Holly Darling has a happy life and a thriving skincare business. Her son, Jack, seems to be enjoying his life. Then Holly's daughter, Eden, who has been in a coma for years mysteriously goes missing. During Holly's efforts to find Eden, she meets Christopher Cooke who has a hook at the end of his arm. She also searches for Peter Pan,

Although this doesn't follow the fairy tale closely, it is a story that could be Peter Pan's life in present times.

If you like the magical realism genre, I highly recommend this read. It's filled with witty sayings like. "Looking for Peter hadn't panned out." And some quite disturbing premises.

I found it dragging in spots, but that's my personal complaint.

Unexpected and refreshingly dark, "Darling Girl" by Liz Michalski creates a compelling fantasy retelling of Peter Pan. The book follows four generations of Darling women, starting with Wendy, and their respective relationships with Peter Pan and the rest of the Neverland crew. The main protagonist, Holly Darling, runs a successful skincare empire bolstered by her family name. But Holly harbors a traumatic past and some deep scars that have never fully healed. Holly must race against time and her own human limitations to save those dearest to her.

Personally, I enjoyed the dark, adult turn this fairy-tale took. Michalski subverts every notion of the golden boy Peter Pan and Neverland. The explanations for the public's unwavering love for Peter is not just clever but also a social commentary on society's willingness to turn a blind-eye. Holly's complex relationship with the Darling women, especially her starry-eyed, jealous mother, delve into a women's "role" in a story such as Peter Pan. I was unexpectedly surprised and enthralled by this adult retelling.

This is THE best Peter Pan retelling I've ever read and one of the best retellings in general that I've ever read. Even if you don't even like retellings, I think you should try Darling Girl! Fantastic characters, a riveting plot that never loses steam, and beautiful touches of magic.

There are a few fairytales (for lack of a better word, I guess) that are particularly hard to re-tell. In my opinion, “Peter Pan” is notorious for this. Not only is the original very much of its time with a plethora of modern pitfalls for a contemporary adaptation, but the entire situation is bizarre. How much of a child is Peter really, given his long life? Is it kidnapping, what happens to the Darling children? How does one balance the whimsy of the entire situation with a story grounded in real emotion and energy? In my experience, it seems that the more successful an adaptation is the more it has deviated from the original story. All of this to say, while I’m always excited to check out a new version of the story, it’s definitely one of those tales that I go into with the quite a bit of wariness.

Secrets linger in Holly’s past, though she has become an expert at hiding this fact. And these are more than the ordinary familial secrets. For what many think is just a story, Holly knows as a pernicious but very real part of her own family history: that is, Peter Pan. And when her daughter, Eden, who has long existed in a comatose state suddenly disappears, this shadow-ridden past comes roaring back into Holly’s life. Desperate for help, Holly turns to an ex-soldier. But will it be enough to confront the magical forces aligned against them?

While this book wasn’t quite the smash hit that I was hoping it would be, there were still quite a number of things going for it. For one, I really liked the generational aspect of the story. I’ve read a number of books about Wendy herself or her daughter, Jane. But instead of focusing on these characters, the author chose to remove the story down another step, focusing on Holly, the granddaughter of Wendy. We then even go a step further down the family line with the inclusion of Eden and Jack, Holly’s children and Wendy’s great-grandchildren. Through this focus, we truly see the effect of a character like Peter who never ages but is a persistent presence in one family’s life. Each woman has had a different experience of him. Indeed, part of the focus of the story is reconciling these various experiences with the truth of who he is.

This isn’t the first dark!Peter story I’ve com across. Indeed, the once-popular TV show “Once Upon a Time” is partly best-know for its creepy take on Peter (or perhaps its very attractive take on Hook, who knows?!). So this wasn’t unique ground solely found in this book. But I will say it was much, much darker than I was expecting. Perhaps even too dark for me. I wasn’t quite prepared to deal with some of the themes at the heart of the story, but I do think the author handled them well. Mostly, if you love Peter Pan, be prepared to kill your lovelies, because there’s nothing redeemable about this character. For as bad as he is, I do wish we actually got to see a bit more of him. In some ways, his villainy was a bit too easily hand-waved away as “he’s just always been bad.” Instead, it might have been a more interesting take to see how a character that might have been morally ambivalent originally could be corrupted by the nature of Neverland and this existence.

