Hooked

The Never After Series, Book 1

By: Emily McIntire

Narrated by: Felicity Munroe, Rupert Hawthorne

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

He wants revenge, but he wants her more.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy.

His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy.

Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away.

The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play.

His dreams gone forever, he grew up way too fast.

An endless night of crocodiles, and watches made of glass.

He grew into a villain, the taste of vengeance on his tongue.

Craving to make his enemies pay for the misdeeds they had done.

Instead he found a darling girl, and refused to let her go.

For what better way to make the man pay, than to steal his little shadow.

Hooked is a full-length, complete standalone in the Never After series: a collection of dark romances where the villain gets the girl. It is not a literal retelling. It is a dark, contemporary romance (not a fantasy) featuring mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

©2021 by Emily McIntire (P)2022 by Blackstone Publishing

Guilty Pleasure for sure!

TLDR: I was able to enjoy this. And if you don’t take it too seriously, you should too. It’s a dark and fun take on Peter Pan. And worth it for the sexy English accent alone.

Okay, so full disclosure, there’s a lot to dislike about this book. Major cheese being offered here. Served with a side of melodrama and insta-love. And garnished with a sprinkling of terrible accents.

I mean, damn. I almost called it quits at the beginning because I just could not vibe with the FMC. But I’m glad I didn’t. Because despite how many times I rolled my eyes and laughed out loud at some cringy dialogue, I loved this book!

That’s right! I loved it. And if you can enjoy this book for what it is (a super corny insta-love mafia romance smutty af story with a cartoonish bad boy MMC and a naive Mary Sue FMC) then you’ll like it. I think accepting this early on allowed me to actually like the story. So go into it with low expectations and enjoy the ride. And what a ride it is!

Because for all of the bad I listed (did i mention the laughable Boston accents?) there was a lot of good too! For instance:

Hook is a very well written character. He’s an exciting brand of evil. Maybe I’m screwed up, but I loved how violent he was. And despite how cliche he was, I found him believable. I appreciate that his tragic backstory is laid out right away. We understand his actions and thought process from the get go and don’t have to stomach a broody, mysterious, so misunderstood, why-is-he-like-this, bad boy. Plus, Hook knows exactly why he is the way he is and I dig his emotional intelligence. It made him likable. I supported his mission and therefore was able to overlook his egregious actions later. Even enjoy them…just a bit.

Wendy…I liked that she was independent. I liked that she was a fighter. And I liked that she was a bit kinky all on her own without having to be groomed into it. She was also self aware. She tells us she’s making stupid choices and though it doesn’t excuse those choices, I feel better knowing that we both know she’s an idiot.

The cover art? LOVE IT!

The narration? Okay soooo, yes, neither narrator nailed the Boston accent. They were hysterically bad. But I just rolled with it. It was a fun bit of comic relief. And Felicity’s voice for Moira and Rupert’s voice for Peter? Also so cringy. But we’re not supposed to like those characters anyway so really, the narrators just helped that along.

Other that that, excellent narration! They have pleasant voices and definitely acted out this story instead of just reading it. They also had decent ranges. Felicity’s voice for Hook was so similar to Rupert’s that it made the transition’s between POVs feel seamless. I would listen to them both again.

The story itself was very entertaining. I haven’t listened to too many Peter Pan reimaginings, but this is definitely the best I’ve heard. I always got low key dark vibes from the Disney version of Peter Pan. So I like seeing those flushed out. All the nods to the original story were cute. The journey of Hook to get vengeance was very captivating, and like I said before, I was rooting for him. The “plot twist” got me even though I definitely should have seen it coming. Honestly, this aspect was very well done and the finale felt very much like something you’d see on the big screen.

The smut? Like 100 on the smut scale. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything so filthy. I mean…damn! There’s smut and then there’s this. And at first, I was a bit put off, but I settled into it as the story progressed. Especially as emotions entered the mix. And well, the English accent somehow made the explicit language feel better? All I know is, I was about it.

So I 100% recommend. Just be aware that is like like a B Horror movie. It’s gonna be corny and tropey and dramatic, but still fun as long as you don’t go in expecting A Horror. This was a very fun story with a delicious villain/antihero. It’s worth the read. I can’t wait to try the next one in this series! And if you’re reading this, Emily McIntire, I promise to be less brutal with that review.

Had potential to be amazing

I love a reimagining of a known story, so I appreciated the twist on Peter Pan/Hook for this story. The story had so much potential, but I felt like it fell short of being truly great. The characters never seemed to grow throughout the story, and while I wanted to feel for Hook, I just had a hard time connecting with him. Wendy irritated me throughout, and honestly I only finished because I had already made it over 50% through the book and figured I would see how it ended.

Very Interesting Peter Pan Tale

Uniquely different twist of Peter Pan, Hook, Tink, Wendy. I wasn't sure how I'd like it but once I started I couldn't turn away from it. This is a new author and narrators for me and I was not disappointed. Warning this is not the G rated fairy tale we are used too.

Interesting premise, not perfect but decent story.

I like the idea of this more than the execution. The writing is a little YA sounding in much of the book, in spite of the adult themes throughout. Wendy is not a very interesting character on her own. She is more a reflection of how the men in her life view her than her own person.
The narration probably made this sound more YA, too. The male narrator has a nice voice but has no nuance in his characterization and his choice of accent for a pivotal character made the ending feel like a cartoon.

Good Praise Kink Dark Romance

If you like being called a “good girl” then this book has plenty of that with its many spicy scenes. This is not a retelling of Peter Pan, and it is not a fairytale/supernatural story. For example, there is a drug called pixie in the book- there are no fairies. It is fun to see where the elements of the Peter Pan story come into this story. The pacing is great, and the two narrators are in sync as they switch off each chapter. I finished this book in one sitting and loved it.

Amazing!!

Overall this book was great!! Something bothered me how fast they moved in the story and quickly had a sexual relationship. I also didn’t like how he treated her and she didn’t stick up for herself but I think that’s a personal preference and it’s more of a dominance kink.

I liked the twist of who the villain was ! Over I loved this story!!

9/10

I loved it until the last few chapters

i love the possessive nature of James but boy needs to relax. it was a little overboard for my liking. overall the book was great and the spice was perfect. I didn't love the ending though. there were too many revelations and big reveals at the end and I found it hard to finish.

Even villains need love ❤️

I like that not all monsters are born, that monsters sometimes they are made, which gives the opportunity of being redeemable despite their atrocities. It’s a very sexual book, but I enjoyed the story and the depth of the main characters and John. I really loved it!!

Loved it!👀 My kind of book

It was a very captivating, steamy and suspenseful book. Absolutely loved it .
I'm glad I gave it a go.

Hot

I absolutely enjoyed this hot retelling of Peter Pan. I wish I would have read it sooner!