The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys, #1) (2024)

was this book good? no. but was it good? yes

absolutely ridiculous but pretty fun all things considered

you know that one season of the show Once Upon a Time where they go to Neverland and fight Pan because the magic of neverland is dying. This reminded me of that but make it darker and spicy

The writing was clunky at times but honestly the story was so fun that I didn't even mind.
It's reverse harem and I really liked all the guys equally. You have Peter Pan who is very hot and cold and will rip your heart out if you cross him. Twin fae princes who cook delicious food and create beautiful illusions. And then Vane aka The Dark One, who is literally your nightmares brought to life.

The main character wasn't my fave, she irritated me at times but I do love that she was a self identified hoe and knew how to use that to her benefit

I think this could have used a little more development with the world and plot because I loved what was there but wanted a bit more. However I can't wait for book 2 cause this ended on a cliffhanger and I need answers!!

Major “pick me” and “not like other girls” vibes.

Very goofy, bad even, but compulsively readable I suppose. Probably would have rated it higher if there was a smidge more relationship/character/plot development and the p*rn was actually, you know, hot? But alas

1.5 stars

I will say, when I saw the rating for this book, I had such high hopes. 4.2 stars? Wow! Must be amazing, right? No.
So, why did I choose to give 2 stars? Well, let's go with, the book could've been so much better if someone else wrote it who put the time to actually develop the characters and their connections with each other.
Spoilers ahead!!!!
I grew up loving Peter pan and believing in fairies and building little rock houses for them and clothes. I wanted so badly for Peter pan to fly through my window and take me away to Neverland to play with pixie dust and fight pirates. And this book? Nope. Maybe we will see this in the second book, but this isn't the reason for my 2 star rating. This is just me talking about my initial expectations.
But the reason I gave this book 2 stars is because it LACKS. The characters lack so much depth to them including Winnie besides she is a prostitute because of her mother's lack of mothering. So, Winnie gets taken to Neverland because they need to go through her memories to find where Wendy Darling had hidden Peter Pan's shadow because it has become his life source for survival.
When we get into the story, immediately we are thrown into a reverse harem. Do I love reverse harem? Oh absolutely enjoy it, but when it is done RIGHT.
These lost boys and Peter Pan all keep saying "This girl seems different. She might save Peter," All because she isn't crying 24/7 like the rest of the Darlings from before. So, just because she throws in some humor, that somehow makes her be the Darling that would be the key to finding his shadow?
NO. That's no reason for her to be "different" or any more helpful than the rest. And continuing. None of the Lost boys are allowed to have sex with any of the Darlings. So what, she asks one to climb in her bed like many before... and none of them have ever affected them, but her doing the BARE minimum causes them all to break the rule? She makes suggestive eyes and bats her eyelashes and that causes them all to crumble and break the rules that they have placed for so many years? NO. GIVE ME MORE. GOD that was so lacking.
At first, they said that Winnie was so irresistible because they weren't allowed to touch her and because the other girls on the island including the previous Darlings were SO easy to get; that there was no challenge. Then can you explain Winnie? She literally wasn't a challenge. She just gave her body to them like the rest of the girls on the island. SO WHAT exactly would be their reason to break their rules? Nothing, besides a lack of development in the story.
Continuing further, Winnie has given the boys no reason to be so entranced by her besides that she is slu*tty, but there is no connection. She forms absolutely 0 emotional connection with these boys and they are already all ready to risk it all for her?
Winnie goes drinking and starts seducing a red-headed lost boy. And all of a sudden, with no development in Peter Pan's feelings for her, he out of nowhere becomes irritably jealous and kills the red-headed lost boy. There was no reason for his jealously. There was no attachment he even had for Winnie to cause this conflict in his emotions for what he was seeing. Winnie and Peter Pan never formed any type of connection what-so-ever! And this continues with the rest of them!
Moving on to Vane. This dark character who's shadow is death and can instill fear on anyone around him. Whenever he has sex with women on the island, they break in half because sex with him is so overwhelming and dangerous. He doesn't like Winnie, at all. He finds her annoying. When the rest of the lost-boys are running a train on her, he is all hot and bothered, but spits in her mouth because she deserved a lesson. But no, he doesn't care for her or has shown ANY SIGN that he cares for her other than he wouldn't mind f*cking her until her body splits in half and dies.
That's it. That's the only thing between them. Other than that, he wouldn't care if she died after she finds the shadow for Peter Pan.
But then all of a sudden, he saves her from getting her mind corrupted? Really? Again, there was 0 emotional development in the story between these two characters. So why the hell did he go from not giving a sh*t about her to saving her life? He never once saved the other Darlings, so why her? Oh, right. Because of the lack of character development. Made 0 sense.
Then we end up finding out that there is a chest in her mother's house back on normal lands that is holding his shadow in a secret compartment. They go there and there is Brownie. A man who has kept the secret of where the shadow was this entire time and has guarded it.... and he loses the fight SO EASILY? Peter Pan just walks up to him and snaps Brownie's neck like he was just a vulnerable uncooked noodle with no fighting experience? WHERE WAS THE ACTION? LACKING LACKING LACKING. Just entirely lacking.
Also, another thing. Why would they even think Tilly wanted to help them? Peter Pan killed Tinkerbell. SO WHY WOULD TILLY HELP THEM? WHAT?!? They all just trusted this woman to intrude in the Darling's memories and never once thought, "Hey, why would she even do that for us?"
This book was just.... horrendously underdeveloped. It even managed 2 stars because I at least liked the idea of the story.

