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Legends of Neverland #1-3
Legends of Neverland Box Set 1: Books 1-3
Who says villains can't have happily ever afters?
These no-spice standalone fairytale retellings are set in and around Neverland, where morally gray characters abound, villains fight for their own happily ever afters, and the fairytales you think you know are turned on their heads. If you enjoy high stakes, high swoon, no spice romantasy stories loaded with villain origin stories, morally gray characters, and all your favorite tropes, then dive into Legends of Neverland today.
This romantic fanstasy/ fantasy romance box set includes 3 Becoming A Villainous Peter Pan, Hunting A Gender-Flipped Little Mermaid, and Betraying A Villainous Goose Girl
Becoming Hook
After accepting the traumatic loss of his hand and of the family he can barely remember, James deserts his best friend Peter Pan. In the fight to rescue the other Lost Boys, Hook will risk everything, even if that means becoming the most notorious villain in Neverland… or losing the fiery pixie who is stealing his heart. Can the original Lost Boy vanquish Neverland’s greatest threat?
Hunting Sirens
Trapped on an island nation and surrounded by bloodthirsty sirens, the starving people of Haven Harbor are losing hope. Treva, a Deaf blacksmith immune to the tempting call of the sirens lurking in the deep, steps into the perilous role of Siren Hunter. If she can rid the waters of enough sirens, her people could be free at last. Treva is certain of one thing--a siren hunter would never fall for one of her prey.
Betraying Korth
Dahlia has always known her life would end at the bottom of a hangman’s noose. But treason seems a small price to pay if it meant a chance to free her people from the iron grip of their tyrannical king. After a swift mutiny en route to Haven Harbor, she forces the king’s daughter to trade places with her and upon arrival, masquerades in her mistress’s place. Dahlia knows traitorous spies like her don't deserve happily ever afters...do they?
These no-spice standalone fairytale retellings are set in and around Neverland, where morally gray characters abound, villains fight for their own happily ever afters, and the fairytales you think you know are turned on their heads. If you enjoy high stakes, high swoon, no spice romantasy stories loaded with villain origin stories, morally gray characters, and all your favorite tropes, then dive into Legends of Neverland today.
This romantic fanstasy/ fantasy romance box set includes 3 Becoming A Villainous Peter Pan, Hunting A Gender-Flipped Little Mermaid, and Betraying A Villainous Goose Girl
Becoming Hook
After accepting the traumatic loss of his hand and of the family he can barely remember, James deserts his best friend Peter Pan. In the fight to rescue the other Lost Boys, Hook will risk everything, even if that means becoming the most notorious villain in Neverland… or losing the fiery pixie who is stealing his heart. Can the original Lost Boy vanquish Neverland’s greatest threat?
Hunting Sirens
Trapped on an island nation and surrounded by bloodthirsty sirens, the starving people of Haven Harbor are losing hope. Treva, a Deaf blacksmith immune to the tempting call of the sirens lurking in the deep, steps into the perilous role of Siren Hunter. If she can rid the waters of enough sirens, her people could be free at last. Treva is certain of one thing--a siren hunter would never fall for one of her prey.
Betraying Korth
Dahlia has always known her life would end at the bottom of a hangman’s noose. But treason seems a small price to pay if it meant a chance to free her people from the iron grip of their tyrannical king. After a swift mutiny en route to Haven Harbor, she forces the king’s daughter to trade places with her and upon arrival, masquerades in her mistress’s place. Dahlia knows traitorous spies like her don't deserve happily ever afters...do they?
871 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2024
49 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Mary Mecham
19 books783 followersMary Mecham writes high stakes, high swoon, no spice romantasy and fairy tale retellings packed full of adventure and romances. Her greatest joy is writing snarky banter and morally grey characters.
She is a born and raised Texan with a love of theater and books overshadowed only by her passion for disability advocacy. Her favorite food is chips and queso, her favorite holiday is April Fool's Day, and her favorite trope is enemies to lovers.
When she isn't writing, Mary enjoys spending time with her family and trying out new experiences, from fire breathing and axe throwing to trapeze flying and power paragliding.
