ARC Review: SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT by Megan Van Dyke

I received an eARC from the author (who I know) in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

Title in white on dark
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Range: Adult
Star Rating: 4 stars
Series: yes - first of companions set in same world

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.

Synopsis taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.


Review:

Welcome to Neverland as you’ve never seen it before. This is not about children finding their way to an island, but about an unlikely duo pairing up to solve the problems that bind them in this sea-bound adventure.

I really enjoyed this romp of an adventure. For someone who hates being on a boat, I love books set on them. Plus a good ol’ quest is always up on my “yes please” list.

We get sea battles, tropical islands that are more dangerous than paradise, and two enemies finding out that there might be more than attraction between them. There’s a riddle and enemies aplenty – plus references galore for Peter Pan lovers. There’s mermaids and magic, and a tricky little drug called pixie dust.

And at the heart of the book is a steamy romance between the pixie and the pirate. It’s very steamy, right from the first chapter. Their attraction is the thing that initially brings them together (even if Tink is using that at first to steal from him). However, the book is more about whether they will learn to trust one (given the many secrets they hold and their very different background.) Without that, their relationship will never become something more than just physical attraction. But, if they succeed on their quest, their paths will separate.

This is the start of a series of companion books that all reimagine fairy tales, and there’s a hint near the end at what the next one will contain… (You need to look out for it, and know the vague premise of book 2 to spot it.)


Read my reviews of other books by Megan Van Dyke:

Reimagined Fairy Tales (this series):

Courts of the Fae:

One thought on “ARC Review: SECOND STAR TO THE LEFT by Megan Van Dyke

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