this book was ass, waste of my time. Booktok led me on

this book had so much potential because the world was great even the magic the only thing was that it was corny at times and like there was no romance? this was pure smut which is fine it just wasn’t really for me. the sex scenes were cringey and came out of nowhere sometimes. winnie was also annoying as f*ck

That was… really not good.

Holy god, this book was an absolute mess. Many aspects of this remind me of the third season of OUAT. Anyone who has seen it will be familiar with what I mean. Before I get into the story, let's talk about the writing. It's... very subpar. I'm sorry, but it is. There are many spelling errors, fragments, over-usage of single sentence paragraphs and unbelievably poorly written dialogue. I find it hard to believe this was edited at all.

Something I want to point out before I discuss the plot. I understand this is a dark romance novel featuring a reverse harem. Yes, I read all the trigger warnings and whatnot. That being said. Choosing Peter Pan to center around your reverse harem erotica is strange. I think it's weird when anyone ages up a character who is traditionally a child JUST to write them having sex. The whole point of Peter Pan is that he's unwilling to grow up. Yet here, the author was like, okay but imagine Peter Pan but an adult, tatted, and he smokes cigarettes. And in doing so, it completely erased the character of Peter Pan. How did he grow up? She's changed his entire back story but has given us none of the details. What's the purpose of Neverland now? And there's also the case of our MC, Winnie. It is repeatedly mentioned that she has 'just turned 18'. Over and over again, we are told about how Peter takes the Darlings on their 18th birthday and that they are broken. The emphasis on the age is disturbing because it honestly reminds me of all of those ' FRESH adults JUST TURNED 18' p*rnos.

The main character, Winnie Darling, has no personality aside from enjoying sex. All we know about her appearance is that she has brown hair and green eyes and she's malnourished. The only women in her life are prostitutes. One of which groomed her to use her body to get what she wanted from boys from a young age. She resents her mother for being crazy and a prostitute but then uses that as a defense for why she has unhealthy sex all the time.

