The Piper's Price by Audrey Greathouse

Title: The Neverland Wars 2: The Piper’s Price
Author: Audrey Greathouse
Expected Publication: February 21, 2017
Genre: Young adult fantasy retelling
How I got the book: I received a free digital copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

Summary:

Peter is plotting his retaliation against the latest bombing. Neverland needs an army, and Peter Pan is certain children will join him once they know what is at stake. The lost boys and girls are planning an invasion in suburbia to recruit, but in order to deliver their message, they will need the help of an old and dangerous associate—the infamous Pied Piper.
Hunting him down will require a spy in in the real world, and Gwen soon finds herself in charge of locating the Piper and cutting an uncertain deal with him. She isn’t sure if Peter trusts her that much, or if he’s just trying to keep her away from him in Neverland. Are they friends, or just allies? But Peter might not even matter now that she’s nearly home and meeting with Jay again.

The Piper isn’t the only one hiding from the adults’ war on magic though, and when Gwen goes back to reality, she’ll have to confront one of Peter’s oldest friends… and one of his earliest enemies.

My Review:

I read the first Neverland Wars book and I felt iffy about it. At the time, I didn’t know a sequel was in the works. When the author contacted me about reviewing an eARC copy of The Piper’s Price, I thought I would give it a try.

I still wasn’t a fan of Gwen as the protagonist. I could definitely do without her. I felt as though she didn’t know what she was doing half of the time. Peter Pan was super moody throughout most of the book. He wasn’t exactly pleasant to be around most of the time, which got old quick.

Tiger Lily was introduced. It was nice to see her, but she was in a different form. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that, though she was a great addition to the story. Aside from the Piper, the other characters, like the Lost Boys, weren’t in it too much. It was almost like Peter was making Gwen do just about everything. While he had his reasons for that, it got a bit old.

Unlike the first book, this one seemed to have an actual plot. Peter is looking to fight back against Reality and seeks help from the Piper. However, he and the Piper have a tough past so Peter can’t directly go to him, so he sends Gwen to find him.

I was pretty excited to see the Piper in this story. I thought it would be an interesting twist. However, we didn’t meet the Piper until about 200 or so pages in, and the book is only a little over 300 pages. The Piper names his price and keeps Rose, Gwen’s little sister, as an incentive for Gwen and Peter to get him what he wants. Gwen was distraught and worried, but I didn’t feel it. One, because we don’t know Rose all that well, and two, I don’t really care about Gwen.

Audrey Greathouse has a wonderful writing style. The way she tells the story is beautiful and she has a way with words. Plot and characters aside, I don’t mind reading her narration of things.

While I wasn’t overly excited about the characters and the plot disappointed me a bit since the Piper didn’t have as big as a part as I assumed he would, the book was still enjoyable through the writing. I have to say that I enjoyed it more than the first book.

The NeverlandWars 2: The Piper’s Price by Audrey Greathouse gets…
4 out of 5 stars