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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fascinating take on a retelling of Alice in Wonderland and not one I've ever seen explored before. Quite a few graphic scenes (the Old City is NOT a safe place for girls or women) that may be upsetting to some. As a horror fan, I thought it was horrifying but had to keep reading. The ending felt pretty rushed to me but it wrapped things up nicely (while also setting up another book) overall, just felt a little too fast (and too... convenient?) at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, Cannibalism
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
hopeful
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but much darker with different outcomes.
I'm a big fan of Alice in wonderland especially the twisted version. The ending was really good honestly however at times you would lose track of what was happening in the story as soo much would be happening in one section but other than that it would great.
This is the first book on a trilogy , although to be fair can be read indepdently. This is what Christina Henry is good at. Grabbing a fairytale and spining it with her own vision. On this tale, we've got a society where we have a city , half all is good and half is just mayhem. In the beginning we are presented on both protagonists and it was interesting since they were in asylum. We were also introduced with the villain and the "bad" city. If I can compare with previous novel by her this one was written before all the pandering and virtual signalling and although the main character is a female it doesn't behave like noawadays female protagonists behave (like a men but female). Here is a bit of character developement, some action scenes that were really interesting and thes story that plough forward, giving smal hints of a broader world I guess we will investigate more in later books. I will read the next I guess but I am not eagerly waiting for that time. I may read something outside of this series by her.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Entertaining enough, but... why did all the moments played up for horror involve violence against women? Women getting raped, women getting beaten, women being tortured and abused. It was just....gross. Did every woman in this story really have to be a victim? Is there really no other way to horrify readers than by putting women in positions of powerlessness?
The more I think about it, the more I hate it, so I'm lowering my rating to 2 stars.
The more I think about it, the more I hate it, so I'm lowering my rating to 2 stars.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Alice is supposed to be a dark retelling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but the execution reads as a gore filled fantasy fan fiction with names from the classic slapped onto some of the characters.
The book was lacking the suspence of a good horror, and went well beyond overkill with the violence and gore to the point that I ended up desensitised to it before getting to what should have been the most disturbing details later on in the story. simultaneous rape and cannibalism for example
I found the frequent use of women being raped and trafficked to depict The Old City as a terrible place was shallow and at multiple points I found myself forgetting that this book was written by a woman.
And don't even get me started on the age gap between Alice and Hatcher.
Sometimes less is more.
The book was lacking the suspence of a good horror, and went well beyond overkill with the violence and gore to the point that I ended up desensitised to it before getting to what should have been the most disturbing details later on in the story.
I found the frequent use of women being raped and trafficked to depict The Old City as a terrible place was shallow and at multiple points I found myself forgetting that this book was written by a woman.
And don't even get me started on the age gap between Alice and Hatcher.
Sometimes less is more.