So the gist of the plot is this. Every woman in the Darling family gets taken by Peter Pan when they turn 18, and then he and his Lost Boys 'break them'. This means they get their mind broken into by a faerie who then drives them insane. It's purposely left as a mystery as to how she will get broken throughout the book, and it's a little odd mixed with Peter's 'no touching/f*cking the Darling's'. It makes it seem like that's what was the cause of them being broken, yet later, Winnie f*cks everyone with no consequence. So what was the point of this rule? First of all, why do only women get taken? Are men unable to retain their ancestor's memories? Secondly, if the Darlings are well aware of this 'curse' or whatever on their future daughters, why would they continue having children? Wouldn't you want to avoid that fate?

The way sex is portrayed in this book is incredibly unrealistic and laughable. The Lost Boys are so sex-crazed that they pop boners at Winnie moaning because food tastes good. She eats a pancake, licks some syrup off her lip, and now Bash has a boner. There's even a part where Winnie is being taught to gut a fish, and she gets aroused by the mention of the dead fish's ANAL CAVITY??? I just...what?!

The character of Vane(The Dark One) makes little sense to me. He is supposedly the worst one, the meanest one, etc. Yet he's the one who ends up saving Winnie in the end? It doesn't fall in line with his character at all. He spits in her mouth and constantly degrades her; at least, in my eyes, it didn't read as a consensual thing. Idk man; why is he suddenly bothered at the thought of Winnie losing her mind? Why does he care about her but not any of the other Darlings they did this to?

The Lost Boys narrative bounces all over the place. They constantly talk about loving to break women and seeing them cry, bleed, beg, etc. But then, at the same time, they're constantly worrying over Winnie and how thin she is (this is honestly mentioned a ridiculous amount and this book is only 200 pages), hoping Vane isn't too mean to her, and worrying about her getting broken even though they constantly talk about how much they love to break women.... like what?!

Idk, this book gave me major ick vibes.

This is a premise that I’ve always enjoyed seeing different reimaginings of. Peter Pan is such a classic, timeless adventure, that the sky’s the limit (Why have I been making so many bad puns lately?) for stories like this. This was definitely a very gritty take on what J.M. Barrie originally set out to create, but it worked well. Now, this book holds the record for the most immediate sexual encounter, which was just about 20 seconds into the first chapter. And my God, there was such an overabundance of sex throughout, that it bordered on erotica at several points. Like I mean a ton. Take whatever you’re thinking and multiply by three, and that’s about right. I don’t think it was necessarily misplaced here, but definitely could have been less of a focus, as the rest of the story was so rich in its characters, plot, emotional depth, and settings. While Winnie and her womanly ways was explored a bit, giving some background to her disordered relationship with her sexuality, it lacked a bit. I would have rathered seen much more of that, as opposed to the Lost Boys taking turns with her every few pages, or in some instances simultaneously. But there was much more done right here, than things I didn’t agree with. I also enjoyed the ending, and how it ties directly to the original story, as it sets up the sequel, which is due out later this year.

《 3.5 ✰ 》

❝
Today is my 18th birthday and every Darling woman that has come before me has disappeared on this day. Some are gone a day, others a week or a month. But they always return broken, with varying degrees of sanity intact.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I saw my friends reading these and curiosity got the better of me. Recently, I discovered I am a fan of fairy tale retellings. Imagine my excitement when I saw that this was a Peter Pan retelling — I couldn’t wait to start it. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite get there for me. I’m hoping the next book is better. Yes, I will be continuing the series.

❝
I feel like I just leapt off of a cliff, but I haven’t hit yet. I’m still falling.

The Lost Boys are hot. I have a thing for Vane. Hoping to get more of his story in the next book. The fae twins Bash and Kas were fun and I am intrigued by their Fae court history. Seems like there could be a lot of story there. Peter Pan was intense and I enjoyed the twist on shadows. Winnie is — Winnie is insatiable. Girl gets kidnapped and wakes up horny. Hey, you do you, babe! I guess waking up to Vane, Bash, Kas, and Peter is an aphrodisiac?

❝
It’s an odd feeling, suddenly being held captive in a house full of boys. A year ago, I’d call this a party.