She currently lives in Texas with her husband and three children.
You can get a FREE e-copy of her Rumpelstiltskin retelling, A Curse of Gold and Beauty, when you sign up for her newsletter at MaryMecham.com
She is a born and raised Texan with a love of theater and books overshadowed only by her passion for disability advocacy. Her favorite food is chips and queso, her favorite holiday is April Fool's Day, and her favorite trope is enemies to lovers.
When she isn't writing, Mary enjoys spending time with her family and trying out new experiences, from fire breathing and axe throwing to trapeze flying and power paragliding.
She currently lives in Texas with her husband and three children.
You can get a FREE e-copy of her Rumpelstiltskin retelling, A Curse of Gold and Beauty, when you sign up for her newsletter at MaryMecham.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 27, 2024
Becoming Hook:
Becoming Hook was my first ever Mary Mecham book and it had me hooked from page one. I loved the way she turned the "villain" Captain Hook into a morally grey and extremely likeable character. I loved watching him and Tink fall in love and seeing the extremes they went to to rescue the Lost Boys from Pan - even when they didn't want to be rescued! The array of conflicting and intense emotions. The adventure. The way that Hook lost his hand. The unbelievable evilness of Peter Pan - who will always be my favourite villain and who I will never see as good again, thanks Mary! This book is no spice (as all of Mary's books are) but it includes torture, kidnapping, romance, adventure and much more. If you like dark, clean fiction this is the book for you!
Also, I read this book well over a year ago and it still lives rent free in my head. So that says something!
(Note this review is shorter than those for the other two books cause I just wrote it now, from memory. I thought I'd reviewed the book when I read it, but apparently I was wrong! lol)
Hunting Sirens:
Warning: This review contains LOTS of spoilers! I found it impossible to write without including them!
Hunting Sirens was a highly original and exceptionally well told story, but of course I would expect no less from Mary Mecham, who is a maestro at writing! It was particularly interesting to see deafness from Sterling and Treva’s perspectives as a positive thing and by no means a disability! In fact, I often felt jealous of Treva as I was reading and I never thought I’d be jealous of a deaf person, but Mary has this unique ability to take something we think of as a negative - and especially something we consider a hindrance or disability - and turn it into not only a positive attribute in her characters’ lives but also an advantage over a deathly foe! Indeed, who but a deaf person could even hope to triumph over the sirens who were singing sailors to their deaths? I was struck by Treva’s courage and tenacity as she first created ingenious weapons to defeat the sirens and then set sail alone to try and overcome them. It was a foolhardy mission to say the least, but one which made an incredible impact right from the start - although even Treva herself didn’t know this at the beginning of her mission.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this book and seeing some old friends again:
Treva herself was obviously a person to emulate as she had a lot of noteworthy characteristics such as diligence, integrity, forthrightness, determination and a quick wit in addition to those I mentioned above. She loved her blacksmith work but volunteered for the mission to kill sirens not because she had a sadistic streak (in fact she was rather kind when it suited her!) but because her people were slowly dying of starvation with the trade routes and access to the waters closed by the fearsome sirens, and she saw no other choice. She was constantly conflicted about this decision and felt guilty about killing her attackers, even when she managed to convince herself they were basically humanoid fish!
Bayne was witty, intelligent, sweet, kind, patient and fascinating. He was a perfect example of the perfect gentleman – would that more human men were like him! Having saved Treva’s life, he deposited her on a desert island but didn’t realise that she would soon die of dehydration and hunger unless drastic measures were taken, as sirens can drink sea water and it never occurred to him that a human wouldn’t be able to. His care for Treva was heartwarming as he first convinced her to play catch with coconuts and later brought her fish to eat. It was lovely to see her overcoming her own prejudices and resistance to Bayne’s attentions and learn to trust him, especially when he committed the ultimate sacrifice and chose legs over a tail in order to gain her love. Their banter was adorable and funny and I loved every word of it! Later in the book, it was also interesting to see how Treva’s family and the townspeople reacted to Bayne rather negatively and how they learnt to overcome their feelings in order to accept him as a hero and a friend, rather than an enemy. In this world, where racism runs rampant Hunting Sirens is an important book to read, as it shows us that different cultures can live together in harmony when prejudices and false beliefs are set aside and wrongs are forgiven.
