Book Review: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Hi everyone! 

I know that I've been gone for a bit, but I have several new book reviews coming because I've read FIVE books in my absence. 

First, let me talk about my July and August book club books. 

The first one was Pride and Prejudice, which I won't be reviewing because just about everyone knows the story. I wasn't a fan of having to read it. I prefer the movies with this one.

The second was  called My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. I won't be doing a full review on this book. I didn't enjoy it at all. The narrator and main character was the whiniest, most naive man on the face of the earth. I couldn't stand it. I wanted to punch him in the throat the entire time I was reading. 

I won't be picking up any classics for a while. (Unless they're by Jules Verne.) 

The third book was the one we are about to discuss. 

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell!!! 

Goodreads Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?"

My Rating:

5/5

My Thoughts:

So obviously this is a Peter Pan retelling. 

It. Was. AMAZING! 

Roles are completely reversed in this book and I couldn't have loved it anymore that I did. It had everything you could possible want. All of my favorites from the movie were in this book and it was obvious who was portraying who, which I really liked. The only characters missing were Smee, John, and Michael.  

Even the crocodile had a counterpart!! 

Lastly, before we get to spoilers, the ending was great! I was definitely pleased with it. This is the first book that I've read in a long time that didn't leave me crying my eyes out. 

If you like retellings, and you like Peter Pan, you need to give this one a shot. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

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Spoiler-y Discussion:

Lets talk about the portrayal of our favorites and some of the story line. 

Gwendolyn:

Wendy was Gwendolyn. She was great, though she made a couple of stupid choices in the book.

She finds herself in Neverland by kidnapping. Yeah. Kidnapping. By these giant faceless, hairy, creatures with wings and they sounded like rusty hinges when they spoke. (Definitely didn't speak English.) 

Hook saves her and Gwen thinks he's the villain because of the story of Peter Pan that we all know and love. She comes to her senses. Thankfully. 

Captain Hook:

Hook was still called Hook. Our hero....Yes, you heard me correctly....HERO. And a badass one at that. Hook saved Gwen from the creatures that took her from her world. He is a gruff guy and he's probably somewhere around 19 years old. He's been stuck in Neverland for a long time. (I won't spoil all of his story for you, because it's cool as all get out.) 

When Hook first arrived in Neverland, he was a lost boy. Hook left Peter when he started to remember who he was and where he came from. (See, Neverland makes you forget everything from before you got there.)

Peter comes on board Hook's ship and takes Gwen with him to his island. On the way out, Gwen sees hook breathing in this weird, floaty, gold stuff that just came out of a dying boy. The stuff was retrieved from the kid by a weird creature that had originally kidnapped Gwen. Gwen immediately thought Hook was the one that was evil and she went with Peter.

I LOVED Hook. Loved.

(How I think Hook looked in the book <3. I'd marry him right this second.)

Peter Pan:

Peter was, of course, Peter. He was our villain. I hated him. He was such a dick.

First, you should know that Peter is human. He was taken from earth by the queen of the Fae that lived on Neverland because she slept with the king of the Dark Fae and they split up and she couldn't bear to look at her real son. 

Then Peter locks up the queen when he's old enough to get some power, and never lets her out. 

 Second, He's stealing his lost boy's lives to live. Little bitty kids. It's terrible. 

Third, he had Gwen and her friend (we'll discuss her later) kidnapped because apparently, the queen of the Fae's REAL son had a daughter with a human woman. He wants to steal the child's soul so that he'll be just as powerful as the queen.(I'm not telling you which girl the child is)

(Basically how I pictured Peter)

Lost Boys:
All that you need to know:
1. They are blood thirsty little scaries.
2. They don't remember their mothers (=why they're blood thirsty little scaries)
3. They're basically being eaten by Peter Pan.

Gwen's Friend:

When the girls were kidnapped, Pan ended up with Gwen's friend. She was brainwashed by Pan and she only remembered who she really was a couple of times throughout the book. 

The final time was at the end. It was sad, and I don't want to give anything else about the ending away. 

Tinkerbell:

In the book, she was a b***h. Seriously the worst. She wanted Gwen dead for the duration of the story. 

Tick Tock Crocodile:

Our beloved croc was actually a super huge, bloodthirsty sea hag with three heads. So there's that.

Soooooo basically, the whole book is intense. 

HUGE ENDING SPOILER:

At the end, Hook is seriously injured saving Gwen from Pan. Then Pan is killed by Tinkerbell. Then Tinkerbell is killed by Hook because she was gonna kill Gwen. Then the queen busts up in there and tries to kill Hook, but the weird creature thing kills her. 

Gwen's friend was basically being murdered by Pan because he was stealing her soul the whole time she's been captive. At the end, Gwen gets ready to bring her back to their world, but she's literally falling to pieces and she can't make the trip. 

Gwen tells her that she loves her and that she won't ever forget her. She then leaves with Hook and they live happily ever after. 

Nailed it. *Mic Drop*

THE END!! 

I hope you enjoyed this brief discussion of Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell. I know I gave the ending away, but I tried my best not to give away too many details about all of the big things that occur mid-book. 

I really do recommend that you all pick this book up if it sounds like it might be your cup of tea. I loved it and I wish I had read it sooner! 

Happy Reading, and talk to you soon! 

XOXO,

Eden