There’s something about seeing the supposed nice guy act not so nice.

I read it in a couple of hours. I wasn’t really sure how to rate it... If you’re into dirty smut, a violent alpha, and fairy tale retellings — this one might entertain you. Just lower your expectations.

❝
We’re the same age, but decades apart.

I think everyone has a super power, something they’re just inherently good at and mine has always been reading people. Knowing what sort of a person someone is before they speak a word.

Most Darlings have had a warning about us, about Neverland. Most of them show up terrified and trembling. This one acts like she’s awake for the first time.

Even a king without a throne demands attention.

We are all tied to the night in one way or another.

“Something tells me they’re the guys who pop balloons at a kids’ party.”

“If you are not the most interesting person you know, then you’re doing it wrong.”
I arch a brow. “Some would call that narcissism.” “If you don’t hold yourself on a pedestal, then who will?”

There is always something to glean from words, which ones, how they’re said. If they’re used as knives or balms.

I am no longer lost. I think I might have finally been found.

She’s reading a book about monsters in a den of monsters. How f*cking poetic.

— 3.5 Stars ★

“Maybe we're all mad, in our own way.”

A dark and twisted retelling of Peter Pan and his lost boys and Wendy? I am hooked. I didn't had much expectations from this book but this is actually so good. It's addicting and enthralling and I couldn't stop reading and the chapters are really short so there's that too.

“I am dead inside. And so f*cking bored. And the only thing I have to look forward to is being kidnapped by a myth. Happy f*cking birthday to me.”

Peter Pan and Neverland is dying and Darling woman is the only key to save him and his island. It is dark and spicy but not like those dark books with gore stuff and all. It's all just vibes if you ask me. The writing is good and captivating but the world building lacks depth and is a bit confusing right now but I think it's fine considering this book is only 192 pages long and there are still so many things we don't know about the Neverland and it's fairies.

This is reverse harem and the dynamics between Peter Pan, his lost boys and Winnie are quite interesting. It's all just sex and heat right now where they want to break her to get into her mind but also can't stop thinking about how to get in her pants.

➸ Peter Pan: The king of Neverland who will rip your heart out if you cross him or his Darling. He's hot with all his dark and twisty personality but also has a soft side to him.

“How much you break is entirely up to you.”

➸ Winnie Darling: Don't like her much right now because right now her whole personality is “I wanna f*ck Lost Boys so I could break them but I also wanna f*ck them because I think they are hot and I enjoy sex.” I want more to her character than just her miserable sex life and how she was tortured in her world to keep hersafe from going mad like all Darling women before her did.

“I am no longer lost. I think I might have finally been found.”

➸ Vane: The dark one who is your walking talking death and your nightmare brought to life. He's hot and I can't help but like him because behind that “You don't wanna mess with me because I will end you” is a man who cares for his people. Also he's a shadow boy?? Hello??????

“Even the mighty oak believes she is strong until a man comes along with an ax to chop her down.”

➸ Bash & Kas: The twin fae prince who cooks delicious food and are nice than Pan and Vane but will not hesitate to make your life hell if they wants to.

“If you are not the most interesting person you know, then you're doing it wrong.”

They all are bad and unhinged but I know there's more to their story and I can't wait to read more about all of them. This book ends on a cliffhanger and it's frustrating because I don't know what will happen next but atleast I can binge read this whole series now!

TW: dark content, violence, gore, rope play, kidnapping, references to schizophrenia (bad mental illness rep), rough sex, and references (not positive) to prostitution

'𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠' Is the first full length fantasy book in the 'Vicious Lost Boys' series by new to me author Nikki St. Crowe. Spoken in multiple POV's and ends in a cliffy hanger.

My go to genre isn't doing it for me lately, book funk or whatever so I'm switching it up reading something I wouldn't normally gravitate towards.

I kind of tiptoed into this because I do not normally do this genre, but god I needed to do something because my go too's have been meh lately..

