Name: Madison Keiran's review of The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe
Item: The Dark One
Rating: 2
Author: Madison Keiran

Nikki St. Crowe

I spent most of my life feeling dead inside -- until I met Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

It wasn't until Pan and Neverland that I finally felt alive.

But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There's something darker and more sinister haunting the forest.

And worse, the fae queen and Captain Hook are ready to fight for control of Neverland and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including using the one thing Pan never thought he wanted or needed -- me. I'm a descendant of the Darling family and now I belong to him and the Lost Boys.

War is brewing -- can the Never King get his shadow back and assume his rightful throne? And if he does, where will I fit?

Or will all of Neverland be in jeopardy right along with my dark, twisted heart?

NOTE: The Dark One is book two in the Vicious Lost Boys series. It is a dark reimagining of Peter and Wendy. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy The Dark One and the Lost Boys. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes.

Please check the author's website for CWs.

Vicious Lost Boys #2

The Dark One

Amanda Autumn Berrey

I turn the knob and push the door in. It creaks on its hinges and I spot Winnie in the middle of my room, standing among the wreckage of all of my favorite things. Her back is to me. “Winnie?”

“I don’t know how the Life Shadow felt,” he says, “but the Dark Shadow aches. It is a burden I no longer wish to bear. That’s the end of it. It will be good to be without it.” “And the Neverland Dark Shadow?” I ask. “What shall we do with it?” “Give it to one of the twins.” “Kas could probably handle it. He’s practical. Patient. Reliable. I feel like out of the two, he’d handle it better.”

“I’ll give it back,” he adds. “I don’t want or need the shadow anymore. I’ll give it back...” I sense he’s trailed off and left something unsaid.

“Put on more clothes, Darling,” he adds. “Only we get to appreciate you.” “You mean we’re not going to add Captain Hook to our harem?” I tease. Both Pan and Vane scowl like I just suggested we add an octopus. “Do not utter those words ever again,”

Pan grabs the salve and comes over to me, but Vane snatches it from his grip and then hooks me around the waist and steers me toward his room. “Vane!” Pan yells. But Vane keeps pushing me and says, “She’s mine tonight.”

Vane will always be the last person to demand anything from me and he will always be the one I want to please the most because of it.

And it suddenly clicks, the real secret to unraveling Vane. I was wrong about him, but so was Peter Pan. It’s not that I have to try harder or try less. It’s that I have to be exactly who I am. Every ugly, broken part.

“I don’t hate you,” he admits and levels me with his violet eye. “I dislike the way you make me feel.” “Which is how?” His gaze drops to my lips as my tongue darts out. “Reckless.”

“How were you able to claim the shadow? Are you not human?” He laughs and shakes his head. Now I’m very curious. “So what are you?” “Does it matter?” “Maybe?” He swims back toward me, cut shoulders moving gracefully in the water. “If I give back my shadow, maybe it will matter then. Maybe I’ll tell you.”

Wendy, as we’ve established, was a brat like you. Determined. Fierce. Easy to fall for.”

“It’s Vane’s brother,” Kas says. “The Crocodile.”

I wanted to befriend her, but I think she might slowly come to hate me. Especially if I get my way. I want Vane. He will give in to me. Eventually.

“Does she not want to go back?” “We told her she was free to go home years ago,” Bash says. “And she chose to stay.”

“I told you to ask them for salve,” he says, his voice edged in annoyance, “not another brutal fucking.”

I will pick Darling over my own wings because with her I am already flying. She is mine and I am hers.

I’m not usually territorial. I don’t usually care enough to bother. But every inch of her pale skin is territory I want to conquer and make mine.

“Please, Darling,” I add. “Let me take care of you.”

Two shadows leap from the box in my hand. Two shadows.

