Review #439
I rarely ever like books in third person anymore but this one somehow got a solid 4.5/5 stars! The Legacy of Villains is my favorite Peter Pan retelling of the 10 I’ve read so far. It’s a clean YA fantasy romance standalone that may live within a potential series.
I love how the chapters are quick, clear and concise and end on mini cliffhangers. And how a lot of the vibe was like Alice and Wonderland.
Jo is Captain Hook’s daughter (who will eventually take his place) but in the beginning she’s in disagreement with her Dad about Peter Pan’s peace treaty because she thinks it’s a trap.
Now that Captain Hook has been captured by Pan, Jo makes a deal. She has 3 days to make it to Pan’s castle to free her father or Pan gets to imprison Jo too.
Here are my thoughts and notes while reading:
Chapter 14 throws us into a new PoV (Peter Pan’s) without warning… sidenote- this happens a few times later too which I didn’t expect or enjoy.
I learned a new word: Ennui- a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.
At page 100 I love Jo’s spirit. I have so many questions. Is there a purpose of putting her through this strange game? What has Captain Hook done that Jo isn’t aware of. What other kinds of magic does the Neverwoods hold?
I like the clever games inside the woods and the challenges she has to go through but Peter just seems unnecessarily cruel
The clock scene in chapter 29 was awesome.
At the halfway mark I’m wondering if every version of Peter Pan story has to make him cruel.
The cards game scene with Wendy is refreshingly creative and I’m all for it.
Chapter 38 was excellent!
And so was chapter 45!
A few little details of the climatic scene were a little fuzzy to me but I still loved it. The second half was better than the first and oh my do I love me some shadows.
Overall, this Peter Pan is the closest comparable to my work in progress, The Never Hour, which is exciting. Except mine is a gender swap and has a spicy scene or two.
The end hints on a continued series? Here is the blurb:
Peter Pan meets Beauty and the Beast in this darkly enchanting enemies to lovers retelling.
Jolie Hook knew better than to make a deal with the shadowy and charismatic Peter Pan. Not only had he been her father’s mortal enemy since the days of the Merfolk War, but he’d also had a hand in her mother’s brutal murder ten years ago.
So when Pan lures her father to a peace-treaty meeting only to kidnap him instead, Jo has to fight back her violent urges in order to strike a bargain with her foe: if she makes it to his castle within three days, he will let her father go.
All that stands in her way is the Neverwoods, the ancient forest teeming with Peter’s beautifully dark magic. As he sends illusions and nightmarish games meant to torment her into defeat, Jolie begins to unravel the mysteries of Peter Pan, including the secrets behind his dangerous shadow magic and his obsession with trapping her in his realm forever.
Battling an otherworldly girl from Peter’s past, the vicious truths of the Hook legacy, and her own treacherous attraction to the enemy, Jo races against the clock to save her father and secure themselves as the winners of Neverland’s fiercest unending war.
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