Name: Lover of Romance 's review of Hooked by Emily McIntire
Item: Hooked
Rating: 5
Author: Lover of Romance

Emily McIntire

He wants revenge, but he wants her more…

James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.

Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.

Never After Series, Book #1

Hooked

Never After Series

This quote killed me, knowing that Ru did everything for James since he was a child. I could never imagen how James felt.

Mel pauze

Pain splinters through my stomach as I toss the lighter onto the fallen leaves watching as they catch fire and spread, Ru's body slowly being engulfed in the flames.

Hana 

"Darling, if I'm the dark, then you're the stars."

For the record.” He dips his head down, the tips of his hair tickling my neck as he presses kisses to my skin. “I would give you the world. You simply have to ask. You want kids? Done.” He presses his lips to my jaw. My stomach tightens. “You want to stay here and never work again?” Another kiss, this time just beneath my ear. “Done.”

      My core flutters, heat spreading through me.

      “You want to watch the world burn?”

      “Let me guess you’ll set it on fire”

"Just remember that whenever things feel bleak, all situations are temporary. It's not your circumstance that determines your worth, it's how you rise from the ashes after everything burns."

O..m..g. I need this man. Hopefully he's on Etsy😍

Elisheva♡ 

"I would give you the world. You simply have to ask. You want kids? Done."

"You want to stay here and never work again?...done."

"Let me guess,you'll set it on fire?" I ask..

He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones. "No, darling. I'll hand you the match and stand at your back,watching you become the queen of the ashes."**

"No,I don't think you've earned it." I wrench my arm from his grasp. "And for the record,these pretty lips will say whatever the 

AHHH!!! I literally melted when he said that!

Ivory Flores

“The greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy darling.”

But we’re all a little twisted, and there’s no such thing as good and evil. There are only perspectives, and perceptions change depending on the angle. 

Levi-Mae 

“Do you know how much control it took for me to not slaughter every man who had his eyes on you tonight? 

It was torturous. None of them were worthy enough to so much as look at you.”

My life wasn’t worth living before you were in it.” 

‘And to think, it all started with a little bit of faith. 

And a villain who just need to steal a little love.’ 

‘Even the most damaged of hearts can still learn to love.’

“And always yours, Wendy darling.” He kisses my jaw. “Every night.” 

‘I’ll sacrifice my soul a thousand times over in order to stay with his.”

“Don’t say it,” I hiss, my stomach twitching until it tears. “Don’t you 

He smiles, and I swear to God the sight makes me want to die. 

“The greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy darling.” 

“Darling, if I’m the dark, then you’re the stars.” 

“Yes. You’re dark and moody and mysterious. But beautiful.” 

‘James may not be a hero, but even villains can feel. And you can’t help you who love.’

“For the record. I would give you the world. You simply have to ask. You want kids? Done. You want to stay here and never work again? Done. 

“Let me guess, you’ll set it on fire?” I ask. 

He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones. “No, darling. I’ll hand you the match and stand at your back, watching you become Queen of the ashes.” 

Lover of Romance 

Emily

First and foremost, if you're going to read this book, I beg you, PLEASE, read trigger warnings. I shouldn't have to remind you since, if you're reading this review, you probably already know this book deals with dark topics.

Anyways, most of the smut was hot, especially Hook's voice actor, but it did get a bit awkward at times. Maybe I've been reading too much fanfiction. Who knows. The plot was amazing, the tense parts actually made me feel tense, and the plot twist actually surprised me. I'm going to continue reading this series, Emily McIntire proved herself to be worth my time.

I'd give this a 3.5 if I was able to give books half-ratings on this site.

Could be 5 stars. The smut was on point but the love story could've started off slower instead of straight on point.

aleksandra

this was just such an insane rollercoaster….

