Second Star to the Left | By Megan Van Dyke

 

 

 

 

BBNYA 2023 Finalist | TheWriteReads Blog Tour | Book Review | Fantasy

Second Star to the Left
Publisher:
Published: 15th February 2022
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.   (Goodreads)

 

 

My thoughts

 

 

 

 

Narrative and Plot

 

 

 

 

I am always curious to read retellings and find out how stories are reimagined in different people’s mind. Second Star to the Left pulled me right into this world where a banished Tink is trying to get back to her home by stealing from Captain Hook. Now, this version of Captain Hook reminded me of Hook from the series Once Upon a Time.

It was quite easy to get through the pages as the writing had a bit of ingrained humor in it. The chemistry between Tink and Hook was one of the main draw to this story.

 

Characters and Conflicts

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stakes of the story are established quite at the start. And then we are invited to join an adventure on the Jolly Roger, as expected. However, I wish that the actual hunt for the treasure had lasted long and the riddles could have been solved with more of an effort rather than them stumbling upon each clue.

Peter and his gang of children are utilised very little, in my opinion. You never get their side of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed the ensemble cast along with the main characters. The crew of the Jolly Roger, the antagonists and the merfolk were all flushed out quite well.

At the end of the book, there were too many unresolved fates. I would have loved to see the loose ends tied together. I have no idea if that will happen in the future books. From the title, it looks more like companion books rather than sequels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

Overall, I enjoyed this adventure of a read. It had a heart and romance with a rocking chemistry between the two leads. If that is something that fits your wheelhouse, go for it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


I received a copy of the book from TheWriteReads in exchange for an honest review. 
 This review is published in association with TheWriteReads blog tour for the BBNYA finalist 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

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