I did struggle a bit with the pacing of the story. It starts out well enough, but I felt like things began to drag a bit by the middle of the tale. Part of this was my own lack of real connection to Holly. I’m not sure what exactly the problem was, but I never felt fully invested in her arch. When the action and the mystery were at the forefront, I sped along. But when the story slowed for some of the character moments (usually my bread and butter), I found myself having a harder time focusing. I also wasn’t super invested in the romance, though, again, there was nothing obviously wrong here.

This was definitely an interesting retelling of “Peter Pan.” It’s definitely on the darker side in some ways, but I think the decision to focus on Peter’s impact on several generations of women in one family was very interesting. Fans of the original (and those not too attached to Peter himself!) will likely enjoy this one.

Rating 7: A bit lacking on the character front, but an interesting reimaging of the effects that Peter Pan would have on a generation of women whose lives become entangled with the magic of Neverland.

This is my first fairytale retelling story. I did not know what to expect but this was surprisingly interesting. The thought that went into this book was ingenious.

Most of the Peter Pan original story’s characters were included in this book but some had different roles than in the original story. This was a dark and thrilling reimagined version of Peter Pan. The problem I had with it was that it messed with my head a little when I tried to picture the characters I first knew and replaced them with troubled characters. Once I could do that, the story was easier to digest.,

Holly Darling is the owner of a cosmetic company that helps people look younger and more vibrant for their age.. She is the daughter of Jane Darling who is the daughter of Wendy Darling, the character who went on an adventure with Peter Pan many, many years ago in the original story. Holly is the mother of two kids and must go on a journey to find her daughter who turns up missing. She knows her daughter Eden is special (no spoilers) because her blood has magical qualities so this must be why she turned up missing.

Along the way she meets new characters and they are all enthralling in their own right. We do experience some very dark themes as far as some violence and drug scenes but they aren’t a constant in the story. I think this is a very well put together retelling and I did enjoy it a lot. I will look for more by Liz Michalski for sure.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dutton and Penguin Random House for this ARC.

Darling Girl by Liz Michalski. Pub Date: May 3, 2022. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5. This is a dark re-telling of Peter Pan that takes a modern twist on a classic tale. Holly has build a skin care empire, escaping her past and raising her son Jack. She suddenly receives notice her daughter Eden has gone missing from the location she was living at. Eden has a “magical” condition in which she can age quicker. She is valuable to enemies and now might be in a threatening situation. Holly has to go find her daughter, face demons and her past to hopefully figure out where Eden is. I thought this book was clever, but at times a little too much for me. I think this novel could have included some trigger warnings for the audience. It was a darker read than I expected, but I appreciate the author’s attempt at a new spin on the story. Loved references to other characters in Peter Pan such as Captain Hook! Thanks to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #duttonbooks #penguinduttonbooks #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads

I went into this with high hopes, I loved the premise, and it has been forever since I’ve read a retelling. The writing pulled me in from the start and I inhaled huge chunks of the book every time I sat down to read. However, I had questions throughout the novel that were left unanswered, and the ending left me with more. With regards to the ending, there was so much build up, all the excitement happened in the last 20% of the book and not all of it was explained very well. Difficult to explain without spoilers. Overall, I liked Darling Girl, but I didn’t love it, I would still pick up another book by this author.

#brandysreads

Thank you @duttonbooks for the complimentary finished copy

Holly's daughter has been in a coma for the last ten years, so when she disappears without a trace Holly knows exactly who is responsible. But who can she turn to for help when the person she is hunting down is someone no one believes is real, let alone capable of harming a child?

