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zombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I thought this was a great improvement on and expansion of the first book. I like that this one took place in Wonderland much more. I look forward to seeing how the series will develop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Vomit, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Cursing, Grief, Dementia, and Confinement
Minor: Alcohol and War
e_flah's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
A Dream So Dark was a solid sequel to A Blade So Dark. We pick up almost immediately after the events of book 1, which helped keep the stakes of this book high from the very beginning. I loved getting to see more of Wonderland as the world-building is one of the elements I enjoy most about this series.
A Dream So Dark introduces some new POVs that did an excellent job raising tension across multiple storylines. It was great to see inside the heads of some characters from book 1 that I really liked as well.
There were two things that bugged me about A Dream So Dark. The first was the ending, which felt really rushed. The second was the number of obvious instances of clues that somehow none of the characters have picked up on. There have been hints about certain characters dropped since book 1 that only grew more obvious in A Dream So Dark, which made it frustrating as a reader that there's zero interrogation of these ideas on the page. I really hope we get some payoff with these ideas in A Crown So Cursed.
Overall, A Dream So Dark was a solid read that upped the stakes from book 1. The pacing was great and I was a big fan of the short chapter lengths that kept me hooked on the story. I'm looking forward to seeing where Alice's story goes next in A Crown So Cursed.
A Dream So Dark introduces some new POVs that did an excellent job raising tension across multiple storylines. It was great to see inside the heads of some characters from book 1 that I really liked as well.
There were two things that bugged me about A Dream So Dark. The first was the ending, which felt really rushed. The second was the number of obvious instances of clues that somehow none of the characters have picked up on. There have been hints about certain characters dropped since book 1 that only grew more obvious in A Dream So Dark, which made it frustrating as a reader that there's zero interrogation of these ideas on the page. I really hope we get some payoff with these ideas in A Crown So Cursed.
Overall, A Dream So Dark was a solid read that upped the stakes from book 1. The pacing was great and I was a big fan of the short chapter lengths that kept me hooked on the story. I'm looking forward to seeing where Alice's story goes next in A Crown So Cursed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
whysomanysams's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Death of parent
sarah984's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book felt a bit more focused than the first one - more could happen because a lot of concepts have already been explained.
The family dynamic in this one is great, and while the adventure does meander a bit (we spend way too long in one side character’s POV when they don't really have that much interesting to say) the story keeps up a good pace with lots of fun action moments.
I do still find the romances quite silly (though I do think this is the first YA I've read with a het romance where both characters were bi, which is kind of cool) and the Japanese characters seemed kind of underwritten, but overall the book was good.
The family dynamic in this one is great, and while the adventure does meander a bit (we spend way too long in one side character’s POV when they don't really have that much interesting to say) the story keeps up a good pace with lots of fun action moments.
I do still find the romances quite silly (though I do think this is the first YA I've read with a het romance where both characters were bi, which is kind of cool) and the Japanese characters seemed kind of underwritten, but overall the book was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Dementia
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Violence, and Vomit
yellephant's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Gore
Minor: Vomit
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Dream So Dark is a fast-moving and bloody sequel, swiftly cycling through heroes as they barely dare to rest; trying to save Wonderland and rescue their friends. More Nightmares and darkness; the anguish of fighting former friends and the joy of making new ones.
I loved this book, I had a great time reading it, and I'm currently giddy over some very cool stuff that was revealed and something I think I figured out (but I won't know if I'm right until the third book). I continue to enjoy Alice, she really comes into her own here, figuring out how to be strong in a way that fits her. I like how the stuff with her mom is handled, that tension was a very stressful part of the first book and I think it works out in a way that makes sense for everyone, giving the characters what they need without feeling like it was resolved just for the sake of the plot.
I'm still over the moon about Addison; in the first book I loved him as a new version of the Mad Hatter (my favorite Alice in Wonderland character) and in this one I love him as himself, every dark-backstoried, trying-to-do-the-right-thing, finding-new-joy bit of him.
Since this is the second book in what looks like it will just be a trilogy I'm doing my usual check to see how well this works, both on its own and as book two of three. I look to see whether the story gets to finish any plot threads from the first book, whether it starts any of its own to be resolved later, and whether it feels solid enough as a story to have its own narrative arc. Sometimes a book two can be great without these things, but if a story ever feels incomplete it's usually because on of those pieces is missing. I'm very happy with this book on all three fronts. There are some problems which were known in the first book and resolved at different stages of this one, a really good arc that fits mostly within this volume, and some stuff that had better be resolved in the third one because I'm on the edge of my seat. I was left with a great blend between closure and anticipation, and I'm enjoying it.
The battles felt good to read, with a nice blend between describing the literal moves and the mental/emotional struggle between the fighters. As for world-building, we get some new characters in the mundane world and some really fantastic people and places in Wonderland. It made Wonderland feel more solid, like it's a place where someone might actually live and not just somewhere Alice visits to fight Nightmares. I'm very excited to find out what the third book will bring.
I loved this book, I had a great time reading it, and I'm currently giddy over some very cool stuff that was revealed and something I think I figured out (but I won't know if I'm right until the third book). I continue to enjoy Alice, she really comes into her own here, figuring out how to be strong in a way that fits her. I like how the stuff with her mom is handled, that tension was a very stressful part of the first book and I think it works out in a way that makes sense for everyone, giving the characters what they need without feeling like it was resolved just for the sake of the plot.
I'm still over the moon about Addison; in the first book I loved him as a new version of the Mad Hatter (my favorite Alice in Wonderland character) and in this one I love him as himself, every dark-backstoried, trying-to-do-the-right-thing, finding-new-joy bit of him.
Since this is the second book in what looks like it will just be a trilogy I'm doing my usual check to see how well this works, both on its own and as book two of three. I look to see whether the story gets to finish any plot threads from the first book, whether it starts any of its own to be resolved later, and whether it feels solid enough as a story to have its own narrative arc. Sometimes a book two can be great without these things, but if a story ever feels incomplete it's usually because on of those pieces is missing. I'm very happy with this book on all three fronts. There are some problems which were known in the first book and resolved at different stages of this one, a really good arc that fits mostly within this volume, and some stuff that had better be resolved in the third one because I'm on the edge of my seat. I was left with a great blend between closure and anticipation, and I'm enjoying it.
The battles felt good to read, with a nice blend between describing the literal moves and the mental/emotional struggle between the fighters. As for world-building, we get some new characters in the mundane world and some really fantastic people and places in Wonderland. It made Wonderland feel more solid, like it's a place where someone might actually live and not just somewhere Alice visits to fight Nightmares. I'm very excited to find out what the third book will bring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
CW for violence, murder, descriptions of wounds.
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