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Rove City #4
Hook's Regret: A Science Fiction Retelling of Peter Pan
For nearly thirty years, Penny has searched the galaxy for her missing son. She has a reputation throughout the solar systems as a relentless mother on a mission—and as a woman who won’t let the chronic pain she suffers prevent her from achieving her goal. Then Penny gets a tip. Someone on Rove City might have a clue to her son’s whereabouts. This will probably be a dud, just like the last hundred tips, but she decides to try one last time. If she still can’t find him, she’ll settle down and live out her days on a nearby planet, and maybe try to find some peace for the first time in her life. When the tip turns out to be a double cross, she finds herself flying across the galaxy toward a mysterious planet said to be inhabited by ghosts, with two disreputable people who she absolutely cannot trust—and still with no idea where her son is. Penny must confront her own hopes, fears, and grief over her lost boy as she hurtles through space, destination unknown.Hook’s Regret is the fourth book in the Rove City series, and a retelling of Peter Pan.
- GenresFantasy
150 pages, Paperback
Published March 12, 2020
6 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Ariele Sieling
71 books91 followersAriele Sieling is a Pennsylvania-based writer who enjoys books, cats, and trees. Her first love, however, is science fiction and she has three series in the genre: post-apocalyptic monsters in Land of Szornyek; soft science fiction series, The Sagittan Chronicles; and scifi fairytale retellings in Rove City. She has also had numerous short stories published in a variety of anthologies and magazines and is the author of children's books series Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep, and a series of books for authors called Writers Reach.
She lives with her spouse, enormous Great Pyrenees dog, and two cats.
She lives with her spouse, enormous Great Pyrenees dog, and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 1, 2020
An interesting sci-fi take on Peter Pan, set within the Rove City Universe
December 27, 2022
Wauw, A retelling of peter pan in a whole new jacket. By the name I expected to see a story about captain hooks child but this was so much better. A mother willing to do everything to find back her long lost son Peter.
A story about a Mothers love, excitement, pain, joy and new friendships.
A story about a Mothers love, excitement, pain, joy and new friendships.
July 20, 2020
I received this book of book sirens and I read this as part of the reading rush challenge. I really hope that there is more in the series I really love these books now and I’m well and truly invested. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone they are wonderful and heart warming.
This book is about Captain Penny hook, she has lost her son, is in a lot of agony and just drives her ship places for bad people so she can afford to live. I really feel sorry for her and truly understand the pain situation when she wakes up. My condition leaves me in agony each day, and just like Penny some days it isn’t too bad but others it is too much. When the pain is drastic it takes a long time to recover, just like when I tire myself out I’m like it for a full week. It sucks and I can totally relate to her so I love her quite a lot.
I love the adventure she goes on and how she will literally do anything to find her son. That just proves that a mothers love is always the strongest. I also love Stark how he is so eager to learn about her shop, I also love how he finally comes out with his personality in the end. It’s nice to see how the two characters develop together and what qualities they fetch out in each other.
I would really like to adventure on Penny’s ship, it seemed so cool and working with this modes was definitely interesting. I don’t know how the author came up with this idea but I love her imagination or her research skills. I also liked how when Penny’s friends died she programmed them into the space ship.
I loved the whole space aspect of Neverland too that was pretty awesome, it also gave me avatar vibes so not truly sure about that as I really wanted this experience to be unique. It’s still a really nice concept and I loved reading about the children living in Neverland and how they now enjoyed their lives.
There was a lot of adventure throughout this book which made it fast paced, and the style of writing also made it flow really well. I loved how there wasn’t too many main characters and how they all linked together.
This book is about Captain Penny hook, she has lost her son, is in a lot of agony and just drives her ship places for bad people so she can afford to live. I really feel sorry for her and truly understand the pain situation when she wakes up. My condition leaves me in agony each day, and just like Penny some days it isn’t too bad but others it is too much. When the pain is drastic it takes a long time to recover, just like when I tire myself out I’m like it for a full week. It sucks and I can totally relate to her so I love her quite a lot.
I love the adventure she goes on and how she will literally do anything to find her son. That just proves that a mothers love is always the strongest. I also love Stark how he is so eager to learn about her shop, I also love how he finally comes out with his personality in the end. It’s nice to see how the two characters develop together and what qualities they fetch out in each other.
I would really like to adventure on Penny’s ship, it seemed so cool and working with this modes was definitely interesting. I don’t know how the author came up with this idea but I love her imagination or her research skills. I also liked how when Penny’s friends died she programmed them into the space ship.
