Hooked: A Never After Novel

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.