Emma Hak-Kovacs

This book has so much hype on both Tiktok and Twitter. So I decided to give it a read. Now, I did enjoy the book enough to finish it. However, I didn't enjoy the style enough to continue on in the series. I know they're different stories, but Hooked just wasn't interesting enough for me. I wish there was more to Hook and his background. A deeper dive into his need for revenge. And a much longer time with him and Wendy at the beginning. I mean, it was barely a breath between them meeting and him rubbing her dad's face in it. I was expecting him to be cold on the inside but make Wendy fall head over heels and having her bring him home to her dad or something.

liana

1.5⭐️

This book just does NOT deserve a review from my part, but I’m just going to say that this was horrible, unreal, horrible again, just complete nonsense, full of toxic behavior from every fucking character and I just wished everyone died in the end, sorry not sorry🫶🏼. Aaaaaaand also I hate the fact that authors have the audacity to call these books “dark romance” to justify the fucked up things they write about when it’s just a straight up sign to go to therapy asap. I don’t mind if you fuck each other everyday every minute every hour in all the possible positions because ✨I like that✨ but just no☺️. AND YES I KNOW EMILY MCINTIRE ADDED THE TRIGGER WARNINGS IN THE BOOK BUT I♥️DON’T🥰CARE💖.


Why 1.5 stars? Because I don’t know what type of drug this book had but I devoured it in 2 days and because I got to buddy read it with the love of my life Hoda and it was an incredible experience, cuz we both love trauma and horrible stuff apparently and because I had SO MUCH FUN with you shouting and screaming because our brains ✨weren’t braining✨😂♥️
(We will probably read the next book because we’re pretty much fucked up in the head so I can’t wait to go through another traumatic journey with you🫠)💖💖


Anyways, this book is extremely explicit so PLEASE search for the trigger warnings for the love of my goddess Beyoncé.

I really didn't expect this to be as good as it was. No pun intended (or, maybe pun intended...) but I was, in fact, hooked. 9/10, great book, and James is really sweet...if you need therapy (which I do).

Stranded 

This book was good, but not great. I liked the writing, dual POV, and short chapters!!! The smut was on point, but it was extremely predictable. Still, it was a quick and enjoyable read. 

Sitting here thinking about how Peter was taking care of this wife’s love child, but killed her? It’s not like he didn’t attempt to kill children before…

🌞Laur🌞

This book was good, but not great. I liked the writing, dual POV, and short chapters!!! The smut was on point, but it was extremely predictable. Still, it was a quick and enjoyable read. 

Sitting here thinking about how Peter was taking care of this wife’s love child, but killed her? It’s not like he didn’t attempt to kill children before…

Mackenzie Turner

WOW

When I say wow I truly mean wow! This book was recommended to me and I put off reading it for so long thinking I wouldn’t like it. Am I glad I read it! The twists and turns that I truly never expected were insane, this has easily became one of my favorite books.

One word: damn!!!! The twists -> friends turned enemies wow! in love with this book definitly going to read the rest of this serie!!!

Femke

Cameron Gleeson 

alya adlina

“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖’𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑊𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑦, 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔.“
_

This book was not bad for me. The characters, Wendy and Hook literally a very well done characters. Like the title of this book i’m HOOKED FROM THE FIRST PAGE UNTIL THE END. I went into this book with zero expectations but i just gotta say it blew my mind. it just so captivating and a fast read actually. the genre of this book is dark contemporary romance so you can expect the ✨smut✨ but the storyline in this book is the one that kinda hooked me. it’s so interesting. In this book we got Wendy the daughter of Peter Michael. Then we got James or everyone mostly called him Hook. He is the main hero in this book and also a villain. WELL YES I LOVE IT. idk what to say more you guys can just read this if you guys want something dark and smutty. BTW have you guys read Peter Pan? You guys love the Neverland characters? BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS THE ONE FOR YOU GUYS!!!

rhegan🧋

2.5 ⭐️ i picked this up cuz i enjoyed scarred and thought a fast paced stupid romance book would get me out of a slump but No.

avenlaming

The smut. The plot. Everything. That’s all. Thank you.

