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A review by dmniccoli
Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
4.5/5. Captain Hook + Tinker Bell enemies-to-lovers romance goodness.
What a retelling! Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke was a fun read that hooks you from chapter one with vivid characters and a smooth, fluid writing style. It’s so easy to forget you’re turning pages.
There’s a femme fatale seduction scene in the opening pages that’s just wicked good, and it’s a great character-establishing intro to Van Dyke’s Tinker Bell + Capt. Hook.
There’s also sassy banter. A good ol’ caveman carry. Naked adventure time *waggles eyebrows.* But a lot of tender moments, too, made all the sweeter because of how things begin between them.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a big “trust fall” moment that I loved, because of Hook’s complete faith in Tink. It’s a moment when he could’ve easily said, “No, don’t. You’re too hurt, too weak,” but he doesn’t because she said she could do it. He trusts and respects that she knows her own body and capabilities.
I also loved that they are a couple that rescues each other (several times over), and anytime Tink’s wings glow, because she is happy 🥺😭😍
I enjoyed this book very much, and its ending demonstrates how love is a strength, not a weakness. And home is where the heart is.
This is not the Neverland you know.
It’s the Neverland you didn’t know you needed.
———
Some things I wished for:
I wished there was a little more to the betrayal plot. I liked the twist. But the reasons didn’t land for me. Too much of a 180.
The OTHER twist worked for me. There were a few times when I thought Croc/Blackbeard might’ve had a humanizing moment, but he never really got there, and I kinda wish he did, just to make him more complicated (I like complicated).
I also wished for a more 3D portrayal of Hook as an amputee. More of his daily challenges, how he adapts. Routine stump & prosthesis care. Atrophy/skin breakdown considerations. Prosthesis design details & suspension method. What his recovery would have entailed. There was a bedroom scene when his stump ‘disappears’ partway through, something akin to “white-room syndrome,” which I don’t think was intentional at all, but it was something I noticed. If his stump was something Hook was self-conscious about and continuing to hide, I would have liked for Tink to have noticed and to have continued trying to reassure him/build up his confidence.
———
Thank you Megan Van Dyke & City Owl Press for the ARC!
What a retelling! Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke was a fun read that hooks you from chapter one with vivid characters and a smooth, fluid writing style. It’s so easy to forget you’re turning pages.
There’s a femme fatale seduction scene in the opening pages that’s just wicked good, and it’s a great character-establishing intro to Van Dyke’s Tinker Bell + Capt. Hook.
There’s also sassy banter. A good ol’ caveman carry. Naked adventure time *waggles eyebrows.* But a lot of tender moments, too, made all the sweeter because of how things begin between them.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a big “trust fall” moment that I loved, because of Hook’s complete faith in Tink. It’s a moment when he could’ve easily said, “No, don’t. You’re too hurt, too weak,” but he doesn’t because she said she could do it. He trusts and respects that she knows her own body and capabilities.
I also loved that they are a couple that rescues each other (several times over), and anytime Tink’s wings glow, because she is happy 🥺😭😍
I enjoyed this book very much, and its ending demonstrates how love is a strength, not a weakness. And home is where the heart is.
This is not the Neverland you know.
It’s the Neverland you didn’t know you needed.
———
Some things I wished for:
I wished there was a little more to the betrayal plot. I liked the twist. But the reasons didn’t land for me. Too much of a 180.
The OTHER twist worked for me. There were a few times when I thought Croc/Blackbeard might’ve had a humanizing moment, but he never really got there, and I kinda wish he did, just to make him more complicated (I like complicated).
I also wished for a more 3D portrayal of Hook as an amputee. More of his daily challenges, how he adapts. Routine stump & prosthesis care. Atrophy/skin breakdown considerations. Prosthesis design details & suspension method. What his recovery would have entailed. There was a bedroom scene when his stump ‘disappears’ partway through, something akin to “white-room syndrome,” which I don’t think was intentional at all, but it was something I noticed. If his stump was something Hook was self-conscious about and continuing to hide, I would have liked for Tink to have noticed and to have continued trying to reassure him/build up his confidence.
———
Thank you Megan Van Dyke & City Owl Press for the ARC!
Content Warnings
CW: sex, alcohol (moderate), drug-use (moderate), amputation (brief)