This book absolutely blew my expectations out of the water. I find fairytale retellings in the adult genre can often be hit or miss, as they trip over themselves trying to subvert the fairytale genre and go as 'dark' as possile. Darling Girl balanced this beautifully, though. Michalski really grounds her characters in the real world so when the magical elements are woven in, they blend seamlessly. The darker elements just feel natural, as if it couldn't have gone any other way, which was really impressive.
The story itself was really well structured, we are given just enough glimpses into Holly's past to appreciate just how much she's lost and understand the lengths she's willing to go to to keep what she has left. These 'flashbacks' were incorporated seamlessly into the 'present day' plot and effortlessly kept pace (I also absolutely love to see a well written book in present tense, it gets a bad rap from not so well executed attempts).
This was a really interesting exploration of grief, and love, and trauma, and the toll generations of family secrets and trauma can take, as well as the lengths a parent will go to to protect their child.
All brought to life by a really interesting set of characters, with their own complex relationships with magic, family, and each other.

I loved this. I highly recommend. That is all.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

I have struggled with the thought of writing a review for this . I have thoughts which may spoil the book for others yet I also feel the need to warn people off of thinking this is some kind of "watered down" dark-ish retelling of Peter Pan.
I went in knowing this version would take us in a non traditional direction from the characters we all know from the original telling of Peter Pan. I was not, however, prepared for the subhuman character of Peter that played out in the pages of this title.
I was a bit confused with dialog in the first 25% of the book and then when things became a bit more clear I suppose I just grew weary of the writing. I became invested with the fate of one central character which was my entire incentive for finishing the book.
There was a small glimpse of hope in the last two chapters or so. A few relationships are on the mend and the promise of new ones loomed.
My over all regard for this boo is not one of a positive nature and unfortunately,I can not recommend this to friends or patrons.

I'm so sorry. I could not finish this.
While I'm totally in love with the concept, there was a lot of content, especially towards the end that was very triggering for me. So please do be aware that this book deals with rape, child abuse, drug abuse and coercive control.

No disrespect to the author.

Darling Girl
by Liz Michalski
3.5 stars

We all know the story of peter pan and the happily ever after but what happens when the story isn't the whole story—Holly Darling granddaughter of Wendy, has a successful skincare company, her kids, and her mother Jane left. Except for her daughter whom no one really knows about has been in a coma for over a decade. Holly leaves her daughter in the care of nurses and takes her son to New York to build her company but one day she receives a terrifying phone call saying her daughter has disappeared. Holly rushes to go try to find out who would want her daughter since no one knows who her dad is or how special Eden is. When Holly gets back to London her home since she was a child the one Peter Pan visited her grandmother and herself, she has to remember everything that happened long ago, slowly Holly opens up to her mom about who Eden's father is and how special she is. It's not easy opening up to people after being so shut off but this might be the only way to save Eden and her son Jack from Peters's horrific grasp.

First, I love Peter Pan now, this makes me question the book but I love how they changed up who the hero was so long ago and also today. This twist was great to a point. I couldn't get into it until the last 50 pages then I couldn't put it down and I had to see how it ended. The beginning just seemed to drag for me. I got why they needed to tell you but over and over about the blood and its healing powers. I did cry when Jane stood up for her daughter and stepped up majorly. It was touching near the end. Wasn't my favorite but did like the ending at least.
Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group Dutton

This was such a fun read that swept me back to my early years as I tried to recall the little details of Peter Pan.

Our main character is Holly Darling, the grand daughter of Wendy--yeah, the Wendy that went to Neverland on that adventure with Peter Pan. Holly is a widower with 2 children, a teenage son involved in all the sports and a younger daughter who is in a coma. Holly is a powerhouse career women in the beauty industry (using a little bit of Peter Pan magic??)

Tragedy strikes and Holly is off to resolve the problems as any mother would do for their "darling" children. There was a bit of a slack in the middle as the story slowly built up, but the ending was so enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the modern and current names they used in referencing Peter Pan's original book/movie. I loved the creativeness of this book. I loved the uniqueness and ultimately it made me think back on my childhood movie memories! The story made sense to me and I wanted IN on the magic!

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the advance e-copy of this book.

Holly, the granddaughter of Wendy Darling (of the original Peter Pan!) runs a skincare company. I was sucked in by the premise for Liz Michalski's Darling Girl. The opening gave me The Devil Wears Prada vibes, but this soon gave way to dark fantasy. This was such a delicious read and I loved the dual timeline and the reimagined Peter Pan himself.