Honestly I went into this book blindly I like how it’s inspired by Peter Pan and hook actually lives on a ship . But some scenes where he just assumes and treats her like shit I hated. I just thought that she shouldn’t have forgave him that easily.

would’ve been better if everyone just walked the plank like the original storyline idgaf and idk

Brizah

I really just.. didn’t like it. I’m going to reread but I really didn’t like it

The_Darker_The_Better

I didn’t read the synopsis for this book before I started it. I’m so happy I didn’t 😊, the story was mafia themed which I wasn’t expecting and as the story unfolded I really feel for hook/james’s character. He had a tragic upbringing which I will forever sympathize with, and I loved his drive for revenge but once he laid eyes on Wendy the revenge plot really started to slip from grasp. As far as a dark retelling I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the other books in the series!

ooo i bloody loved this book! my second ever dark romance, and my favourite one as well! peter pan was my favourite film when i was younger, ive watched all of the adaptions & reading this one was so much fun! hook & wendy >>

starlingbright✨

More like 2.8⭐️

Don’t really like the writing, the plot was good tho. I like James Andrew Barrie, the second hottest after Zade Meadows :>

marta 

Renata

gosh is was so good, i was never a fan of peter pan and that type of stuff but this was way better than the original. james and wendy <3 

- "Anything happens to her and there will be no corner of the earth that can hide you from me. Understand?"

- "A man can have many things, darling." He steps in closer. "But the only beauty I hope to have tonight is yours.”

- “Darling, no one on this earth could change my opinion of you. I'm afraid it's already set in stone”.

- "Hook," I whisper through the dark.
 "Wendy.
 “I don't want to die.” He sighs.
 "Go to sleep, darling. Your soul is safe tonight.”
"Okay." 

- “Somewhere along the way, I've started to care. The realization that I no longer wish to use her against her father slams into me, sucking the breath from my lungs and making my tortured heart skip a beat.”

- "But I regret, with every fiber of my being, that for even one moment you suffered under my hands.” (..) "You are, without a doubt, the only good I've ever known. (…) "So... don't lie to me, Wendy, darling. Because my heart won't it survive it if you do.”

- “Her eyes glance to mine, and then she leans in and presses her lips to the mark. My lungs squeeze, my throat swelling from the gesture. I want to tell her that she's kissing the scar her father helped create, and that somehow, with just her touch, she's eased the pain. But I don't know how, so I pull her face up to my mouth instead, and I show her with my body.”

- "You want to watch the world burn?"
 "Let me guess, you'll set it on fire?" I ask. He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones.
"No, darling. I'll hand you the match, and stand at your back, watching you become queen of the ashes.”

- "You're dark and moody and mysterious. But beautiful.”
 "Darling, if I'm the dark, then you're the stars.”

- "The greatest thing I've ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy, darling.”

- “Me, on the other hand, I've had to come to terms with the fact that my soul is now tainted in red. A heavy mark, but one I'll wear with pride. James says that sometimes true love requires sacrifice. Well, I'll sacrifice my soul a thousand times over in order to stay with his.” 

- "That's my girl," he says. I against him, warmth spreading through my chest, my arms wrapping around his neck.
"Only yours, James Barrie.”
"And always yours, Wendy, darling.” He kisses my jaw. "Every night."
"And straight on 'til morning.” 

- “I never thought I would have this. A family. A life.
But then Wendy swept through with her unfailing
loyalty and her selfless way of forgiving even the worst
of mistakes, and she showed me that even the most
damaged of hearts can still learn to love.” 

- “I look back out on the water, closing my eyes and looking toward the future where adventure awaits, feeling grateful for how far we’ve come. And to think, it all started with a little bit of faith. Misplaced trust. Missing pixie dust. And a villain who just needed to steal a little love”

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Dust Jackets

Never smile at a croc- man. 

Spice Rating - 2.8
Dani - 3
Liz - 3
Wiggles - 2.5

Romance Rating - 1
Dani - 1
Liz - 1
Wiggles - 1

Overall Rating- 2
Dani - 3
Liz - 1
Wiggles - 2

For more, listen to our Hooked episode at https://wrongdustjackets.com/

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

*Fair Warning upon reading this review as it may contain spoilers* 


Just remember that whenever things feel bleak, all situations are temporary. It’s not your circumstance that determines your worth, it’s how you rise from the ashes after everything burns. 


