Title: Hooked
Author: Emily McIntire, narrated by Felicity Munroe and Rupert Hawethorne
Length: 10 hours, 30 mins (audio); 320 pages (hardback novel)
Genre: Dark Romance, Retelling
Is this book part of a series? While the book itself is a standalone novel, it’s part of the the Never After series, a collection of slightly twisted retellings.
I discovered this book via… my local bookshop. It’s been on my radar for a long time, especially as it is available for Kindle Unlimited. Honestly, though, I borrowed it in late 2023 and forgot all about it until I saw the gorgeous deluxe edition. I cannot believe it took me so long!
Published: first on September 5th 2021, the deluxe edition December 3rd, 2024
Summary ( from Goodreads)
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.
Hooked is a dark contemporary romance and the first complete standalone in the Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. It is not a literal retelling and not fantasy. Hooked features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised. For all content warnings, check the author’s website.
My thoughts:
Be advised, there will be spoilers ahead.
This was a great book, but there’s a lot to unpack and many things that could be triggering for people. Drugs- both use of and sales of. Drinking, gas lighting, discussion pf past trauma and child abuse, kidnapping extreme violence and sexual content. This is definitely geared towards adults, and I personally loved it.
Going in, it’s important to understand, this is not a redemption story. He doesn’t change for her, as far as she’s concerned he doesn’t need to. They both have a lot of trauma, especially Wendy. The only love she’s ever known was from a father that was never there, never really cared. In James, she thought she found love, a home, a family. No matter what he did to her, she could forgive, because he was the only love she knew.
I do feel like she had growth, she learned to stand up for herself, and to demand what she wanted, to fight for it even. Was it the healthiest personal growth ever known? No, but I’ll take it. The thing is, Wendy knew by the end who he was, what he had done- I mean, kidnapping and using the only other person she loved as a threat to make her behave? What he did do for her, is allow her to see how he is with the very few people he cared about. To be protective, warm, to show her that she was worth being heard- even when he didn’t want to. I loved seeing that part of him, both with Rue and then with Wendy. Speaking of Rue, he was perfect. He wasn’t a hero, but someone that would fight for a little boy that needed saving, that would make sure they survived. Hard and blustery Rue, drug dealer, gang leader… still the first of the characters here to make me cry. Honestly, the only actually decent character by normal standards was Jon. But that’s the point of a fractured fairy tale, isn’t it? You don’t have to be a hero to get the girl, you don’t have to be a perfect daughter to be loved.
As far as the flow of the story, technical issues, and ease of reading I actually found this to be really well written. The characters were interesting, intense and flawed. The dual narrative was easy to follow and allowed a better understanding of both characters. Due to content, it wasn’t always a comfortable read for me, but it was a good one. I will be looking into the other books she’s written. For me, this is a four star book- very nearly a five which I reserve for my obsessions.
The book is out on eBook (Kindle Unlimited), paperback, audiobook and hardcover. I personally bought the hardcover because it was stunning as well as the audiobook because I liked the narrators and it really is the easiest way for me to get through books right now. Life gets busy, right? Have you read it? What are your thoughts?
Happy Reading,
Gwen