I loved the whole space aspect of Neverland too that was pretty awesome, it also gave me avatar vibes so not truly sure about that as I really wanted this experience to be unique. It’s still a really nice concept and I loved reading about the children living in Neverland and how they now enjoyed their lives.
There was a lot of adventure throughout this book which made it fast paced, and the style of writing also made it flow really well. I loved how there wasn’t too many main characters and how they all linked together.
January 2, 2021
I am loving this series – a reimagining of fairy tales in a science fiction setting. In this case, Penny Hook is a mother searching for her son, Peter. Penny deals with constant pain, which is something I have never seen with a major character in a book, but it is so real. Ms. Sieling does a masterful job with this. It could easily become intolerable for the reader, but she manages to bring the reader into the life of this woman without overwhelming us.
There is so much creativity; I honestly didn’t know where the story was going to go from one moment to the next. Intriguing science and technology, but always with the reality of human desires and emotions. As is made clear by Penny’s chronic pain, the fancy technology can’t solve every problem. Isn’t that just like life today? We are living in a world that was science fiction fantasy just fifty years ago, yet all of our technology has not given us the utopia we thought it would. So, cool technology, real people.
As a woman of a certain age, I appreciated that Ms. Sieling made the main character someone like me. Penny is not essentially a fairy tale princess (or villain) twenty years later, either. She is something of a hot mess, and she has been through a great deal. We rarely see that in a fairy tale retelling. As a mother, I related to the search for Penny’s son, Peter, that she was willing to go to any length to find her son. I liked the reality of the search, that it had gone on for years, and that Penny had some very reasonable fears of what she would find after all that time. I did find the ending to be a little abrupt, but I realized that it tied up all of the loose ends and was a complete ending. I just would have liked to see it fleshed out a little more.
As always, my biggest complaint is that the story was too short! The books are all novellas, but I enjoy the world and the characters so much that I want to spend more time with them. I look forward to the next installment!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There is so much creativity; I honestly didn’t know where the story was going to go from one moment to the next. Intriguing science and technology, but always with the reality of human desires and emotions. As is made clear by Penny’s chronic pain, the fancy technology can’t solve every problem. Isn’t that just like life today? We are living in a world that was science fiction fantasy just fifty years ago, yet all of our technology has not given us the utopia we thought it would. So, cool technology, real people.
As a woman of a certain age, I appreciated that Ms. Sieling made the main character someone like me. Penny is not essentially a fairy tale princess (or villain) twenty years later, either. She is something of a hot mess, and she has been through a great deal. We rarely see that in a fairy tale retelling. As a mother, I related to the search for Penny’s son, Peter, that she was willing to go to any length to find her son. I liked the reality of the search, that it had gone on for years, and that Penny had some very reasonable fears of what she would find after all that time. I did find the ending to be a little abrupt, but I realized that it tied up all of the loose ends and was a complete ending. I just would have liked to see it fleshed out a little more.
As always, my biggest complaint is that the story was too short! The books are all novellas, but I enjoy the world and the characters so much that I want to spend more time with them. I look forward to the next installment!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 1, 2022
It's the first day of a brand new year. And I'm starting the new year like I ended the last year: With a retelling. When I read the first book in the Rove City series it was love at first sight and when I got the chance via BookSirens to get arcs from all the other books too I didn't hesitate. Fairytales and science fiction are a match made in heaven, it seems. Or, it's at least a match made in heaven when Ariele Sieling writes it.
This book is a retelling of Peter Pan, but the story focusses mostly on Captain Hook. Just like in the previous books the sci-fi elements fitted effortlessly into the story. The captain was the captain of a space ship. The hook was a technological hand. I don't want to give anything away considering Peter Pan himself and Neverland, but if you'd be reading this book for Peter or the fairytale like world, you might want to skip this one.
Not because Neverland isn't a wonderful or amazing place in this book, on the contrary. I think Sieling did an amazing job with Neverland, honoring it's origins perfectly. Just like Sieling did an amazing job with Peter Pan. It simply takes Hook a while to reach Peter and once she does find him we're actually reaching the end of the story. However, along the way we meet Smee, Wendy and Tiger Lily. Their roles may be minor, but they're all there.
I'm however glad that this story focusses on Hook. This version of the captain might be my favorite version ever. Firstly because she's so beautifully human. She's dealing with prejudice, she's dealing human emotions and with a lost son. But she's also my favorite because the author does an awesome job describing her chronic pain and the influence it has on her life. It's there. It's always there. It's limiting her. And it's always present when she can't have it. It's how I experience it myself.
