“I remember her warnings about Peter and the lost boys and the panic in her voice when she would tell me to avoid them. Still as the evil legacy of Peter Pan seems to be at an end. I cannot deny my grandmother her peace. I cannot deny my conscience either, in case I am wrong.” ~Moira Anne Darling, Death of Neverland.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The Death of Neverland is an entertaining, captivating, dark, twisted urban fantasy of the beloved classic fairy tale Peter Pan, written by Serena Mossgraves. I typically don’t read horror stories or stories with gore, but I am a huge fan of fairy tales and am always interested in reading an author’s twist. This is the first book I have read by her, and I truly enjoyed reading her twist on Peter Pan despite some of the horrific scenes of blood and bones. Serena’s writing style is unique and full of imagery. She honestly thought outside the box that brings the story to life with detailed descriptions and character development. She writes her story with a sense of class. Mossgraves has a way with words that allows the reader to paint a picture in their head of what is happening and feel what the characters are experiencing, making the story more enjoyable to read.
I look forward to reading more works by Serena, and I am so honored to be writing this review; words can’t express how blessed I feel.
Serena Mossgraves creates a unique, dark tale of what may be the truth of Neverland and that Peter Pan might not indeed be a sweet young boy. This dark, twisted fairy tale is full of gore and other darker themes, and some parts of it made me grossed out and uncomfortable, but the storytelling is phenomenal. The story does contain sensitive topics like acts of rape and cannibalism, which are hidden in the history of Neverland and the children within the Pan’s universe. The story is told from Wendy’s granddaughter’s perspective, which is one of my favorite things about this story. The dark tale is told through letters and journal entries that Wendy found from her grandmother and notes from Captain Hook’s notebook. Writing the story from another character’s perspective and formatting it like a diary brings uniqueness to this dark tale.
Some of the chapters had execution errors, like jumping from past to present tense, and the last chapter of the short story is told from first-person point of view. Also, there is a bit of inconsistency in the formatting, such as extra spaces after punctuation, but the errors do not hinder the story.
I loved how the author mixed reality and fantasy to tell the readers how Captain Hook became who he is and his hatred for Peter Pan. I never learned the story behind Captain Hook until this version. All of the evil and horror that takes place is partly due to a fairy named Jinxybell. Jinxybell is a jealous creature who envied the honest acceptance she saw in the man’s world. She lost her magical abilities because she was an abomination to the faeries due to her love of eating human flesh. Jinxybell brings this horror story to life and gives the reader goosebumps and chills when reading. She stirs up the story. I give the author a lot of credit for creating this character.
The Death of Neverland is an exciting and fascinating retelling of Peter Pan. The mix of reality and fantasy is blended very well and makes the reader’s mind wander. If you enjoy fairytale retellings and dark urban fantasy stories, you must read Serena Mossgraves’ The Death of Neverland.
Functionally Fictional 