child death, child abuse, injecting children with drugs
After reading a lot of reviews, I was so worried I would not like this book. But the book is exactly how it’s described-a dark and twisted Peter Pan, while I think the author could’ve done more to give back stories and further some character development, I still was stuck wanting to find out what’s next. I was deep into the book by the first chapter, and was wanting to do nothing but read the book and find out what happens by the end.
I would suggest for someone who wants the dark and twisted (not just dark) side of Peter Pan.
After reading a lot of reviews, I was so worried I would not like this book. But the book is exactly how it’s described-a dark and twisted Peter Pan, while I think the author could’ve done more to give back stories and further some character development, I still was stuck wanting to find out what’s next. I was deep into the book by the first chapter, and was wanting to do nothing but read the book and find out what happens by the end.
I would suggest for someone who wants the dark and twisted (not just dark) side of Peter Pan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Grief, Kidnapping, and Murder
nerdyforbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s complicated pretty much sums up my feelings about this book. I loved this adult take on the Peter Pan fantasy. Is he good? Is he bad? Is he just misunderstood? Honestly couldn’t tell you because the author never seems to really explain much.
The pacing of the book is fine but nothing really pivotable happens until the last 50 pages. Then all the sudden “stuff happens” but you’re still left with a lot of questions about the MC, her kids, Neverland, etc. It feels like the author had a LOT of cool ideas but didn’t know how to continue them.
Overall, I didn’t think it was horrible. It’s an entertaining read with some issues, but it’s not bad.
The pacing of the book is fine but nothing really pivotable happens until the last 50 pages. Then all the sudden “stuff happens” but you’re still left with a lot of questions about the MC, her kids, Neverland, etc. It feels like the author had a LOT of cool ideas but didn’t know how to continue them.
Overall, I didn’t think it was horrible. It’s an entertaining read with some issues, but it’s not bad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Rape
deldc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
it was a beautifully written reimagination of Peter Pan. everything was given a brand new turn of perspective from the original story -- Peter Pan, what happened to him and Wendy, to Michael, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook!, and even the playwright J.M. Barrie was given a new light -- i liked it all so much. i liked that from this idea sprung a strategy to tackle pressing issues like rape, drugs, child-abuse, and even feminism. it made the premise all the more interesting.
it also moved me as it is a story about mothers -- how they'd be willing to do anything for their children; they'd do anything they think what's right at the call of the occasion. not only mothers, actually, but also sisters like Nan, who cares and loves like a real mother. i didn't expect how timely this book would impress me, and i envied Holly for having a mother like Jane. i was surprised at how she acted as a mom in the end. i admired her from the moment she believed Holly and showed alliance to her without any doubt.
i just think that almost 3/4 of the book were too draggy and makes the reader hyperfixate on Peter when the ending was intended to be anticlimactic for him, at least, which he deserves by the way. it solidified the conviction that Peter isn't, nor any men, are the heroes of this story -- but women - mothers.
all in all, it has an intelligent and beautiful writing. i highly approve the science references -- it was accurate.
i give it a 3! :)
it also moved me as it is a story about mothers -- how they'd be willing to do anything for their children; they'd do anything they think what's right at the call of the occasion. not only mothers, actually, but also sisters like Nan, who cares and loves like a real mother. i didn't expect how timely this book would impress me, and i envied Holly for having a mother like Jane. i was surprised at how she acted as a mom in the end. i admired her from the moment she believed Holly and showed alliance to her without any doubt.
i just think that almost 3/4 of the book were too draggy and makes the reader hyperfixate on Peter when the ending was intended to be anticlimactic for him, at least, which he deserves by the way. it solidified the conviction that Peter isn't, nor any men, are the heroes of this story -- but women - mothers.
all in all, it has an intelligent and beautiful writing. i highly approve the science references -- it was accurate.
i give it a 3! :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Drug use