J. M. Sullivan

I loved this sci fi retelling of Peter Pan! The Jolly Roger, captained by the legendary James Hooke, has been missing for over 100 years when a distress transmission out of nowhere gets through to the Londonierre Brigade. Wendy Darling, who has worked her way up in the ranks of the Brigade, is given her own ship and crew (which includes Johns and Michaels, who are like brothers to her) and sent on a rescue mission to bring Captain Hooke and the crew of the Jolly Roger home. But all is not as it seems where the legendary Captain is concerned - just ask Fleet mechanic Peter Pan!

What an interesting retelling! I loved how elements of the original Peter Pan story were incorporated into the sci fi setting of this book. Pan was without a doubt my favorite character, and I loved the interplay between him and Wendy. The characters were all well written and multidimensional, and the plot was engaging. The world building was phenomenal, as well.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to continuing the story in book two.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Bleeding Ink Publishing, and J.M. Sullivan for the opportunity to read and review this book.… (mais)

*A big thanks to Bleeding Ink Publishing, NetGalley and J.M. Sullivan for granting me this much-loved ARC in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation and reviewed it willingly.*



Second star to the right. Such a beautiful phrase in Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and a brilliant idea for a retelling novel, Second Star by J.M. Sullivan. The title itself is what grabbed my attention, the gorgeous cover held it for a while, and the blurb had me requesting it on NetGalley. Here’s a hint to my review: I loved it!



Positive Sides:

I rarely do this, but I'll start right away with the writing itself because it's note-worthy! Not only is it good and pretty, but it's also action-oriented and all showing, very little telling. I really like her writing! The names of the companions as acronyms for the robots and parts are excellent! Wow!! This made me grin and giggle so much. It's a nice spin on them. Moreover, the author makes creative genius and touchy feelsy uses and explanations of real quotes like "the second star to the right". She uses the quotes brilliantly and they're so faithful to the characters. It made my heart squeeze with so many feels!

As for the action of the story, the book jumps right into the action and lasts a long while which is highly entertaining. Because when action starts, it's action upon action and it's always the worst-case scenario that happens! In my opinion, this is the best reading experience, and it's thrilling. The action scenes had me engrossed and captivated, with my heart beating faster in real life. I have to give kudos to the author for they're fun, well-written, and there is no confusion about what's happening or who's doing what. At some point in the book, things got slow, but I swear the thrill picked back up on the next page or so. It was expertly woven.

That's all very good, but what about the story itself? Well, I thought the setting was genius! It's so different and creative in a retelling, yet so many hints and equivalences are there like Tink and more. In a space academy? Then off onto a spaceship? And landing on the Neverland planet? That's genius right there. Neverland is both stunning and foreign, and I love how everything is beautiful yet tinged or made slightly different. The fact that it's an alien planet has been taken into consideration - neat! Also, I love how there is coding and technical and engineering stuff that appear prominently; that makes it realistic for the future. This might be a silly remark, but it overjoyed me that Peter is a redhead! Often in retellings he is blonde or brown... but I prefer red heads, so it made me squeal as I could imagine him even more easily. Thanks, Miss Sullivan!

As for Wendy, I like that she's at school and one for the elite at that! Plus, the fact she has no brothers and that Johns and Michaels are her besties is a cool way to to reinvent the wheel! Her relationships with her "soul brothers" is so friendly, cute, and platonic (amazing!). In addition, I looooove how Wendy is in charge! She's different, and this makes her complimentary to Peter. And there's this special treat of how Wendy always has to look proper even in most dire situations. This trait reminds me of her mother role to the boys in the original and the era she's from where everyone of status looked dapper. What about Peter? He and Tinc are immensely likable! They're mine, okay? MINE!

And... the villains! Yes, villains are AWESOME. Dangerous, too! I'm so glad the author put in the original good form argument and attitude from Hooke. I'm also quite impressed by the twist and use of Peter's shadow; very surprising and innovative. Can I add that the showdown at the end is marvelous? WOW! Furthermore, I love how science is used in this book as well as the new concepts for devices, ships, and so on. Last, I swear the author made the Mermaids' Lagoon as important as in the original (if not even more), which made me so happy.

On a side note, may I talk about the thimble? YES, she included the thimble! Oh, my emotions! I cried and all the feels and I ship it!

You may now proceed to the negative sides, thank you.



Negative Sides:

Besides its many good points, this book has two main issues, in my opinion: cheesy romance and inconsistencies. In my book, romance is not very important in books, but this one was way too cheesy to believe in. I mean, Wendy and Peter just got to know each other for a week or two. I barely buy it, which makes me go rather "bleh" and rolling my eyes or sighing while reading. So, I'm warning you: this might get on your nerves like it did with mine. If only more time had passed, that would have been more understandable. While I know love at first sight might happen for a few people (does it even exist, though?), this was brimming full with insta-love.

