Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Review: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

Publication Date: February 2, 2016


I’ve had such great luck lately with finding utterly fantastic YA novels. Unhooked was amazing and although this is a standalone, I would love to see the author spin it off into more books in the same world. This was one book I definitely didn’t want to end!

Gwendolyn was a terrific narrator for the fantasy tale: she’s stubborn, logical, and brave. She risks life and limb to travel through the dangerous Neverland to retrieve her best friend Olivia. Things become even more perilous for her when she’s taken aboard pirate Rowan’s ship. Rowan was such a swoon-worthy pirate. He definitely reminded me of the version of Captain Hook from the TV show “Once Upon a Time.” The romance was very gradual and sweet and I loved how Gwen and Rowan brought out different sides of each other’s personalities. 

Although Gwendolyn has a hard time deciding who is good and who is evil on Neverland, the author’s version of Peter Pan had my skin crawling from the very first minute he’s introduced. The shadowy creatures that roam the island also upped the creep factor in the novel.

There was plenty of action in Unhooked without any parts when I grew bored or wanted to skim pages. From the very start, the novel kept me on the edge of my seat. The climax was so exciting and I really had no idea who would survive the final showdown. I was happy with the conclusion and how the author decided to wrap everything up. Highly recommend to fans of retellings or those looking for a fun, romantic YA fantasy.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!

3 comments:

  1. Great to hear that it kept you hooked and she sounds like a fun character

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  2. I LOVE retellings! Going to check this one out right now. Thanks for sharing your awesome review, Heather :)

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