July 28 2022
At this point, in my journey reading J.B. Trepagnier, I’ve gotten to know her writing style pretty well. If you’ve read her fairytales, the Bit Back series has a similar vibe to Chasing Tail which I <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4565576588?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener">read and reviewed</a> this year. It is a historical novel set at the same time as the original J.M. Barrie version or more so the narrative starts at that time. <br /><br />This follows <b> Jaz </b> aka Captain Hook in his journey Neverland to save his daughter Elise who was kidnapped just like <b> Jade </b> from Book 1. I found Jaz’s characterization to be very interesting and his motivations for becoming a pirate were a great twist to the original narrative that mirrors the Robin William’s movie - Hook which I grew up with. However at times the mirroring of the film was too heavy handed and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a reimagined fan fiction version of the movie. <br /><br />The RH elements were some of Trepagnier’s weakest and I am starting to realize the repetitive nature of her sex scenes. Also to be honest while Hook’s story was a welcomed addition to the series arc, I wish that he wasn’t part of Jade’s group but had a love of his own. Jade having aged to an adult seems still have the mentality of a teen which made me uncomfortable with her having sex with a longterm adult. It had this weird teacher-student vibe that I am not okay with. With the rest of her harem, who also had just expierenced sudden adult aging, it was less weird as they read as teens learning about their sexuality. <br /><br />Back to some positives because you might be wondering why I didn’t DNF but gave it 2.5 stars which is a decent score based on my critisms. The plot was multilayered and threw me for a few loops so was not too predictable. The info about Tink and all the fairies in general has me intrigued enough that I will probably finish the story. As far as backlist Trepagnier goes this is better than Book 1 but there are definitely better options when reading from her.
May 26 2019
<strong>Where Are My Peter Pan Getaway Shoes?</strong><br /><br />Playwright J.M. Barrie penned his classic tale Peter Pan in 1904, on the cusp of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Funny things happen “on the cusp.” Enter J.B. Trepagnier. His adult adaptation “Hook” peels back the layers of the prim and proper and, ahem … it’s never say never in Neverland. Fantasies beget fantasies, pirates chase treasure and this may be the only reverse harem on Kindle Unlimited.<br /><br />Jaz, the main character, strives to do the right thing while battling inner demons and wondering if he’s more lost than the Lost Boys. Don’t forget the croc with the ticking clock. It all adds up to a deep, multi-layered plot with ample fairy dust for the reader to fly through this satisfying, swash-buckling tale.<br /><br />
May 25 2019
I loved the idea of getting to see the life of Captain Hook, and this did a good job at giving him an origin story. I was expecting it just to pick up from when Elise, his daughter in the previous book was kidnapped, but it actually starts earlier from his childhood. It also does a good job at leading into the classic Peter Pan tale without changing it or tossing out details to throw the character into a better light. The beginning was a recap of the first book and the second chapter was just fluff of how wonderful Jade, the main character from the first book, is and how innovative and important her “harem” is (which it really isn’t since harems are a dime-a-dozen these days with this one standing out oddly because the author actually labels it as a harem and calls it that within dialogue during the book. Why give it a label?) So, admittedly, I just skimmed the first couple of chapters looking for new stuff. It’s like the author has ADHD, ideas ping pong around randomly within paragraphs, a lot of times ending on sex even though the original topic/thought had nothing to do with sex. Thoughts, ideas, and even dialogue get repeated a lot. Like it needed a heavier hand at editing. At 68% we hit the events of the previous book. From there on out till about 88% it’s a direct copy of all of the scenes from the previous book that had Hook in them, but from his perspective. All of the dialogue is the same and the author didn’t trim it in any way, and there is little to change it, and little insight, from the previous time through. So, if you’ve read the previous book, all this can be skipped. Considering the previous book was predominantly dialogue, it’s like only a sentence or two different here and there. I get the feeling the author did that to lengthen the book and as an excuse to revisit all of the sex scenes since as it stood, it only had a couple of sex scenes by this point. There was a weird obsession on women’s rights too. It’s nice and all to be progressive for the time period, but weird to spend so much time obsessing about it as the dialogue and thoughts kept getting repeated over and over. The swear words still don’t fit with the time period and definitely don’t make any sense coming out of the mouths of Neverland mermaids (why/how would they know modern swear words?) And more obsessing on what is and isn’t proper sexual relations and stressing how harems aren’t proper. (Why obsess on how improper it is and yet encourage it?) It still feels like a double-standard and controlling that Jade wants all the guys to have sex with her, but then goes insanely jealous to even think of them being with other women, as in she can have multiple partners, but they can’t. So not fair! In all, I wouldn’t read this book without the reading the first book, but on the flip side, if you have read the first book, a lot of this is repeat. In all, I thought it was a creative take on Hook’s life and rounded him out nicely, rather than just the villain from the Peter Pan story, and more than just a romantic scoundrel from the previous book.
May 30 2019
This is the back story of Jas, aka Captain Hook. It takes you back to when he was a teenager when he lost his twin sister & wasn't able to be with her when she died. Immediately, her parents removed all traces of her & wouldn't acknowledge her existence. Jas, at the time went by James, vowed revenge & left to be a part of the Royal Navy. He proves his worth the first day on the ship. Fast forward several years to when he meets Sara who becomes the love of his life & makes her his wife. He has to leave for 6 months & when he comes back he finds her pregnant. Once the child is born, a girl he names Elise, Sara wants nothing to do with her because she wasn't a son. He raises her to be the type of woman he believes she should be. <br /><br />Elise dreams of Neverland & Peter Pan & she tells him about her dreams. He thinks they are just dreams, but when she goes missing in the middle of the night from behind a locked door he begins to wonder. Several of his students tell him that they have had the same dreams, and he knows that both are real. He starts trying to find a way to get there to bring her home & gets lucky in a pub when Smee comes in trying to buy ale with fairy dust.<br /><br />He spends the next few centuries trying to find her. This goes in to part of the story from The Lost Girl of Neverland where he meets Jade & the Wildlings. If you haven't read it, make sure you do or you might be somewhat lost in parts of the latter part of his story.<br /><br />I thought this was a unique twist on Captain Hook's story since we all know he dies when he's eaten by the crocodile in the original fairy tale. I really liked this story. I think you will enjoy it as well.
May 11 2019
Hook, known as Jas, has settled into Neverland with Jade and her harem, close to his daughter Elise and her harem. He is being a teacher again - none of them have had lessons since being brought to Neverland as children. And now, he must tell them all, including Queen Mab of the fairies his story - how he got to Neverland, and what he had done before they found him. Will they make him leave because of his past?<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 26 2019
Hook has finally found love but will his untold story the one that Jade and Elise had asked to hear be to unforgivable for the Queen to accept?<br />Hook/Jas aka James Barrett Cunningham tells everyone his story from the beginning going back to his childhood, telling them all about his dreams, his regrets and so forth. <br />You get a real feel for who Hook is, though he isn't perfect some people can change... it's a matter if others will accept them.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 31 2019
When I started reading this story, I could not put it down. I read the book in one day. This author is an awesome writer. I can not wait to read more of their books. Keep up the great work. You should definitely read this book.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 02 2019
This is a fab second book in this awesome fairytale retelling! First book was Peter Pan, this book is all about Hook and it is just awesome! I loved this version of Hook as it is so different from the version we all grew up with and found this tale to be as gripping and addictive as the first!<br /><br />
September 16 2020
By far my favorite story of Hook thus far!!!! Every single piece of the story was sooooo necessary by the end! I loved it!
May 18 2019
Hooked on Hook!<br /><br />I'm gonna confess again here and now! I'm a huge fan of Hook. I really loved this book. And I hope to see more of Hook throughout this series. And since it's his daughter's POV up next, I just know he'll be in it. <br /><br />In this book we got to see how Hook landed himself in Neverland and there was also a backstory with his daughter Elise's and her mother Sarah. It was all touching and a little emotional for a tad there. And I enjoyed every moment of it. <br /><br />Side note: If you're a fan of Once Upon a Time, and enjoy some reverse harem sexy romance, then add those two together and grab this series. <br /><br />I can't wait until Elise's story is out!