YA & Adult Peter Pan Retellings

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When it comes to Peter Pan retellings, there are two different categories, either adult retellings, or retellings that stay in the YA sphere, but I will give you both! Sometimes, you need a good YA book to feel warm and cozy about, but also sometimes you need a spicy adult story.

If you like the story of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, we discussed it on the Barely Bookish podcast!

YA Peter Pan Retellings

Whether you want Peter Pan prequels or just a good reimagining, these stories will be right up your alley!

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

Summary

When children start to go missing in the local woods, a teen girl must face her fears and a past she can’t remember to rescue them in this atmospheric YA novel, Lost in the Never Woods from the author of Cemetery Boys.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into the light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road…

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, asks for Wendy’s help to rescue the missing kids. But, in order to find them, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Summary

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair…

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland’s inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it’s the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who’s everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn’t grow up.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

I feel like Tiger Lily gets looked over a lot in retellings, mostly because of how terribly she was written in the original story. So, I feel like I had to include a story with her in it for some justice.

Adult Peter Pan Retellings

Want some spice? I tried to make sure to include mostly indie books in this section to support some self-published authors. Plus, a lot of these are on Kindle Unlimited!

Wendy, Darling by Rebecca F. Kenney

Summary

A grown-up and depressed Peter Pan is fighting to protect Neverland from the realm-conquering Commodore Hook. When Peter’s runaway shadow shows up at Wendy’s workplace, she’s eager for the chance to visit Neverland again, to help protect it–and sure, to see the Fae man she’s been in love with for ten years. But Neverland is far different than Wendy remembers, with monsters both literal and human-shaped threatening everything Peter has tried to build.

This book is perfect for everyone who loved Peter Pan as a kid and secretly wanted a spicy Fae version! (Adult romance, mild-to-medium heat, cliffhanger ending with HEA in Part 2)

Wendy, Darling by Rebecca F. Kenney

This story is part of a larger series of retellings but it can be read entirely on its own, which is what I did. However, you will get some spoilers for the first two books.

A Land of Never After by R. L. Davennor

Summary

All my life, I’ve dreamed of the sea.

Mermaids, stormy skies, daring adventures, pirates…it was little wonder I sprinted to the docks the moment I left the orphanage. Eager to begin my new life, I searched for a ship that would have me—and found a thief instead. I chased the bastard.

Now I’m trapped.

I’m told this place is Neverland, but everything I touch is dead or dying; what’s left is hellbent on killing each other. Monsters lurk around every corner, and everyone I meet hides a damning secret. I’m thrust in the middle of a deadly feud, and the only one capable of unraveling the curse that plagues us.

Neverland is my home now. Until it’s done with me?

It will never let go.

Peter Pan meets Pirates of the Caribbean in A Land of Never After, but reader beware: this children’s tale has been reimagined for adult lovers of all things dark and deadly, with an LGBTQ+ positive twist. Content warnings include language, violence, and mentions of gender dysphoria and suicide.

A Land of Never After by R. L. Davennor

The best part is if you love this, it’s part of a trilogy! So, there’s plenty more to read, don’t you worry.

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

Summary

From the national bestselling author of Alice comes a familiar story with a dark hook—a tale about Peter Pan and the friend who became his nemesis, a nemesis who may not be the blackhearted villain Peter says he is…

There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy.

Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter’s idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite.

Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter lies.

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

I absolutely adore Christina Henry’s books. You may remember my review of The Girl in Red which is a Red Ridinghood retelling. If you like villain origin stories, then you’re going to love this book.

The Lost Darling by Bailey Black

Summary

Second star to the left and continue until morning.

I got that line tattooed on my wrist the day I turned twenty-one. So much symbolism in such a simple sentence. At the time, it was a nod to the future and the infinite possibilities to come, while reminding me to remember the past and to look for magic in the world.

Growing up, nothing was ever what it seemed. The shift of leaves on a tree was a faery skipping by. Shooting stars were a chance to make wishes. Shadows were souls stuck between this world and the next, mirroring a life they once had.

My imagination was limitless, the world a wonderful adventure waiting to unfold.

It’s easy to lose that sense of wonder with the weight of life on your shoulders and I wanted a reminder to get me through the hard days.

Most importantly, it was an ode to the boy who earned the title of my first crush, even if he was animated. Peter Pan wasn’t a save the damsel kind of prince. He was daring, and selfless, and took care of the ones he loved. He was a friend to all but never afraid to fight the Pirates when their moral compass broke. Wendy was an idiot for leaving him. She rushed home to a heartless world full of men willing to lie through their teeth to get down her pants.

But that’s the beauty of a book, the characters are perfectly flawed. Damaged just enough that we still love them. Whereas reality is nothing but empty promises and baggage the size of mountains.

The day I got my tattoo I would have given anything to be whisked away into a fairytale. My world was crumbling and all I wanted was to go back to when life was simpler. I didn’t realize I had sealed my fate in ink.

Branded myself as one of the Lost.

Neverland was everything the stories made it out to be. Beautiful. Full of magic. Filled with handsome men and debonair pirates. But the author of my favorite tale left out one crucial detail.

In order to get there, you have to die.

The Lost Darling by Bailey Black

Far From Neverland by Rylee Hale

Summary

Peter Pan left Neverland and grew up. Now I want him back.

It’s been fourteen years since he left, since Neverland’s star died out, since a blanket of frost fell over the island. Despite the Jolly Roger being anchored in a layer of ice, I’m not yet willing to give up this perfect, Peter Panless Neverland.

Well, it’s not completely perfect. A threat looms here, a shadow devouring the island. I don’t want Pan back, but he’s the only one who can stop it. However, when I find him, there are two problems.

One, Peter Pan has no memory of who he really is.

Two, I can’t seem to resist him.

Making him remember isn’t going to be easy, and not just because I hate him like sin, just like all the sinful thoughts he inspires. I can’t allow him to distract me. The fate of Neverland hangs in the balance.

The old Peter Pan has died, and a new one’s risen from his ashes. He’s a star—Neverland’s sun—and I don’t care if I get burned.

Far From Neverland by Rylee Hale

Say goodbye to Wendy Darling and hello to Captain Hook in this spicy telling!

Personally, I am a sucker for retellings. So, please let me know if you have any more recommendations please let me know in the comments and I will try to check them out!

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2 Comments

  1. Stolen by Pan
    Stranded with Pan
    Starling and Pan
    3 book series by Jesse Ramey

    3rd was just released. I am enjoying the series.

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