Author: Collen Oakes
Genre: Retellings, Fantasy
Source: Edelweiss
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Summary:
As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life. When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe. Part epic fantasy, part twisted fairy tale, this dazzling saga will have readers shivering as Dinahs furious nature sweeps Wonderland up in the maelstrom of her wrath. Familiar characters such as Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter make their appearance, enchanting readers with this new, dark take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
This was on of my most anticipated of 2016, but it just fell short to me. What I was hoping would be a five star was actually a two star for me. *Sighs*
Likes:
- The characters that take after the actual Alice in Wonderland characters! So much love for that aspect, they pop up in characters that you wouldn't expect but it was really awesome how Oakes weaved them into the story.
- The fact that this is an Alice in Wonderland retelling!
- The last chapter of the book, I am quite curious what is going to happen next (Yes, I plan on reading on despite my rating)
Dislikes:
- For a lot of the book I felt like there was no plot. There is two occasions that there is actually a plot for, and even then they just fell short. The first one was a game of chance, and Dinah and Wardley pulled it off, but it just didn't add up. The last was the last few chapters of the book, and even then I wasn't sure what to expect.
- Time jumps. There are a lot of them.
- Dinah was incredibly immature in my opinion. She was very harsh to her half sister, ungrateful, and bratty. I felt for her age she could have been a lot more mature then what she was.
- So many questions are left unanswered or not answered at all. The end of the book only raised more. Who was the stranger in Dinah's room? Why is her father like that? Why this and why that. I am just frustrated that I'm more confused then anything with how this book played out.
- The romance (if you can call it a romance???) was awkward and seemed to be one sided.
Overall I am not impressed. Do to my love for all things Alice and Wonderland I will continue the series because it does have my interest, I just hope that some of these problems will be resolved in the next books.
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