“… there was a greedy look in his eyes now which ought to have alarmed her, but did not.”-J. M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy

Stephanie 

Rachel

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Madison Keiran

Did I like it? Not really. Did I finish it in 2 hours? Yeahhh

loved this book as well!!! the ending was fab! this series is so fun 

Still super fun & more going on than the last book however I feel the mystery in the first book was just abit better. I love Nikki writing, she gives me life <3 

Robyn Harley

Sara Uribe

I am just loving this series to bits. I had to pace myself while reading this book since I KNEW I would speed read it especially since this series is not finished. I don't know what it is about this book that makes me love it so much. But I do. I especially loved seeing Winnie’s strength and vulnerability and Vane finally giving in! This is the series I never knew I needed and again, I cannot wait until book three comes out!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was definitely better than the first one. I liked the characters a little more but some of them still felt bland, especially Winnie. 

I like Vane and would have preferred him to be the main character because he seems to be the only character in this book that has a personality. I think overall these books have alot of smut to compensate for the lack of everything else 

June

This book was definitely better than the first one. I liked the characters a little more but some of them still felt bland, especially Winnie. 

I like Vane and would have preferred him to be the main character because he seems to be the only character in this book that has a personality. I think overall these books have alot of smut to compensate for the lack of everything else 

Ella Sullivan

This book was definitely better than the first one. I liked the characters a little more but some of them still felt bland, especially winnie. I like Vane and would have preferred him to be the main character because he seems to be the only character in this book that has a personality. I think overall these books have really good smut but lack in every other aspect of fantasy

Sheena Graziano 

Darling decided to return back to never land with the lost boys and after reading the never king i had no choice but to dive into the dark one. Yes it’s very spicy probably more spicy then the first one, but I can’t wait to find out what’s to come of their little darling.

detelinka

BRILLIANT OMFG. THEY ARE ALL SO HOT AND WIN IS A QUEEN AND THE CLIFFHANGER OH NO. OMG I CANT WAIT FOR THE 3RD ONE😭

Rebecca Hooper

I am strictly reading this series as a guilty pleasure now lol. This book was certainly better than the first, I'll give it that. There's more action and conflict in the plot this go around. Don't worry, there is still tons of dirty harem sex! I think the characters play so well off each other and the different dynamics between each relationship is shown so well. I am genuinely invested in these characters.

amidpages

Lianka Jordaan

Lucy📖🍂

I need the next one in this series to be out right now so I can binge it! 
I loved reading this book and honestly I’ve been struggling reading recently, could feel myself going into a slump however this book got me out of it very quickly!

Wren Elliott 

✨The Never King is mine. And I’m going to make him admit it.✨

I don’t know how Nikki did it but she smashed it out of the park once again. I have been hanging to get back to Neverland from the moment The Never King ended and let me tell you the return was everything and more. Once again there is so much packed into a relatively short amount of pages without it being rushed or overloaded, and the writing is so beautiful and descriptive! Also the spice…I can’t 🥵 the first book delivered but this one? Top. Tier. The story is just building and building and more twists and secrets are being unveiled and honestly I don’t want this series to ever end. 

The Never King was amazing but The Dark One was absolutely incredible! But that cliffhanger though, Nikki please not again 😂

This was…. really hard to get through. 

There’s almost no development of Winnie’s character and I found it really hard to root for her. The male characters are all pretty bland. Overall the whole book was pretty cringy. Read at your own risk. 

Gabriella Lanouette

This was…. really hard to get through. 

There’s almost no development of Winnie’s character and I found it really hard to root for her. The male characters are all pretty bland. Overall the whole book was pretty cringy. Read at your own risk. 

loved this one, it was a really good follow up to the first! i only wish that the books were a bit longer so we could have more details and storylines 

Lindsey Davis Blanchard 

Anna

I originally added this book to my TBR after watching tiktok about scene with vines and you know what? It wasn't even that hot!
But I want to know what happens next, it's totally the case of "came for the porn, stayed for the plot".

