Wendy Darling has just moved to a new city (Chicago) with her parents. Her only friend in town is one she made online. Her parents refuse to let her meet said friend until they have had a chance to meet this friends parents and confirm she is genuine. Her parents are also hoping to adopt a teenager in order to help them have a better life. One evening, while home alone, Wendy is confronted with a young man coming through her window looking for the sleeve of the coat her dog had ripped off his arm earlier in the day. Against her better judgement, Wendy offers to sew the sleeve of the jacket back on for the boy, who she learns is Peter. In return, Peter promises to take her on the town and to a party full of young people she can befriend. But, as the night unfolds, Wendy begins to question whether she should trust this dynamic, charming young man.

This is a very different and dark take on the Peter Pan story. I enjoyed the changes made and the narrative twists that the author took. However, after reading two Peter Pan retellings so close together, I find that I am not so interested in the Peter Pan mythology anymore. It is just not for me. Which is too bad, as I used to love the story, but as we grow we change. I do, however, love the diversity of characters within this book.

Wendy is unsure in her new environment, but she is also curious and easily swayed. Peter is as bombastic as ever, just as devious, just as daring, just as terrifying. Because, that is what he is in all iterations of his story, terrifying. A young boy who takes lost children to Neverland for adventure, but also acquainting them with a land full of danger and possible death.

This story highlights the actual darkness at the heart of the Pan story. The children blindly follow, the loyalty that is given out of fear, the lack of ability for these children to find a way out of this horrible situation. Peter is a master manipulator and the truth about him will leave you shocked and disgusted.

The lost boys are such a ragtag, but loving, group. You feel bad for what all these young children are put through, after a life already marred by hardship. Peter preys on the weak, the lonely, the vulnerable and desperate. He feeds them the idea of home and safety, only to rip all that away from them without hesitation or remorse.

Hook, in this narrative, is a police officer, which suits the story very well. He is Peter's nemesis, and with how Peter is you would think that Hook would be the one you actually root for. But, he is out there doing everything for his career and less for the children that Peter is endangering. He is slick, conniving, and just as dangerous as Peter.

Thinkerbelle is a street punk who lives with Peter, and she is rude to Wendy at first, but you realize as Wendy gets to know the group better that maybe Tink was acting that way for a reason, trying to warn Wendy off. They also meet up with a football team from another school, who act as the stand ins for the Indigenous group from Neverland. This group is strong, is devoted to helping, but is also made up of teenagers who are scared. Wendy befriends the Lost Boys after a rough start and hopes to truly help them as the night continues on and she realizes the reality of their homelife.

This book is set up in the span of one night, which makes the action fast and intense. You do not have long with each character as the flow of the novel progresses, but you have a clear understanding of who they are and their place within the book. I loved that the mermaids lagoon became a drag bar, this to me was a perfect fit and one of my favourite moments.

If you love Peter Pan, then I encourage you to read this book. It is not long and the pace is fast, and you will find yourself falling into a similar but all together different story. There is no magic, but there is a found family element that draws you in just like the original tale.

I honestly couldn't connect with this. Although I did enjoy seeing a variety of characters that were diverse, the overall execution felt like a chaotic mess. It seemed like the author tried too hard to incorporate elements from the original Peter Pan story, but didn't pay enough attention to creating a coherent plot or developing the numerous characters in a meaningful way.

I am generally hesitant to read Peter Pan adaptations, because of the often harmful Native representation and erasure from the original tale and retellings. But I’m always willing to read these works when they’re written by BIPOC. One of my favorites being Sisters of the Neversea, and now I can add Darling by K. Ancrum to that list. I was expecting an urban fantasy, but ended up with something more along the lines of a thriller. I appreciate the contemporary setting and how the original characters were adapted for this world. I loved the lost boys and was so charmed by them… begging K. Ancrum to write a spin off about them. I was definitely hooked into this story, and I think a big part of it was how much we care about these characters. Without them, this story would have been much less memorable and interesting. I definitely recommend it.

