Review: Death in Neverland (Neverland #1) by Heather C. Myers

*I recieved a review copy from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not in any way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

 

Title: Death in Neverland
Author: Heather C. Myers
My rating: 3 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pub. date: November 12th 2014
Synopsis: In the Neverland, people don't grow up. Because they're dead.

Remy Cutler dies, and somehow escapes certain death. She returns to the land of the living with nothing but a ripped gown and a fear of heights.

Two years later, she plans to escape her arranged marriage by stowing away onto a ship in hopes to leave her home with no one none knowing. However, she is found out, and the sailors aren't happy. Before any damage can be done, she is yanked from her predicament back to The Neverland, a place where death resides - the very place she escaped from years ago. Souls are ferried by her savior. To her, he's known as Nick, but to The Neverland, he's the slippery Nicholas Grey.

The more time Remy spends with Nick and his crew, however, the more she realizes he's shockingly misunderstood. Pirates aren't all bad the way gentleman aren't all good. One such gentleman goes by the name of Peter, and he has nothing but power on his mind and revenge against Grey in his heart. And then there are those that are completely indiscernible, like James Hook, a Viking and ruler of The Other World, whose sole ambition is attaining more souls to rule over, no matter what the cost.

This dark retelling of Peter Pan infuses familiar characters created by J. M. Barrie with new characters and Greek mythology. It is the first in a trilogy. (synopsis from Goodreads)

My thoughts: I was seriously disappointed by this book. The first 80% were really boring and I had to force myself to get through it, the main character, Remy, annoyed me to no end, and I didn’t really understand what the plot was even supposed to be until at around 70%. The only reason this book didn’t get 2 or 1 star was the last 20%.

Remy was just annoying

   She’s spoiled, incredibly naïve, and tends to act without thinking, which leads to her ending up in tons of trouble that could’ve easily been avoided if she had just stopped for one second and actually used her brain. She’s determined to not do anything Nick tells her to do, no matter what, even if it is for her own safety. For example, is it smart to roam around without a plan, all alone, in a place you’ve never visited, where a bunch of people are after you? I don’t think so. Obviously Remy does.

 

   And she’s so spoiled and naïve. Okay, I get that she grew up in a rich family with servants who even helped her dress, but I just hate spoiled characters, okay? She grew up a lot through the book, though, so I guess the good thing about Remy was the character development. Big plus for that.

A slow and incoherent plot

   The first 70% were mostly just about her learning stuff about the Underworld, and that’s great and all, the reader wants to know things about this world, but that’s about everything that happens. She learns stuff about the new world she’s in, or she’s arguing with Nick, or she’s just being her annoying self. Not much plot at all. The plot is introduced, but it doesn’t feel like it actually starts until at 70%. It was incoherent and very slow, which made it difficult for me to get through the book.

   Thank God for the last 20%. Finally something happens; we get to see the actual plot, and some character development. Suddenly, I don’t hate Remy as much anymore, she grows up. Things happen, some long awaited action and excitement.

   The writing was okay. It felt pretty old-school, so that was good, as the book takes place a long time ago. The way the characters acted and talked also added to that feeling, so that was also a big plus. And the world-building was good, I could tell that the author put quite some time into making the world up, and that's always great, as it makes the book more believable.

   Basically, if you don’t mind slow plots, you should give this book a shot. But if you’re looking for a lot of action and a lot of excitement, like I do, maybe you should go for something else, because Death in Neverland seriously lacked in those compartments.