The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Lost Starlight

Series: All That Glitters #11

Author: Kayla Eshbaugh

Genre: Young Adult, Clean Romance, Fantasy, Retelling

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Happily ever after was only the beginning of their story.

When Lady Gwendolyn Darling’s betrothed, Prince Peter, goes missing, rumors spread throughout the kingdom that he left to escape her. Gwendolyn begins to wonder if she was ever enough for Peter, or if her timid ways, which have always been difficult for others to embrace, was the reason he left. Was Peter unable to love her with such flaws? He, after all, knew her better than anyone else.

Determined to understand the reason for him leaving for herself, Gwendolyn goes on a quest to find him–and the truth, even if it breaks her heart in the end.

When a pirate Captain, named Hook, begins stealing lost boys from Pixie Isle, the pixies come to collect their debt from Prince Peter of Walden. It is his task to save these boys and remove Captain Hook from the Misted Seas forever.

Peter will do everything he can to repay his debt and make his way back to the proper, kind, and lovely Lady Gwendolyn Darling. She calms his restless heart, tames his curse, and has given him purpose in his life. She is his guiding star in an endless night. But even if he repays his debt, will she ever forgive him for leaving in the first place? Has he lost her starlight in his life forever?

Peter spent most of his life before meeting Gwendolyn longing for things far beyond Waldon’s shore, cursed to always seek adventure and never be satisfied. Now, all he wants is to return home and never leave her again.

I have a debt that is due–one that comes at the steep price of my happiness.

That is the price these pixies come in the dark of night to collect. – summary from Goodreads

This book was everything!!! This book was so, so, so cute and I loved it!

Lost Starlight is a Peter Pan retelling novella. This is the definition of short and sweet!

This book follows Prince Peter and Lady Gwendolyn. One of my absolute favorite parts of this book is the dual timeline. This book switched between when Peter and Gwendolyn met and began their friendship, to after they fell in love. I thought this was well done. It let us see all sides of their relationship and let us get closer to the characters and root them on even more. It also added different layers to the story!

While this book is part of the All That Glitters series (a standalone within this series), it is part of the world of other books by the same author. This book can be read by itself, but I think I would have understood it a little more had I read the other books, especially Sea Swept, which follows Dominick and Meria, some of my favorite characters. There was also an interesting curse at play in this book that I really enjoyed, which are also explored in the other books!

I loved both the characters! Peter was so sweet and fun. Gwendolyn was kind and timid. They each brought out the best in each other and were perfect together!

This book also twisted Peter Pan in unique ways. There were the Lost Boys, pixies, Neverland, and Captain Hook, but all appeared different. I especially liked how this was a Peter Pan loves Wendy story.

Gwendolyn is also verbally abused by her mother, which plays a big part of the story. There is some good messaging from this about finding your true worth and escaping abusive relationships, as well as finding love after leaving. Peter is cursed throughout the book, and I loved how much he didn’t want to enter into a relationship until his curse was broken. I really enjoyed that forethought and maturity being shown.

Lost Starlight is an adorable, sweet clean romance that is my favorite Peter Pan retelling!

Quotes:

“I had to find her, my entire being could not exist without her.”

“I loved her more than I had loved anything ever in my life. She was my starlight on the sea, guiding me to her.”