Second Star to the Left: 1 (Reimagined Fairy Tales)

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But going into this story, already a huge fan of Megan’s work, was counter-balanced by the fact that Peter Pan is probably my least favorite fairy tale. I’ve never been a fan of the lost boys concept, and Hook has always been portrayed as a douche-waffle (with the exception of Once Upon a Time). but, the Mermaid queen has a solution—work together to find her an irreplaceable magical item and she’ll solve both of their problems. As they set off to the mysterious Shrouded island to find the priceless treasure, their shared nemesis begins to close in… but that’s nothing compared to the realisation that achieving their goal mag mean losing each other forever. The author’s writing was easy, fun and enjoyable. This book was fast-paced and there was always something happening. I’m not a fan of slow books, so I enjoyed this aspect.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book. My opinions are my own! The road from Tortuga to Neverland feels so natural and organic, you could almost look at a starry sky and sense Hook’s homeland within reach. This is a before-Wendy story that exposes connections and relationships between Neverland's most famous faces that nobody's ever known about before. It provides a lot of insight, for those who can read between the lines and look ahead to the timeline of the classic tale, as to why Peter and Tink have such a volatile relationship and why Tink even wants to hang around. It provides an interesting connection between Peter and Hook, as well, and definitely does an excellent job at making Hook a lot more human. He's still a pirate captain, he's still not on the right side of the law (if such a thing exists in a place like Neverland) and he's still motivated by greed and revenge, but we get to see him as a sympathetic, flawed man who has redeeming qualities. Another thing that bothered me was that they found the scale easily. The witch gave them a riddle — okay — but are you really telling me that it was just that easy? Save for the fog? Like Tinker Bell just managed to spot everything coincidentally? It was boring and anticlimactic. There’s also sassy banter. A good ol’ caveman carry. Naked adventure time *waggles eyebrows.* But a lot of tender moments, too, made all the sweeter because of how things begin between them.

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However, the mermaid queen has a solution to both of their problems, if Tink and Hook will work together to retrieve a magical item for her.

I wished there was a little more to the betrayal plot. I liked the twist. But the reasons didn’t land for me. Too much of a 180.Tink, banished from her homeland for selling Pixie Dust (the hottest drug in Neverland), is determined to find a way home and doesn’t hesitate to follow her only lead—even if it means seducing a filthy pirate to steal precious gems out from under his… hook. I would happily read a follow up, especially wanting to know what happened to the boat full of people at the end that vanished. I mean, I know what it's setting up but I just want more. Lol