As soon as a 'Darling' woman turns eighteen they disappear, is it myth or truth? Only Winnie can tell you in her story.

reading this and getting so sucked into the storyline made me realise that I definitely need to read more of this genre, like this is my first EVER and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down, read from front to back like I was on crack, devouring all the words, loving this world, the magical place where the boys are hotter than hell.

this was quite frankly ridiculous, and didn't even have good smut?? atrocious.

Nikki st crowes retelling of Peter pan and the lost boys is not for the faint of heart!!! Its a dirty sexy tale full of bumping and grinding and super hot dark sexy guys! Every once in awhile I love a book that is just a guilty pleasure and this checks all my boxes. It has a great storyline and has very dark and different characters and themes. It is for sure a adult themed read. With a spicy reverse harem feel and a fast pace its quite a ride and its only just beginning with more books to come. And we don't have a long wait so that's a plus. Nikki st Crowe is a awesome storyteller and the girl knows how to write dark and damaged dudes and steamy scenes are her specialty. Needless to say I can't wait for book 2 in this Neverland series I think its gonna just get better as it goes! And wouldn't you know like Winnie I wouldn't mind being a team player either!!!😉 Until next time Luv's💞💋

Rated 3.5/5 stars

Started reading this on a whim because I wanted a fantasy romance kick…all of a sudden it’s 2am and I feel like I’ve experienced a whirlwind 😂

3.75/5 ⭐
4/5 🌶️

This was a quick and easy read. Love a dark retelling of Peter Pan, love a bit of smut, love a morally grey MC, then this one is for you. This is extremely dark and portrays Pan and the Lost Boys as grown men with a dangerous streak.

Quotes:
“If you are not the most interesting person you know, then you're doing it wrong.”

“Maybe that's what love really is, at the heart of it --choosing the pain with the pleasure.”

“Even the mighty oak believes she is strong until a man comes along with an ax to chop her down.”

A Case File On Stockholm Syndrome

I hated every character, including Winnie. Little to no character development and the only redeeming quality it has that it was a short read. Winnie didn't even put up a fight without giving the kitty away. The plot sucks, the smut was worse, and the lack of world building that is supposed to be Never land doesn't hold up. I need my 2 hours back PUHLEASE

18th birthdays are tragic for Darling women. To outsiders it’s a legacy of madness. To those who’ve experienced it, they know Pirates, Lost Boys, and fae are not just characters in fairytales.

Determined to escape the mania those before her have succumbed to, Winnie Darling doggedly attempts to change her fate along with that of Peter Pan and Neverland.

“I don’t know where I expected this night to go, but it wasn’t here. I am no longer lost. I think I might have finally been found.“

The Never King is no Disney story. Peter and the Lost Boys are deliciously depraved, a dash deranged, and I want MORE!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Heat: 🌶🌶🌶
Dark: 🖤🖤

🗂 Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance

✨ Tropes: Fairytale Retelling, Kidnapping/Captive, Reverse Harem

⛔️ Warning: This book/series may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care. It’s definitely NSFW or with a kiddo by your side. In fact, I would highly recommend you read this one after dark to avoid side eye or awkward conversations.

⚠️ Safety Squad: Violence

📣 The Never King is the first book in the Vicious Lost Boys series and ends on a cliffhanger.

“I am no longer lost. I think I might have finally been found.”

I was lost about 80% of the time that I read this book. I read it as a fantasy for the Kindle Spring Challenge and I dreaded every single minute of it. It was as if they took that one season of Once Upon A Time and sucked all the plot out of it and added a lot more sex. I actually care 0% about if Pan gets his shadow back or not and really just want to know how a character can be so sexually liberated and so childish and unsexy at the same time. None of the characters were even a little bit developed or interesting, and the writing contained such gems as “he’s shirtless, because of course he is,” and “make her beg for Lost Boy cum.” Also, I have no idea what the f*ck a brownie is even though they seem important to the minimal plot that there is.

