This isn't really my kind of book but I thought it was a very interesting eye-opener

02/11/2014
3 ⭐

it was really interesting to hear things from Yassen's pov but the book went a bit slow for me and I kinda wanted to hear more about John Rider

 11/11/2021
4 ⭐

I have read this book soo many times. This is a book I read quite frequently because the short stories are amazing for bedtime for my little brothers.

26/05/2021
⭐⭐⭐
A cute fun and easy to read book! My younger brothers had a lot of fun with this one, especially the edible poop! 🤷‍♀️😂 I'm definitely going to have to show this to the kids at work!

26/05/2021
3 ⭐
“I think people are more frightening than the dark," he said. "A person can stand right in front of you and be dangerous without you even knowing it.”

Aiden Thomas really said Rise of The Guardians but make it Peter Pan!
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and while it wasn't a total letdown, it definitely didn't live up to how much I'd hyped it up in my head! I love Peter Pan retellings and there were aspects of this that I adored, like Aiden Thomas' writing and the little insights we got into Peter, but other than that, this felt undercooked and like it needed to go through a few more edits before getting published.
This felt like a cliche fanfic idea that had a lot of potential but missed the mark! Some really interesting ideas and character descriptions that make me think this would've been better as an animation or graphic novel, rather than a book.

Originally, this was going to be a 4.5 ⭐ book but the more I read, the faster my rating fell. It was too slow, the characters were all one dimensional and the romance was distractingly uncomfortable. Also, side note: I feel like this book would have been even better as magical realism. I know a lot of readers have found it really confusing so I feel like that could've helped.

What I did like
I really like how Aiden Thomas has written this version of Peter. I'm partial to villain Peter BUT I also really like this interpretation of him. The lost boy who just wants to save all the other lost children. The boy who never wants to grow up. The boy who takes his "job" seriously and holds the safety and lives of all the lost children in the world on his shoulders.
I feel like this is a really cool AU version of Peter and I can really appreciate this version of him, I just wish we got to see more of it. I wonder what this book would've been like in his pov OR even dual pov. It probably would've moved faster and made the character less one dimensional.

I really liked the descriptions of The Shadow, it's enough to make you afraid of the dark - especially that bright white grin shrouded in darkness! I got Rise of The Guardians Frost/Pitch vibes! That being said, and considering he's the villain, we really don't see much of The Shadow. On the villain note - it was refreshing to see the villain wasn't captain hook!

A Peter x Wendy rant

The major downside/letdown of this book is the Peter x Wendy relationship. It felt unnecessary and romantic when I wished it would stay platonic in every sense of the word. I'm all for characters in fairytales/classics growing up but this relationship feels so gross when you think about how old Peter actually is - realistically hundreds or thousands of years old - physically he's 18 (at some parts he looks roughly 15) and mentally he's 12. It's gross and distracting and takes away from the book.
I just wish the book could've stayed platonic. Just Wendy rediscovering her childhood, getting her memories back and finding her brother again. But noooo we must add romantic feelings for the hot 12 yr old! 🤮

I mean, a forced and unnecessary romance between a child and an 18 year old??? Aiden Thomas WHAT? I really think nostalgia and the amazing cover is the only thing that can save this book from being completely average or a DNF for most people. The writing was good and the story sounded great on paper but this book lacked the excitement that comes with Peter Pan and Neverland.

TW: abusive/scary father, absent mother (mentally checked out), kidnapping, loss of a loved one (past), alcoholism (parent), ptsd, injury, violence

Blog | Letterboxd | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter 

I was really disappointed by this book.

Okay, so this book starts off like your normal, everyday YA novel; we are introduced to Austin Szerba, a horny 16-year-old boy and we also meet Robby, Austin’s gay best friend.

Then Austin and Robby do a thing which leads to another thing happening and then some major shit going down. It’s a really good book you should read it.

There are things in here: Babies with two heads, insects as big as refrigerators, God, the devil, limbless warriors, rocket ships, sex,
diving bells, theft, wars, monsters, internal combustion engines, love, cigarettes, joy, bomb shelters, pizza, and cruelty.

This novel is a teen boy’s wet dream written by an amazing author who must be taking drugs; I often found myself saying “what the fucking, fuck???” But I kept going because it was bloody good!

Austin (the main character) is very interesting and funny; he talks about his family history a lot throughout the book which is really cool (his family history is so weird, I mean seriously what even??).

Robby was one of my favourite characters. Robby is openly gay and I find that Austin is often questioning his sexuality when he is around Robby (it’s really interesting to read about this side of Austin). You don’t find out much about Robby’s character throughout the novel but, he is still really cool.

I had a bit of trouble getting to know most of the characters as Austin didn’t really explain much about their backgrounds.

Shann, Austin’s girlfriend suffered a bit from Austin’s sexuality complication throughout the book but, I felt like she should have gotten over it because she and Austin were so “in love” (it did not seem like that btw). All in all I didn’t really like Shann she just pissed me off (there was also the thing how every time Austin thought of her he wanted to have sex with someone).

Honestly, just read the first chapter or so and decide if you like it or not. You’ll either love it or hate it.

This book deals with sexuality and sex, it also contains A LOT of swearing. Austin also talks about being horny a lot so if that makes you uncomfortable perhaps avoid reading this book for a while (while we’re on the topic of Austin’s horniness, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, I found it quite funny). 

Clockwork Angel | 4.5 ⭐
Clockwork Prince | 3 ⭐

12/05/2020
3.5 ⭐
It's like CC completely forgot this was supposed to have a plot and somehow I've just read 600 pages of romance.

18/09/2014
4⭐
i really enjoyed this book but i wasn't satisfied with the ending.

Blog | Letterboxd | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter