There were so many plot twists in this omg. I didn’t see any of them coming and I loved every second of this book.
I loved hook’s character even though it was so wrong and all the characters had some much flame and excitement to them. I didn’t expect all the twists and turns at the end but it was a rollercoaster and I loved it!
Definitely found some parts very graphic but that’s why there are warnings but I really enjoyed the story. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series!!

So... this felt like a standard precursor to mafia books but with a fun (and loosely) Neverland inspired twist. The plot was more developed than the actual believability of a draw/passion between the characters but I'm willing to overlook it since this was a fun and easy read. However, I'm very much looking forward to seeing where McIntire's subsequent books will take us!

The retelling that I never knew I needed. I’ve seen this book recommended SOOO many times and finally jumped in (completely blind might I add) at first I had that internal battle of letting go of the fairy tale and taking in the new characters but holy cow…. This easily ranked top 5 in books I’ve read this year and now I’m desperate to get my hands on the next 3 books in the series. SOOO spicy and wrong but SO right!

I will totally give this book to fans of Katee Roberts, it's a perfect readalike. Maybe a bit more violent than I was expecting, even with the warnings, but still.

Hooked is exactly what it says it is, a dark fairy tale where the bad guy is just that. I went into this books with hopes of branching out of my normal romance and finding something new. However, the book was a little too dark for my taste.

I don’t read a lot of dark romances but when I heard about a contemporary romance with Hook and Wendy as its stars, I was so in! Hooked is gritty and steamy and intense! James—Hook—has only had one goal: destroy his enemy Peter Michael, and then into his bar walks his enemy’s daughter Wendy. So he comes up with a plan to use her to exact his revenge, only she gets through his cracks and under his skin and Wendy questions everything she’s ever known. First, I really appreciated the author note at the front of the book about the trigger warnings and the context for the book: Hook is a villain, this isn’t a story of redemption; it is a story of revenge. It is definitely a dark romance. Hook is possessive and rough, and Wendy is so trusting and innocent but I loved that through the darkness, she finds herself and grows into herself. I really loved the development of these characters. And the parallels to Peter Pan were so clever without being cheesy or overdone. I really loved the references throughout. I also really enjoyed the mystery throughout and the twists the story took. This read is steamy, it’s dark and some parts were a little tricky to read in their more violent or vivid details. But I was—for lack of better way of putting it—hooked on Hooked and just devoured this dark romance!

Rating: 5 / 5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Emily McIntire for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I read that this was a Peter Pan dark retelling, I knew I had to read it! And let me say I was HOOKED from the beginning. I enjoyed every second and I’m so excited to read more of Emily’s books.

Gah! This was a very interesting read! I was kind of weary as this book was so popular on TikTiok - But I really enjoyed this Disney meets Mafia telling.
Hook - James, had a rough life after losing his parents at a young age, forced to live with his abusive uncle, James turns to the only father figure he could find, Roofus.
Now more than just an underling - James must exact his revenge on the man that hurt him the most.
What he doesn't realize is the one he wants to use to hurt his rival - could be the very one to hurt him. his Darling.

This book was twisted, fun, suspenseful, spicy and pulled at the heart strings.

Do you hear that high-pitched ringing off in the distance?

That's me, sticking my head out of the window, letting out an endless string of screaming.

This book. Y'all. This book!

I can't even write a proper, professional-like review right now because my mind is working overtime trying to capture every emotion this book ripped from me.

If you can't tell-- I loved it.

I typically don't read dark romances, and if you're like me, then when you start this you may feel a bit taken aback. KEEP GOING! You may need to reconcile the fact that this is a dark romance that will have elements that may make you uncomfortable, that may try to make you question your morals, but sometimes you just have to suspend your disbelief (or moral compass in this case) and embrace the dark.

Because it can be rather delicious, exquisite, and addicting.

Our female lead, Wendy, is a wonderful character. She is innocent, kind, generous, and so loving. At all times you want to shield and protect her-- especially away from Hook/James. You may even wonder if she is going to be a mere victim in this narrative. She is not. While she may be at times be used and lied to-- the narrative ensures her story is one of ultimate self-empowerment and freedom of choice. Wendy is kind, but she is also brave. And she finds her own power along the way.

And then there's James (or Hook), hot damn. Then there's James. He is gorgeous, he is awful, he is sexy, he is cruel. He is so, so much. He is no one thing, and that makes for a complex man. Like Wendy, there are times I wanted to slap him and other times I just wanted to love him and encourage he finds his happily ever after with Wendy.

