Title: Seeking Revenge

Series: Legends of Neverland #5

Author: Mary Mecham

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Villains aren’t given second chances; they take them.
Jillian learned the hard way that gold talks and mercy gets you killed. Left behind when her family was sold into slavery, she survived the streets with nothing but quick fists and even quicker lies. Now a bounty hunter cloaked in deception, Jillian lives disguised as a teenage boy to infiltrate the criminal underworld that destroyed her life.

She doesn’t care who she has to catch, con, or kill—every coin earned is a step closer to revenge, and a step closer to tracking down the ones who tore her family apart.

Her newest job leads her straight to the den of the most notorious crime ring in Berkway. Headed by 3 ruthless bandits, the crime ring is brutal, untouchable, and sitting on more secrets than gold. Going undercover and extracting her target was supposed to be simple, but when one of the bandits discovers Jillian’s secret, her safety is threatened, lies become tangled, and Lochlan’s growing interest threatens to unravel everything she’s fought to keep hidden.

Jillian’s mission demands blood, but her heart is begging her to remember she still has one.

In a world where trust is a trap and vengeance is survival, love is a deadly weakness Jillian cannot afford. – summary from Goodreads

Seeking Revenge is an interesting villainous retelling of Goldilocks with hidden identities, secrets, and romance!

I don’t think I have ever read a Goldilocks retelling, so this was a new and interesting book. I did enjoy this story, and it was a nice addition to the series.

I know I say this for every review in this series, but I really enjoy this world. In the last book we got to see the criminal side of this world through pirates, but in this book, we get to see the criminal side of this world through slavers, bounty hunters, and illegal substances dealers. This book was definitely darker than some of the others in this series. Berkway was the main kingdom in this book as well, and I enjoyed exploring the third kingdom in this world. It is a unique kingdom, and the Nightsworn are unique. They are definitely one part of the book that I’m most interested in and in the next book I hope they are explored more.

The main character was Gil, and she was an interesting character. She was the one with the hidden identity, and I enjoyed the exploration of her struggling with leaving that identity behind and trusting others with her true identity. She was a very capable character as well, as well as determined to accomplish her mission. Throughout the course of the book, similar to Dahlia in Betraying Korth, she began following her conscious more throughout the course of the book, and that was nice character growth.

Lochlan was the main male character and I quite enjoyed him! He was so sweet and protective of Gil, but he also had his secrets. He was also color blind, which was nice representation that I have not seen in books before. He was so sweet and kind to those around him, and he was a nice part of the main group of characters. The twist pertaining to him at the end of the book was shocking and I loved it!

The romance was slow burn, and I did like the two characters together. Gil and Lochlan genuinely cared for each other and protected each other. There were secrets they kept from the other, which caused some issues. I will say this romance was really cute and I love them together, but I do wish there was a little more of it, especially in the ending. I loved the storyline, which I will talk about more in a moment. However, I wish the romance was a little bit more of a focus of the story. I love the romances in this series; the couples are adorable and I love their endings. But with this book, I felt like more closure could be had.

The storyline was wonderful and very engaging. I loved Gil’s mission and how she set out to accomplish it. She was so determined to find her family, and I loved the part of the story. To accomplish this, she went undercover with a crime group to learn their secrets. It was interesting and kept you on the edge of your seat. I also love the bounty hunter side of things. It was an a very intriguing side of the world, and it meshed with the crime ring side of this book really well. The entire plot was engaging and there were some wonderful twists and turns to the story. I loved how everything played out!

Peter Pan was a very central character in this book. He has changed quite a bit from the first book. He is still conniving and very smart, but he seems almost kinder. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes in the next book, and I am curious if he is going to be given a redemption arc. Tinkerbell and Hook made a brief appearance, and I loved seeing them. They are so cute and I love seeing them happily married! Dahlia made a very brief appearance, and I enjoyed seeing her. Elena and Harlan also got married in this book, which made me so very happy!

Seeking Revenge is an intriguing villainous Goldilocks retelling full of secrets, hidden identities, and romance!