Welcome to Neverland. Where shadows consume and magic is frighteningly real.
Ava is struggling to provide for herself and her sister, who slips further into insanity with each passing day. Raving about Neverland. Obsessed with a Second Star that Ava can’t see in the black, velvety sky. Until the night Belle succumbs to the terrifying shadows plaguing her and sweeps Ava away to a land that is only supposed to exist in storybooks.
Neverland is real. And so is Peter Pan.
He's grown from boy to man, wielding a terrible power he uses to rule the island. When he senses Ava’s presence and sends his Lost Boys to collect her, a dashing captain with a silver hook for a hand comes to her defense. He offers her protection aboard his ship, and the help of his crew to find Belle before Peter and his Lost Boys do. But what he asks for in return might be more than she or her sister can possibly pay.
Belle once stole something invaluable from Peter Pan, something Hook and his crew need if they’re ever to escape the cursed island’s thrall. And despite their undeniable attraction, Hook will do anything to claim it before Pan can.
I've always loved the story of Peter Pan, both in its magical side and its dark side. The Last Lost Girl by Casey L. Bond definitely falls on the darker stream of things but it's not quite what I would call horror, but it's not Disneified either! This is a new adult tale featuring older characters but still set in the magical and dangerous world known as Neverland!
Ava and her found sister, Belle, have been living on their own for years taking care of each other. In recent days, Belle's mental health has not been at its best and one night during one of her "episodes" she and Ava are transported to another land, you guessed it, Neverland! Like all other retellings, this isn't your typical Neverland either, things are different, darker, more dangerous.
What tends to baffle me about these retellings is when Peter is not a boy. He is far from childlike in this tale. And in a sense, I understand why he has to be older, it's just disorienting when you read about the boy who didn't want to grow up, actually does grow up for some reason or another! I feel like the explanation behind his and the Lost Boys growing older wasn't really explained well. It was sort of an offhand comment that it is what it is. So naturally, I just rolled with it.
Upon landing in Neverland, Ava is found by a Lost Boy and then "rescued" by Hook in a grisly way. She is then taken with him to treat a wound and we have our forced proximity trope happening straight away. Hook is about Ava's age, naturally, and as we already know, good looking too! Lol. I don't mean for these things to come off as negative either! I know very much what I am reading and expect the characters to fit into those roles and that means a good lookin Hook. I mean after Once Upon a Time, I expect all Hooks to be hot, so there's that too!
Hook needs Ava's help in trying to find Tinkerbell who has something that he and his men desperately need. He believes that Ava is the only one who can help him get close to Tinkerbell without there being other issues popping up, and he has to find her before Peter does, because Peter wants Tinkerbell for the same reason too.
This book holds all the magic and darkness one expects from Neverland and I positively loved it! I've read dozens of Peter Pan retellings over the years, some where Peter is still our hero and other times, not so much! They have all been different and unique and The Last Lost Girl is no different in that sense! This book was incredible and I loved the unique take on the Peter Pan story.
In this universe, the Peter Pan story does in fact exist and plays a role in the mix as well, which I found interesting. Sometimes you get a retelling where the source material does not exist. So that we have it here is very intriguing indeed and I like how Bond wove it into the story.
Romance, yup, there's that too! Lol. Naturally, we can see that things will start brewing between Ava and Hook, but I will tell you now that it is no spice. There's heat between them, but I feel like it was mostly closed-door. We get some kissing and tension, but when the "deed" happens, it was very much behind a closed door. So if you're looking for high spicy moments, you won't find them here.
The ending was a doozie! I suspected some kind of cliffhanger since this is a duology but this one was a whopper! So glad I can dive into the next one asap because a wait after that ending would have been disastrous! Lol. With the fate of many characters hanging in the balance, you can bet I will be diving into The First Lost Boy asap!
If you're looking for that Peter Pan retelling that puts a different spin on the classic tale and has a darker edge to it with just a little bit of romance, then you should definitely check this series out! This was such a fun take on a beloved tale that I can't wait for the next installment and likely more of Bond's books as well!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
