When your dreams come to life, do you fall in love — or send them back to Neverland?
Never
By Tara Lain
Blurb:
Wendell “Wen” Darling lives in a world of shoulds and musts. Left to care for his brother and sister by his dull drudge of a father and wacko irresponsible mother, he suppresses his creativity, slaving in an ad agency seventy hours a week, letting his no-talent supervisor take the credit.
Then his bosses blow the campaign for their biggest client and Wen gets a chance to shine—but only if he can find the artist who painted a wild, glorious wall of graffiti in the subway. Hiding behind a pillar at 2:00 a.m., Wen comes face-to-face with the scarlet-haired, elven-faced embodiment of his divergent opposite—Peter Panachek, the flighty, live-for-today painter, singer, and leader of the rock group the Lost Boys. Everything Wen takes seriously, Peter laughs off, but opposites attract, even if their kisses always lead to battles. Peter’s devil-may-care persona hides a world of secrets, self-protection, and hidden fears, until the day a drug dealer, Vadon Hooker, threatens everything Wen holds dear. Guided by the mysterious Mr. Pennymaker, Peter has to choose between facing responsibility or burrowing even deeper into Neverland.
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Excerpt
Peter looked up, stood, and John hurled himself into the air.
Peter caught him, although it knocked him back a step or two. As Wen walked up,
Peter and John were laughing.
Wen said, “Hi.” Duh. Wit to
spare.
Peter gave him an unreadable face. “Hi.”
Peter set John’s feet back on the floor, but John took his hand.
“Thanks, man, for saving me.”
A flicker of some kind of pain whipped across his face. “Wen saved
you. I just screwed things up so you got kidnapped.”
John crossed his arms and frowned. “We’re not back there, are we?
Shit happens, Peter.”
Wen sucked in breath to chastise John for the language and laughed
instead. “Yes, it does. You got John in trouble through no fault of your own,
and he shouldn’t have been running off to Neverland at the crack of dawn
anyway. ” He gave John a look. “Then you got him out of it. Our plan wouldn’t
have worked without you.”
Peter shrugged.
Wen slowly inhaled. Am I
doing this? “There’s something else. I don’t think we work very well
without you either—John and Michaela and, uh, me. I know you’ve got a lot of
decisions to make, but would you throw that into the mix?” He clenched his
hands together and hoped.
Peter stared at him. “You’re kidding. I’m a ne’er-do-well with no
job and no place to live and a demanding family breathing down my neck. You’re
a head of household with kids to raise and taxes to pay and a job where they
don’t appreciate you that you don’t want to lose. How the hell does that work?”
Wen swallowed. “I can’t believe you just used ‘ne’er-do-well’ in a
sentence.”
4 out of 5 stars
Never is the fourth book in the Pennymaker Tales series, and this one could probably be read as a standalone. The only recurring character from the other books is Mr Pennymaker, himself.
Never is the author's unique take on the Peter Pan faerie tale. I'm not completely sure this retelling worked for this reader though. I did enjoy the story as a whole but I truly had trouble connecting with Peter's character. He was so secretive, even with his Lost Boys crew that his real self didn't seem to ever make a full appearance. There were many moments that really worked and brought out Peter, mostly when he was with Samu, or Wen and his siblings.
Also, the dynamic between Wen and Peter as potential lovers didn't always hit the right connection points every time they were on page together. I think that boils down to Wen was overly concerned with how Peter acted/reacted vs seeing who Peter truly was and how Peter interacted with others. He saw too much in Peter's actions that weren't there and it seemed like he liked that wedge between them. Conversely when they clicked, they really worked well together. So this review is probably one of the hardest I've had to write in a while because I love the author's stories, and I love the tale of Peter Pan.
Again, I did enjoy the story overall, there were just moments that Peter didn't hit the mark for me. The story is well told, the characters as a whole are fun and engaging, and the story did create growth for the two main characters. I'll always say that every reader should pick up a book and form their own opinion... in this case what didn't work for me may work well for other readers. Plus this is another Pennymaker Tale and they need to be read because they are generally enjoyable, and fun stories.
So definitely pick up this one for your holiday reading list and sit down and enjoy a trip into Neverland with The Lost Boys.
The Pennymaker Tales Series
Sinders and Ash
(The Pennymaker Tales Series, #1)
by Tara Lain
Driven Snow
(The Pennymaker Tales, #2)
by Tara Lain
Available for purchase at
Beauty, Inc.
(The Pennymaker Tales #3)
Available for purchase at
Want to get these lovelies in paperback?
Sinders and Ash and Beauty, Inc. (Pennymaker Tales)
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 32. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog near the sea in California where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
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Thank you so much for reading the book! Hugs! : )
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