Finally finished this book! My boyfriend got it for me a couple of months ago and it was on my Pride tbr, but my mood kept shifting 😅 Anyway, here’s my review!
Rating: 3.75-4 ⭐️
Genre: Fantasy (with some romance)
Representation: Transgender man, Gay men, LGBTQ+, Queer, Disabled (James Hook)
Content Warnings: transphobia, dead-naming, violence, loneliness, small amount of sexual content
Description
“The Lost Boys say that Peter Pan went back to England because of Wendy Darling, but Wendy is just an old life he left behind. Neverland is his real home. So when Peter returns to it after ten years in the real world, he’s surprised to find a Neverland that no longer seems to need him.
The only person who truly missed Peter is Captain James Hook, who is delighted to have his old rival back. But when a new war ignites between the Lost Boys and Hook’s pirates, the ensuing bloodshed becomes all too real – and Peter’s rivalry with Hook starts to blur into something far more complicated, sensual, and deadly. “ - Goodreads
Review
The premise seemed fun and the first few pages made me laugh. I think it just dragged a little bit for me because I realized that I don’t actually like the original Peter Pan very much. So my enthusiasm started to fade.
When Peter Darling was so wrapped up in performing masculinity, I kept losing interest in the story. So I decided to give it another chance with the audiobook and that really helped me get back into it.
I ended up loving the depth and emotion this story adds to the original one. Chant made them more real and answered my questions about why Peter Pan would never want to age, why he and Hook loved to fight so much, and what the purpose of this world was. They connected this story to being an escape from reality. An escape that is sometimes needed but can stall one’s life if they never come back to reality to really live.