The relationship between James and Wendy is pure fire, passion, and chemistry. Even as quickly as it comes along, their connection is believable. The sex scenes were, uff! So well done! I admit at times some of the darker thoughts had me reeling back, but overall, I was...well....hooked.

I loved the romance so much-- and it makes me eager to jump into Scarred next!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Bloom Books for this ARC via Netgalley.

Hooked is a modern dark romance retelling of Peter Pan, that is highly addicting. I loved this book, I was hooked (😉) throughout. I can't wait to read more from this series!

Do you enjoy a really dark romance?

Author: Emily Mcintire
Series: Never after
ARC
Rating: 5/5

I need to start by saying that this book has a LOT of triggers, like tons of them. So if you decide to pick it up, please check the author page before you do. She has a list of all the triggers so you guys can do an informed decision whether you want to read it or not.

That being said, I loved this book, I flew through it. It's not a shock to anyone that I like romance and I've read some pretty dark ones but this one so far is the best.

Hooked has it all; a very dark, tall, dangerous and sexy AF MMC, lots of smexy action, some gore, intrigue and a FMC that appears to be all innocence but she's very kinky and not right in the head.

Wendy is a sheltered young woman who has a very unhealthy family dynamic, but she does her best to be herself and keep her sanity.

James has trauma to last a lifetime and a mission to accomplish but one look at Wendy had all his careful planning going south pretty fast.

I really enjoyed James character, he has a lot of layers and it's amazing to discover what makes him tick and even though he Is verifiably insane, you kinda end rooting for him to win the war, the girl and to get his vengeance.

I loved all the references to Peter pan, if you didn't guess by the book title and the names of the characters this is a very dark retelling, a very clever one. Every single reference was on point and I ended up looking for them through out the book.

The chemistry between the two MCs is sizzling hawt and all the spicey times where truly something LOL. This two can burn through the pages.

The ending was great and exactly what I was hoping for. Some monster are made and what James went through from a young age would make anyone the most vicious and cruel monster of them all. So the fact that he could find within himself a spark of something good and on to it was amazing.

This book was given as an ARC to me by Netgalley. This is my honest review.

Emily McIntyre has a way of spinning a story and I loved this story of Peter, Wendy and James aka Hook. James is out for revenge against Peter, he will destroy anything he loves and take everything from him. I love Wendy she’s a strong independent woman who loves her father, her brother, but desperately wants a life of her own. I love the interaction between James and Wendy at first, he’s sweet, then more demanding and finally the truth comes out and why she’s, his captive. I couldn’t put this book down it was filled with A captivating story secrets, lies and deception and a dark romance thrown in along the way. Will James go through with his plans? Will he realize too late all he needs is Wendy? Will she forgive him for lying to her, did he really care about her or was it all lies and deception? I’ve voluntarily read and reviewed this excellent story.

Hooked is an addicting and dark romance based around the Peter Pan story. It's absolutely not a retelling, but written with those characters and a little of the story in mind. When Hook begins to get revenge on the man who destroyed his family, Wendy seems like the perfect opportunity to start putting his plot into place. It feels very much like a mafia romance, but not exactly mafia. It's dark and twisty and hooked me from the first page. It was the perfect binge on a night at home.

Changing it up Emily went darker with this retelling of Peter Pan. After her hugely successful Sugarlake series, Emily has shrugged off the small-town trope for a dark and twisted fairytale retelling where the villain gets his happily ever after.

Wendy Michael’s is desperate to break free from her sheltered upbringing. Her Dad has kept her under his thumb for too long and Wendy is desperate to prove she’s not as young and naive as her upbringing has allowed her to be. When she meets the illusive James Hook Barrie, their chemistry is sizzling but Hook is determined to use Wendy to bring her father to his knees.

Wendy definitely grew a backbone through the story and I think that was largely down to James and his influence. James was the quintessential bad boy who had been jaded by his past and his rough upbringing and it was so easy to fall in love with him. I loved their chemistry, James’s need to protect Wendy and how easily his vendetta evolved in to genuine affection was written so perfectly

The plot and setting told this way is way beyond any retelling I’ve read before. The plot was complex enough that I couldn’t put it down but also easy to follow. As always Emily had me in tears by the end, the sprinkling of names and characters through-out had me breaking out in goosebumps at so many points and the ending gave me all the warm and fuzzies.

If you haven’t read anything by Emily yet I promise you need to change that. Start with Hooked and you won’t regret it.

I did receive this book as an ARC through net galley***

OMG, obsessed with Hooked and this series in general. I am all for any type of romance re-telling, especially when the "villains" are actually the "heroes." Hook is a great male lead and I love how Emily re-created Peter Pans' world into a modern day retelling. This book is written so well, the spice is fantastic, and I found myself rooting for Hook and Wendy the entire time, This book does also contain an age gap between the leads. If you are a fan of re-tellings, Peter Pan, dark romances, or age gap romances- this is the book for you!!

