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lisamshardlow's review
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley, HJ Ramsay and Red Rogue Press for letting me read this book.
I really love Alice in Wonderland so of course this book appealed to me from just seeing the cover. It's just as crazy as the original Alice stories by Lewis Carrol, so I do think that anyone who is a fan would love this as much as the originals.
Set not long after Alice returns from Wonderland the first time, she has been put into a mental asylum by her parents, who think she might be quite mad for even talking about a place called Wonderland, which couldn't possibly exist. Just as Alice is losing all hope of ever leaving the asylum, the White Rabbit appears to take her back to Wonderland, this time in the hopes of Alice being able to kill the Queen of Hearts, who seems to have gone more mad than she originally was!
It's got a bit of everything for readers to enjoy. Comedy, romance, adventure, jousting, and of course madness! I enjoyed this a lot.
I really love Alice in Wonderland so of course this book appealed to me from just seeing the cover. It's just as crazy as the original Alice stories by Lewis Carrol, so I do think that anyone who is a fan would love this as much as the originals.
Set not long after Alice returns from Wonderland the first time, she has been put into a mental asylum by her parents, who think she might be quite mad for even talking about a place called Wonderland, which couldn't possibly exist. Just as Alice is losing all hope of ever leaving the asylum, the White Rabbit appears to take her back to Wonderland, this time in the hopes of Alice being able to kill the Queen of Hearts, who seems to have gone more mad than she originally was!
It's got a bit of everything for readers to enjoy. Comedy, romance, adventure, jousting, and of course madness! I enjoyed this a lot.
sunshine169's review
4.0
H.J Ramsay takes us back to Alice in Wonderland with this creative retelling of the tale. This was my first experience reading a Alice in Wonderland retelling. This book took a dark spin on the story as Alice, now 15, finds herself admitted to an asylum. Her parents think she has gone mad with her belief in Wonderland. Right before the doctors take a drastic measure and have her brain operated on, the White Rabbit rescues Alice and brings her back to Wonderland. Alice is being asked to kill the Queen!
The story is told in alternating perspectives of both the Queen and Alice.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but that ending has me feeling a bit off.
Thank you to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The story is told in alternating perspectives of both the Queen and Alice.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but that ending has me feeling a bit off.
Thank you to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
alongreader's review
2.0
Alice's insistence on talking about Wonderland leaves her committed to an asylum in this sequel to the classic story. The White Rabbit helps her escape, in exchange for her help toppling the despotic Queen of Hearts. Unsure where to turn or who to trust, Alice must learn to navigate Wonderland ...or lose her head trying...
This is a really difficult review to write. The book starts very slowly; there's a lot of the Queen being crazy, which, in my opinion, didn't add much to the story and slowed it down a lot. Around the middle, when a new character appears, things sped up and I was really invested in what was going on, I didn't want to stop reading. And then the ending completely blew it all in the worst possible way. It felt like a betrayal of everything Alice had gone through up to that point.
I hope this does well, and I hope people really enjoy it. But I won't be rereading.
“Oh, Dinah.”Alice put her hand on her thumping heart. “You frightened me.”
Alice ran up the stairs, eager to scoop her cat in her arms. Right as she got close, Dinah bounded down the hallway, past the portraits and family pictures, and disappeared behind her bedroom door. It was ajar, even though Alice had closed it. She could have sworn she had.
She inched down the hallway until she was standing before the door, trembling. Dinah mewed on the other side with a high-pitched, impatient air.
Alice slowly reached for the knob and pushed the door open wider. On the other side was her room, safe and familiar, and there was Dinah, right next to her bed, waiting for her. “There you are, Dinah.”
Alice ran inside and picked up her kitty, holding her close. “Oh, Dinah. I missed you so.”
Alice rocked her back and forth, cooing and coddling, but something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t feel Dinah’s soft fur in her fingers or her whiskers along her palm.
She looked down. In her hands were nothing but dirty rags.
“Dinah?” She shook her head. “Dinah? Where are you?”
Panic pushed up her throat. Her head jerked from left to right, taking in the lumpy mattress with the threadbare blanket, the water-slicked walls, the barred window…She wasn’t home. Not even close.
Alice scrambled to the door, but Nurse Hazel blocked her way and slammed it shut.
This is a really difficult review to write. The book starts very slowly; there's a lot of the Queen being crazy, which, in my opinion, didn't add much to the story and slowed it down a lot. Around the middle, when a new character appears, things sped up and I was really invested in what was going on, I didn't want to stop reading. And then the ending completely blew it all in the worst possible way. It felt like a betrayal of everything Alice had gone through up to that point.
