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xdesdesx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
brooksie03051's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hooked by Emily McIntire
This is a standalone and the first in the Never After Series of a dark romance where the villain gets the girl. It is not a literal retelling but a dark, spicy contemporary romance (not a fantasy) reimagining of Peter Pan.
Wendy meets James (Hook) at a popular bar he runs in town when she and her friends sneak in with a fake ID. Before he knows she is the daughter of the man who ruined his life (Peter), she stands out like a bright star in the sky. When he bumps into her and she doesn't fall at his feet like all other women do when they look upon his devastatingly handsome face, that makes her even more interesting. He likes that he has to pursue her rather than throwing herself at him. The fact that his arch enemies precious shadow willingly came into his domain was perfect and now he needs to work his charm to win her over so he can finally destroy him once and for all. The bar is where he and his partner filter money, but their real business is in selling drugs and protection to the surrounding businesses. Peter is trying to take over the area and Hook will have none of that. He will ruin him and take the one thing Peter truly cares about—his beloved shadow, his daughter Wendy.
This hit many of the character points with familiar references to them without it being a fantasy and had not only "Hook" as a villain but Peter as well. Although James "Hook" is known to be a powerful and dangerous man, he falters a bit regarding Wendy. She is nothing like any of the women he has ever known, and he gets under his skin. Again, this is a spicy tale, so don't let your kiddos read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Gun violence
lovelynovellas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“The greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy darling”
I enjoyed this. Wendy was a bit too “innocent” and naive for me, it was a bit eye rolling. I liked the twists at the end and the epilogue taking place two years later.
Tw: death, murder, kidnapping, blood, gore, drugs, knives, guns, torture, sexual content
I enjoyed this. Wendy was a bit too “innocent” and naive for me, it was a bit eye rolling. I liked the twists at the end and the epilogue taking place two years later.
Tw: death, murder, kidnapping, blood, gore, drugs, knives, guns, torture, sexual content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
cookreadrepeat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Vomit, and Kidnapping
ana98_'s review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Kidnapping
justmudlynnabout's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If I wasn’t reading this for book club the first couple chapters would’ve turned me away. It got better and I’m glad I finished it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
gracewingham's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Blood
emptzuu's review against another edition
DNF for the second time.
Wendy has terrible taste in friends. Angie keeps pressuring her to go clubbing and hang out with people who are clearly bad influences. It’s frustrating how Wendy can't stand up to these so-called friends, yet she can stand up to James—albeit only a little. Wendy’s personality is as bland and dry as stale bread. She's also incredibly naive and, frankly, comes across as quite stupid.
James, on the other hand, is a carbon copy of every dark romance guy I've ever read about—misogynistic to the core. When he said that subduing a woman is all about control, I threw this book out the window. He harasses Wendy and even has thoughts of raping her.
How can anyone read this and not think, this is abuse? It reads like poorly written torture porn with zero redeeming qualities. I don't mind toxic relationships or dark themes in books—bring on the obsessive, murderous men who say things like “good girl” and “get on your knees.” But when the abuse crosses the line so heavily, that's where I draw the line. The smut wasn't enough to make up for any of it.
Wendy has terrible taste in friends. Angie keeps pressuring her to go clubbing and hang out with people who are clearly bad influences. It’s frustrating how Wendy can't stand up to these so-called friends, yet she can stand up to James—albeit only a little. Wendy’s personality is as bland and dry as stale bread. She's also incredibly naive and, frankly, comes across as quite stupid.
James, on the other hand, is a carbon copy of every dark romance guy I've ever read about—misogynistic to the core. When he said that subduing a woman is all about control, I threw this book out the window. He harasses Wendy and even has thoughts of raping her.
How can anyone read this and not think, this is abuse? It reads like poorly written torture porn with zero redeeming qualities. I don't mind toxic relationships or dark themes in books—bring on the obsessive, murderous men who say things like “good girl” and “get on your knees.” But when the abuse crosses the line so heavily, that's where I draw the line. The smut wasn't enough to make up for any of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape
bluz19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Hooked is a standalone story of dark contemporary romance. It is apart of the Never After Series which is a collection of fractured fairytales where the villain gets the happily ever after. It is not particularly a retelling as it is a complete remapping of the story. The book features very mature themes that must be considered before reading.
I mainly picked up this book because I usually love the stories of Hook and for once I let social media talk me into a read. I didn’t hate it, I know not the best way to start a review. I am not big into smut, in fact I find it CRINGEY, BUT ultimately I loved the book. Putting the heavy smut aside, the story itself held a lot of parts I did like. This book is very dark and twisted. It definitely hooked me from beginning to end (no pun intended). I found myself enjoying the storyline and not as much of the romance because it was very harsh for what I generally like to read. Imagine if Hook owned a bar and secretly sold “Pixie Dust” and got rid of anyone who lied to him or opposed him and suddenly your enemy (Peter) comes to town and its the perfect time to get your revenge. That is the entire real premise of the book with smut thrown in. Now I must note that there is a lot of trauma bonding and I would say inappropriate relationships because they are ultimately toxic, HOWEVER I’m here for the toxicity in book form. A lot of the decisions made by Hook and by Wendy in this book are aggravating and without reason but it did make for a good story. The twists in this book, the betrayals, and the lies had my jaw ON THE FLOOR! I felt through this story and nothing had me wanted to lay this book down (except for maybe the heavy smut scenes). This story never pulled punches and I felt every part of each line.
I think if you enjoy smut or can look past the smut then you will definitely find joy in the dark parts of this book. This is probably one of the more mob-boss stories I have read in a minute. There will be torture, abuse, death and assault in this story so definitely be aware of that. I am not sure if I will pick up the other ones because of the sexy scenes but I did love the dark and twisted imagination of this author as well as the “bad guy” not always losing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity and Car accident
things100's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Oh my gosh this book was soooo good. James was sooo morally grey I’m obsessed. Wendy and James are the cutest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Body horror and Abandonment