Do you like reading retellings? Whether they retell old fairy tales or flesh out characters from epic tales that we haven’t heard from before, there are so many ways retellings are approached. I am excited to tell you all about an indie series of retellings by Megan Van Dyke. The first book in the series, Second Star to the Left, was nominated for the inaugural Inked Awards and I had the pleasure of reading it. Take a look at this book set in Neverland.
Second Star to the Left
By Megan Van Dyke | Goodread | Reimagined Fairy Tales Collection
Tinker Bell, banished from her homeland for doing the unthinkable, selling the hottest drug in Neverland—pixie dust—wants absolution.
Determined to find a way home, Tink doesn’t hesitate to follow the one lead she has, even if that means seducing a filthy pirate to steal precious gems out from under his…hook.
Captain Hook believes he’s found a real treasure in Tink. That is, until he recovers from her pixie dust laced kiss with a curse that turns the seas against him. With his ship and reputation at the mercy of raging storms, he tracks down the little minx and demands she remove the curse. Too bad she can’t.
However, the mermaid queen has a solution to both of their problems, if Tink and Hook will work together to retrieve a magical item for her.
As they venture to the mysterious Shrouded Isles to find the priceless treasure, their shared nemesis closes in. However, his wrath is nothing compared to the realization that achieving their goal may mean losing something they never expected to find—each other.
Content notes include sexual content, cursing, alcohol, violence, death of parent, drug use.
Second Star to the Left – Review
The TV series, Once upon A Time, gave me lots of background on all the well-known fairy tales. Peter Pan was one of them and like all tales, the show took its liberties with the storyline. When I visualize the characters in Peter Pan, I think of the cast of this show. I was never much of a Captain Hook fan until I saw Once upon A Time. His portrayal and plotline was really well done. Now, I am happy to have discovered a book that reminds me of that version: Second Star to the Left. He is fun, charismatic, curious, alert and still goofy. He is resourceful and holds a grudge. Though this is the story of Captain Cook, it is more the story of Tinker Bell.
In Peter Pan stories that I have read, Tinker Bell is portrayed as a small pixie companion to Peter Pan. I actually can’t recall the role she plays in the stories, I just know she is a character. Second Star to the Left takes place years before the events of Peter Pan and fleshes out Tinker Bell in a memorable manner. I got to see her powers as a pixie, her love for tinkering and inventing as well as the mental strength that she has.
Tinker Bell has lost her only way to getting back to the pixie world. She has been banished due to something she did and she desperately wants to go back by fixing her bracelet. Tink’s backstory is a great one! I quite enjoyed diving deeper into her history and the pixie society. She had come with her cousin, Lily, but they have separated and while she is trying to find ways of fixing her bracelet, she is also looking for Lily. The world of Neverland is full of dangers though. With pirates, magic, merfolk, and high demand for pixie dust which means she has to be careful and conceal her true identity, Tinker has a lot to navigate.
This book portrayed merfolks as powerful creatures that could control the sea. She starts to work for the merfolk, bringing them stolen or long lost artifacts so as to gain their trust and help. This is how she meets Captain Hook. He is a thief but so is she and when she steals something from him, it brings him bad luck on the waters. There is an undeniable chemistry between them and I liked how it developed through the book.
Second Star to the Left is fast read. The banter is fun and immersive. The plot keeps moving and does not stagnate in one spot. I felt that it spent the right amount of time on each of the characters and having the two perspectives of Cook and Tinker helped add dimension to both characters and keep things interesting. I enjoyed Captain Hook’s crew and their adventures (or mishaps) on the sea.
I will read the next book in the series! It is about one of the stepsisters from Cinderella.
If you are interested in Second Star to the Left, add it to your TBR on Goodreads. If you have read it already, tell me your thoughts in the comments or link to your review and I will give it a read.
I received a review copy of this book as a judge on the Inked Awards for an honest review.
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