Spoiler
I felt that the ghost heads, while clever, were pointless, as they didn't end up affecting anything. And if, as the ending implies, everything is happening in Alice's head and she really is crazy, why does she never know what's going on? Why all the parts in the Queen's POV, when Alice can't have known that?I hope this does well, and I hope people really enjoy it. But I won't be rereading.
“Oh, Dinah.”Alice put her hand on her thumping heart. “You frightened me.”
Alice ran up the stairs, eager to scoop her cat in her arms. Right as she got close, Dinah bounded down the hallway, past the portraits and family pictures, and disappeared behind her bedroom door. It was ajar, even though Alice had closed it. She could have sworn she had.
She inched down the hallway until she was standing before the door, trembling. Dinah mewed on the other side with a high-pitched, impatient air.
Alice slowly reached for the knob and pushed the door open wider. On the other side was her room, safe and familiar, and there was Dinah, right next to her bed, waiting for her. “There you are, Dinah.”
Alice ran inside and picked up her kitty, holding her close. “Oh, Dinah. I missed you so.”
Alice rocked her back and forth, cooing and coddling, but something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t feel Dinah’s soft fur in her fingers or her whiskers along her palm.
She looked down. In her hands were nothing but dirty rags.
“Dinah?” She shook her head. “Dinah? Where are you?”
Panic pushed up her throat. Her head jerked from left to right, taking in the lumpy mattress with the threadbare blanket, the water-slicked walls, the barred window…She wasn’t home. Not even close.
Alice scrambled to the door, but Nurse Hazel blocked her way and slammed it shut.
adillon12480's review
5.0
Imagine a world where rabbits speak, cats can be invisible, and knights joust with licorice sticks and swordfish, Where a cake can make you shrink or a drink can make you grow. We have all heard of Wonderland, and Alice's adventures there, but "Ever Alice" gives us a new spin on Alice and her time spent in the magical land.
I very much enjoyed this book. I always felt that I hadn't gotten a good grasp on the character of the Queen of Hearts. In the original tales by Lewis Carroll we learn that she enjoys beheading people and cheats at croquet. I never felt that her personality and background were fully developed in my mind. Ramsay delves much deeper into the history and mindset of Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts. We get a glimpse of what has created her persona as a monstrous head-collector.
The author also shows us into the mind of Alice, and what could be causing her to "travel" to Wonderland. Alice's character is older now, and as a teenager, is dealing with first love, betrayal, and friendship. She is no longer the little girl portrayed in the original tales. We are also shown the terrible truth of the mental health field in the late 1800s, a major era in the development of the asylum.
Overall, I give this book 5 stars, and would recommend it to readers who enjoyed the original Alice stories, and those who are interested in the YA genre.
I very much enjoyed this book. I always felt that I hadn't gotten a good grasp on the character of the Queen of Hearts. In the original tales by Lewis Carroll we learn that she enjoys beheading people and cheats at croquet. I never felt that her personality and background were fully developed in my mind. Ramsay delves much deeper into the history and mindset of Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts. We get a glimpse of what has created her persona as a monstrous head-collector.
The author also shows us into the mind of Alice, and what could be causing her to "travel" to Wonderland. Alice's character is older now, and as a teenager, is dealing with first love, betrayal, and friendship. She is no longer the little girl portrayed in the original tales. We are also shown the terrible truth of the mental health field in the late 1800s, a major era in the development of the asylum.
Overall, I give this book 5 stars, and would recommend it to readers who enjoyed the original Alice stories, and those who are interested in the YA genre.
hitbooksnotgirlz's review
3.0
I quite liked it at first. The queen was kind of hilarious and Wonderland was peculiar as ever. There was a good balance of classic characters and new characters, too. There were many entertaining aspects to the story, but it began to lose me more and more until I was almost completely uninterested.
rodeorocks13's review
3.0
When I first saw Ever Alice and read the description I was really excited to check it out. I love Alice in Wonderland and thought a continuation from someone else's view would be interesting. I was right but only at first. The writing itself is very Lewis Carroll and the story starts out perfectly for an Alice in Wonderland theme. However, halfway through I found the story start to drag and filler was added. This novel could have easily been closer to 250 pages while keeping all the good parts of the story.
While there were parts I didn't like, there are others I did. I loved how the author was able to bring the world to life in their own way and kept with the strange theme. The author added characters which helped make this a unique story. I also liked how there were back stories to original characters.
Over all I'm mixed with this novel. I loved parts and others I could have done without. It took me longer to finish the story because I felt like I was being pulled out when it came to the slower parts. If you want a new Alice in Wonderland story and can focus through slower parts of a story then I recommend giving Ever Alice a try.
