Review: Hooked by Emily McIntire

A dark romance retelling of Peter Pan where Captain Hook is the heartthrob lover.

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@shereadsbooks.sometimes

Dates read: 02/01/25 to 06/02/25

Word to describe: Overrated

Star rating:⭐⭐

Genre: Romantic Fiction, Dark Romance, Erotic Fiction

Where do I even start? I had such high expectations for the tiktok sensation series Ever After by Emily McIntire that when I saw it was available on kindle unlimited I was first in line to install every book in the series. Starting off with book one Hooked, a Peter Pan retelling where Captain Gook is the rugged handsome mafia boss who seduces a virgin Wendy, daughter of famed politician Peter. James, nicknamed Hook for his penchant for using a hooked blade to kill his victims when he sees himself as being wronged by their behaviour is the most lacklustre dark romance male character I have had the displeasure of reading about.

Lets start with how Hook is described as having a tragic past, forcing him into a life of crime when his entire family is devastatingly killed in a plane crash, he is then abused by an uncle that is forced to live with, and constantly references his tortured soul as a result of the abuse. But, it just falls flat. You have a character with such intense trauma and it is never discussed unless its relevant to James' ramblings about how awful his childhood was. If you're going to have a character with deep rooted family issues and obvious sexual trauma it has to be well written and not just used as a pass and go plot device to give him an edge every time the bloke hears a clock. And oh is Hook edgy. From his desire to deflower the sweet virginal Wendy and use her as a revenge device to promptly falling in love with her and cherishing her body with mediocrely written sex scenes where they enjoy light choking and missionary. sigh

We have Wendy. A not-like-other-girls woman, who is pitifully innocent and stuck in the mindset that she is so different from the other women in the book because checks notes she doesn't flaunt herself in front of men and dress so like a scandalized slut. I mean, if I wanted my main character to have the personality of a wet mop I would've picked up a Wattpad book. From the slut shaming to her mirror scene after she "becomes a woman" because she had sex. Come on eye roll. Her entire persona is built around her devoted love for a younger brother that she promptly forgets every time she gets a sip of alcohol or is touched on the leg. And the fact that she's such a big girl and can make her own decisions except when James says something, and her dad, and her brother, and her friends, and her dad's mistress, and the little voice in her head. She has the daddy issues that is shown in every teen drama and is resolved by her dad doing the absolute least to involve himself in her life.

Peter is the story villain but not really when the plot twist is thrown in there for dramatic effect. Or, in my opinion, because the author just forgot how she was going to end the book and thought taking a plot line from Frozen was going to work. Every single character is awful. Peter is the bookish equivalent of a drunk at the bar trying to convince the bartender they can handle one more shot of vodka before vomiting on the bar table.

The sex scenes were embarrassing to read. Not because they were so dirty I was blushing but because they read like teenage fanfiction. The spicy dark sex that Hook constantly referenced? How he wanted to fuck Wendy in front of her dad's corpse? Yeah - no that's as dark as it went. How is this even been able to be advertised as TikTok's sensational dark romance that has ruined all other male characters?

Give me a break. Or better yet, keep the retelling idea and scrap the entire plot line and start again. Just do better.