Hooked

by Bobbi J.G. Weiss

He is not Captain Hook.

His name is Jonathan Stuart, and he's just an ornery post-alcoholic bookstore owner from Pasadena with a mania for fencing and a bad habit of disappointing his girlfriend. He doesn't want to be in the Neverland, impossibly trapped aboard the Jolly Roger with a horde of greedy stinking pirates. He was tricked there by Peter Pan.

Pan happily invites children to come to his wondrous magical island, but he has to trick adults. No adult in their right mind would go willingly. Adults, you see, don't have a very good time in the Neverland. The fairies and mermaids are against them. The island itself is against them. Most of all, Peter Pan is against them.

In particular, Peter Pan is against Jonathan Stuart. Why? Jonathan had better figure that out, and he'd better do it fast before his mutating memories insist that, not only does he indeed belong in this nightmarish hell of bloodthirsty children, ticking crocodiles and vengeful boy gods, but he's never existed anyplace else.

So you see, he's definitely not Captain Hook.

Well, not yet.

Genres: Pirates, Fantasy, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Adventure

524 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2014

About the author

Hi! Bobbi here.

I specialize in media creative writing: developing/writing online games and MMORPGs, books, comics, animation, and other products that tie into film and television shows, as well as the development and creation of new tie-in products. I've written everything from Nickelodeon’s RIDE novelizations and Disney's PIXIE HOLLOW MMO to interactive ebooks based on the Mooshka doll line and an original non-fiction text published by Heinemann entitled WRITING IS ACTING: HOW TO IMPROVE THE WRITER’S ONPAGE PERFORMANCE. I've also self-published—an original horror novel that involves the Peter Pan mythos entitled HOOKED (Publishers Weekly gave it a great review!).

You can find my entire resume and cover gallery at http://www.BobbiJGWeiss.com. I also post Facebook, tumblr, twitter and other social media sites. Find links to my social profiles on my website.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooked is a story of man who never knew his father, but being told he looked very much like him. Knowing that he use to own a bookstore, was a swordsmen and they share the same temper that seems to be handed down from son to son. But other that he knows nothing. This is a tale of a man losing his mother and trying to find out who is father is. His mother never telling.

Jonathan Edward Stuart, a book store owner and former alcoholic has always had dreams, nightmares a more fitting word for it. He has always had bad habits, Melanie thinks he is a very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide like, others that know him say he's child like. Could these be just a result of the nightmares, his drinking, or does it fun in family. he stumbles upon what looks to be a story, which appears to be the memoirs of Captain Hook, of the Jolly Roger.

But it can't really be truthful?
It's just a tale right?

Peter Pan is a name that to him, brings fear and nightmares. He is a demon boy and Neverland is child hell, where children who are bad go, that's the story he's grown up to know. And he's always was led to think he had one foot there.

We flip back and forth between the real and the imaginary in Hooked, what is the real? One day Jonathan is here the next waking on the Jolly Roger. Be he isn't Captain Hook. Parts of whats happening in his life is missing, he's experiencing blackouts.

How do you tell fact from fiction, when both meld together, the melding is enough to drive a man crazy.

A wonderful tale of a mans struggle with what is real and isn't. Written well with just a few minor editorial mistakes.

*Disclaimer: I was given a paperback copy of this book from the author for review as a part of Pump your book virtual book tour.*

[Gayle Pace · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW
Captain Hook he is not. Jonathan Stuart is from Pasadena and just a post-alcoholic bookstore owner.He loves fencing. His poor girlfriend is usually at the bad end of his habits.
He thinks he was trapped on the Jolly Roger along with a bunch of pirates that weren't up on their personal hygiene and greedy to boot. Jonathan doesn't want to be trapped in Neverland. He thinks Peter Pan did it.
Peter Pan has a lovely magical island,where he invites little children to come and visit. The only thing is, he has the parents to deal with. They must be tricked into letting their children go there. Any parent or adult would have to be crazy to go there or let their children go there. The magical island, Neverland, is a place w here adults don't have a very good time. Everyone on the island, including the island is against the adults. Fairies, mermaids and the one who is most against them is Peter Pan. Jonathan Stuart had some ciphering to do. He has to figure out why Peter Pan is against him. WHY? Jonathan is on a time restriction. If he doesnt' do it fast he will begin to believe he belongs in this hell, where the children are blood thirsty, crocodiles that tick and boy gods that are hateful. But what does Jonathan do? He's never known anyplace other than this. He's definitely not Captain Hook, not now anyway.
The author wrote a story of how the mind can play some serious, awful tricks on you. As long as you keep thinking these things, they eventually become real to you. You actually believe them. I'm sure Jonathan's drinking didn't help any. Jonathan had Peter Pan, the Demon boy that he had to destroy but could he? Demon boy was the spawn of Hell and Jonathan knew his soul was to fight a battle that he wouldn't win until God bestowed upon him the sweetness of death.