Sterling and Gage are 2 characters I most definitely would love to see in future books. They were both extremely funny, wonderfully sarcastic and kindhearted. I really enjoyed seeing how Sterling embraced his deafness just as Treva did (Mary herself told me that during her research for this book she discovered that the majority of deaf people consider this “disability” a boon and a blessing rather than a curse) and it was great to watch both these men protect Treva both from the unwanted attentions of hearing people showing off their mediocre sign language skills and greater dangers. It was sweet to see how Treva’s family supported her in every way, from learning sign language in order to communicate with her, to supporting her work in the forge and her proclivity to wear trousers under her skirt (although her mother was none too approving of this last little quirk!) It was her family members who first made an effort to accept Bayne when he and Treva returned to Haven Harbor and this led many townspeople to do the same, paving the way for this couple’s happy ending.
Korth was every bit a prince and a stickler for the rules. I do hope he lightens up in Betraying Korth, but he was a fun character to get to know nonetheless!
Hook, Tinkerbell and Pan made an appearance along with their trusty crew of pirates. It was fun to see Treva’s fascination with the pixie dust on Tink’s wings and the way Tink just owned the honour given to her. I had hoped to read more about Pan (a truly fascinating character) but Mary has assured me that he will reappear in future books, so that’s good. It was fabulous to see how the pirates, sirens, and humans all ended up banding together against a common foe in one of the most epic sea battles I have ever had the privilege of participating in. Truly it felt like I could taste the seawater as I read, so vivid were Mary’s descriptions!
Having read Becoming Hook, in which Peter Pan delighted in torturing pixies and other hapless inhabitants of Neverland, I was expecting this book to be more intense and dark but Treva felt conflicted over having to kill the sirens - even though she knew it was the only choice available. This book does explore darker themes such as genocide, betrayal and racism but it is brilliantly told and had me hooked from beginning to end. September 2024 cannot come soon enough for me – I am more than ready to return to Neverland through the pages of the third book! (Copied and pasted from an old review)
Betraying Korth:
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
This book was everything I wanted and more! The conflict between right and wrong and the question of what is really right hit hard and I was on Dahlia’s side from the get-go. I loved the way she staged the mutiny on the ship without anyone getting hurt and watching Odette scrub the deck was insanely satisfying cause that girl is Eeeeeevil!
I also loved how Dahlia chose to keep her own personality as the princess instead of trying to channel Odette. She’s sweet, fun loving and mischievous and she teaches Korth in the cutest ways that right and wrong isn’t black and white.
The swoon levels in this book are through the roof but as always, the spice doesn’t rise above a stolen kiss or two. I absolutely adored the scene in the library. And in the dumbwaiter. And at the festival – okay I loved EVERYTHING about this book! Seriously, no complaints! It was perfection and that is not a hyperbole!
Korth is just the sweetest man on the planet. He is adorably nerdy and awkward (the slip of paper in the carriage, lol) and is so desperate to follow the rules and do what is right – but what if what is right is actually wrong? Can he really stand by and watch a people suffer now that he knows there’s a problem or will he help Dahlia even after the truth of her betrayal comes out?
Tess was amazing! She was just the loveliest, most purehearted little sister ever and her inner turmoil about sentencing Pan made my heart break for her! I definitely agreed with her decision to let Pan live – sentencing him to death would have crippled her with guilt. And I loved watching them become friends, even though Dahlia disapproved.
The Peter Pan cameo that hinted at his future redemption was awesome – his quips!! His awesome obnoxiousness! His complete lack of remorse for the evil deeds he did in Becoming Hook and his matter of fact way of talking about murder and kidnapping the way a normal person would speak about something arbitrary like lunch. The way he helped Dahlia escape from the dungeon but didn’t take the opportunity to help himself. Totally unexpected. And oh man do I love that wicked dude! I need me more Pan! (And I am extremely grateful to the author for giving him a larger part in this book after a disappointingly brief cameo in Hunting Sirens!) This cameo was PERFECT! I laughed so hard at the way Peter reacted to Korth and Dahlia’s conversation through the cell bars as if he was watching a soap opera with popcorn in hand! He is wicked through and through and yet I just cannot help loving him! (What does that say about me I wonder?)