Will I be reading the second book? Absolutely.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶
🎧🎧🎧🎧

So that was p*rn … like if Peter Pan and the lost boys grew up to gang bang Wendy.

Well … except it’s Wendy’s great great great … granddaughter.

So for as long as anyone can remember every Darling girl loses her ever loving mind at 18. The reason is because she’s kidnapped and brought to Neverland where a fairy queen will dig through her brain to find Pan’s shadow.

Between these two points in time there’s a lot of steamy moments between Winny (the newest Darling) and several lost boys including Peter.

This one ends on a cliffhanger so be prepared to carry on. It’s a short little entertaining read and I was definitely excited to see what happens next.

3.5 stars

I picked up ‘The Never King’ as a challenge for a fairytale retelling. This was a wild ride. Honestly, I’m curious enough that I think I’m going to pick up the next book. A little too much steam and not enough story for me personally, but I want to know what happens next!

No.

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Plot:
Winnie Darling is taken by the Never King on her 18th birthday. The same thing happen to all of the Darling Women. Is there something morally grey about falling in love with Peter Pan?

Dark Romance | Reverse Harem | Fae

My Thoughts:

↠ Short, unhinged and fast-paced. This was perhaps the spiciest book I’ve ever read. This was chaotic and completely wild.

↠ I was chuckling to myself in some scenes and thinking WTF am I reading at the same time.

↠ The male characters were extremely desirable in a really messed up way.

↠ The book ends on a massive cliffhanger which will leave you reaching for the next book in the series.

Overall
If you want a wild ride than this is a great short read.

Favourite Quote:
“If you are not the most interesting person you know, then you’re doing it wrong”

I’ve seen this series appearing on my feeds numerous times on and off for months, but yet I had still waited, until a friend had recommended it to me

Mind you this is a new to me author, so anyone who knows me, knows that I enjoy a bit of dark and twisted tale
Welcome to the New world, or should I say revamped world of Neverland that is full of all types of magic and deceit, not to mention. All types of darkness.

Today is her 18th birthday and every Darling woman that has come before her have disappeared on this day. But they always return broken, with varying degrees of sanity intact.
He is Winnie’s mother’s urban legend come to life and she doesn’t know what to do with him now that he’s come for her.

Her mother has been hospitalized seven times over several years. They say she’s schizophrenic just like grandma and great-grandma and all of the Darling women before her.
Lucky her that there is , A legacy of madness that she stands to inherit.

So, as you can imagine, Winnie has a fear of becoming mad just like the previous generations of females in her family

Did I mention that this is retelling of Peter pan and the lost boys

kto uznał, że dobrym pomysłem jest wypuszczenie tej książki na rynek?…
tłumaczenie jest tragiczne, zdania nie mają sensu a niektóre przetłumaczone zwroty są totalnie wyrwane z kontekstu - jakby wklejone z tłumacza google. nie dość, że widać braki w znajomości języka angielskiego, to język polski pozostawia sobie wiele do życzenia. źle odmieniane wyrazy, niepoprawna interpunkcja, zmiana czasu co zdanie i regularne błędy stylistyczne - po prostu jakby tekst w ogóle nie przeszedł przez korektę.
fabuła jest znikoma, książka skupia się na scenach erotycznych. może i by to przeszło, gdyby było w nich choć ciut namiętności - a wyglądały one tak: włożyć, zdegradować główna bohaterkę, wyciągnąć. główna bohaterka wcale nie lepsza, nie ma żadnych cech charakteru oprócz „lubię seks”.
pozostali bohaterowie oczywiście przez stulecia torturowali kobiety ale sekundę po zobaczeniu bohaterki włącza im się instynkt opiekuńczy i łamią wszystkie zasady bez zastanowienia. ale ani razu nie zwrócili się do niej po imieniu:)

dla mnie porażka.

Pure smut, and I’m not complaining.