Reviews with content warning for Gore - Hooked

The first in the 'Never After' series, this book opens with a warning from the author that this is NOT a fairy tale reimagining. And she's absolutely spot on. While the character names might be familiar to fans of Peter Pan, this is definitely not a children's story. James Barrie is a man out for vengeance, and he figures the best way to get it is to ruin Wendy, the daughter of his nemesis Peter Michaels. But is it possible she might just ruin him instead?

So let's just get this out of the way up front. If you can't handle spice, this book is not for you. There is a LOT of it, and it's quite hot. I wouldn't say all of it is strictly necessary to move the plot forward, but it does give insights into the development of the relationship and the power plays of the characters. Even though it's not the best writing I've ever read (it does border a bit on the 'bad fanfic' end of the spectrum in a couple of places), for the most part it does its job very well and maintains believability while also pulling the reader into fantasy land...

While we're talking content/trigger warnings, there are allusions to assault of a minor, overt (but not excessively graphic) descriptions of violence and murder, kidnapping, drug abuse and so on. So not a book for the faint of heart of the innocent of mind!

Outside of the smut, the story is actually quite strong, if a little predictable. I enjoyed the mapping of the traditional Pan characters onto a modern criminal underworld setting and the twists and turns of the narrative. I did peg pretty early who you needed to be worried about, but even then there's a couple of nice little 'hooks' to surprise you. As a whole, the relationship does follow a very familiar pattern and so in that sense there's nothing that surprising, but the journey is still great to follow. If I had to be picky, I'd argue the 'misunderstanding' is a little thin and could do with a bit more depth of thought and feeling.

The author's depicting of James, aka Hook, provides everything you need to understand his motivation, why he is the way he is and the development of his character through the course of the story. His bad boy swagger and charm ooze off the page and I found him utterly captivating, especially in his moments of deepest darkness and complete vulnerability. While Wendy too has 'character', I found her far less developed. She's not completely two dimensional, but it does appear that most of the author's efforts went into shaping her male lead. I just couldn't get inside her head as much, despite half the chapters being written from her point of view. I just struggled to understand how someone previously so innocent and 'good' could look past what Hook does. It's not expressed that he suddenly changes his ways and stays on the right side of the law, so it puzzles me that his dark side and shady dealings don't seem to bother her at all.

As I read this on my Kindle, at the end of the boom I was invited to join the author's mailing list, upon which I could receive a free extended epilogue. Well that was a no-brainer! It is mostly an excuse for one more round of sexy-times, but it does give a nice little round off of the story. A little sappy, sure, but ultimately it is nice to see the villain get his happily ever after.

There are four more in this series to date, and I cannot wait to read them!

Content Warnings

chainsiren's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

5.0

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mushroomfrog's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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4.5

Content Warnings: sexual content, breathe play, violence, gun violence, blood, gore, torture, death, and murder.
Mention of: child abuse, death of a parent[s], neglect, corruption, and implied pedophilia and child SA.

Yes, just yes. Hook is one of those villains whose violence feels completely justified. 😌 I also loved seeing Wendy evolve and grow confident in herself and her own mind.

Ngl definitely saw the twists coming but they were still fun when revealed.

I will definitely be reading the other books in this series 💜

Content Warnings