It was gratifying to watch Dahlia doing the wrong things for the right reasons and to witness her falling for Korth even though she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. I loved the way she stood up for Korth with (the incredibly annoying, egotistical and traitorous) Curdie, and the other rebels. And I loved the way her own mindset changed and she wanted to follow the rules yet knew that if she did then her whole country would fail. Her inner conflict tore my heart to pieces but it was so rewarding to see Korth become more of a rebel at heart and Dahlia embrace honesty once the truth came out.
Overall this book was magnificent: The twists at the end. The suspense. The torture. The heartbreak. The humour! The swoooooon! The wonderful mix of characters! The hilarious ending!
Mary takes us on a rollercoaster journey every time we choose to read one of her books. She destroys us in the best way possible (and feels no remorse about it, lol) Every time I finish a Mary book I think “Well that was the best one yet. She’s reached the pinnacle of perfection. There’s no way the next book will be better than this!” And then she proves me wrong! EVERY time! I cannot wait for the 4th book in this series because I can’t imagine how she can possibly improve upon the perfection that was Betraying Korth but somehow she will, and when she does I want a front row seat to see it!
I know this review was long (I don’t seem to be able to write short reviews, so if you’ve read this far kudos to you) but if you haven’t read Betraying Korth or the rest of the Legends of Neverland series I would suggest you do so. Right now. In order. Trust me, you will be grateful you did.
One last warning though to all you new Mary readers out there: Do not read her books if you don’t want to get addicted to her writing because I am telling you – one taste of Mary and you will be hooked!
Becoming Hook was my first ever Mary Mecham book and it had me hooked from page one. I loved the way she turned the "villain" Captain Hook into a morally grey and extremely likeable character. I loved watching him and Tink fall in love and seeing the extremes they went to to rescue the Lost Boys from Pan - even when they didn't want to be rescued! The array of conflicting and intense emotions. The adventure. The way that Hook lost his hand. The unbelievable evilness of Peter Pan - who will always be my favourite villain and who I will never see as good again, thanks Mary! This book is no spice (as all of Mary's books are) but it includes torture, kidnapping, romance, adventure and much more. If you like dark, clean fiction this is the book for you!
Also, I read this book well over a year ago and it still lives rent free in my head. So that says something!
(Note this review is shorter than those for the other two books cause I just wrote it now, from memory. I thought I'd reviewed the book when I read it, but apparently I was wrong! lol)
Hunting Sirens:
Warning: This review contains LOTS of spoilers! I found it impossible to write without including them!
Hunting Sirens was a highly original and exceptionally well told story, but of course I would expect no less from Mary Mecham, who is a maestro at writing! It was particularly interesting to see deafness from Sterling and Treva’s perspectives as a positive thing and by no means a disability! In fact, I often felt jealous of Treva as I was reading and I never thought I’d be jealous of a deaf person, but Mary has this unique ability to take something we think of as a negative - and especially something we consider a hindrance or disability - and turn it into not only a positive attribute in her characters’ lives but also an advantage over a deathly foe! Indeed, who but a deaf person could even hope to triumph over the sirens who were singing sailors to their deaths? I was struck by Treva’s courage and tenacity as she first created ingenious weapons to defeat the sirens and then set sail alone to try and overcome them. It was a foolhardy mission to say the least, but one which made an incredible impact right from the start - although even Treva herself didn’t know this at the beginning of her mission.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this book and seeing some old friends again:
Treva herself was obviously a person to emulate as she had a lot of noteworthy characteristics such as diligence, integrity, forthrightness, determination and a quick wit in addition to those I mentioned above. She loved her blacksmith work but volunteered for the mission to kill sirens not because she had a sadistic streak (in fact she was rather kind when it suited her!) but because her people were slowly dying of starvation with the trade routes and access to the waters closed by the fearsome sirens, and she saw no other choice. She was constantly conflicted about this decision and felt guilty about killing her attackers, even when she managed to convince herself they were basically humanoid fish!