He kept asking God,
Let me die, dear God I beseech Thee, Let me die!

The author wrote a horror story that lies in the mind of Jonathan. The mind can do some awful things to a person. Once it takes control of you, you are in hell, just like Jonathan and the Demon boy.The cover of the book is amazing. It says so much with so little.

I was given a complimentary copy of HOOKED from the author, Bobbi JG Weiss and Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours for my view of the book. No other compensation took place.

[Nay Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.

I gave this baby a 4.5 star rating.

Hooked was a very interesting and terrifying novel that messes with the mind. A perfect read for a Halloween, especially for those that enjoy reading about Peter Pan and Captain Hook. This definitely was an intriguing twist on the story.

Jonathan Stuart is a man that never knew his father and had a loving mother that kept him in the dark. He was an alcoholic who now owns a bookstore. He has a girlfriend, but his choice never made her happy because she always ended up with the short stick. Things go array when he is tricked into going to the Neverland by Peter Pan and trapped on the Jolly Roger. Neverland is like the hell for kids as it is depicted in this story and Pan the head of it all. Jonathan is confused as to why he was taken and must figure things out before he becomes Captain Hook. That's where things get a interesting.

This was such a weird book simply because as I reader I had to try and figure out what was real and what was not because it switches back and forth and being that Jonathan was an alcoholic you never know what is reality and what is not. The fact that the story of Peter Pan was turned into this dark horror filled novel was awesome! I'm not really a horror person, but I totally enjoyed Jonathan's outlook on everything.

Overall, I definitely plan to reread this book again because it was so good and it scared me at some parts which means it's definitely awesome for a Halloween read.

I recommend this to anyone interested in horror, retellings of Peter Pan and psychological bender.

[kim hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this as a signed giveaway from the author, in return for an honest review.

I'm sorry it took me awhile to read this, uni life has been hectic.

This book was hard to put down at times and sometimes it was hard to get into. It's also both terrifying and interesting.

Jonathan Stuart. A bookshop owner who lives in Pasadena. He has a girlfriend, his own apartment, his own business. He was pretty happy with his life until he came upon 2 artefacts that he inherited. A saber and an ancient memoir.

One day Stuart ends up in Neverland and he thinks he knows who did it.

This a story of a man who finds himself in another place and is pretty much trapped. Does he stay and play the game with Pan or lose his sanity in finding a way out? But what is the way out?

A retelling of the story of Peter Pan, the boy who doesn't grow up, in Captain James Hook's POV. For those who have read JM Barrie's Peter Pan will never look at that story the same again (in a good way!)

This retelling was a great read. It kept me wanting to know more. Kind of horrific to be honest but it's great

[Arlene Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Stuart owns a book store and is in a relationship he is messing up. Then he gets his uncle house after he passes and it burns to the ground. He then finds swords and a journal. The journal is about Captain Hook. Jonathan assumes it is a manuscript that was never published. Then he starts to have these horrible nightmares again. Now he doesn't know what is going on. Is he Captain hook or Jonathan. He needs to figure out everything before there is no escape or memory.
This was a spectacular book. I loved peter pan when I was younger and I have never read anything from hooks point of view. It was so mysterious and Kept me wondering what was going on until the end. While I did find the characters annoying at the beginning, they grew on me and I really enjoyed the story.

[Valentine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I genuinely wish I could give it less than one star. I don't think I've hated any other Peter Pan retelling about Captain Hook more than this one.

This book was so very long and all it did was drag and drag and drag, without truly explaining much. The further you get the more and more like a bad late night cable drama it became.

I didn't DNF it but I got to the last page and was so mad at myself for it that I threw the book across the room.

[Purpleallison Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got 10% into this book and had to stop, it was like a bad soap opera.