Overall rating: 9.5/10
Spicy rating: 4/5

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me a free ARC in exchange for a free review! This book had me hooked from the beginning {hehe get it} and I couldn’t stop reading until I finished it! All the little parts from Disney’s Peter Pan made this story feel so magical, but also had such a great amount of dark romance thrown in there. Honestly perfect from start to finish and I will never stop recommending these books to people!

Peter Pan retellings/reimagining are hot, hot, hot. Add in a Peter Pan reimagining where the "villain" gets the girl? HOT HOT HOT.

James has always wanted to destroy his enemy, Peter, who turns out to be Wendy's father... And while he plans on seducing her, he falls for this sweet beauty.

I loved this. Emily's writing is so unique and the story is very original. That cover is gorgeous as well. This is a quality story. The smut is chef's kiss. I really enjoyed the characters of Wendy and James. They are fleshed out and fully developed. The storyline had me hooked entirely. This book will certainly HOOK you.

Wendy has spent her whole life tucked away safely under her incredibly wealthy father, Peter's care. One a night out with friends, Wendy finds herself in a suave bar owned by James. But James has an agenda, revenge on his enemy - which just so happens to be Wendy's father. His plan is to seduce Wendy as part of that revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game. As their relationship grows more heated and Wendy learns more about James' world, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.

McIntire kept me going through the whole book, binging it all in one day. I've never been a fan of anything to do with Peter Pan, but a dark romance centered around Hook was just what I needed. Emily has constructed a joy of characters, both seeming to grow together as they strive for their happily ever after. The moments of spice were the perfect addition, making this a really enjoyable read. The pace was great to the middle, leading a fantastic reading experience, then did slow down a little bit and got a little choppy - as reflected in the rating.


You'll love it if you're a fan of:
✔️ Instalove
✔️ Mafia Romance
✔️ Fairytale Retellings
✔️ Spice
✔️ Epic Twists

Such a dark, sexy and brilliant spin on peter pan, the plot was brilliant, the main characters were superb and the little plot twists throughout were really enjoyable. the spice in this was spectacular. im a big fan of fairytale retellings and this one was so dark and delicious. the side characters were also brilliant. my only gripe was that it took a little while to get going but once it did it was spectacular.

Well, I kind of knew what to expect. I mean, I read the warnings lol. But I still don’t think I was ready for this one. In fact, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for twenty pages in when he’s fantasizing about screwing her on top of her father’s corpse. It made me question whether I truly even like the dark and the despicable because this just went a little too far for my tastes. Perhaps the upfront shock and awe is simply to weed out the weak of heart. But nevertheless, somehow I persevered.

Part of me doesn’t like the instant, and seemingly insubstantial, feelings that develop. But the other part of me couldn’t get enough. It is heady in a way. While I knew this book was said to be dark, nothing wholesome or good about it, I was still a little taken aback at times. Maybe I’m just growing out of the whole ‘defile and ruin me’ stage, or maybe I’ve just gotten more cynical. I don't really like the virgin thing. It just didn’t make sense to me in this story, when all of her actions and desires speak otherwise, and it really had no bearing on anything else within the story.

Everything is pretty cliché, it's all a combination of overused tropes. And while it comes with the bad, it also comes with all the good too. There is a reason we love that possessive, alpha male character, and it’s common because it works. And I have to admit, I ended up really loving Hook. I felt for his tragic past, and I swooned when he opens up with her more than he ever has with anyone else. Wendy and James have their soft and tender moments and I’m here for it. The spicy scenes are okay, nothing earth-shattering or breathtaking. And some of the lines of dialogue are so cringy and eye-roll inducing that I was laughing so hard.

At first I felt the book to be completely plotless, completely lacking in characterization, and completely lacking in world-building. It feels like the bare minimum of narrative. (I think I learned my lesson with this book, that I don’t like smut for the sake of smut.) However, by about halfway through it starts to get some momentum and depth, and I found myself invested in the outcome and the characters. It does start to pick up and with the turn of events I changed my mind about it. I really like the whole mob boss culture aspect, and I thought this was an interesting twist.

Despite everything, despite all the things, I still found myself inexplicably turning the pages. We’ll call this one a guilty pleasure because I just couldn’t help reading it. I’m sticking with a solid three stars. I have a love-hate relationship with this book. Maybe I love hating on it, or maybe I hate that I love it. Probably some of both. I’m glad I read it. I can see why all the hype has built around this book.