Review: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Unhooked
My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: February 2016

Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Hardcover, 342 pages


Summary From Goodreads:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself? 

My Review: 
 
First off, if they ever make a this book into a movie, I want Dalton Rapattoni to play Pan. Because, I mean, seriously:

“His white-blond hair stands on end in an artful disarray that gives the impression he’s constantly in flight, like the wind itself can’t keep its greedy fingers out of those unruly locks."

Anyways...

This was a modern day retelling of Peter Pan, which, initially, I wasn't sure that I would like. I mean, I didn't understand how it was going to work out, but once I started reading the book, I was hooked {lol, no pun intended} It's definitely not the Peter Pan I grew up watching. It's kind of got a dark, creepy feel to it.

Honestly, I think part of the reason that I loved this book so much was the fact that Captain Hook wasn't the bad guy. Ever since I started watching Once Upon A Time, I've had this obsession with Captain Hook, and I am always looking for Peter Pan retellings, where Hook isn't bad {or as bad as he is in the original} and that's actually pretty hard to find. Everything I've read so far has stuck pretty close to the original. It also had a few similarities to OUAT, which I thought was pretty funny. Like the Dark Ones. Every time the Dark Ones were mentioned, I couldn't help but think of this:

I liked Gwen, but sometimes I wanted to shake her and tell her to get herself together. And stop believing the wrong people, and start believing in the ridiculously good looking pirate who says he's going to protect her. She spent a lot of time just being fixated on what she thought she knew about Neverland, and

Rowan. Ah, he has to be my favorite character. I love, love, love him. He's this super sexy pirate captain, who seems like a heartless jerk face. But in reality, he cares too much about the boys on his ship, and he will do whatever he can to keep them as safe as he can.

Pan was cray cray. I thought he was going to be one of those bad guys who turns semi good at the end, but nope. He was ridiculously creepy and crazy all the way to the end of the book.

I wish that we'd gotten to see more of the relationship between Gwen and Olivia, because I loved that friendship, or the idea of it at least. I wanted more of a backstory on their relationship, because I didn't really feel a connection to Olivia.

The Fey. Oh wow, they were kind of... Ferocious. Definitely not the cute, mischievous Tinkerbell I'm used to. Not believing in them doesn't work either, btw. They're real and they're gonna getcha.

I wish that this book had been a little longer. I felt like the end was a bit rushed. I wanted a little more closure with Rowan and Gwen, and I wanted to see how Rowan adjusted to his new life in the "real world" after being gone so long.

I also did not like Gwen's mom. She seemed like she wasn't all there {which, I suppose she wasn't} and just so... disconnected from everything. I didn't feel very connected to her either.

But all in all, it was an awesome book, and I would suggest it to anyone who liked fairy tales or Once Upon A Time.