The other issue is how regular are the inconsistencies. I noted two of them, glaring ones, but there are a few more. For example, in the beginning, the power is out and in the previous paragraph it is said that the ship Jolly Roger is pitch black, so then how come Peter can see cook’s face and his men like in daylight? The only source of light is Tinc, and it’s not said whether or not she is near him for this scene. Also, much later in the book, there's a scene where the gun isn't working anymore, but two chapters later it does with no explanations how. This is so confusing! I had to reread several times the passages, yet I couldn't make any sense of it, so I figured these were inconsistencies. It's annoying, but mostly because the book is so good overall that you want to understand.



In Conclusion:

So, I got this ARC months ago but only got to write this review this week due to health issues, BUT what I'm about to say still stands strong: Second Star is one of the few best retellings I've ever read and the best book I've read in 2018, clearly. Heck, it's the end of 2019 and I'm still thinking about it a lot, remembering all those charming characters, engrossing action and enticing world. Thanks to all of this, I give Second Star by J. M. Sullivan a rating of 4.5 out of 5. I didn't take a point for the cheesiness of the romance (which is still cute), but I took a .5 for the (unfortunate) inconsistencies. All the rest is amazing! I'm eager to read the sequel!… (mais)

Space pirates and mermaids and deities Oh My! Welcome to a thoroughly entertaining space romp. Fair warning: I am a HUGE sucker for (good) Space Operas so this might be a bit biased.

This Peter Pan reimagining could have gone horribly wrong, especially due to how fundamentally different it is from the original, BUT thankfully it did not disappoint. This was one retelling that was solid on all fronts. The writing was well executed. So much so that I will definitely be looking for more of J.M. Sullivan's worlds to visit in the future. The characters, though not particularly deep, made up for their substance deficiency in spades with their entertainment value. To complete the trifecta of awesomeness that I believe is imperative to have when creating a truly successful read was its plot. It was fun to see how each character was revamped and even more fun guessing how my favorite parts from the original book would translate in a totally different environment. Every time I came across common threads that tied together the original and retold stories I was elated. There were common places and names and dialogue to boot. We even get to witness some crowing.

It wasn't just Peter's POV though. Multi POVs can easily make or break a books' flow but here it worked. It worked so well that I happened to fall in love with characters that I could not connect with in the original story. Three such characters were Wendy, Michael and John. This new and improved Wendy was a kick ass Captain that was extremely intelligent, more than physically capable and an all around female force to be reckoned with. She, John and Michael, who are not related in this re-envisioning, were a beautifully cohesive trio. Both John and Michael were reshaped into VERY clever/barely recognizable young men which rendered them instantly likeable. The tertiary characters were also alluring, even without full dimensionality. I loved Tinc as futuristic tech instead of an annoying fairy and even Smee got a technological upgrade.... SO fun!

What fell flat for me was the romantic element. It felt extraneous and disjointed. I hope this will be rectified in future installments because it really did come off as forced and an afterthought.

Overall: This book was a clever, unique, transportive space Gaunt that I enjoyed immensely. I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in the series ASAP. I reccomend this to lovers of Futuristic Space Opera Retellings with Fantastical elements and pirates... SPACE PIRATES!! Sounds like a niche market but if you're a fan of any of those genres, you won't be disappointed.

~ Enjoy

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***… (mais)

I got this book to review through NetGalley. I was immediately interested in the fact that it was an Alice in Wonderland retelling. I was a bit unsure about the whole zombie theme to it. It ended up being an interesting blend of Resident Evil-like post-apocalyptic zombie tale and Alice in Wonderland re-imaging. This is the first book in a new series (I thought it was stand alone but it’s not).

This was a well written novel and overall I ended up enjoying it. I liked the characters and thought that the way the Alice in Wonderland content was blended in was well done and very tongue-in-cheek. It’s definitely a dark retelling and reminds a bit of the Alice: Madness Returns video game. You could also compare this series to Showalter’s Alice in Zombieland; I thought this book was much more well done than the Alice in Zombieland series.

The writing flows well and is engaging; I found myself drawn into the story and this ended up being a quick read for me. There were some inconsistencies that I struggled to get over. For example Alice is supposedly very bookish and introverted; yet suddenly when she gets to Wanderland she is able to sword fight and kick zombie butt...I was kind of like “Huh, where’d she learn that from”. Some of the reveals about Chess also bothered me.

The parallels between this book and the original Alice in Wonderland series are well done. Right away Alice is led through Wanderland by Chess, a nimble boy who frequently disappears and is cryptic. The doctor she chases through the city is named after the White Rabbit and another of the researchers is named Matt Hatta. I enjoyed hunting for the parallels and loved how they were hidden throughout the story.

I did not realize that this is the first book in a series, so this book has absolutely no resolution and pretty much ends right in the middle of things...just a heads up.

Overall while I did enjoy this book, I am not huge into zombie survival novels right now so I am uncertain as to whether or not I will continue with the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy post-apocalyptic zombie tales or are obsessed with Alice in Wonderland retellings.… (mais)