You guys, I’m getting really discouraged on the romance novel front. Nothing I read seems to keep me interested. Last week was more of a thriller than a romance, sure, but the romantic parts (and to be fair, everything else) flopped harder than an oxygen-deprived fish on dry land. So this week, I decided to take a break from romance and thrillers and set my sights on something radically different:
Enter Peter Panzerfaust.
Most recently, author Kurtis J. Wiebe has been making headlines for rebooting his critically-adored series Rat Queens— which I literally cannot comment on in any way, shape, or form, because I’ve never read Rat Queens. Not even the webcomics— but back in 2012, before Rat Queens was a twinkle in Wiebe’s eye, there was Peter Panzerfaust.
If you’re a Peter Pan fan, you should definitely check out Peter Panzerfaust/ Wiebe and artist Tyler Jenkins (Grass Kings) co-created a daring reimagining of Peter Pan that takes place during WWII. A dashing, mysterious American named Peter saves a bunch of French orphan boys from being bombed to death, and recruits them as his “Lost Boys” to help stop the Nazis and end the war.
This book is delightful, honestly. My one mistake with it was only buying the first volume, because I wanted to be cautious, in case it wasn’t up to snuff (it is. I want to sell all my romance novels as a symbolic gesture and also a physical one, to make more room for Peter Panzerfaust on my shelf. Who am I kidding? I’ll just get a new shelf, the more books, the merrier!)
I don’t want to delve into this too much because I don’t want to spoil it for you, but if you like:
- Peter Pan (I’ve heard that while the first volume throws in a great many Easter eggs to the source material, the later volumes depart from that as Wiebe and Jenkins spin their own tale. So if you’re a purist, just keep that in mind)
- Historical fiction
- Action-packed, adventure-fuelled mania during a time of war
- Fantastic writing, combined with totally atmospheric colours
You should check out Peter Panzerfaust. Peter is the kind of charismatic, devil-may-care hero that you want to follow into battle, he’s the sort of protagonist that will rally you around his (Nazi-exterminating) cause with such enthusiasm and glee, you might not consider the consequences (like, you know, death). I appreciated the way this story started out— retold via a conversation with one of the Lost Boys, now an old man.
Peter Panzerfaust is an action-packed, fast-paced, cinematic thrill ride. Bonus: there are only five trade paperbacks, so it’s a short series!
Being that it’s still grossly hot outside, I thought everyone could do with a refreshingly cold dessert: strawberry shortcake popsicles. Thanks to Lindsay over at lifeloveandsugar for the recipe!
Want to check out Peter Panzerfaust Vol. 1? Shop our Amazon affiliate link here!
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