This article contains Amazon Affiliate Links. Thank you for supporting The Game of Nerds.
If you missed my last KU review on Avenging Skulls, you can find it here.
I am back with another KU review. This time it is Hooked by Emily McIntire. If you read my My Top 5 Book Trilogies/Series I Have Read And 3 On My TBR List article, I had the Never After series on that list. I found that series because Hooked is all over my FYP and I was excited to read it.
The premise of this series is the reimagining of classic fairytales though it is more of a deconstruction and rebuilding. Emily takes them apart and reconstructs them. I can dig that idea and the way she does it is cool. There are bits of the original story, in this one it is Peter Pan, all throughout the book. It’s a nifty way of doing it.
We meet Wendy Michaels. Her father, Peter, is wealthy because he owns the NevAirLand Airlines. She has a brother, Jon who is still in high school, whereas Wendy is twenty. Wendy lives at home, in fact, she followed her dad and brother to Massachusetts from Florida because her dad ignores Jon and she feels Jon needs someone. Even though there is absolutely no need for it, Wendy works at a coffee shop for minimum wage.
James Barrie, aka Hook, is a very bad man. He kills indiscriminately and viciously. He isn’t part of the mafia but he is part of the criminal underground. He also owns a bar, the Jolly Roger, and lives on a boat docked in the harbor. Unsurprisingly his first mate is Smee. When his parents died back in England, he was packed up and shipped off to America to be cared for by his uncle, Senator Barrie, only to be abused. With his uncle dead, his focus on revenge to bring justice for the death of his parents is all-consuming. He wants Peter Michaels dead and is willing, eager in fact, to use Wendy to extract that justice.
Wendy is naive to the ways of the world. Naturally, she is a virgin because she is so sheltered and a “good girl.” She really has no personality or strength of any kind. She is needy and whiny and I can’t stand her. I don’t mind the damsel in distress trope but Wendy is too much. Or, should I say, too little.
James on the other hand is supposed to be immune to feeling but feels intense feelings all over the place. Rage is his number one emotion. He seems to revel in killing and is a horrible boss. The people who work for him aren’t loyal because he deserves it, they are loyal out of fear. He wants to use Wendy to get to her father.
I got halfway through the book and couldn’t read anymore. I tried. I was going to stop a quarter of the way through but tried to go further, to try and finish it. I hate to say a book sucks, especially as an author myself, but this was a huge disappointment. The idea is outstanding. I love how the original story was deconstructed and elements were sprinkled in. I even thought that naming the MMC James Barrie was a nice touch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep me interested in the book. I won’t be finishing the series. I have been interested in Hades and Persephone stories lately so maybe I will try that.
Have you read the Never After series? Or anything else by Emily McIntire? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