I can't wait to dive into the next retelling!
This book is a retelling of Peter Pan, but the story focusses mostly on Captain Hook. Just like in the previous books the sci-fi elements fitted effortlessly into the story. The captain was the captain of a space ship. The hook was a technological hand. I don't want to give anything away considering Peter Pan himself and Neverland, but if you'd be reading this book for Peter or the fairytale like world, you might want to skip this one.
Not because Neverland isn't a wonderful or amazing place in this book, on the contrary. I think Sieling did an amazing job with Neverland, honoring it's origins perfectly. Just like Sieling did an amazing job with Peter Pan. It simply takes Hook a while to reach Peter and once she does find him we're actually reaching the end of the story. However, along the way we meet Smee, Wendy and Tiger Lily. Their roles may be minor, but they're all there.
I'm however glad that this story focusses on Hook. This version of the captain might be my favorite version ever. Firstly because she's so beautifully human. She's dealing with prejudice, she's dealing human emotions and with a lost son. But she's also my favorite because the author does an awesome job describing her chronic pain and the influence it has on her life. It's there. It's always there. It's limiting her. And it's always present when she can't have it. It's how I experience it myself.
I can't wait to dive into the next retelling!
September 30, 2021
I love fairytale retellings. This is the first time I have read a retelling of Peter Pan and I must say it is definitely the most unusual telling. The protagonist is not Peter as all other Peter Pan stories have, it isn’t even Wendy, it’s Peter’s mother who is likened to Captain Hook. During the story we find our protagonist, Penny, searching for her lost son Peter. While on her search she encounters many familiar characters that we all know in the Peter Pan stories.
The reason I said this is the most unusual retelling I’ve read is as noted above the character of Captain Hook is not only a women but Peter’s mother. Definitely an interesting twist but it fit quite nicely in this story. The author also takes us on a Sci-fi journey as Penny travels through space searching for her lost son. Does she find him, I won’t tell you and spoil the book. You’ll have to read it to find out.
I did find the story very interesting and was able to read it in one evening. The characters are very believable and I don’t think I found one I didn’t like. The story is filled with adventure, no romance although I could see where if the storyline continued that could happen.
Even though his is the fourth book in the Rove City series you can read it as a standalone as only the city name remains all of the characters are different.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The reason I said this is the most unusual retelling I’ve read is as noted above the character of Captain Hook is not only a women but Peter’s mother. Definitely an interesting twist but it fit quite nicely in this story. The author also takes us on a Sci-fi journey as Penny travels through space searching for her lost son. Does she find him, I won’t tell you and spoil the book. You’ll have to read it to find out.
I did find the story very interesting and was able to read it in one evening. The characters are very believable and I don’t think I found one I didn’t like. The story is filled with adventure, no romance although I could see where if the storyline continued that could happen.
Even though his is the fourth book in the Rove City series you can read it as a standalone as only the city name remains all of the characters are different.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 23, 2020
In this gender-bent retelling inspired by Peter Pan, Hook is a grieving mother desperately searching for her lost son.The space opera setting works well for this story and the search for the dark, hidden planet. In places this veered into cyberpunk territory, but it never got technical and stayed very readable. Lots of adventure and unexpected twists. The focus is on the richly developed characters. I appreciated all the nods to Barrie's work.
Captain Penny Hook's pain, both physical and psychological, are a central theme to this story and the satisfying conclusion. She is a captain unlike any other Hook I have ever read about. More a broken hero than the misunderstood villain so many stories feature. While understanding the purpose, I did think the mentions of her pain were a little repetitious at points - but perhaps that was the point. It is always there.
This is the fourth independent retelling in the shared universe of Rove City. The books can be enjoyed in any order. I have been enjoying the unique twists and sci-fi setting found in these stories and hope there are more to come.
Captain Penny Hook's pain, both physical and psychological, are a central theme to this story and the satisfying conclusion. She is a captain unlike any other Hook I have ever read about. More a broken hero than the misunderstood villain so many stories feature. While understanding the purpose, I did think the mentions of her pain were a little repetitious at points - but perhaps that was the point. It is always there.
This is the fourth independent retelling in the shared universe of Rove City. The books can be enjoyed in any order. I have been enjoying the unique twists and sci-fi setting found in these stories and hope there are more to come.