Bayne was witty, intelligent, sweet, kind, patient and fascinating. He was a perfect example of the perfect gentleman – would that more human men were like him! Having saved Treva’s life, he deposited her on a desert island but didn’t realise that she would soon die of dehydration and hunger unless drastic measures were taken, as sirens can drink sea water and it never occurred to him that a human wouldn’t be able to. His care for Treva was heartwarming as he first convinced her to play catch with coconuts and later brought her fish to eat. It was lovely to see her overcoming her own prejudices and resistance to Bayne’s attentions and learn to trust him, especially when he committed the ultimate sacrifice and chose legs over a tail in order to gain her love. Their banter was adorable and funny and I loved every word of it! Later in the book, it was also interesting to see how Treva’s family and the townspeople reacted to Bayne rather negatively and how they learnt to overcome their feelings in order to accept him as a hero and a friend, rather than an enemy. In this world, where racism runs rampant Hunting Sirens is an important book to read, as it shows us that different cultures can live together in harmony when prejudices and false beliefs are set aside and wrongs are forgiven.
Sterling and Gage are 2 characters I most definitely would love to see in future books. They were both extremely funny, wonderfully sarcastic and kindhearted. I really enjoyed seeing how Sterling embraced his deafness just as Treva did (Mary herself told me that during her research for this book she discovered that the majority of deaf people consider this “disability” a boon and a blessing rather than a curse) and it was great to watch both these men protect Treva both from the unwanted attentions of hearing people showing off their mediocre sign language skills and greater dangers. It was sweet to see how Treva’s family supported her in every way, from learning sign language in order to communicate with her, to supporting her work in the forge and her proclivity to wear trousers under her skirt (although her mother was none too approving of this last little quirk!) It was her family members who first made an effort to accept Bayne when he and Treva returned to Haven Harbor and this led many townspeople to do the same, paving the way for this couple’s happy ending.
Korth was every bit a prince and a stickler for the rules. I do hope he lightens up in Betraying Korth, but he was a fun character to get to know nonetheless!
Hook, Tinkerbell and Pan made an appearance along with their trusty crew of pirates. It was fun to see Treva’s fascination with the pixie dust on Tink’s wings and the way Tink just owned the honour given to her. I had hoped to read more about Pan (a truly fascinating character) but Mary has assured me that he will reappear in future books, so that’s good. It was fabulous to see how the pirates, sirens, and humans all ended up banding together against a common foe in one of the most epic sea battles I have ever had the privilege of participating in. Truly it felt like I could taste the seawater as I read, so vivid were Mary’s descriptions!
Having read Becoming Hook, in which Peter Pan delighted in torturing pixies and other hapless inhabitants of Neverland, I was expecting this book to be more intense and dark but Treva felt conflicted over having to kill the sirens - even though she knew it was the only choice available. This book does explore darker themes such as genocide, betrayal and racism but it is brilliantly told and had me hooked from beginning to end. September 2024 cannot come soon enough for me – I am more than ready to return to Neverland through the pages of the third book! (Copied and pasted from an old review)
Betraying Korth:
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
This book was everything I wanted and more! The conflict between right and wrong and the question of what is really right hit hard and I was on Dahlia’s side from the get-go. I loved the way she staged the mutiny on the ship without anyone getting hurt and watching Odette scrub the deck was insanely satisfying cause that girl is Eeeeeevil!
I also loved how Dahlia chose to keep her own personality as the princess instead of trying to channel Odette. She’s sweet, fun loving and mischievous and she teaches Korth in the cutest ways that right and wrong isn’t black and white.
The swoon levels in this book are through the roof but as always, the spice doesn’t rise above a stolen kiss or two. I absolutely adored the scene in the library. And in the dumbwaiter. And at the festival – okay I loved EVERYTHING about this book! Seriously, no complaints! It was perfection and that is not a hyperbole!
Korth is just the sweetest man on the planet. He is adorably nerdy and awkward (the slip of paper in the carriage, lol) and is so desperate to follow the rules and do what is right – but what if what is right is actually wrong? Can he really stand by and watch a people suffer now that he knows there’s a problem or will he help Dahlia even after the truth of her betrayal comes out?