I received an advanced copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
While there were parts I didn't like, there are others I did. I loved how the author was able to bring the world to life in their own way and kept with the strange theme. The author added characters which helped make this a unique story. I also liked how there were back stories to original characters.
Over all I'm mixed with this novel. I loved parts and others I could have done without. It took me longer to finish the story because I felt like I was being pulled out when it came to the slower parts. If you want a new Alice in Wonderland story and can focus through slower parts of a story then I recommend giving Ever Alice a try.
I received an advanced copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
yourbookishgamermom's review
2.0
Let me start this review saying that I REALLY wanted to like this book. I really did. But I just found so many things just missed the mark for me.
It was truly a shame because the premise was so intriguing to me. It started off with a definite struggle to get into the book. Especially when it came to Rosamund's chapters in which we were seeing things from her POV. Following Alice's side of the story kept me engaged, hence my completing this book instead of completely writing it off as the whole aspect of the mental hospital? Super cool and creepy...so gimme that. But I just keep going back to Rosamund's side of the story. It kind of ruined the whole reading experience for me simply because I found myself skipping or skimming her portions of the story due to lack of connection with the character.
It was truly a shame because the premise was so intriguing to me. It started off with a definite struggle to get into the book. Especially when it came to Rosamund's chapters in which we were seeing things from her POV. Following Alice's side of the story kept me engaged, hence my completing this book instead of completely writing it off as the whole aspect of the mental hospital? Super cool and creepy...so gimme that. But I just keep going back to Rosamund's side of the story. It kind of ruined the whole reading experience for me simply because I found myself skipping or skimming her portions of the story due to lack of connection with the character.
hundredacreofbooks1990's review
5.0
Ever wonder what happened once Alice Liddell who woke up beside the riverbank after her trip down the rabbit hole? In 1888, in Oxford London, we once again met Alice, not daydreaming her school day away, but in Warneford Asylum. Turns out taking a trip to Wonderland isn't on everyone's bucket list.
Read the full review here
https://hundredacreofbooks.com/review-blog/ever-alice
With thanks to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for this ARC
Read the full review here
https://hundredacreofbooks.com/review-blog/ever-alice
With thanks to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for this ARC
sallie82's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Red Rogue Press for a digital copy of this book for my honest review.
This story is about Alice. Yes, that Alice. The one who went down the rabbit hole. This is the story of Alice after Wonderland. It starts out with Alice who is in an asylum for her delusions. She has spent most of her time here and no one believes her.
Meanwhile in Wonderland the Red Queen is slowly going mad as well. She is still mad and continues beheading people left and right! Don't forget the butter in the tea. Rosemund is even more paranoid seeing conspiracies when there might be one there, or might not be.
We do come back to characters we are familiar with: The White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Doormouse (and so many more) and new ones that are introduced as well.
H.J. Ramsay did a wonderful job creating a world all her own while including the original world that Carrol originally created. The writing style was the same but her own as well.
I enjoyed the book and would love to read more by Ms. Ramsay!!!
This story is about Alice. Yes, that Alice. The one who went down the rabbit hole. This is the story of Alice after Wonderland. It starts out with Alice who is in an asylum for her delusions. She has spent most of her time here and no one believes her.
Meanwhile in Wonderland the Red Queen is slowly going mad as well. She is still mad and continues beheading people left and right! Don't forget the butter in the tea. Rosemund is even more paranoid seeing conspiracies when there might be one there, or might not be.
We do come back to characters we are familiar with: The White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Doormouse (and so many more) and new ones that are introduced as well.
H.J. Ramsay did a wonderful job creating a world all her own while including the original world that Carrol originally created. The writing style was the same but her own as well.
I enjoyed the book and would love to read more by Ms. Ramsay!!!
thindbooks's review
4.0
This book was really good. This book is a retelling of Alice in the Wonderland. I haven’t read many retelling of Alice but this book was super amazing. There were 2 point of views which were Alice and the Queen of Hearts. It was nice knowing what the Queen of Hearts was thinking and knowing who she actually is. The characters were well written and I wasn’t annoyed with any of them except the servant for the Queen of Hearts. They were well developed and grew throughout the story. I loved all of the characters who helped Alice and it kind of gave me Red Queen and Throne of Glass vibes at some point. For example like being helped by people you didn’t expect would help you. The plot was well structured and the story was well written. The way the book was written, I could imagine it in my mind. There were some funny scenes and some sad ones. I didn’t have any problems with the book and I recommend it!