Second Star to the Left ARC Review

Second Star to the Left

Author: Megan Van Dyke

Pages: 302 pages

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Published: 15th February 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

Tinker Bell, banished from her homeland for doing the unthinkable, selling the hottest drug in Neverland—pixie dust—wants absolution.

Determined to find a way home, Tink doesn’t hesitate to follow the one lead she has, even if that means seducing a filthy pirate to steal precious gems out from under his…hook.

Captain Hook believes he’s found a real treasure in Tink. That is, until he recovers from her pixie dust laced kiss with a curse that turns the seas against him. With his ship and reputation at the mercy of raging storms, he tracks down the little minx and demands she remove the curse. Too bad she can’t.

However, the mermaid queen has a solution to both of their problems, if Tink and Hook will work together to retrieve a magical item for her.

As they venture to the mysterious Shrouded Isles to find the priceless treasure, their shared nemesis closes in. However, his wrath is nothing compared to the realization that achieving their goal may mean losing something they never expected to find—each other.

My Review:

Thank you to NetGalley, City Owl Press, and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is no secret that I love Peter Pan and fairytale retellings, so when I saw this one on NetGalley I knew I had to read it. I adore books about pirates and books about fae/pixies so even if this wasn’t a retelling I think i would have loved it still!

‘Once your wings start to glow, the dust is sure to follow.’

Tink has been banished from fairyland after selling pixie dust to save her cousin from the clutches of Blackbeard and his crew. In order to get home she makes a deal with the mer queen to bring her jewels to show she is trustworthy. The jewel in question is owned by none other than Hook, Captain of the Jolly Roger. After getting close with Hook and being taken back to his cabin, Tink laces her kiss with pixie dust, sending Hook into a deep sleep. Hook wakes up to find Tink gone and his crew and ship cursed.

Flash forward a few months and Hook is determined to find the sneaky pixie that has cursed his boat. He also believes he is cursed as he cannot get Tink out of his head. He takes Tink to the mermaid queen, who offers a solution for the both of them; find the leviathon scale, hidden on the Shrouded Isles.

‘In removing the curse she’d unwittingly placed upon them, in saving his ship and crew, he’d lose the one thing he’d come to prize.’

The romance and the tension between these two characters was insane! It was steamy and I loved the dual perspectice that let us see into both of their heads. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance but I would say it is not a slow burn. Tink and Hook are attracted to each other from the get-go, but aren’t sure whether to let their guards down. But once they do, it is so clear how they feel about each other.

‘Home isn’t a place, it’s a people, and I could never be truly home without you.’

This was such an addictive retelling and Peter Pan and the lost boys do feature! I loved the relationships between Hook and his crew, and of course Tink and Hook! I definitely recommend if you love pirates, fairytale retellings and Neverland!

Keep reading,

Georgia x