I love a good Peter Pan retelling, but this one left me with mixed emotions. There were too many character inconsistencies for me to absolutely love this book like I wanted to when I started it. Although, I was still pulled into the dark and mysterious world of Neverland. The spice was definitely there and so good though! I definitely liked this one, but I didn't love it.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Evelyn Montgomery for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

📚 Review: "Losing Neverland" by Evelyn Montgomery 🌟

As a fan of Peter Pan retellings, I was excited to dive into "Losing Neverland" and explore a darker, more nuanced take on the beloved classic tale. However, while there were elements of this story that intrigued me, overall, I found myself feeling somewhat conflicted.

First and foremost, it's important to note that "Losing Neverland" is a dark romance with several trigger warnings. The author's reimagining of the familiar characters and setting ventures into gritty territory, exploring themes of trauma, manipulation, and forbidden desire.

One of the main challenges I encountered while reading this book was its narrative structure. The story unfolds through multiple timelines, shifting between past and present, which at times felt disjointed and confusing. Additionally, the portrayal of the characters, particularly Wendy and Pan, left me feeling unsettled. In the present timeline, Wendy is depicted as a 40-year-old woman, while Pan remains perpetually youthful at 17. This dynamic, coupled with the revelation of Pan's true identity as Hook, was a stumbling block for me as a reader, and I found it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story as a result.

Despite these reservations, there were aspects of "Losing Neverland" that I appreciated. The author's prose is evocative and atmospheric, drawing readers into the dark and enchanting world of Neverland. The exploration of complex emotions and moral ambiguity adds depth to the narrative, challenging readers to reconsider their perceptions of right and wrong.

In the end, "Losing Neverland" left me with mixed feelings. While I wanted to love this book wholeheartedly, the inconsistencies in character development and narrative execution prevented me from fully embracing it. With that said, I commend Evelyn Montgomery for her bold reimagining of a beloved classic, and I believe that readers who enjoy dark retellings may find much to appreciate in this book.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 (3 stars)

…meh. 🫤 I barely finished this. I just couldn’t get into it. The premise was good and I was excited for how this retelling was going to go but it just fell flat and like it was missing a certain something. Disappointed I didn’t love it like I wanted to.

Hook and Peter being the same person? What could possibly go wrong?

I believe this was the original and darker version of Losing Neverland that was published under Brittany Montgomery, which I read first. I was expecting this to be darker and spicier than the subsequent release but it wasn't that much more. I wish I still had the copy of the newer version so I could properly compare but this didn't feel all that different.

The main story did not change and my review for that is as follows:
This book was an interesting take on a classic story. I enjoyed the story the author built around Peter and the events that led him to evolve into Hook. I appreciated the author giving us a glimpse of who Peter was before Neverland and his connection to London.'s elite. There was also some suspense built around Tinker Bell and her involvement in Neverland and her intentions behind having Wendy removed from Neverland. At times, I struggled with how repetitive Wendy and Peter's internal monologues were. Some elements were a bit predictable and it felt that at some point the characters were just telling the readers information instead of it being presented in a more organic or interactive way among the characters.

I love a good Peter Pan retelling. It’s one of my favorite retelling besides Alice in Wonderland. So when I saw that this was a retelling with an older Peter and Wendy and where Peter and Hook were the same? I was intrigued.

It’s been years since Wendy left Neverland. And Peter is here to collect her. Only he’s not the boy Wendy remembered. He’s ruthless and he’s determined to make Wendy pay for what she took from him. But beneath the surface is an undeniable attraction. One Wendy is determined to ignore. But Peter won’t let her.

This book swung back and forth between the past and present but I couldn’t get past the fact that Wendy was a 40ish year old woman and Peter was still a very young looking man. It gave me a major ick. The spice was pretty spicy and it was a slow burn but my brain could not accept this story as it was. The story itself is lacking real clarity and it felt very weird at times too. So not the best story I’ve ever read and I would definitely label it as smut with a plot but not even a real solid one.

Apologies to the author, but I cannot bring myself to read more than 27%.

I'm in no way a prude or particularly bothered by content warnings etc but this just gave me the ick. I hated Peter/Pan/Hook and Wendy & didn't care for the rapey thoughts or whatever kind of relationship they had. The weird age gap didn't do it for me, wasn't a fan of the writing and I really didn't care where the story was headed.

I don't like rating poorly or giving negative reviews for arcs, but this didn't work for me and I'm not forcing myself to slog through the rest of the book.

Peter Pan retelling. This book was really good up until the last 25% of the book where it just fell apart for me. The ending felt really rushed and I was a little confused as to what ended up happening because it just fell off. I mean I turn the page and it says The End. The chemistry between Wendy and Peter was great and one of the things that kept me engaged in the book.

I didn't get the whole Peter and Hook are the same person thing and it seemed unnecessary. Then there was Tiger Lily...not 100% sure who she actually was. The mystery character was no mystery and it was almost supposed to be a big reveal but I knew from the first interaction with Tink who it was so that was a let down.

Overall, this was an OK book. I wouldn't tell people they HAVE to got out and read this one because there are other Peter Pan retellings that are better but I also would tell people to avoid it.

3 🌟
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•dark romance
•long separation
•second chance
-
Who doesn't enjoy a good dark Peter Pan retelling? Well, I do, and while I wanted to enjoy this book, it just wasn't keeping my attention. But I will definitely recommend to others who love dark, second chance romance with Peter Pan vibes.

This book is a deliciously dark romance full of TW with a totally obsessed unhinged MMC. I love fairytale retellings especially when they have spice like this 🥵
Love dual POV also and couldn’t put this down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book and the opportunity to review it.

I love. Dark romance and even better when it is a fairytale retelling. The Peter Pan story is already so fleshed out it was nice seen aspects of it in this story like the jealousy of Tinkerbell towards Wendy. It brought back an aspect of nostalgia.


That being said this story has so much potential to be great but could have used some serious fleshing out to make the storyline even more compelling.


Overall I would recommend to someone for the most part

Slow start not my favourite Peter Pan retelling, and was a little confused at first about characters. Still worth the read if your a Peter Pan fan and want to hear a different take on the story

3.5 rating.
This is a dark retelling of Peter & Wendy by J. M. Barrie. It does have some quite dark themes so keep that in mind before reading.

I liked the story and how it portrayed Hook and Pan. I like how it also kept other aspects of certain characters the same as the story by J. M. Barrie. Such as Tinkerbells jealousy of Wendy and things like that and I did like the dark aspects of the book.

However I did think that some parts of the book needed to be longer so it could better explained. I felt like these parts were a bit rushed. They were still good parts of the book but I personally would’ve liked more details to it.

Losing Neverland is a dark retelling of Peter Pan. It’s a coming of age story filled with escapism, magic, lust, and danger.

There were some great moments in this story, and some unique concepts - the duality of Pan/Hook and John/Smee, Peter having a backstory in England, Wendy’s traumatic childhood, etc. However, I struggled with this story overall because it jumped back & forth between being a fairytale coming of age story with a focus on magic & love vs a dark romance focused on lust, violence, & innocence lost. The varying ages of Wendy & Peter through the years was a little confusing, many of the characters backstories lacked depth, and their motivations were often difficult to understand.

Wendy decided to leave Neverland years ago and move on, but she has always had in her mind her young love: Peter Pan. And when he comes back for her and forces her to return, they both must find out what happened to them as a dark threat looms over them.

I love the story of Peter Pan, and when I saw this retelling I knew I had to read it, especially since the premise was based on the assumption that Peter and Hook are the same person.

The first part of the book is somewhat confusing, as it continually alternates between the past and the present like pieces of a puzzle that you have to solve slowly. I enjoyed the flashbacks of young Peter and Wendy in love, but the present tense narrative... not so much.

There are a few things that took me a bit out of the story, like Wendy leaving Peter for one of her brothers, but upon her return there wasn't even a moment of her with John/Smee. Also, the villain, Tinker Bell, does almost nothing until near the end, and this whole plot is resolved too quickly (in fact Tiger Lily's role doesn't seem to be relevant to the plot at all).

In my opinion, I think the idea was very good, but I found it missing a better execution. Nevertheless, I liked the author's writing style, and I don't discard reading anything else by her.

Rating: 2.75 ⭐

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for providing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

An interesting take on a timeless classic. I definitely enjoyed this version of Peter and Wendy. I could definitely see this as a possibility too!

You are hooked from the very beginning and lost in the story until the very end. I abandoned all other tasks just to continue reading this book and see where it takes me! This book by the author Evelyn Montgomery is the entire retelling. More recently, under the name Brittany Montgomery, she has broken the story down into 2 books... with the second one not released yet. I've previously read the new first half, which is slightly different in certain details, has a lot more detail and doesn't go back and forth from past to present. But I honestly think this book provided more than enough to thoroughly enjoy the storyline and adventure!

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
POV: multi 1st person POV
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: stalking, violence, attempted SA, sexual harassment, dubcon, murder, death of a parent (recounted), drug abuse, child abuse (recounted), underage sex (MCs first time both are under 18), bullying, death of a child, mutilation (of fantasy creatures)
standalone: yes
final thoughts: overall this book was entertaining, but I had a hard time staying connected with the story due to the timelines changing so often. I loved the concept of Hook being an alternate personality to Peter- I wish there was more of it!
I loved the angry fae, mermaids, etc and wished we got more interactions within Neverland and built up the drama between the characters.
Parts of this story felt extremely rushed (especially the ending) and as always, in my opinion, more groveling needed to be done. If only there was a single conversation between the MCs, this entire book would not exist 😬. Almost all the side characters felt like a throwaway characters which is a shame (John, Tink, Tiger Lily).
I was aware of the underage sex TW listed at the beginning of the book, but I was taken off guard by the scenes with Wendy as an adult... my brain hurt trying to figure out how old they both were. Listen, I KNOW Peter is technically not still a child but apparently, he still looks 17 while she’s 40? Ick. But then other times he’s described as looking older? And the over is depicting him as older with tattoos? I couldn’t picture these characters at all.


read this book if you love

😬 angst
🏝️ forced proximity
🤐 miscommunication
🤫 hidden secrets
❓ mystery
🌀 plot twists
🤜 friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers
🔎 adventure
🧠 “it’s always been you”
🔮 supernatural creatures- fae, mermaids
🪄 magic
💖 paranormal romance
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance
☠️ “touch her and die”
🤫 hidden secrets
🖤 dark romance
💓 slowburn
📖 retelling (Peter Pan)

DNF at 35%

So far, I would give it 3,5☆.
I have to say that the book was enjoyable. Not very pretentious, nor complicated. I enjoyed the descriptions of Neverland and the duality of Peter's personality, which I think was the best part and looked very well done.
However, I felt the book was a bit dull, and for the life of me, I couldn't stand Wendy. She was infuriatingly stupid and had the carisma of rock.

I might go back to the book and finish it at some point, but not right now

I really wanted to love this story but unfortunately I dnf it very early on. To me I love a book.that tells a story and keeps me wanting more. Unfortunately this diddent do that for me

I am a sucker for a dark retelling of stories I read growing up. The adult version! The story itself was good but I felt like the author could have the expanded details throughout the entire book to make it feel more of a complete story. I felt like it could have been so much better. The past vs present was wonderfully done as well. The idea and direction of it was perfection.