Tess was amazing! She was just the loveliest, most purehearted little sister ever and her inner turmoil about sentencing Pan made my heart break for her! I definitely agreed with her decision to let Pan live – sentencing him to death would have crippled her with guilt. And I loved watching them become friends, even though Dahlia disapproved.
The Peter Pan cameo that hinted at his future redemption was awesome – his quips!! His awesome obnoxiousness! His complete lack of remorse for the evil deeds he did in Becoming Hook and his matter of fact way of talking about murder and kidnapping the way a normal person would speak about something arbitrary like lunch. The way he helped Dahlia escape from the dungeon but didn’t take the opportunity to help himself. Totally unexpected. And oh man do I love that wicked dude! I need me more Pan! (And I am extremely grateful to the author for giving him a larger part in this book after a disappointingly brief cameo in Hunting Sirens!) This cameo was PERFECT! I laughed so hard at the way Peter reacted to Korth and Dahlia’s conversation through the cell bars as if he was watching a soap opera with popcorn in hand! He is wicked through and through and yet I just cannot help loving him! (What does that say about me I wonder?)
It was gratifying to watch Dahlia doing the wrong things for the right reasons and to witness her falling for Korth even though she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. I loved the way she stood up for Korth with (the incredibly annoying, egotistical and traitorous) Curdie, and the other rebels. And I loved the way her own mindset changed and she wanted to follow the rules yet knew that if she did then her whole country would fail. Her inner conflict tore my heart to pieces but it was so rewarding to see Korth become more of a rebel at heart and Dahlia embrace honesty once the truth came out.
Overall this book was magnificent: The twists at the end. The suspense. The torture. The heartbreak. The humour! The swoooooon! The wonderful mix of characters! The hilarious ending!
Mary takes us on a rollercoaster journey every time we choose to read one of her books. She destroys us in the best way possible (and feels no remorse about it, lol) Every time I finish a Mary book I think “Well that was the best one yet. She’s reached the pinnacle of perfection. There’s no way the next book will be better than this!” And then she proves me wrong! EVERY time! I cannot wait for the 4th book in this series because I can’t imagine how she can possibly improve upon the perfection that was Betraying Korth but somehow she will, and when she does I want a front row seat to see it!
I know this review was long (I don’t seem to be able to write short reviews, so if you’ve read this far kudos to you) but if you haven’t read Betraying Korth or the rest of the Legends of Neverland series I would suggest you do so. Right now. In order. Trust me, you will be grateful you did.
One last warning though to all you new Mary readers out there: Do not read her books if you don’t want to get addicted to her writing because I am telling you – one taste of Mary and you will be hooked!
July 24, 2025
Loved the whole set.
Each book was better than the one before. The twist in Becoming Hook was unique. The next book was just as special but the last one is my favorite. After the first book I thought that my interest would wane but it definitely did not. Thanks Mary Meacham for wring a clean, closed door fantasy that kept my interest without making me feel guilty reading.
Each book was better than the one before. The twist in Becoming Hook was unique. The next book was just as special but the last one is my favorite. After the first book I thought that my interest would wane but it definitely did not. Thanks Mary Meacham for wring a clean, closed door fantasy that kept my interest without making me feel guilty reading.
August 25, 2025
Betrayal
Out of all three books in the series, Betraying Korth had to be my favorite. I loved the story The Goose Girl growing up, but this take it brings it to life in a way I never expected. Beautifully written, and very engaging.
Out of all three books in the series, Betraying Korth had to be my favorite. I loved the story The Goose Girl growing up, but this take it brings it to life in a way I never expected. Beautifully written, and very engaging.
October 11, 2025
Outstanding reads
I would recommend this set of books for everyone. It's appropriate for young readers and engaging for adults as well. The stories kept me on my toes trying to figure out HOW things are going to work out.
I would recommend this set of books for everyone. It's appropriate for young readers and engaging for adults as well. The stories kept me on my toes trying to figure out HOW things are going to work out.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews