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fronk10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Annoyingly, if I hadn’t read the first one I think I would have enjoyed this more. It still has all the gorgeous world building of the first one, and expands on the Peter Pan mythos very well. However, Hook’s story simply isn’t as compelling and Wendy’s, especially when Wendy and Jane feature so heavily in this one. It was a very promising start that didn’t really go anywhere. There is definitely healing from trauma, and a kinship to be found in that, but overall I was still left wanting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Child death, and Drug use
booknerd_therapist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug use, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Misogyny, and Sexism
tifftastic87's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I started out really not liking this book. It genuinely took until the third act for me to enjoy it. But once that did happen, it was quick and exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
All in all this story is about family, found or blood and their complications. Its about addiction and mental illness and how they shape and change our lives. There's a redemption story here in that you may not be able to choose how you respond in the moment but you can choose how you respond to the consequences.
There are typos and grammatical errors, but those lessen as the book goes on.
I tend to love retellings and re-imaginings especially when the previous hero is a villain. Hooked does a good job with some creative ideas, but others are kind of left ignored.
For example, Wise comes up with a great idea for mermaids being more hive minded and somewhat simple spooky creatures of the deep. More could have been done with that idea and in fact, if she does another focusing on them I would happily follow her to Neverland to read it. Another issue is the pre-WWII setting. Its grossly underused. Why set it then if you're not going to take advantage of it.
Mild spoilers after here.
Making Hook -James- an opium addict kind of seems unnecessary but I also get it. I do however think it could have been done better. I would have liked to see more about his relationship with Samuel. I dont know if there was enough for me to care about Samuel but I like the idea. I also found the implication that there were other gay men in the crew to be interesting because, I mean it kind of makes sense.
I also really like the exploration of the relationship between Wendy and Jane and Wendy and Michael. It was really good to see different family dynamics and how people worked through problems.
In the end Hook did something selfless to fix a selfish choice. Whether or not his initial selfish choice was valid can be debated, but he took responsibility in the end. </spoiler
All in all this story is about family, found or blood and their complications. Its about addiction and mental illness and how they shape and change our lives. There's a redemption story here in that you may not be able to choose how you respond in the moment but you can choose how you respond to the consequences.
There are typos and grammatical errors, but those lessen as the book goes on.
I tend to love retellings and re-imaginings especially when the previous hero is a villain. Hooked does a good job with some creative ideas, but others are kind of left ignored.
For example, Wise comes up with a great idea for mermaids being more hive minded and somewhat simple spooky creatures of the deep. More could have been done with that idea and in fact, if she does another focusing on them I would happily follow her to Neverland to read it. Another issue is the pre-WWII setting. Its grossly underused. Why set it then if you're not going to take advantage of it.
Mild spoilers after here.
I also really like the exploration of the relationship between Wendy and Jane and Wendy and Michael. It was really good to see different family dynamics and how people worked through problems.
In the end Hook did something selfless to fix a selfish choice. Whether or not his initial selfish choice was valid can be debated, but he took responsibility in the end. </spoiler
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Death, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, and Alcoholism
Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts
tinybluepixel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Child death and Kidnapping
readingwithtay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5
In this retelling Captain James Hook finds a way to leave Neverland but 22 years later Pan’s monster makes his way to London and Hook must return to Neverland to vanquish the monster.
This book did a really great job of showing grief, survivor’s guilt and healing. I loved getting to read about James and Samuel.
The part where this book fell short is that it is written in multiple perspectives and during multiple timelines. Sometimes switching midchapter. I found it difficult to digest the story this way. I really didn’t find Jane or Wendy’s perspectives all that helpful. If the novel had been told from just Hook’s perspective flashing back and forth or if this had been solely about Hook and Samuel and then written another book where Hook meets up with Jane and Wendy and had changing perspectives I feel like it would have flowed smoother. After loving Wendy, darling I was actually really disappointed that this one fell short for me. Overall I really enjoyed this take on Captain Hook I just wish the writing style had been a bit different.
Thank you to Titan books and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
In this retelling Captain James Hook finds a way to leave Neverland but 22 years later Pan’s monster makes his way to London and Hook must return to Neverland to vanquish the monster.
This book did a really great job of showing grief, survivor’s guilt and healing. I loved getting to read about James and Samuel.
The part where this book fell short is that it is written in multiple perspectives and during multiple timelines. Sometimes switching midchapter. I found it difficult to digest the story this way. I really didn’t find Jane or Wendy’s perspectives all that helpful. If the novel had been told from just Hook’s perspective flashing back and forth or if this had been solely about Hook and Samuel and then written another book where Hook meets up with Jane and Wendy and had changing perspectives I feel like it would have flowed smoother. After loving Wendy, darling I was actually really disappointed that this one fell short for me. Overall I really enjoyed this take on Captain Hook I just wish the writing style had been a bit different.
Thank you to Titan books and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Violence, Homophobia, and Death
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