Second Star to the Left | By Megan Van Dyke

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.

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.

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.