Amazon.ca
Genre: Fiction, Young adult, Science-fiction, Retellings, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781948583008
ASIN: B07DH1PJS3
Format: eBook, Paperback
Publication date: March 5th, 2019
Publisher: Bleeding Ink Publishing
Type: Fiction, Novel (Series), Retellings
*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!
If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit her Web site, you can also follow her on Twitter and Goodreads. You can visit her publisher, Bleeding Ink Publishing. You can also add Second Star to your bookshelves on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
Tagged: ARC, bleeding ink publishing, book review, book reviewer, book reviewing, book reviews, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, fiction, jm sullivan, netgalley, neverland, novel, peter pan, retelling, romance, science fiction, second star, series, wendy darling, YA, young adult
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