This Peter Pan story worked too hard to take a fantasy story and make it “real”. I will give the author credit for some creative reimaginings, but the “big reveal” just felt overworked and under thought out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Sadly I didn’t connect with this one as therefore I didn’t finish it. I really wanted to like it but it missed the mark for me.

This was a short and thrilling book. This is probably one of the better retellings I have read, it stays true to the original text. When I read this I had just read Peter Pan and as you read Darling you can see how much the author had studied the original. Staying close to the original text isn’t something that I am particular about when it comes to retellings, but the author’s work was not lost on me. We follow Wendy who has just moved to Chicago with her parents, who are about to welcome two new members into their family. I liked how it was more Wendy-focused because despite the titular character in the original being Peter Pan we see the world through Wendy’s eyes. As soon as Wendy meets Peter I was on edge. Every time we moved to a new scene in the book I expected the worst. The atmosphere of the book is fantastic! This one will keep you on your toes. I was able to guess the twist, but I believe it was executed wonderfully and provides a powerful critique of the original. This was my first K. Ancrum book and I will definitely pick up more!

DARLING is a dark & twisted peter pan retelling that takes place over the span of one night. the cast is incredibly diverse, featuring poc, disabled, and queer characters. this book also featured a subtle romance, found family, and a haunting twist. it perfectly brings out the sinister side of the source material & places the characters in a modern, urban setting which makes it even more compelling.

admittedly i don't know much about peter pan, so i probably missed some of the references to it in this retelling, but from what little i know of peter pan i know this was an incredibly fateful retelling. i loved how the author transcribed the story of peter and wendy into a modern thriller with a really chilling twist. i absolutely loved her interpretation of peter's character.

as to be expected from a k ancrum book the cast was casually diverse and the found family trope was so well done. i loved the subtle romance and i'm so glad it was kept subtle becuase i hate nothing more than forced and rushed romances.

Things I love:
- Diverse or dark retellings
- Peter Pan
- K. Ancrum's other books.

This book lived up to all of my expectations and then some. This thriller is a dark modern chapter by chapter retelling of the original Peter Pan.

K. Ancrum never fails to amaze me. I’ll admit I’ve never picked up the Peter Pan classic, but I’ve watched its adaptations (cartoon and life-action) enough to appreciate its allure and magic. I adored what Ancrum did with this story. The originality and the freshness of this story blew me away. I love, love, LOVE a story with a good found family trope.

Highly recommend.

5 out of 5 stars

Darling was definitely a fresh take on a Peter Pan retelling.
We follow Wendy, through the course of a night, as she gets swept up in an adventure after finding Peter in her room. She thinks they’re just headed to a party, but there is so much more that accompanies that.
I hadn't read anything by K. Ancrum up until this point, but I know she's an author that gets high praise for the darker topics she tackles in her books. I definitely appreciated the found family aspect and loved the representation of so many different groups. My only qualm with this story is that by the end I didn’t feel fully connected to the characters.
All in all, Darling was a wild ride, at times saddening and angering.

“What he wants is a family. A timeless, perfect family where no one can tell him what to do.”

Ancrum went hard in this book and it’s a direct hit. DARLING is a dark, twisty retelling of Peter Pan, in the form of a young adult thriller. In this version, Wendy is a Black girl who’s just moved to the city of Chicago from the suburbs. She meets Peter, a charming and charismatic figure playing dad to a ragtag group of foster boys, and he talks Wendy into a night out - a night that becomes a defining one for them both.

Told over the course of this one long evening, it’s a tight retelling of the original where the pirates are cops, the mermaids are drag queens, and the kids are still kids, with a sinister spin that had me reeling. It’s hard to say too much more about the plot without spoiling it, but it’s ultimately a story about creating your own found family, freeing yourself from abuse, and, of course, the difficulties of growing up (especially when you are forced to do so too soon).

Some of adapting this into a contemporary setting is a bit of a stretch, but thinking of it a bit like a modern-day fairytale helps, and I love the way that Ancrum uses this setting to pull new implications from a well-worn story. There’s multiple queer characters (including an ace love interest) and BIPOC characters, and their multifaceted identities really bring this story to our world, as queer and BIPOC kids are more likely, for various fucked-up reasons, to be in foster care or on their own at a young age.

It’s a grim and fantastical story, different from what I expected but utterly captivating and, despite its intense content, comforting. I’m really looking forward to reading more of Ancrum’s work. Thanks to Imprint/Fierce Reads for the eARC!

Content warnings: abuse, violence, murder, police raids, trauma responses, acephobia

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

This was a very interesting spin/re-imagining on Peter Pan and Wendy in this book. It felt like it went by super quickly as I read and felt like it would make for a really good movie adaption should that happen. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery of Peter and who he can actually be.

BOOK REPORT for Darling by K. Ancrum

Cover Story: Flames of Passion
BFF Charms: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 0*
Talky Talk: Contemporary Retelling
Bonus Factor: Strong Female Characters, Twists
Anti-Bonus Factor: [REDACTED]
Relationship Status: Second Guessing that Swipe Right

Content Warning: Darling features suggestions of both physical and emotional violence.

Cover Story: Flames of Passion
I don't exactly know why this cover makes me think of the word passion, but perhaps it's the elements—the rose, the flame—that often indicate such an emotion. In this case, it's not a good thing, however; this passion feels dangerous and out of control.

The Deal:
Wendy Darling has just moved to Chicago with her parents. She knows no one, other than her online friend Eleanor, who she still has yet to meet—thanks to her overly concerned and strict mother and father. But then a boy, a very charming and attractive boy, literally stumbles in through her bedroom window with promises of parties and exciting people to meet. Wendy knows she shouldn't follow him out into the night, but there's something about Peter Pan that makes him nearly impossible to resist.

BFF Charm: Big Sister
Wendy is a confident, daring individual with a level head on her shoulders, but even the smartest of folk can make rash decisions. And following Peter Pan, she quickly finds out, is one of the worst decisions she's ever made. With every reveal of this book, I got more and more concerned for her safety, and I would have loved to be there to help her through it.

Swoonworthy Scale: 0*
When Wendy and Peter first meet, she's immediately taken by his rakish good looks and winning smile. But the more she gets to know him—the real him—she sees behind the curtain and realizes that his facade is just that, and the truth of him is terrifying.

Talky Talk: Contemporary Retelling
I love a good retelling, particularly when an author takes the familiar story and really makes it their own. Ancrum does exactly that with Darling; this is definitely not the sweet Peter Pan story we're all most familiar with. But it also never feels completely at odds with the original, even though it takes such different (and dark) turns. Ancrum also excels at writing compelling characters. From Wendy to the Lost Boys she meets, each of the characters stands out, even if we only meet them for a short passage. They're all so realized and dynamic.

It took me a minute to get into the book, but as soon as the sinister notes ramped up, I couldn't put it down. I think my heartbeat sped up with every chapter.

Bonus Factor: Strong Female Characters
Wendy is impressive, yes, but the other two main female characters—Tinkerbelle and an indigenous young woman named Ominotago (there's a small passage about Peter giving her a nickname that she hated before the story began … I'm sure we can all figure that one out)—are equally impressive in their own right. And the relationship they have with each other, once first impressions are moved past, is truly powerful.

Bonus Factor: Twists
Ancrum truly surprised me with the twists in this book. Perhaps I didn't read the synopsis carefully enough, or I just wasn't expecting a Peter Pan book to go there, but the twists really did surprise me. In both delightful and creeps-inducing ways.

Anti-Bonus Factor: [REDACTED]
I can't exactly say what the biggest anti-bonus factor of this book is, because spoilers, but I can say that there's something about Peter that comes as quite a shock.

Relationship Status: Second Guessing that Swipe Right
You were quite fascinating. Book, and nothing like I expected. You have some great characteristics, but there's a massive red flag that has me thinking I should have brought a friend along on our date, or at least made more concrete plans for an escape route.

5 stars! K. Ancrum does it again! I have yet to be disappointed by any of her works! She will continue to be an auto buy author for me! Can't wait for more!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was my first K. Ancrum novel, and it did not disappoint! It was a marvelous retelling, and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The retelling aspects were well done, with callbacks to the original story but not relying on Peter Pan too much to propel the story.