Hooked: A Never After Novel
Ratings143
Average rating3.4
Hooked by Emily McIntire
“The greatest thing I've ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy, darling.”
Let me start this by saying I did not expect to like this book. I am not a fan of retellings, and I'm not a fan of Hook. But this book blew me out of the water. Emily McIntire has such a way with words, and she draws you into this little universe she's created and leaves you wanting more. I did not want this book to end.
This book is a dark romance, that does have a HEA. Some themes may be hard for some readers. I like to go in blind and some of the scenes were
I almost DNF this book, but I pushed through because it was a book club read. Not sure why everyone online loved this book so much. Maybe I'm just not a dark romance girly.
Rating: 4.5/5
Rounded down to 4 stars
Read at the same time with my friend while texting each other was fantastic fun. A fun Peter Pan retelling with all the good stuff in it. Ooof that was hot in parts. So good and fun. Saved straight romance for me, honestly. Definitely just needs to be the right one or the right author.
“sometimes it's easier to believe what you think is true instead of having to figure out others”
Spoiler-Free Review:
I wasn't planning to read this book, but so many friends were hyping it up so I picked it up. I was pleasantly surprised. Dark romance is a newer genre for me, and sometimes things get a little too dark. I felt like this book was on the medium-milder side of darkness if that makes sense. I don't usually like to give “half stars,” but I felt like this book was more than a three star but less than a four star. Alas... 3.5 stars! Let's dive into the review! So I really liked that the story was loosely based on Peter Pan. It wasn't a retelling but little bits of inspiration sprinkled throughout. I thought the story itself was very creative. There was a mystery and a plot twist that kept me turning the pages! I deducted stars for plot related issues. Somethings could have been further explained or expanded on. It also was all resolved super quickly in the end. The FMC, Wendy, was very unexpected. At first I thought she would be shy and timid, but that was not the case at all! Hook/James, the MMC, is so broken and damaged I just wanted to give him a hug. So much sexual tension- so much! The payoff was definitely there and it was definitely spicy. This book is dark and the author is very upfront about that with a message at the front of the book which I appreciated. Check the trigger warnings because there are many things that could be triggering to readers. The author has a second book in this series coming out soon and I will likely read it. I really enjoyed the creativity of story and the characters. This is an adult dark romance. 18+ for romance, sexual content, and themes.
The plot was enjoyable, and I really loved all of the creative references to the original story. I certainly wouldn't say that this is a modern retelling of the original story, but the inspiration from the original story is definitely there, and it was interesting that the story is set in our normal world. The ending was definitely unexpected, and even though I had to suspend my disbelief a bit more during the end than the rest of the book, I don't think it really took away from the rest of the story. The main reason I'm dropping it down to 4 stars is the amount of smut or times that the characters thought about smut in this book. I feel like it was probably about 40% of the book, so if you love a kinky, erotic read, this would definitely be up your ally. For me, though, it got a bit exhausting, and it would have been nice to see more examples of the development of the relationship and subsequent manipulation beyond just sex.
finished this the day the new Taylor album came out so i have no thoughts only vibes
I'll give this book 3.75 ⭐️ I just have one thing to say and it is: it should be illegal the way this man talks
I liked this book and it's suspense. There's not too much I have to say about it, and it happens to be the first
i kinda thought it would be terrible, but it's surprisingly entertaining and well written, like...? i was duped in a good way 😂