Let me start by saying thank you to Netgalley and the authors for this ARC. I’m new to the site and I appreciate you all taking a chance on me.

However, I’ll be completely honest - I had to DNF this book halfway through because of the simple fact that they’re only THIRTEEN years old, and the book reads like a dark romance. If the characters were in their 20s or 30s, it be much more enjoyable. But reading about literal children making out and sensually unbuttoning nightgowns and saying they want to explore each other fully, I feel gross. I keep waiting for a time jump to make it a little better but so far the only jump has been Wendy going from 11 to 13.

The description said NOTHING about it being a dark romance. Nothing about ages. Nothing about the amount of sexualized content there would be. Peter Pan even described Wendy as sexy at one point and he is constantly calling her “good girl”… let me remind you they are THIRTEEN.

I liked the overall idea of the story. It was incredibly intriguing to me. However, as some other reviews have said, there were just too many ideas for the length of the book, the world building was good but a little confusing, and the romance was too mature for the age of the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The world building was done well, but otherwise this was not my cup of tea.

Premise? Promising. Execution? Exhausting.

The dialogue was cyclical - for almost the entirety of the book they say the same things, in different locations. And the timeline? How old are these people?

There was really no flow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany Montgomery for access to this book in return of an honest review.

This is book 1 in the Escapism series; it follows a young Peter and Wendy in London and Neverland.

I'm going to start with things I really liked about this book.
I read this after reading 'Losing Neverland'; they both follow the same story, however 'Losing Neverland' has time jumps between Wendy in her 40s and chapters that are memories from when she was 17 with Peter. This book starts with Wendy being around 10, and follows her time with Peter whilst she's 17/18. I liked that this version follows the natural timeline rather than jumping to and from different points in their timeline.
I liked that this was a much more PG version that the one I originally read; whilst there's an intimate scene towards the end, it's much less graphic. There were also changes made throughout the book that read better - the original had an attempted SA scene between Wendy and the Lost Boys, whereas this one was just attempted m*rder, which was less uncomfortable to read.
I really like that Jake was made into Peter's brother. Even though this is revealed in the first few pages, my mouth dropped because that just impacted what I had read of Jake in 'Losing Neverland' so much more.
The wedding ring!! At the end of 'Losing Neverland' Peter gives Wendy a ring, which is nice and all but ok. Whereas in this version, it's a wedding ring, and they wake a vicar to marry them, and it just makes that ring mean so much more, especially if the author keeps the part where Peter returns for her 20 years later and she's still wearing it despite how things ended in this book.


Now onto things I didn't like.
I really don't like why Morgan Le Fay has been made into Peter's mother. This just feels so unnecessary to me at the moment, and any powerful fae could have been his mother.
The mating bond. I get that Peter has been made into a "halfling" fae/mortal. But not everything has to be mating bonds. I'm so sick of mating bonds. Like a childhood sweetheart that's kept close and turns into love as adults is beautiful. The "mating bond" ruined it for me.
I really struggled with following their ages; at the beginning Wendy is 10ish and Peter is turning 13. Then there's a time jump and I don't really remember it being specified how old they were after the jump. So part of me is imagining the kids from the animated cartoon we all know and love, and part of me is imagining the 17 year olds that they were in 'Losing Neverland' that I read a few days prior to this. Then pretty much at the end, it's specified Wendy is 18 and everything is legal.
There's also a comment at the beginning, 10 year old Wendy refers to the [the father] "gaslighting [the mother] as always". It feels too much tell and not show - no child would talk like this regardless of what they've witnessed at home, because it's not in their vocabulary at their age. It felt like this word was only used to tell the reader what's happening, rather than being the voice of young Wendy.

Overall it was a fun read, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I've enjoyed this more than the original 'Losing Neverland' that I read, as it's more developed and I genuinely care about the characters more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany Montgomery for allowing me access to this ARC**

I loved this twist on a classic story. Peter and Wendy are neighbors in London who long to escape their families. There’s more romance than the original Pan and this story strays from the original quite a bit for a fun refreshing new version. It’s a bit of how the characters came to be who they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brittany & Evelyn Montgomery for allowing me access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“Hooking Peter” is a retelling of the classic tale of Peter Pan, with some unique twists along the way. In this version of the story, Peter & Wendy grow up next door to each other in London and dream of escaping their controlling and abusive families. Peter finds his freedom in the adventurous & lawless Neverland, but can Wendy fit into this new life? The story spans themes of escapism, magic, love, lust, and innocence lost.

I’m a sucker for a Peter Pan retelling, and I loved some of the fresh ideas in this version. Peter Pan having a backstory in London was a unique take, and the duality explored between Peter Pan and Jas Hook was painted in a new & exciting light in “Hooking Peter.”

However, there were also some elements of this book that fell flat for me. Primarily, there were too many characters and ideas for a novel this short. I was left without a clear understanding of the fae lore that was introduced, the passing of time in Neverland was unclear, some of the main characters seemed inconsistent, and many of the side characters left me wanting to know more (John & Michael, Tiger Lilly, Morgan Le Fay, and even Tinker Bell.)

Overall, this was a fun read and I gave it 3 stars.

Well, this book certainly answered the question "What do you get if you mix Fifty Shades of Grey with Peter Pan?" - a question I'm sure not many people have asked before.

I was very disappointed by this book. The description promises a different type of story than the one that was given. Instead of a retelling of the Peter Pan story, it is instead a smutty fanfiction.

Not what I initially anticipated from this book. The description was rather misleading.
This book feels like it was written for a much younger audience than I originally thought. While it's not terrible I feel the world building and character development is clunky and rushed which is strange since its heavily based around a story that's been around for a long while. The plot often feels confused and like it's trying way too hard. I was very disappointed with this.

I love a Peter pan retelling and this one was did pretty good

The romance and world building was ok but just didn’t hit for me the way I thought it would

his is the first half of a series. The premise certainly intrigued me. It's not quite as dark as I expected it to be, but the way the author weaved different parts of the story of Peter Pan that I remember as a kid was quite clever. I can't say it's as much of a romance as I thought I'd experience. You get parts of romance now and then, however the majority is the twisting of how Peter and Hook come to be and the roles other characters play in this. I appreciated the multiple POVs. While this first book doesn't really end on a cliffhanger, you certainly are left wanting to see how the story continues and whether Peter and Wendy truly get their HEA.

Peter doesn’t want to grow up and Neverland is the answer to all his problems, except he would have to leave Wendy behind. Making a promise to return for her one day he follows Tinker Bell and starts his new adventure in Neverland.

This book follows the story of Wendy and Peter when they first meet and Peter flies her away to Neverland where he thinks he can keep her forever, but when her brother gets hurt, Wendy goes back to London leaving Peter heartbroken.

This was a well written, entertaining book. Wendy and Peter are both teenagers and Peter definitely acts like it. Wendy comes off as being more mature, but it seems to fit her character and I wasn’t bothered by it.

The things that pulled me out of the story were at the end of the book when Peter comes back for her. She makes a promise and then using the excuse that she was saving him, she turns against Peter. I get her brother was sick she though he needed her, and her family wanted her to marry someone else, but she was now eighteen and could make her own choices, so throwing Peter away when he was willing to stay in London with her just didn’t make sense.

Also, in the beginning of the book it felt like Neverland the fea were a secret that no one really knew about, but at the end every seemed to know where Peter had been and all about the magic.

Although I do absolutely love losing neverland just how it was wrote, I do however love going in order of events. It makes it more suspenseful and gives u more in-depth of what all happens first and how he is the way he is and how Wendy is how she is. As I said I absolutely love the present and then past of losing neverland but breaking it into 2 worked amazingly well! And I can not wait to read the second book because now I for the life of me can not remember what all happens lol…. Sorry gonna have a book hangover again to this series ❤️ it’s how much I love it and I know u will too!

3.75/5⭐️
Hooking Peter is book 1 in the escapism series but this book used to be losing neverland. I received losing neverland as an arc on Netgalley months ago and really enjoyed it. As a fan of Peter Pan, retellings and Disney I enjoyed the story and the twists of hook/peter pan being the same character. Now the author has decided to change the book and break it into two books with book one now being hooking Peter. It’s the same story as losing neverland for the most part except now it’s two books and there’s been a couple of add in and chapter trims. This book is mainly focused on Wendy and Peter story/past . I liked their past in the first read but I felt like I liked it more with the way it was and the time jumping maybe that’s just me . This book had a lot of the original story though it’s just more broken down . So if you liked the original losing neverland try rereading this one or read this one for the first time.

What to expect:
- Peter Pan Retelling
- First Love
- 'Darling'
- Both Virgins
- Death

I had mixed feelings about this one. I'm not sure if I enjoyed or not. I had recently got an arc for 'Losing Neverland' by the same author, the story went between two timelines within Pans and Wendy's past and present.. 'Hooking Peter' focuses on Pan and Wendy's past and expanded on a lot more (this was something that I thought was missing in 'Losing Neverland' so it was good to see) especially on the events that lead Wendy to leave Neverland and leads nicely into the next part of the series.

I struggled to connect with Pan and Wendy. But I liked Pan/Hook as one and the events that lead him to becoming one the same. I would have liked the book to have been darker. Losing Neverland was darkish but It might be because this was a story that combines past and present.

I think the blurb needs re wording as it is slightly miss leading to what you actually get in the book.

*Thank you Netgalley got a copy of the book for an honest review.

The world building is enchanting and perilous. The characters are warm while some are deceiving. I am sure you all have read Peter Pan and Wendy’s story. You can expect plot twists and some intimate moments in this book. Tinker bell has a mysterious demeanour. Neverland is not what it was like before. Evil shadows have consumed Neverland. Only Wendy can save it. While disagreement between Peter and Wendy has changed Peter completely. Will Wendy be able to save Neverland?

Many Thanks to Author and Netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an Arc to review of this book. This does not alter my opinions/ratings of the book.
I was roped into the story with the promise of neverland. I found that the story was a bit more childish than I had initially hoped for, but I ended up reading the story in one sitting, wanting to know how it ends. The cliffhanger of an ending made me want to read more. I think that all the characters personalities are a bit shifty/ hot and cold at times, but it was an interesting read. I think that the synopsis of the book gave off a different impression of what the story entailed but it was good all the same. Would recommend if you are a fan of peter pan retellings. Rating 3.5/5

This was a real let down for me, I didn’t like it personally. I feel like the description was very misleading.

I really enjoyed this book. I love Peter Pan retelling. This book was well written and I enjoyed the romance a lot. The world building was very well done.

So the description gave me such high hopes for this but the moment I started reading I knew it wasn't for me. It's right out the gate they are in young love, he only thinks of her, it just...wasn't for me. Dull. Boring. Misleading description was annoying.

So beyond excited for this! I absolutely love acquiring all kinds of different Peter an tales and this one looks absolutely amazing! I love a different spin on the beloved tale and know readers will as well!The cover is beautiful as well! Beyond excited t9 share my full review and thoughts.