I was really excited to read this book because I love Peter Pan retellings. However, there were many disturbing scenes that made for uncomfortable reading. Thus, this was a very hard novel to get through. It just was not my cup of tea.

I'm beyond in love with this book! It's my favorite book of 2022 so far, and probably one of my favorite books of all time.
You think you know the story of Peter Pan, sure, but this tale is about the story after Neverland. Wendy and her brothers are gone, and two generations later, Holly Darling is a successful businesswoman in NYC trying to leave the Darling name and legend behind.
There's magic, romance, and a twisted tale leaving you to question everything you know about Peter Pan.
Liz Michalski's words captivate you from the beginning allowing the readers to feel the magic and dance on the line between fantasy and reality.
Also, so you know, Captain Hook's character was my favorite character - well done, Liz Michalski. This book is a must-read, especially for readers who want to escape and fly amongst the stars - second star to the right and straight on till morning.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton and NetGalley for my eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was captivating and it hooked me from the very first chapter! I was glued to my seat!

Holly Darling is the granddaughter of Wendy Darling, yes that Darling as in Peter Pan. She is successful in her own right but has had a devasting past. She was happily married to Robert, but an accident takes the happiness away along with their son, twin to Jack. In another freak accident, or was it? Both her son Jack and daughter Eden fall out of a tree trying to fly. Jack is severely injured and Eden is in a coma. After 10 years, Eden disappears. How is that possible? No one knows but Holly is desperate to find her.
In her search, she hires Christopher Cooke, an ex-soldier with his own baggage.

When Jack goes missing also, Holly along with her mother Jane must do what they can to find the missing children. Eden is 13 but has a condition that makes her age prematurely and Jack has his own health issues. As Holly tries to find her children, she comes to the realization that Peter Pan is not who she thought he was, the stories handed down from her grandmother do not describe the Peter she has come to know. Did he take Eden and Jack? For what purpose? The ending will surprise you.

I knew of the story of Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, and Neverland but this reimagination of the story is interesting, to say the least. You can't always believe what you are told as a child. Full of suspense, believable characters, and a storyline that can only be imagined. Can it?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and read it in a few sittings. A truly magical story!
I received a copy for review purposes only.

Rating 3

I really wanted to enjoy this book but for some reason I could not get into it. I tried picking it up and putting it down multiple times. I love fairytale retellings and I know others do as well. So if this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, then you should definitely give it a try. I will try again in the future to read this one. I heard great things about the audio version so I will definitely give that a try.

Definitely liked this darker take on the classic Peter Pan! I did feel like this one had a little bit of a slower start, but once the story picked up it was very intriguing!! I did feel the story was slightly lacking. Maybe having a different POV would have helped with that “oomph” it was missing. Overall still a good read!!

REVIEW

Darling Girl ~ Liz Michalski

READ IF:
* The story of Peter Pan is a favorite.
* Tea, biscuits, and an occasional whiskey brings you comfort.
* You believe in the saying, “Faith, trust, and pixie dust.”

SUMMARY: Holly Darling, the grand daughter of Wendy, runs a successful skincare company and is the mother to her two living children, Jack and Eden. Eden is in a coma tucked away in the English countryside and Jack has recovered from crippling injuries incurred in an accident that killed his dad and twin.

Holly had since discovered that Eden’s blood can heal and she uses it to keep her son well but when Eden disappears, they are all at risk. She can’t knock the suspicion that Peter Pan has something to do with all of this and she works to find him and her daughter before it’s too late.

REVIEW: I don’t even know what to write because this was such a no for me - and it was never a yes! I’m shocked I finished to be honest but I think I was holding out hope that it was going to take a turn and it never did. Super slow, uninteresting, unlikable characters, confusing at times, and some cringe worthy moments - I just didn’t get it.

I applaud Liz Michalski’s creative twists on Barrie’s classic tale but it wasn’t enough to sell me on this story. A huge miss for me - but there are so many good reviews out there on this so I suggest you seek those out to make a more informed judgement call on if it will work for you!