Wendy Darling: Shadow - Book Review

Shadow - Wendy Darling - Book Review

Colleen Oakes

YA Fantasy

Wendy Darling Book #3

Other Books in the Series:

Stars

Seas

Synopsis:

War has come to paradise, and the Neverland you know will never be the same.

Wendy Darling finds herself once again in the arms of Peter Pan, a charming god-child who desires power above all things. Instead of the passion she once had for him, this time Wendy’s heart burns with a secret: with Hook as her ally, she is there to defeat the evil that lies inside of Peter, the darkness that holds all Neverland hostage - the Shadow.

This is a task made nearly impossible by the arrival of Booth, her sweetheart from London and a new pawn in Peter’s manipulative game - a boy whose heart she must break in order to save his life.

As all of Neverland prepares to fight, Wendy races to untangle Peter’s connection to the shadow, a secret long buried in the Forsaken Garden. When the time comes, all of Neverland will rise to fight - but if Wendy can’t call the Shadow, everything she is fighting for will be destroyed. Is Wendy's love for her family enough to save them, or will Peter’s madness consume them all?

Review:

This third and final instalment was an epic read that I couldn't put down. A Peter Pan retelling with a dark twist - this is a series that if you haven't read yet - I urge you to do so asap!

Wendy is now back with Peter and plotting to end his evil reign over Neverland. But with the arrival of her love, Booth - Peter’s new hostage and plaything - she must tread carefully if she is to save everyone she loves and cares about. 

Yet as the shadow tightens its hold over Peter, she finds herself befriending a creature long declared her enemy. Tinkerbell. Now Wendy must use all her cunning to get to the truth of Peter’s beginnings, because only by uncovering Peter’s past can she hope to save the boy, and Neverland, from the shadow's nefarious plans. But Wendy will have to sacrifice much if she is to win the day…

I adored this final book so so much. Wendy went through a lot of growth during book two, and now in this story you see her put those hard earned skills to use. She is very different to the girl we met in book one, and at last has found the courage to fight back against Peter Pan.

Yet even now Wendy continues to face difficult choices and grow as a character. She reunited with a lot of the cast we met in previous books, many of whom also needed to overcome their own challenges which made this story quite emotional and I actually teared up in places. 

Neverland was also explored more throughly and overall I just love the vision that Colleen Oakes brought to life. Her Peter Pan retelling throughly captured my imagination and after devouring her Queen of Hearts Series as well, she has now become an auto buy author for me!

I honestly couldn't gush about this series more. This book ended in such a good way and my mind is still spinning from the conclusion.

5 stars!