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A review by smpearce
Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell
3.0
The book was enjoyable enough of a way to pass some time, but I had some problems with it.
I liked the general idea of a Peter Pan retelling with a bit of a twist, and I thought the beginning was nice. The part about calling to the island and the introduction of Fey were interesting, too.
My main issue was the romantic subplot. The protagonist was attracted two guys that were both violet and callous, including towards her, from the start. For example, Rowan literally chokes her one time and it’s maybe a couple days later that they are kissing? All past mistreatment forgiven? I really couldn’t get behind the relationship, because so much of their interaction was him hurting/being rude to her, and also that it seemed like such a short time since they’d met. The abuse was never really even talked about as a red flag. I’m not meaning to offend anybody who does like to read these, that’s totally cool, but as someone young, I like to read about realistic and healthy relationships (especially when it is a YA marketed book).
I also wasn’t a huge fan of the dialogue. It felt a bit unnatural and cliché.
There were also the characters, which I felt could have used more depth. I didn’t feel super attached to or invested in the characters, and I think that having more development here would have made it a much better read, and likely would have helped with the dialogue too.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad read, but not quite for me. I enjoyed the general plot, but it would have been much better for me with greater character development and a healthier romance.
I liked the general idea of a Peter Pan retelling with a bit of a twist, and I thought the beginning was nice. The part about calling to the island and the introduction of Fey were interesting, too.
My main issue was the romantic subplot. The protagonist was attracted two guys that were both violet and callous, including towards her, from the start. For example, Rowan literally chokes her one time and it’s maybe a couple days later that they are kissing? All past mistreatment forgiven? I really couldn’t get behind the relationship, because so much of their interaction was him hurting/being rude to her, and also that it seemed like such a short time since they’d met. The abuse was never really even talked about as a red flag. I’m not meaning to offend anybody who does like to read these, that’s totally cool, but as someone young, I like to read about realistic and healthy relationships (especially when it is a YA marketed book).
I also wasn’t a huge fan of the dialogue. It felt a bit unnatural and cliché.
There were also the characters, which I felt could have used more depth. I didn’t feel super attached to or invested in the characters, and I think that having more development here would have made it a much better read, and likely would have helped with the dialogue too.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad read, but not quite for me. I enjoyed the general plot, but it would have been much better for me with greater character development and a healthier romance.