Meg (megschapters)

Thank you so much Nikki and Peachy Keen for the arc access 👀 I have been religiously reading this every night over and over since I got the arc and I am OBSESSED 

'𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮'

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 

Vicious Lost Boys #2 

Nikki, Nikki, Nikki 👀 I- You--!?! Ma'am, - respectfully I ate this up in 2 hours... 🥵 if The Never King had me hooked [😉] The Dark One, fully has me in a tied up around the Never Tree on my hands and knees begging for the Book 3 already 👀 

'...𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴'

We return to Neverland as Pan, Bash, Kas and Vane search for Pan's shadow and Winnie navigates her boys, determined to claim them all. This was PACKED with new characters, major character revelations, plot reveal after plot reveal and THAT cliffhanger 😳 Nikki has such a way with writing that you crave every word she writes 😫

I personally LOVED the individual character developments - whilst we see the lost boys interact with Winnie as a group we also see them all grow in their own ways, & develop their own relationships with Winnie. We see their struggles, Pan's longing to belong, Winnie's desire to be seen & loved & Vane's inner battle. I specially liked seeing the twins need such different things from Winnie. Talking of the twins all I'm saying is ''𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱' 🍃 

Daddy Vane - 😳🥵 you sweet cinnamon roll 🤤 but that forest scene, Hot BLOODY damn 🔥 YAS WINNIE


TW: degradation/blood play/bondage/DP/RH

 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙?

More 

laur_reads_romance

Stars: 5
Spice: 4

This book begins right as the other leaves off - with opening the box and all the repercussions that come with that. Again - so much is packed into a short number of pages - but it never feels rushed. Nikki gives you just enough information to keep you intrigued. This story has me in a choke hold, I honestly don’t know how I’m going to wait for the next book!

We definitely get more Vane in this book and for that I am THANKFUL. He has been holding back with Winnie and when he finally loses control… good lord. I’m sweating. Is it hot in here??

Not going to lie, there is a cliffhanger. A BIG ONE. But I kind of love it? I really didn’t see that ending coming! I can’t wait to find out what happens next!!

Meghan M

This one was the same way as the first, only with a smidge more of plot than before.

I spent most of my life feeling dead inside -- until I met Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. It wasn't until Pan and Neverland that I finally felt alive. But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There's something darker and more sinister haunting the forest. And worse, the fae queen and Captain Hook are ready to fight for control of Neverland and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. War is brewing -- can the Never King get his shadow back and assume his rightful throne? And if he does, where will I fit? Or will all of Neverland be in jeopardy right along with my dark, twisted heart? NOTE: The Dark One is book two in the Vicious Lost Boys series. It is a dark reimagining of Peter and Wendy. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you'll enjoy The Dark One. You can expect an island with darkness and secrets and no true hero in sight, with a found family atmosphere, and 'touch her and I'll unalive you' vibes. The Dark One ends on a cliffhanger. Please check the author's website for CWs.

Emma

This series has been so fun to read. And all of the ridiculously hot sex scenes are *chef's kiss*. The heat was definitely turned up in this one and damn was it good. I am excited for book 3. Can't wait to see what shenanigans our Lost Boys and Winnie get up to next.

Laura Pons

Definitivamente me ha gustado más que el anterior, estoy deseando leer el último.

Kristen Gillis

“I will pick Darling over my own wings because with her I am already flying. She is mine and I am hers.”

Nikki did it again. I completely devoured this book. Pan, Vane and the Twins are everything 😍 I have a hard time picking a favorite, Vane really got to me in this book. 

Winnie Darling is finally home. She has always belonged in Neverland. Winnie is everything these guys didn’t even know they needed. 

I loved the introduction of some very well known characters From the original Peter Pan storyline, with their own little twists of course. 

Oh Cherry, you poor girl. I cannot wait until Vane finds out what she did, he going to lose it and I am here for it!

That cliffhanger though 😫 I am deceased! I NEED to know what comes next!

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe