What a twisted, dark, and beautiful world P.H. Low has created in These Deathless Shores. Low's grim and lyrical writing sets the tone for an utterly haunting retelling of Peter Pan. If you're a fan of dark, whimsical fantasy like I am, you're going to love this book.

The characters are complex and relatable, and I appreciated the amount of representation that can be found throughout the story. There are also many graphic and devastating monents, so please take a look through the trigger warnings before jumping in.

Overall, this debut novel made me a huge fan of P.H. Low and I cannot wait to see where they go next!

One of my most anticipated of the year because I am also Chinese Malaysian American, and I loved hearing P. H. Low talk at a debut authors panel. Unfortunately, the concept of These Deathless Shores proves to be too much for its pages, as Low attempts to balance a well-beloved children's story with the twist of a new, Kuala Lumpur-inspired world and magic system. World-building is brushed over and often clunky, leaving me wishing for more when Jordan, Baron, and Tier are whisked onto The Island a quarter of the way through the book. It leaves the question of what The Point of this interesting metropolis world is if we are not going to spend much of any time in it.

Once on The Island, Jordan, Baron, and Tier find themselves enmeshed in the lives of other former Lost Boys now finding themselves skirmishing with children whose roles they previously occupied. This is a fascinating concept that I wish was more deeply expanded on, specifically as it relates to the almost deity-like qualities of Peter (who is far from a fully fleshed-out villain).

While I do think this is still worth a read for fans of Peter Pan with a gender and queer twist, this ultimately did not live up to the lofty expectations I had :(.

4, maybe even 4.5 stars for this dust magic infused gem of a book. P.H. Low writes so beautifully, their words wrapping around the reader to fully ensorcell you into the world they've created.

These Deathless Shores is a twist on the classic Peter Pan. Not truly a re-telling, I would say, more of a re-imagining. It follows, Jordan, who as a child spent almost a decade on the island (Neverland, although it isn't called that in the book as far as I can recall). She's now an adult, and after using ample amounts of dust regularly during her time on the island, came back to the "Outside" addicted. She spends the next +/- 10 years trying to survive and stave off withdrawal. Her closest friend (or rather, her only friend) from before the island up to present day, Baron, was on the island with her.

As adults, both Jordan and Baron struggle in various ways. Then Jordan hatches a plan for them to go back to the island and steal something from Peter, and away they go.

Skirmishes abound, revelations unfold, relationships grow and change while they're on the island. The bulk of the book takes place on the island. I don't want to say more about the plot, for fear of accidentally spoiling anything.

One of my favorite things about this book was the inclusivity. Especially that the inclusivity wasn't used as merely a plot device, or even as a tool to push the plot along. This is a great example of how LGBTQ+ characters can (and should) be included in literary works. There was a character with a limb difference and a non-binary character, possibly some others that I don't recall right off.

Not only was the LGBTQ+ rep stellar, but there was plenty of mental health rep as well, including topics like anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, and depression (although I don't recall it being labeled as depression).

There is a small bit of romance, and a couple of sex scenes. For the sex scenes, it isn't graphic on page - I definitely wouldn't classify those scenes as smut.

One thing I didn't love was that it felt like there was one too many skirmishes between the pirates and the boys. Another thing I didn't love was that it seemed it was fight, fight, fight, The End. I feel it would've flowed better if one of the middle fights had been removed and so there would've been more time for it to flow better towards the ending.

Overall, I felt it was a great book. The writing is just so good, so beautiful. I cannot wait to read more works by P.H. Low. The imagination it took to come up with this spin off of the traditional Peter Pan, kudos to author.

If you're the type that prefers trigger warnings, this book has: drug use, addiction, and withdrawal, violence, physical fighting, some gore, eating disorders, talk of suicide, death, hospitalization.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 40%

I liked the lyrical writing style, but the plot and characters weren't doing anything for me.
I don't think that this needed to be split up into 5 POVs. I think that I would have been able to emotionally connect with Jordan and Baron a lot more if we were limited to them. I really wanted to care about them, but I just couldn't force myself to.
I also thought that the pacing felt off. There's quite a bit of action happening, but it doesn't really feel like there's a lot going on. Moments that should have felt really tense felt the same way as everything else for me, it felt quite flat.

I was really anticipating this, so I'm disappointed that it turned out to be my first DNF of the year

"These Deathless Shores" by PH Low is a mesmerizing blend of mythology and fantasy, weaving a rich tapestry of adventure and magic. Unforgettable!

“The only way we’ll get an ending to this story,” she said, keeping her voice light, “is if we write it ourselves.”- P.H. Low

This dark retelling of Peter Pan is built upon themes of greed, jealousy, abuse, pain, abandonment, addiction, body dysmorphia, capitalism, family, friendship, trust, love, and magic. While characters are battling their pasts and their place in this world, they are also challenged with the hope, promise, or suggestion that there will be an After and who they want to be when that time comes. There are lost boys, pirates, the Island, and the Outside and as in all good tales, their paths intersect, collide, and even merge. What stands true through this story is that the strongest relationships are not built upon conceding to another’s demands or beliefs but in the honoring of one’s identity and simply loving one another despite any fault or vice.

Meet Jordan- she will be your Captain Hook of this story. Baron is Jordan’s best friend, some may alike him to Smee but he’s so much more than that first mate. You’ll meet Lost Boys and Pirates who you’ll find are more connected than we’ve known in other retellings. This is not your Disney Peter Pan and this Tink dust is not the pixie dust of happy thoughts. This world is harsh and everyone is in pain.

Low has a way with words and their imagery allows for high definition reading. I’m a fan. Thanks to @netgalley and @orbitbooks_us for the #advancedreaderscopy

Pub date: 7/9/24

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#thesedeathlessshores #netgalley #peterpan #neverland

3.5 ⭐

Jordan, an exiled Lost Boy, is struggling to be a grown up. At 8 years old, Peter swept Jordan and her best friend, Baron, to the Island where they spent the next 5 years as the Twins in the Lost Boys. Until Jordan's body betrayed her and she began to bleed. Exiled from the Island her life spirals into drug addiction, mafia work and underground fighting. Determined to get revenge on Peter for what he did, as well as take back her life from the debilitating effects withdrawal from Dust causes her, Jordan returns to the Island with Baron in tow. Revenge is the only thing propelling Jordan through life, what happens when it finally is within reach?

This was an enjoyable read! A very unique take on a Peter Pan inspired story. I wouldn't call it a retelling per say, but it definitely kept a lot of the original elements of the Peter Pan story intact. There ended up being significantly more explicit gore than I had expected but I do think it was necessary for the story.

These Deathless Shores is filled with so many deep quotes and thought provoking prose. Darkly compelling this book will be enjoyable for adult fairytale fans

While I appreciate the lyrical (if, sometimes too purple) prose and the central conceit of the novel (the way stories can be repeated; how we need to break free of the cyclical nature of those same stories to truly grow), overall this wasn't really something I particularly enjoyed.

For starters, this was a very bloated book and it didn't really need to be. The book is split up into 5 POVs--the Island itself, Jordan (a former Lost Boy), Baron (another former Lost Boy), Tier (a pilot), and Chay (the current Ama/mother of the Lost Boys). In truth, the only POVs that mattered were Jordan and Baron. Chay maybe added a little more because her POV gave a glimpse into the way the Lost Boys and Peter were in the current day, but Tier's POV didn't add anything to the story and I honestly question why he was there at all. Because of all the POVs, the relationship between Jordan and Baron suffered, in my opinion. Especially because it had to butt up against Chay and her insta-love romance with Tier. And while I appreciated the personification of the Island, I don't know how much it added to the story.

I just think there was both too much going on and not enough. Peter is an important character (not The Main Character, but the catalyst for so much of Jordan's pain and anger) and yet he didn't feel like a character at all. I wish that the book had been either just Jordan's POV or Jordan and Baron's POVs and that we'd gotten more flashbacks into their time as Lost Boys. Given the world a bit more of a boost instead of relying on the reader's knowledge of an established Peter Pan story.

As much as I can see what the book was trying to do, it was weighed down by too many different plot threads that didn't feel like they ultimately fleshed out into a cohesive story. I just didn't enjoy my time readings this, though I imagine others will likely feel differently.

Thank you for this ARC!
I was so excited to read this when I first saw the description. It was a fun read, but it fell a little flat. I didn’t feel connected to any character and their personalities were a bit bland. The story is great and I really enjoyed it for the most part!

I did not finish this book. It just wasn't for me. I don't read books with cursing. It also didn't "grab" my interest at all. Thank you for giving me the arc to read
The rating is low because I couldn'treally rate a book I didn't finish..

This book was a very interesting dark retelling of Peter Pan. I did mostly enjoy it but it was darker and more graphic than I expected which isn’t always my jam. But it was well written and I can see how others who enjoy this genre more would really like it!

I wanted to love this book—I love the idea of a dark retelling of a childhood fairy tale. But this fell flat for me and took me way too long to get through.
I enjoyed the storytelling and some aspects of the plot, but felt disturbed by some of the graphic details the author put into the story. The inner conflict of Jordan and Baron was exhausting and repetitive at times, and I skimmed quite a few pages. Some of the writing felt too poetic and odd.

I was SO excited to read this Peter Pan retelling! I LOVED this. This story had some triggering/dark moments but it was SUPER inclusive. Characters with disabilities, eating disorders, addictions and LGBTQ+!

“They had both knew from the beginning that they would not save each other.”

“These Deathless Shores,” by P.H. Low

A peter pan retelling with addiction to dust magic and dark themes. I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately, I just didn’t vibe with it. I was bored at many parts of the book and the dark concept was written in a way that was poetic but strange and not in a good way for me. Check out trigger warnings before reading. 2 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netaglley.

This is not the Peter Pan your grandmother read to you.
In this dark reimagining of Peter Pan we see what the repercussions of living as a lost boy has when they return to the world. I can honestly say that the way the author dealt with the addiction the dust causes was written very well. It was fast paced with just enough time between the action to catch your breath then it's pedal to the metal again. This was a very well written novel that dealt with a few dark topics. I really enjoyed this book, just be aware there are several topics you may be triggered by such as addiction, eating disorders and thoughts of self harm. All in all a solid read l.

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this.

I give books usually until the 25% mark to find out if I want to join them on this ride they're taking me on to the end. Sadly, this was an awfully big (and too confusing) adventure for me.

While I am all for Peter Pan re-imaginings the world building was confusing and felt half-baked. There was some sort of insta love with Tier and the 'mother' character of the island. Jordan was too brash, angry and unfeeling with her friend that joined her on the island as well.

The book didn't seem to really have a purpose and a end-game of why they were on the island except to get high again ('dust').

Thanks, but no thanks.

I really enjoyed the writing in this, it felt very fresh. The story really grabs you at the beginning and does not let you go. This feels like a book I will be coming back to.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I love fairytale retellings, and Peter Pan is one of my favorite types of retellings. The first chapter was amazingly written, and I found Jordan so exciting. Then, it went downhill. This is such an intricate world PH created, but there was no world building. We were just expected to know all the intricacies without any explanation, and the constant jumps between 4 different POVs without any warning only further confused me. Ultimately, I DNF’d around 25% but I’m definitely interested in trying more of this author’s work in the future. I truly believe once they finesse their skill set and improve on their world building, then the sky is the limit for them.

These Deathless Shores is a dark revisiting to Neverland and the truth behind the boy who never grows up. I was very drawn in by the premise, but the story as a whole wasn’t quite for me. I do think there are many who will love it.

The author’s writing is beautiful, and they cover many important conversations (addiction, anxiety, eating disorders). For me, a little more levity, in addition to the serious dark subject matter, would have added to the story and characters.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

These Deathless Shores was a book that I think most people would love, it just never clicked for me. It is the story of two former Lost Boys who return to the Island (Neverland) to face the trauma of their past. The story also focuses on the ama (mother) of the current Lost Boys and the pilot who carries the other two back. This story has stunning prose and deals with some very heavy topics in a very lived in way.

This book is full of representation, in particular I found Jordan’s story the most compelling. The struggle of addiction was done with care and it had a major impact on every action and every relationship.

I think if I were to give this book a second chance it would rank higher for me just because I would have understood a bit more of the world building that I did not get at first.

3.75/5