April 9, 2021
Hook's Regret it a very imaginative retelling of Peter Pan. Peter Pan, I feel, isn't retold as often as other fairy tales, and it was interesting to see a sci-fi take on the story.
Penny, the main character, is Peter's mother. I appreciated the different perspective this lent to the story. Most of the time, fairy tale retellings are from the perspective of the main character, or, if not the main character, the main antagonist. It was refreshing that this came from a completely different perspective.
I won't go into much detail (can't without spoilers!) but I appreciated the way Neverland and the never-aging that goes with that were handled. It connected well to the original story, while also staying true to the sci-fi world of the Rove City books.
Overall, I enjoyed Hook's Regret; it's one of my favorites in the series so far! This story was well suited to novella form -- the plot and character development fit nicely in the length parameters of a novella. I look forward to reading the next Rove City book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Penny, the main character, is Peter's mother. I appreciated the different perspective this lent to the story. Most of the time, fairy tale retellings are from the perspective of the main character, or, if not the main character, the main antagonist. It was refreshing that this came from a completely different perspective.
I won't go into much detail (can't without spoilers!) but I appreciated the way Neverland and the never-aging that goes with that were handled. It connected well to the original story, while also staying true to the sci-fi world of the Rove City books.
Overall, I enjoyed Hook's Regret; it's one of my favorites in the series so far! This story was well suited to novella form -- the plot and character development fit nicely in the length parameters of a novella. I look forward to reading the next Rove City book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 10, 2020
When I first picked this up, I had never heard of a Sci-Fi retelling of Peter Pan and so I was very excited to try it! I had read a number of books by this author in the past and had loved them all so I had very high hopes for this one and I can officially say that this book lived up to my expectations perfectly. This takes the classic story in a unique direction and puts it in the same universe as her other books that she has written. This is amazing as you get to learn more and more about the universe as you read more of the books! These books also have awesome characters with amazing backstories that you get to learn more about as you read. This book is perfect for any fairytale retelling fans who are tired of reading the same few stories over and over again.
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am reviewing this voluntarily.
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am reviewing this voluntarily.
August 24, 2021
Hook’s regret is a retelling of Peter Pan. It follows a ship mechanic named Penny who has been searching for her son Peter for 30 years. She meets a woman named Wendy who is also searching for her brothers. After she gets a tip for a potential location, she and Wendy go in search for their lost relatives.
I really loved the concept of this book. It’s not often that I read about an older protagonist let alone one who deals with chronic pain. This book also features the concept of life and what makes one truly alive which is a concept I love but don’t see often. It also makes one question what it means to be truly human. Overall 5/5 stars
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really loved the concept of this book. It’s not often that I read about an older protagonist let alone one who deals with chronic pain. This book also features the concept of life and what makes one truly alive which is a concept I love but don’t see often. It also makes one question what it means to be truly human. Overall 5/5 stars
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 28, 2021
Hook's Regret is Book 4 in the Rove City Series. Hook's Regret is a retelling of Peter Pan by Ariele Sieling. If you have not read the first 3 books in the series, each book is a stand alone and a retelling of a different fairytale. Penny is the Captain of her space ship; and, she has a hook. (Captain Hook) Her ex husband took her son, Peter, and she has been searching for him. Ariele Sieling has cleverly built into the story characters from Peter Pan (Wendy, Peter, Lily Tiger, lost boys, Neverland). The story is fresh and fun. The ending is perfect. I really can't say much about the story or it would be spoiled. I think you will want to read the entire series because it is amazing. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.
June 17, 2021
A very quick read, I got through this in about forty-five minutes. This is a very clever idea, and both the cover and the premise immediately drew me in. Overall I really enjoyed the story. I would have liked the whole thing to be fleshed out a little more; there could have been a whole novel in this idea and that's something I'd really love to read. Some aspects did seem particularly rushed, such as the lack of physical description that left me without a clear image of almost all of the named characters. I'll definitely be checking out some of this author's other work.
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 26, 2021
4.5 stars
Hook's Regret does a decent job of asking questions about contentment and what is necessary (or not) for a satisfied life. I really like how this take on Peter Pan was so different! Setting Barrie's story in space, with all the freedom that offers (time-warping, unusual planets, living metal) really helped to keep the story fresh and new. I'm thankful that when Sieling does bring in "romantic elements" she keeps it clean.
I received a free advance copy for review and the comments are voluntarily my own.
