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welshiswhims's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
color_girl's review against another edition
2.0
My least favorite of all the twisted tales series…. I was not a fan of this book. I’m sad because I love Alice in wonderland and most wonderland retellings! Maybe I was comparing it too much to Heartless (Marissa Meyer) but I just couldn’t get into it. I spent a lot of time on this book, dragging through it.
jessrox's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jaqylantern's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kellishinn's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
cailloustradamus's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snakeboba's review
3.0
This is a hard review to write because while I overall liked the book and wanted to blame being burnt out on why it was taking me so long to read I've concluded it was the pace itself of the story.
Everything is there to adore. Beloved, whacky characters. Enticing storyline. The nonsense of Wonderland. The sense of England. Even a side story to blend in with the main plot.
But it felt dragged out to me. I could be burning through the pages only to feel like I hit a brick wall and it took me ages to get through the next.
It was frustrating to say the least. I do say give this a read if you like the other retellings or Alice in Wonderland just be prepared it may not go as you like.
Everything is there to adore. Beloved, whacky characters. Enticing storyline. The nonsense of Wonderland. The sense of England. Even a side story to blend in with the main plot.
But it felt dragged out to me. I could be burning through the pages only to feel like I hit a brick wall and it took me ages to get through the next.
It was frustrating to say the least. I do say give this a read if you like the other retellings or Alice in Wonderland just be prepared it may not go as you like.
amyswhimsies's review
5.0
I love it. It's like a sequel to Alice in wonderland but it is so much crazier I failed to understand sometimes but Nonsense is Nonsense indeed and we are all mad here without Mr Katz help ;)
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
5.0
I don't even dare to count how many retellings of Wonderland I have in my bookcases. It are quite a few already and then some on my iPad. And it does happen that I don't like them. However, Once Upon A Dream, also written by Liz Braswell, is still my favorite twisted tale to date. When I saw that she was gonna be the one to tackle the nonsenseness of Wonderland, I had no doubt that it would be a great read.
What I had NOT expected was that even though this is very much a Wonderland story, there is also a nice, interesting, political and very actual story arc in our world. It seems that for some reason Wonderland works perfectly to deal with our current political climate. I'm not entirely sure if that's a compliment for the current politicians. It's because of those intertwining storylines that this story is so much more than I had expected it to be. It's not just a fun story about a grown up Alice playing around in Wonderland.
However, that does not mean that there isn't too much Wonderland. On the contrary. The biggest part of the book takes place in Wonderland and it's just as colorful and bizarre as in the Disney movie. If you've never seen the original animated version I do advise watching it. This story takes place 11 years later and it doesn't really explain what happened 11 years ago, assuming the reader knows about that. There are loads of nods towards the well known tale, but Braswell also brings in original elements to give her story something fresh and new.
What I really enjoyed is Alice's character in this book. The traits from her old self are still there, but she has matured and grown into a young woman. And although at times this, unsurprisingly, hinders her in Wonderland (she can't grow anymore, because her body forgot how, for example), it also helps her at other points. She has now the capability to understand this crazy world, to find the logic of this world, to learn how to play by its rules and to find answers to the riddles.
O, and let's say that just like Alice I might have fallen in love with a certain character in this book.
As a Wonderland lover and as someone who really loves using books to mirror our own world and its issues and political climate, this was the perfect read!
What I had NOT expected was that even though this is very much a Wonderland story, there is also a nice, interesting, political and very actual story arc in our world. It seems that for some reason Wonderland works perfectly to deal with our current political climate. I'm not entirely sure if that's a compliment for the current politicians. It's because of those intertwining storylines that this story is so much more than I had expected it to be. It's not just a fun story about a grown up Alice playing around in Wonderland.
However, that does not mean that there isn't too much Wonderland. On the contrary. The biggest part of the book takes place in Wonderland and it's just as colorful and bizarre as in the Disney movie. If you've never seen the original animated version I do advise watching it. This story takes place 11 years later and it doesn't really explain what happened 11 years ago, assuming the reader knows about that. There are loads of nods towards the well known tale, but Braswell also brings in original elements to give her story something fresh and new.
What I really enjoyed is Alice's character in this book. The traits from her old self are still there, but she has matured and grown into a young woman. And although at times this, unsurprisingly, hinders her in Wonderland (she can't grow anymore, because her body forgot how, for example), it also helps her at other points. She has now the capability to understand this crazy world, to find the logic of this world, to learn how to play by its rules and to find answers to the riddles.
O, and let's say that just like Alice I might have fallen in love with a certain character in this book.
As a Wonderland lover and as someone who really loves using books to mirror our own world and its issues and political climate, this was the perfect read!