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sarahsbooklife's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was kinda disappointed with this book. I really love Alice in Wonderland retellings and books that use it as a part of history for the story, but this one just didn't work for me.
At first, I enjoyed this story. Alyssa was an okay main character and I found her more interesting when they were in Wonderland and she kinda took charge of what was happening. But at times she felt like a "pick me girl" which was pretty annoying and I could really feel the 2000s/10s "I'm not like other girls" energy in this story. Her arc did kind of leave some of that behind as the story progressed, and I probably could have even enjoyed this story more because of that. But the thing that annoyed me the most was Jeb.
And the fact this story was drowning in YA tropes.
But first let's talk about Jeb.
Pretty much everything about Jeb annoyed me. I was really hoping that he wouldn't be the main love interest and that it would be Morpheus instead, but sadly Jeb was. I was also really looking forward to him being left behind in the real world when Alyssa went to Wonderland but alas he came along for the ride. And I think it would have been better if he had stayed because he was constantly getting in the way and just being all around unbearable.
He was, I felt, belittling at times. Alyssa's obsession with him put me off him more, especially when they were flirting when he has a girlfriend. (I'm not going to keep going because I could end up ranting forever.) I like when friends-to-lovers is done right and in this book it is far from it. It's honestly a pretty bad attempt at it. And the felt like they were barely even friends 90% of the time.
There were so many things wrong with this book. Like how it talks about mental health and how the MC's mother is treated in a mental health hospital. Which was pretty horrid. The author definitely shoved a lot of misinformation in here, like having the Alyssa's mum in a straight jacket and placed in a padded cell. Something that hasn't been done since the mid-20th century except for in films and TV.
I did like that the author gave a lot of the beings in Wonderland a creepier description, making them seem a little more unsettling. But I felt like she could have taken it a step further. Made it really creepy and maybe a bit more horrifying.
Lastly Morpheus, Alyssa's childhood friend and second love interest, was probably the only reason I finished with this book. He was the only character that I thought was 100% interesting and I think he would've better as the main love interest instead of Jeb.
Honestly, I don't think that this book was worth the hours I spent reading it and I wish I could get them back and I won't be wasting anymore time on this series.
At first, I enjoyed this story. Alyssa was an okay main character and I found her more interesting when they were in Wonderland and she kinda took charge of what was happening. But at times she felt like a "pick me girl" which was pretty annoying and I could really feel the 2000s/10s "I'm not like other girls" energy in this story. Her arc did kind of leave some of that behind as the story progressed, and I probably could have even enjoyed this story more because of that. But the thing that annoyed me the most was Jeb.
And the fact this story was drowning in YA tropes.
But first let's talk about Jeb.
Pretty much everything about Jeb annoyed me. I was really hoping that he
He was, I felt, belittling at times. Alyssa's obsession with him put me off him more, especially when they were flirting when he has a girlfriend. (I'm not going to keep going because I could end up ranting forever.)
There were so many things wrong with this book. Like how it talks about mental health and how the MC's mother is treated in a mental health hospital. Which was pretty horrid. The author definitely shoved a lot of misinformation in here, like having the Alyssa's mum in a straight jacket and placed in a padded cell. Something that hasn't been done since the mid-20th century except for in films and TV.
I did like that the author gave a lot of the beings in Wonderland a creepier description, making them seem a little more unsettling. But I felt like she could have taken it a step further. Made it really creepy and maybe a bit more horrifying.
Lastly Morpheus, Alyssa's childhood friend and second love interest, was probably the only reason I finished with this book. He was the only character that I thought was 100% interesting and I think he would've better as the main love interest instead of Jeb.
Honestly, I don't think that this book was worth the hours I spent reading it and I wish I could get them back and I won't be wasting anymore time on this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Mental illness
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal cruelty
mallorypen's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Listen. This could have been a really fun read. The plot was surprisingly tight, and the twists and intrigue were well done. There was such imagination with some of the side characters and story arcs that felt fresh, even within the greater, familiar context of the Alice stories. Those elements kept me locked in the world building and fully engaged.
But oh my God … overall, this read like a 2007 Tumblr fanfic with a self-insert Mary Sue main character, who of course had two smokin’ hot guys (with mysterious and tortured personalities) fighting over her for the entire novel. The flat characterizations, the lurid purple descriptions, the wild overuse of similes … it was cringe at best and painful at worst.
Even with all of that, there was something about the story that kept me going. This wasn’t a DNF moment … but it certainly only got its two stars by the barest margin. And at least one of the stars came from the audiobook narrator, who did a phenomenal job with what she was given.
But oh my God … overall, this read like a 2007 Tumblr fanfic with a self-insert Mary Sue main character, who of course had two smokin’ hot guys (with mysterious and tortured personalities) fighting over her for the entire novel. The flat characterizations, the lurid purple descriptions, the wild overuse of similes … it was cringe at best and painful at worst.
