As a big fan of the Starcatcher series as a kid, I flung myself into this fourth installment of a series that has taken me nearly a decade to return to. For the first 100 pages or so, I felt the excitement as all these characters from my childhood returned older, a little wiser, but still so familiar. However, as the story went on, it didn't feel as grand or resonating as the first three books. Granted, it could be the gap between readings, but I don't remember the first three feeling so emotionless.

Sure, there is a wonderful moment where Peter has to face a debilitating fear and show a great amount of strength, but that was about it. No complex feeling from tender reunions or seeing how old his friends had gotten. Even him seeing Molly again felt like nothing.

And then when it's time for Peter to leave London, he just leaves. No tearful goodbyes, no reflection, just bouncing out to return to a B plot that felt so unneeded.

The B plot with Capt. Nerezza felt like a waste of time. They were trying to tie it to the main plot but the threads never really connected. It felt more like an easy way to keep the Neverland crew occupied but it took away so much time from the main plot. 

To be honest, this book felt largely unnecessary, as wonderful as it was to see these characters again. The execution is notably weaker than previous installments and it didn't feeling as satisfying of a conclusion as Secret of Rundoon. I know that there is technically a 5th book in the series set in modern day with the pitch of "Peter's adventures were turned into books and kids find out that the books are real!, but I don't think I'll be getting to it. Just feels like so tired of a concept now.