Discover Top Posts Tagged with #hooked 2021

Spoiler-Filled Review of Hooked (2021) by Emily McIntire

My Score Chart:

0 Stars = Hate it/ Regret reading it

1 Star = Meh, not for me

2 Stars = Ok/ neutral

3 Stars = I liked it

4 Stars = I loved it

5 Stars = One of my favorite books ever!

Overall Score: 3.5

If you would like to see my Spoiler-Free and shorter review, click here.

In case you didn't read the title carefully THIS REVIEW IS FULL OF SPOILERS. (Peter Pan voice) Here we go!!!!!

I finished Hooked, my first selection of Emily McIntire’s Never After series, since Peter Pan (1953) is my one of my favorite Disney movies (along with Aladdin (1992) and The Little Mermaid (1989) which I will hopefully read soon as Twisted (2023) and Hexed (2024), thanks to my lovely coworker, Brittany!)

To begin with what you should not do, I am going to judge a book by its cover. Both the original cover and the special edition cover are well done. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow the special edition with shiny foil Big Ben detail. My favorite part of this wrap is the Darling painted on the side. The original cover with the shattered pocket watch and the lipstick is good, too, but I think the hardcover special edition is more timeless and is a better reflection of the original story by J.M. Barrie.

My favorite books are always written in first person, and this one jumps between James’s (Hook) and Wendy’s perspectives. I think it is really sad that James was abused by his mob boss uncle, Croc, and I think the opening scene of him murdering Croc is very strong. McIntire incorporated the pocket watch as his trauma in correlation to his uncle/ crocodile and it was well done and made sense as to his violent tendencies. Hook's parents also dying in a tragic plane "accident" that was organized by Peter was a unique twist as to why he hates Peter.

The decision to change the ages and relationships of the original characters was interesting, but hard to wrap my head around at first.

James as a mid to late twenties (I think he was 26???) while Peter is in his late forties was a choice that I have never encountered before. I would have liked them closer to the same age, but I understand that she made Peter older so he could be Wendy's father. It gave me the ick at first, but I got used to it, especially since that made James the new love interest instead of Peter. Enemies to lovers, anyone?

While James remained British, Wendy and John became American in this adaptation which I don't have an opinion about. It was unclear if Peter was also American, but it doesn't really make a difference to the story anyways. I missed baby brother, Michael, being part of the story, since Wendy and John's last name changed from "Darling" to "Michaels," but I thought that was a nice way to still honor the character. I did see John and James being half-brothers from a mile away since they are described similar physically (which, side note, ew, Wendy why are you attracted to someone who looks like your brother???). James and John share a dad, but I swear for a while I was like do they have the same mom? YA NASTY. It's ok, it worked out... kinda.

I was most appreciative of the inclusion of Rufio since he is one of my favorite characters in the Pan verse making his debut in Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991). I was sad but not surprised since his death in both the book and movie versions led to huge emotional changes for Peter and James. I like that the Lost Boys work for James and Rufio instead of Peter in this version and that McIntire kept Ru's wild red hair.

I think it makes sense for James's character to have a motley crew of people closer to his age working for him at The Jolly Roger (love the Easter egg of his ship's name and The Lagoon, too!), but I would have liked to see more of Peter's crew other than Tink -> "Tina" Bell (not to be confused with the deceased musician with the same name). It TOTALLY made sense as a modern adaptation that Tina was really quiet, hated Wendy, and was a major drug addict addicted to "pixie dust" with aggressive tendencies. Their fight (and Tina's death) was a bad-ass scene and my favorite moment of Wendy's growth!

My favorite change was making Smee the bad guy and the secret son of Croc. I started to suspect it when Wendy and Smee were alone on the Tiger Lily yacht (another lovely Easter egg) since it just seemed so... off. I don't think Wendy or James are reliable narrators, but I trust them more than Smee since Smee has a history of ass-kissing Hook and stealing from him when he's not paying attention (ex: the 1991 version with Dustin Hoffman as Hook and this gif from 1953.)

Of the central characters, James was my favorite, but that wasn’t a surprise because he is always my favorite in every version (have you seen him in Once Upon a Time (2011-2018)? He is so gorgeous. I think Captain Killian “Hook” Jones (played by Colin O'Donoghue) might have inspired some of the changes McIntire made considering he hot, young(er) and has short hair instead of the traditional poodle wig. Plus, he's definitely more of a hero in ONCE's depiction and in-between in McIntire's.

I do NOT like that James didn't have a hook. YES, read that again, NO HOOK. Instead, he had a knife that had a hook shape. Kind of lame... until he used it to kill that guy in the coffee shop that was rude to Wendy. Harsh but way hot. I said what I said. When I told my fiancé that James didn't have a hook, he was shocked and said McIntire should have made him a veteran with one hand who has "toy" extensions for the other hand.

I know this book is well liked because of the smut, but the smut to plot ratio was a little high for my taste. Also, a lot of the sexual acts were redundant with the choking, missionary and oral getting boring to read. I think James has more moves than that (at least in my fantasies!) Not to kink shame, but when he squirted on her face... and she liked it.... that's just not for me. It was kind of cute that they had kids at the end though.

Do you have a favorite Captain Hook? Jason Isaacs is mine. Damn, he’s so sexy. WHAT THAT (DOUBLE) HOOK DO, BOO? Definitely making daddy issues for me since his Peter Pan came out in 2003… when I was six. I definitely used a combo of him and Colin O'Donoghue as a physical reference for James in this book since I struggle with imagining characters in my mind.

I liked Wendy more as the story went on, but she wasn’t my favorite character. She played a damsel in distress for most of the book where I would have liked to see her stronger and more interesting than a rich Mary Sue. While this is resolved in the climax with the death of Peter and Smee, it is so short lived that I think the book maybe should have been a little longer or had her growth start a little sooner. Wendy’s “friends” remind me of the mermaids, haha. I like the continued references to Moira and Angela. Moira deserved more time in the book; she was a baddie and was a fun new character. I liked her story arc, but I want MORE. GET HIM, HONEY!

Overall, if you’re a Peter Pan/ Disney fan I would recommend reading the book. If not, it might be hard to get through. While I was reading, it definitely inspired me to start writing my own Peter Pan/ Hook retelling… we’ll see if that ever gets published or if it remains a fanfiction. However, in my story, it's a love triangle between Peter, Wendy, and Hook. Hook DOES have only one hand (extensions tbd...) and he's Peter's stepdad. Interested?