I received the ARC of this book from Crook Lane Books and LibraryThing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed reading “It Came from Neverland” and believe it is an entertaining enough horror-tinged take on the Peter Pan mythos. The problem is that it feels like it never fully commits to developing its characters beyond their basic roles in the story, their back story doesn’t go much beyond what we already know about them from the J.M. Barrie story. The atmosphere and idea behind the story are interesting, especially for those who enjoy darker reinterpretations of familiar childhood worlds, yet the emotional side of the novel feels underdeveloped. One of the biggest issues is that the characters never become as layered or memorable as they could have been. Their motivations and personalities are sketched out rather than deeply explored, which makes it harder to feel invested in their struggles. The story moves quickly, sometimes at the expense of meaningful character development. I would like to know more of their backstory, more about the events in Neverland that causes them such fear and trauma. The character of James Hook in particular feels as if he is simply dropped into the narrative without enough groundwork. He simply appears at Wendy’s door. It’s implied that there is a history between them but it’s never elaborated on. Surely his presence should carry weight given the associations readers already have with the name, but the book does not spend enough time exploring who he is, where he came from, or what shaped him. I would have liked to have found out how he is different from the Hook we read about in Peter and Wendy. There are hints of a larger backstory and deeper mythology, but they remain mostly unexplored and I feel this is unfortunate. That becomes one of the more frustrating aspects of the novel: it leaves you wanting to know far more about the history and background of the characters than the story is willing to provide. I really want an author to write the backstory to this book. If the Peter and Wendy tale is supposedly untrue and covers up what really happened in Neverland, then please tell the “true” tale. The world of this book has potential, and there are moments where the mystery surrounding Neverland becomes genuinely intriguing, but the book often feels like it is only scratching the surface of ideas that deserved more depth. Overall, the novel has an imaginative premise and some enjoyable eerie moments, but the lack of fully developed characters keeps it from being as emotionally engaging or memorable as it could have been.