My Review
First Impressions
Hooked is the first book in the newest series by this author “Never After” and this series is based on darker fairytale retellings. I was really intrigued especially in seeing how this series has taken the book community by storm, and I knew I needed to pick these up and soon. So I grabbed up Hooked and I can tell you that I have zero regrets on that. This book just swept me away and it was so delicious. I really wanted something that was fun but a bit edgier and Hooked definitely filled out my expectations and more. The writing was so quick and addictive and its a story that will captivate you instantly. I was so drawn to the set up of the story and seeing these two connect to each other. Our hero isn’t a good man haha he is definitely the epitome of a bad boy, but this author offers so many depths that are so enriching to read about. I was so captivated by it all. I loved the various references to the “Peter Pan” movie and even though its not a full retelling, the quirks of it was so engaging.


Maybe people never change and it’s only our perceptions that alter the view.




Summary
Hook is a man to be feared in his territory and the man that he works for. Hook lost everything as a child, and Ru raised him and was his only true father. The only man he could ever owe any allegiance to. But his life changes when he meets Wendy, a graceful innocent young woman, and when he learns of her true identity and that she is the daughter of the man that is his nemesis and one who cost him everything, he is determined to get his revenge even if he has to use Wendy as a bargaining chip. So while his intentions for her aren’t honorable, his determination to use her for his own ends starts to weaken as he discovers that Wendy is so much more than a bargaining chip. She starts to see inside his soul and as the bond between them deepens, he will have to decide which is more important his vow for vengeance or the love he is cultivating with her. But all plans never end up the way you expect them to, and Hook and Wendy will be in for some true obstacles before they can reach their well-deserved HEA.


“You want to watch the world burn?” “Let me guess, you’ll set it on fire?” I ask. He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones. “No, darling. I’ll hand you the match, and stand at your back, watching you become queen of the ashes.”
 


What I Loved
This story ……just pulled me in so quickly and I was always intrigued about a romance between Hook and Wendy and how exactly that would look like. I absolutely loved both characters, Hook is such a badass bad boy and definitely knows how to heat things up in the bedroom. Wendy is a strong yet sweet heroine. I love how protective she is over her brother and her willingness to stand up to her father. I really couldn’t get enough of the connection that Hook and Wendy have in the beginning, they are so drawn to each other . I enjoyed the aspect of them having an instant bond before the revenge plot comes forth from Hook. I really felt for Wendy, as she is the innocent in all of this, and I just knew when she learned the truth it would be devastating. And while it gets angsty in the second half of the story, I truly couldn’t get enough of seeing them overcome the challenges they need to face. Seeing Hook learn to trust in someone like Wendy was really beautiful. I adored the little moments that connect the story to “Disney’s Peter Pan” was so fun , like the ticking clocks that drive Hook crazy, or the spice was “chef’s kiss”. The romance was so delightful, while definitely super steamy, it had so many emotional depths to it that just cultivates a relationship you can root for.

“But I regret, with every fiber of my being, that for even one moment you suffered under my hands.” Her eyes widen, the beautiful shades of brown glossing over. “You are, without a doubt, the only good I’ve ever known.” I rest my forehead on hers, my shaky breaths ghosting across her lips, my thumb rubbing against her cheek. “So… don’t lie to me, Wendy, darling. Because my heart won’t survive it if you do.” 



What I Struggled With
There honestly wasn’t too much I struggled with, it got pretty angst between Hook and Wendy in certain moments in the second half, so I think I would have preferred it not to last as long as it did.

Overall View
Hooked is an enthralling dark contemporary that stuns the reader with its captivating romantic moments that bring such delicious treats to the one reading it. You can be assured that this story will addict you into the romance that was beautiful while also being packed with heart-filled struggles and human experience.


And to think, it all started with a little bit of faith. Misplaced trust. Missing pixie dust. And a villain who just needed to steal a little love.

Lover of Romance &
Hooked by Emily McIntire

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Hooked by Emily McIntire