Hook's Regret does a decent job of asking questions about contentment and what is necessary (or not) for a satisfied life. I really like how this take on Peter Pan was so different! Setting Barrie's story in space, with all the freedom that offers (time-warping, unusual planets, living metal) really helped to keep the story fresh and new. I'm thankful that when Sieling does bring in "romantic elements" she keeps it clean.
I received a free advance copy for review and the comments are voluntarily my own.
July 6, 2021
5 stars
This was a quick read and one of my favorites so far (the previous one of Beauty and the Beast was my favorite when I read it). This series really gets better and better and this story is no exception. I have read other retellings of Peter Pan, the last one being extremely dark. This was a truly unique approach to the retelling, with Hook being the main character and Peter being her son. No spoilers, but I loved the unique ending and highly recommend this retelling.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was a quick read and one of my favorites so far (the previous one of Beauty and the Beast was my favorite when I read it). This series really gets better and better and this story is no exception. I have read other retellings of Peter Pan, the last one being extremely dark. This was a truly unique approach to the retelling, with Hook being the main character and Peter being her son. No spoilers, but I loved the unique ending and highly recommend this retelling.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 29, 2020
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book took a bit to get into. Things were a little confusing at first. It was similar to Peter Pan and even had similar characters, but was definitely from a different perspective and didn’t have the twist that I expected. The book also comes to an end quickly which I wish had certain aspects fleshed out a bit more.
This book took a bit to get into. Things were a little confusing at first. It was similar to Peter Pan and even had similar characters, but was definitely from a different perspective and didn’t have the twist that I expected. The book also comes to an end quickly which I wish had certain aspects fleshed out a bit more.
May 29, 2021
This was a great book, I enjoyed reading it and exploring the new look at Hook and Peter Pan. The author did a great job bringing this together. I will say I wish it was longer in the ending area and seen more that way, but I still liked the book from start to finish.
I am looking forward to reading more by this author, I have so far read 2,3,4 in this series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I am looking forward to reading more by this author, I have so far read 2,3,4 in this series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 13, 2022
This was a very interesting twist on Peter Pan and Captain Hook. It brought back memories of "Fractured Fairytales".
The names are familiar and some of the story arc connects with what we know. But, this is a very different story and one that has love of family at its core.
This is a short and enjoyable read. The plot was largely unpredictable because it kept tweaking the story your mind expects.
The names are familiar and some of the story arc connects with what we know. But, this is a very different story and one that has love of family at its core.
This is a short and enjoyable read. The plot was largely unpredictable because it kept tweaking the story your mind expects.
March 20, 2022
**I received a free ARC from Book Sirens and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.**
If you've read any of my other reviews (No? That's ok.) you know that I am loving this series. Yes, they are short stories. Yes, they are science fiction retellings of fairy tales. Yes, they are AWESOME. This is my favorite thus far. As you can tell by the title, it's Peter Pan, but different. Maybe it's because I woke up all creaky myself, but I loved this grumpy, can't move, woman.
If you've read any of my other reviews (No? That's ok.) you know that I am loving this series. Yes, they are short stories. Yes, they are science fiction retellings of fairy tales. Yes, they are AWESOME. This is my favorite thus far. As you can tell by the title, it's Peter Pan, but different. Maybe it's because I woke up all creaky myself, but I loved this grumpy, can't move, woman.
April 22, 2021
Definitely my favorite of the Rove City books thus far, this is Peter Pan as you've never imagined it. The portrayal of Penny Hook — desperate mother, chronic pain sufferer, genius mechanic, bitter loner who's learned to expect rejection — was so well drawn! And the questions the book, and Penny, raise, especially toward the end, were thought-provoking.
June 7, 2023
Truly an excellent retelling of Peter Pan brimming with creativity. The exploration of pain and loss were done very well, and the characters had a good level of depth considering its length. It spoke to me, and even though I initially went in just to read this one I'm excited to dive into the other entries in the Rove City series :)
June 14, 2023
Penny, a no-nonsense woman, needs to find her son, Peter. She conducts research to find signs of his whereabouts and encounters characters who can help find Peter. This is a quick read, featuring adventure and science fiction elements.
I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Booksirens and author.
I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Booksirens and author.
July 31, 2022
Peter Pan with a sci-fi twist and a total change in character roles, this was not as the original story went per se, but was interesting nonetheless, as it kept me wanting to know more and I was always anticipating what would happen next.
August 11, 2024
I honestly enjoyed it so much it was an easy short read, still made me emotional, didn't cry at a book in a long time like that I don't know what it did, but I loved it, it had me hooked ;]
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews