Neverland’s Kensington Academy is a secret organization led by none other than Peter Pan, who recruits children with the Nevergene. Something she doesn’t believe is humanly possible. Except to get to Neverland, she’ll need to fly. Vivienne’s illness baffles everyone except for her friend, Deacon, who believes she has something called a “Nevergene.” If she doesn’t leave soon and go with him to Neverland’s Kensington Academy, she’ll become a test subject of a more nefarious medical group called the Humanitarian Organization for Order and Knowledge - aka HOOK. Shuffled through the foster care system for most of her life, Vivienne is almost free when days before her 18th birthday she’s suddenly hospitalized with mysterious symptoms. This is a modern Peter Pan reimagining young adult series with fantasy, romance and bit of sci-fi, but more importantly with Hickman’s signature wit and cheeky ability to toy with lore. This is an adult romance with mature themes, but also incredibly romantic with lines like, “Darling, if I’m the dark, then you’re the stars,” crooned by Hook. And Wendy isn’t as easy of a pawn in anyone’s games as the men in her life have believed. James’ particularly brutal upbringing of violence created a sadist streak in him, but he’s also an emotionally complex man whose plan to seduce Wendy becomes complicated once he starts to fall for her.

His plans seem all the more possible when Wendy, the daughter of the man he hates, walks into his club he decides she’s his opportunity to strike back. James, also known as Hook, experienced an abusive childhood and is obsessed with revenge. McIntire writes fractured fairy tales, among other books, and “Hooked” is the first in her Never After series, which upends the fairy tale into a much darker version. But McIntire’s delightfully dark book isn’t a children’s retelling of swarthy Captain Hook and Peter Pan ― this story is for the adults. “Hooked” by international bestselling author Emily McIntire touts over 100,000 reviews on Goodreads and is presently one of the most popular Peter Pan-inspired books to date.

Hooked by Emily McIntire