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A review by kerrythefire
Hooked by Emily McIntire
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
3.25
I read this one after Scarred and Wretched (book 2 & 3 in the series) and so that probably meant this book lost out on a few novelty points it would have gotten otherwise.
It was solid, but I had a hard time with Wendy. I couldn't really understand why she loved her dad so much because we were just kinda asked to believe it while having no evidence for why. I also just found myself feeling annoyed at her throughout... maybe in part because of her loyalty to her father but also I don't think I do well with meeker, naïve, more damsel-y heroines in general.
I also don't love when the balance is full dom on the MMC side and full submissive on the FMC side so the dynamic wasn't the right one for me to love this book no matter how much else I liked about it. That's really just a personal preference that may not detract for anyone else.
Plot was compelling and kept moving forward (I do think Emily McIntire writes better supporting plot than some people. Her books are a pretty equal balance of adventure and suspense plot and romance smut.)
That said, one of the twists/reveals at the end felt like a pretty big hole that left me with a lot of questions.I still don't understand why James' uncle told his son he didn't have time/space for him... Like, why Smee thought he just needed to hold out till James turned 18 and then his dad would be able to focus on him...? All his uncle did was abuse and hate him... Did that take up all his time so he couldn't have a relationship with his son? But somehow he still knew his son enough to tell him to wait...? Truly, I have no idea... I'm so confused. But it was at the very end of the book and I guess I didn't care enough so sorta shrugged it off. It was kind of a black box tho which was disappointing for the story. Especially when Emily McIntire seems to do a good job about closing all the loops she opens earlier on in the story. This was just a loop she punched open right at the end and asked us to just go with... Which was unsatisfying.
All in all it was fine. It was fun how she wove in the Peter Pan elements, especially the clock ticks. I thought Scarred and Wretched were both better though.
It was solid, but I had a hard time with Wendy. I couldn't really understand why she loved her dad so much because we were just kinda asked to believe it while having no evidence for why. I also just found myself feeling annoyed at her throughout... maybe in part because of her loyalty to her father but also I don't think I do well with meeker, naïve, more damsel-y heroines in general.
I also don't love when the balance is full dom on the MMC side and full submissive on the FMC side so the dynamic wasn't the right one for me to love this book no matter how much else I liked about it. That's really just a personal preference that may not detract for anyone else.
Plot was compelling and kept moving forward (I do think Emily McIntire writes better supporting plot than some people. Her books are a pretty equal balance of adventure and suspense plot and romance smut.)
That said, one of the twists/reveals at the end felt like a pretty big hole that left me with a lot of questions.
All in all it was fine. It was fun how she wove in the Peter Pan elements, especially the clock ticks. I thought Scarred and Wretched were both better though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Torture, and Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse and Drug use