Neverland and Pan's Revenge by Anna Katmore
Rating: 4 .5stars
Synopsis (Neverland): Why is there a boy who doesn’t want to grow up?
How can an apple start the sweetest romance in fairytale history?
And what does a ruthless pirate have to do with it all?
Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales. But she never dreamed of falling right into one herself. That’s exactly what happens when she slips on her balcony and a flying Peter Pan catches her mid-fall.
Ending up in Neverland where no one seems to age and laws of nature are out of control, Angel has no idea how to get home. Worse, the ruthless Captain Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on his ship, the Jolly Roger, where she gets caught between the lines of a timeless battle. But the more time Angel spends with the captain, the more she sees beneath his ruthless façade.
As Angel desperately tries to find a way to return to her real life, she discovers a train ticket to London in her pocket. It won’t be any help in getting off the island, but as her memory fades away the longer she stays, this is all she has left to remind her of her former life and why she can’t give up trying.
Or is staying in Neverland forever the better choice after all?
Review: I love, love, love, love, love this series. I bought Neverland on a whim - it sounded interesting and it got great reviews and I'm so glad I did! Neverland is written in a dual POV - Angelina 'Angel' and James 'Jamie' Hook. Angel is thrown into Neverland when she falls off her balcony but don't go expecting this to end up like the Disney fairy tale. While Peter Pan does catch her, they soon part ways after an argument and Angel ends up in the hands of notorious pirate Captain James Hook.
The characters in this are so great. Angel is a strong heroine who knows what she wants and won't put up with anything that could deviate her from her path. Except maybe, possibly falling in love with a Pirate. Angel and James (or Jamie as he's also known) get off to a rocky start - he is a pirate - but, after saving her from one of Peter Pan's pirate traps, the pair begin to grow closer.
I love James. You really get a feel for him as a character. His life is balanced between being a pirate and being the person he wants Angel to see and get to know. It's quite funny to see the moral dilemma James faces as he starts to fall in love with Angel and, fair warning. Pirates do swear - a lot - so if you're against swearing in books this probably won't be for you, but for me it just added to the authenticity.
In this series, Peter Pan is James' little half brother. They're past is quite complicated but it wasn't an easy childhood and both have suffered for it, leading to the ultimate decision from Peter to never grow up and to battle with his brother over...well...everything. This added a unique twist to this tale because, while it's something I've never really thought about until now, it does answer the question of why Peter and Hook are enemies.
The romance is cute. Again, another warning, there is a lot of fluff between Angel and James which isn't going to be for everyone. Personally, I love a good romance (don't know if you can tell ;) ) so it didn't really bother me but like I said, I know it isn't for everyone. The only reason this book isn't 5 stars is because the romance does seem to develop quickly - one minute they hate each other and the next they're kissing. But it's very easy to overlook this one little flaw. I completely fell into this story and loved every single second of it.
Pan's Revenge
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: Desperate to leave Neverland and find his love in this notorious town called London, James Hook makes a grave mistake. He puts his own wishes above those of his half-brother and once-arch-enemy, Peter Pan.
The consequences alter Peter’s life in a way no one could have foreseen. The boy who wouldn’t grow up swears revenge, and what better way than by stealing Hook’s girl?
The first to arrive in London, Peter finds Angel once again without any memory of ever being in Neverland. That gives him time to plant the idea of a ruthless pirate captain in her mind—someone who tried to kill her once and is now on his way to kidnap her again. If only this stubborn girl would stop playing with Peter’s head. He’d completely forgotten how beautiful she was. Or is it only because he sees her through different eyes now?
Through a shower of falling stars, a loop around the moon, and then a hard left at the Clock Tower—when James Hook finally arrives in London, he has to fight with a vengeance for his love and face a boy who grew up after all...
Review: The second and final book in this duology and while I enjoyed this one almost as much as the first I didn't really like the evolution of Peter. The premise was good. Three months after book 1 ends, Angel has forgotten about her adventures in Neverland but James hasn't - far from it. He's desperately trying to find a way to be with Angel again but, during these attempts, James manages to get Peter to destroy the watch (read book 1 to understand this bit because I don't want to give away too many spoilers). This means that Peter Pan who was once the boy who never grew up - is growing up and fast.
Determined to take revenge on James for ruining his life, Peter figures out the way to London and tries to steal Angel away from James. This started well but I didn't like who Peter turned into. As he grew older, he became more and more cynical and bent on revenge and I didn't think this evolution necessarily worked.
James and Angel are thrown back together and, because Angel doesn't remember James, hilarity and chaos ensue when James finally gets to London. He has three days to win Angel back but Angel is incredibly stubborn so, James does what any pirate does, and kidnaps her. Again. I loved this plot point because the two characters are so stubborn and so insistent that the other needs to listen to them and do what they want that the whole situation just makes you smile, especially as it's so reminiscent of how Angel and James originally met.
The ending of this is so sweet and perfect and just...argh! I loved it and it leaves it open for another book. Anna Katmore has said that she isn't planning a third book but the option is there if she wants it. Despite this the ending is satisfying and draws everything to a conclusion. But, on the off chance that Anna Katmore is reading this (she's not but let me pretend for a minute) then a third book would be great. Maybe? Possibly?
This series is a really easy read - I got through one book in a day I loved it so much. Definitely a duology to pick up!
(Just a quick note regarding Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series. I'm not going to be reviewing the third book the Forever Song because I haven't really enjoyed the series and I can live without reading the final book which means for me, that I haven't really enjoyed the series. I'm sorry to all those who are waiting for the review but my review for The Iron Fey should be up soon - there's just a lot of them to do so it's taking a while)
No copyright intended, images from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22056857-pan-s-revenge & http://annakatmore.com/2014/03/21/neverland-story-and-cover/
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