April 2021 Review: Neverland Revisited

Dust

Author: Kara Swanson

Publisher: Enclave Publishing

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Imagine our world and the world of Peter Pan collide.

Got it?

If you do, you are ready for Kara Swanson’s first book in her Heirs of Neverland series. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about picking up a book like this. Fairy tales are not my thing, but I wondered what all the hype was about.

In the end, I was duly entertained.

There is a problem with Claire. Every time she gets worked up, her body sheds dust. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. The problem? Not only is it embarrassing, but people have gotten hurt. Really hurt. To her, the dust is poison. She hates it. Still, Claire will not give up her search for her missing brother. Despite her ailment, she finds herself following a new lead to London in hopes of locating Connor, who’d been kidnapped by someone taking advantage of his love of the Peter Pan fairytale.

Only, Claire is about to find out that it’s no fairytale.

In fact, it’s all real.

Fairies.

Pirates.

A boy who could fly.

All of it. But this is no Disney cartoon.

And her dust? Well, I leave that for you to find out as you read.

Swanson did a masterful job bringing the world of Neverland into our present reality. Never did I feel that this story went off the rails into the ‘too fantastical,’ and I found myself believing that “this is how it would go down” if the characters we know were forced to live on Earth.

Swanson demonstrates her skill in writing this story. I enjoyed the read immensely, even though it was not my preferred genre. Her twist on characters familiar to us was refreshing and handled in a way that still honored what we all know and love about Neverland.

The one drawback for me was the middle of the book where the action lagged. I was waiting for something to happen, and it felt like a series of character meet ups to have conversation. I prefer books with more action, but that is me. Still, the ending was great—and unexpected. The reader will be hungry for volume two.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their childhood fairytales or Peter Pan specifically. While themes such as kidnapping and romance make this book not for young children, it is overall a very clean read. No language or sex. Mild romance. Some clean violence.

Pick up your copy today and be whisked away to a place were a boy who didn’t want to grow up intersects with a girl who wants to be anything but what she is.

Available on Amazon or your local bookstore (support local business!).

No disclaimer. I did not receive anything from the author, nor was I requested to write this review.