The Last Lost Girl

The Shadows of Neverland Duet, Book 1

De: Casey L. Bond

Narrado por: Raven Wildewood

Welcome to Neverland. Where shadows consume and magic is frighteningly real.

Ava is struggling to provide for herself and her sister, who slips further into insanity with each passing day. Raving about Neverland. Obsessed with a Second Star that Ava can’t see in the black, velvety sky. Until the night Belle succumbs to the terrifying shadows plaguing her and sweeps Ava away to a land that is only supposed to exist in storybooks.

Neverland is real. And so is Peter Pan.

He's grown from boy to man, wielding a terrible power he uses to rule the island. When he senses Ava’s presence and sends his Lost Boys to collect her, a dashing captain with a silver hook for a hand comes to her defense. He offers her protection aboard his ship, and the help of his crew to find Belle before Peter and his Lost Boys do. But what he asks for in return might be more than she or her sister can possibly pay.

Belle once stole something invaluable from Peter Pan, something Hook and his crew need if they’re ever to escape the cursed island’s thrall. And despite their undeniable attraction, Hook will do anything to claim it before Pan can.

The Last Lost Girl is an atmospheric adventure in the land we all thought we knew, where secrets swirl within shadows, the banter is witty, the romance scorches, and the characters a shade darker than morally gray.

©2024 Casey L. Bond (P)2024 Casey L. Bond

Reseñas de la Crítica

“An utterly enthralling retelling that will leave you breathless and begging for more!”–Jenny Hickman, author of A Cursed Kiss

A different take on Peter Pan I’ve not read before!!!!

I love love love this version of whos the villain and whos good here! I’m from Savannah GA so this hit home for me and I loved reading it! The backstory, the angst, the slow burn, & That CLIFFHANGER!! 👏🏼👏🏼 I seriously need to know what is going on with the best friend like yesterday! The whole book I was constantly asking which way is this author going to take this and she did not disappoint and surprising me.

Listening with a different ear to Peter Pan

Listening to Peter Pan’s story with a different ear also gave me a whole new perspective of the characters and Neverland’s magical hold it has always held sway over.

Ava and Belle are sisters but through love and not blood. When Belle becomes the lost one and is unable to control the shadows within her she heads back to Neverland but unwillingly brings Ava with her. In her search for Belle/Tinkerbell and an escape back to what she believes is her home Ava will hear a different story about Peter Pan, his magic and his life. She will meet a truly different Hook, his crew and the mermaids and how they have all been changed under the cruel magic of Pan. The Neverland and her characters that Casey L. Bond has reimagined is dark and whereas Hook is certainly not what you would expect in a hero, he certainly isn’t the villain he has been portrayed to be. Nor is Peter Pan a lost loving boy. Both have grown to manhood.

Casey has opened up Neverland in her descriptive world building and even included a city on water that could be a poor relation to Venice, Italy, but more a city of refuge with shops, questionable entertainment and rickety homes. A safe holding out of Pan’s reach.

I have reviewed the book on Goodreads and Amazon, so I won’t go into great detail here, so much as to talk about the audio version, which I drank in. If Casey gives us the words to see Neverland, Raven Wildwood’s voice brought it wiggling to life for me. When a storyteller shares aloud you won’t have to try to decode the words on a page. It frees us to simply let our imagination carry us away, to picture the story in our mind’s eye. Raven did a grand job of telling this tale aloud and I could easily listen, while quickly assimilating all parts of the story. For me she was Ava’s voice. Her portrayal of other characters was well done but I missed the deeper tones of some of the men’s voices, Hook’s in particular.

Other than having dual voices in the audio, there isn’t anything, in my mind, that could make hearing it more engaging, as I can hear the emotions of the characters, picture the scenes she details and in the end, bleed and hope for the characters. I highly recommend that the book be read and then listen to this beautifully constructed and executed tale.

I’m such a sucker for a good retelling

I’ve had this book sitting on my TBR for far too long-
Just like anybody else, I LOVE a good retelling. I’m glad I can finally cross it off and i am going to be miserable waiting for book 2 because that cliffy was- 😮‍💨
The narration was great and the story kept me hooked (see what I did there?)

A thrilling dark contemporary twist on a childhood favorite fairytale!

✨𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀✨
🎧: The Last Lost Girl (The Shadows of Neverland Duet)
🧚 Now available in Audible!
🎙️Narrator: Raven Wildewood

Ava is desperately trying to provide for herself and her adoptive sister Belle, who slowly loses herself to the shadows plaguing her. When Belle finally surrenders to the pull, Ava is dragged into Neverland, the very place from the fairytale. But Ava quickly learns that Neverland is a dark place full of danger, treachery, and worst of all…Peter Pan.

Tropes:
🩶 Morally grey anti-hero
🤝 Allies to Lovers
🚫 Touch her & 💀
🫂 Forced Proximity
💫 Shadow magic & Dark curses
🏴‍☠️ Pirates
🛏️ One Bed
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Found family
🌶️: Moderate

In The Last Lost Girl, the narrator takes the reader on a perilous journey into Neverland like never before. Those trapped are slowly affected by the magic while being manipulated by the cruel Peter Pan. Can Ava help free them all from his thrall?

If you love hot morally grey touch her & 💀 pirates (aye 🙋🏻‍♀️), please meet this Hook 🪝. I loved this iteration of the notorious pirate. We slowly see how his past, muddled memories, and motivations shape him. His connection with Ava is both gradual and deep. Ava is sassy and loyal to those she cares for and their chemistry was off the charts. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Bristling with dark secrets, delicious tension, and non-stop adventure, The Last Lost Girl is a thrilling dark contemporary twist on a childhood favorite fairytale!

Huge thanks to the author and LadyAmbersPR for the audio review copy. This is my honest and voluntary review

Audio narration mispronunciation

This is an interesting story that does draw you in. But the audio narrator mispronounces at least 10 different words repeatedly throughout (sinew, ethereal are examples). It detracts from the story, which is surprisingly engaging with the characters constantly forgetting who they are and the unreliable retellings of events. It isn’t the best written story, but the plot is good and reminds me of Stephanie Garber’s once upon a broken heart series in some ways (amnesia, two opposing male protagonists, morally questionable love interest).

Absolutely epic!

"He once told me he was darkness. If that’s true, then I’m starlight, brilliant in his arms. Shining for him instead of in spite of him."

Absolutely epic Peter Pan/Hook retelling! Ava and her sister, Belle, are pulled back to Neverland and Ava immediately starts forgetting her life before. The only thing she remembers is that she needs to find Belle. Hook finds her before she can begin her hunt and that starts a whirlwind adventure of forgotten memories, shadows, and enough tension to make this beauty unputdownable!

Captain Hook is everything a hot, Captain Hook should be! Instant book boyfriend material!

Not The Peter Pan You Remember

I love this retelling of Peter Pan and that twist at the end! Anxiously waiting for book 2!

Welcome to Neverland

What an epic retelling! This was such an amazing adventure. It was full of surprises, lost memories, betrayal, morally gray characters, secrets, hidden pasts, friendships, forced proximity and adventures.
I absolutely love this twist on the story, the chemistry, and the slow burn spice.

The darker side of Neverland awaits.

Draped in shadows, and decidedly otherworldly, this version of Neverland is not meant for the faint of heart. The island is not just a backdrop; it is an insatiable entity, the shadows do more than merely follow—they ensnare, and the Lost Boys don't play games; they orchestrate nightmares.

The chemistry between Ava and Hook is electric, evolving from wary distrust to an undeniable attraction that simmers with tension. Watching Ava fall for Hook was like witnessing a star being pulled into a black hole—inevitable and mesmerizing.

I found myself completely engrossed, as the tale unfolds in a captivating narrative filled with charming yet haunted characters. The narrator brought each one to life in a rich way as she voiced each one with different accents and wove their personalities into their words. This story left me craving more, mourning the last chapter long after hearing “the end”.

For anyone drawn to the darker side of fairy tales, this Peter Pan retelling is a masterpiece that shouldn’t be missed.

Liked it

The Last Lost Girl is the first book in the brand-new The Shadows of Neverland Duet Series and this was just a wonderful way to start off a new series. This was just such a beautiful tale. I was just immediately entranced by everything in this story. The characters just had so much depth to them that I was just emotionally invested in them. My only issue is some of the transitions between different chapters and the past and present scenes got a little confusing at times. The text at the end of some of the chapters were kind of irrelevant and I’m not sure what they added to the story. This story was slow at times and I believe that instead of being a duology it could have been just one giant story and some of the unnecessary slow parts of the story could have been eliminated. Other than those few things the story developed so well and left you wanting more. The cliffhanger at the end, are you kidding me I need the next book immediately.