Even with all of that, there was something about the story that kept me going. This wasn’t a DNF moment … but it certainly only got its two stars by the barest margin. And at least one of the stars came from the audiobook narrator, who did a phenomenal job with what she was given.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
booksarefriends_notfood's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Grief, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
ana24gs's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
2.0
Ok, I honestly don't know what I just read. At first, I thought it was just an easy book to read, and the first third of the book was easy to read. A silly book for young people with corny dialogue and silly fights, but with a cute romance. But then it became the worst of the genre.
First, the characters. Alyssa is fine, at the beginning I was on her side wanting her to achieve everything she set her mind to. Then we got to the second third of the book and I don't understand why the author decided that she was not going to make Alyssa smart, I don't understand the level of unconsciousness that girl has. First, every time it seemed that she had managed to solve something, one, everyone already knew the answer and they are waiting for Alyssa to figure it out, or two, someone else solves it just as easily as she does. When she discovered the biggest revelation in the book, she also did not discover it on her own. And the options of men she has are depressing. Jeb is a fool and if it weren't for him protecting her in Wonderland, I would say that he is one of the worst friends in existence. I don't understand his logic in dating the girl who bullies his best friend. And then there is Morpheus, abusive, manipulative, weird as hell, and just wtf with this man. The worst thing is that they want me to believe that he and Alyssa have a past when they barely show it to us and he always behaves in the ugliest way possible. Honestly, I wasn't liking Jeb and without meeting Morpheus I preferred him with Alyssa until I met Morpheus and said, "Jeb is looking really good now."
My bad experience with the characters was so awful that I couldn't focus on the main plot, it was confusing for me, I can say that I was so disconnected that when there was a highly relevant plot twist I could only react with a "lol, I didn't saw that coming".
The relationship between Alyssa and Jeb seemed very co-dependent to me, and I couldn't enjoy it because Jeb cheats on his girlfriend emotionally the entire book. And I honestly do not understand why he started dating her in the first place, his logic to do it made no sense. And the relationship Alyssa had with Morpheus is even worse, this man is much older than her, the worst thing is that he says "I have no age", EMMMM, is it a way of saying that you are definitely much older than her? And you have lived a lifetime harassing a little girl? I do not understand why it is so difficult for the authors to make a relationship where there is not such a worrying age difference.
I add that this book does not touch on topics as I would like, I do not know whether or not it is disrespectful towards people suffering from schizophrenia so I will not comment on that. But if I will comment on how Alyssa's virginity is unnecessarily repeated as if it were something vital to her character, virgin or non-virgin, no one should bother you, and you should not feel superior for being or not being one. Each one lives their sexuality as they please.
I liked the end of the book more than I expected, but I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone. Nor did I comment on the issue of how Wonderland was represented because I do not know about that.
First, the characters. Alyssa is fine, at the beginning I was on her side wanting her to achieve everything she set her mind to. Then we got to the second third of the book and I don't understand why the author decided that she was not going to make Alyssa smart, I don't understand the level of unconsciousness that girl has. First, every time it seemed that she had managed to solve something, one, everyone already knew the answer and they are waiting for Alyssa to figure it out, or two, someone else solves it just as easily as she does. When she discovered the biggest revelation in the book, she also did not discover it on her own. And the options of men she has are depressing. Jeb is a fool and if it weren't for him protecting her in Wonderland, I would say that he is one of the worst friends in existence. I don't understand his logic in dating the girl who bullies his best friend. And then there is Morpheus, abusive, manipulative, weird as hell, and just wtf with this man. The worst thing is that they want me to believe that he and Alyssa have a past when they barely show it to us and he always behaves in the ugliest way possible. Honestly, I wasn't liking Jeb and without meeting Morpheus I preferred him with Alyssa until I met Morpheus and said, "Jeb is looking really good now."
My bad experience with the characters was so awful that I couldn't focus on the main plot, it was confusing for me, I can say that I was so disconnected that when there was a highly relevant plot twist I could only react with a "lol, I didn't saw that coming".
The relationship between Alyssa and Jeb seemed very co-dependent to me, and I couldn't enjoy it because Jeb cheats on his girlfriend emotionally the entire book. And I honestly do not understand why he started dating her in the first place, his logic to do it made no sense. And the relationship Alyssa had with Morpheus is even worse, this man is much older than her, the worst thing is that he says "I have no age", EMMMM, is it a way of saying that you are definitely much older than her? And you have lived a lifetime harassing a little girl? I do not understand why it is so difficult for the authors to make a relationship where there is not such a worrying age difference.
I add that this book does not touch on topics as I would like, I do not know whether or not it is disrespectful towards people suffering from schizophrenia so I will not comment on that. But if I will comment on how Alyssa's virginity is unnecessarily repeated as if it were something vital to her character, virgin or non-virgin, no one should bother you, and you should not feel superior for being or not being one. Each one lives their sexuality as they please.
I liked the end of the book more than I expected, but I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone. Nor did I comment on the issue of how Wonderland was represented because I do not know about that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Death
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