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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
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:
Complicated
I would have had more fun with this book if I didn’t want to punch the FMC for over 75% of the book. Cath spends the entire story complaining about not wanting to marry the king, wanting to open a bakery, and that’s her whole personality. The romance with Jest felt flat and forced with no chemistry.
The pacing dragged forever, and by the time anything actually happened, I either stopped caring or never actually started. For a villain origin story set in Wonderland, it somehow lacked both madness and depth. The ending tried to be tragic, but it felt rushed compared to the rest of the book being painfully slow.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't know. This is one of those books that I will have to keep considering for awhile because I can not decided if I liked it or not. Which is an odd thing to say but hey sometimes you are left confused lol
I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings and back stories so this was right up my alley in theme. I thought Wonderland was a good mix of strangeness and Regency, and, as usual, I enjoyed the way Meyer writes. She is skilled at weaving her words into a great story.
It had much more straight up direct allusions and connections to Alice in Wonderland than The Lunar Chronicles to the fairy tale inspirations that are woven into that series. It totally works for this story through, and it made my geeky English major self happy in that regard.
The love story was the usual, and the plot pretty expected, but not in a terrible way. There is only one way this could end of course, considering what we know of the Queen of Hearts from Lewis Carroll. And Catherine was a perfectly normal girl who grows up to be a murderous "off with their heads!!" Queen so you know something truly awful and heartbreaking had to bring her to that state because you don't go from "la la la pies!!!" To "kill everyone!!!" Without some major trauma.
I imagine the reason I am wrestling with my feeling on this one is two part. 1. The first half felt like a different book than the end, it was too fluffy the start to later become so ruthless. I felt like after Mock Turtle I had totally changed the channel...actually that disturbed me. Also you know, when characters I like are offed I find it hard to jump for joy and gush over a book lol. Sorry Cath, you may have been the main character but your whole "how do I distract the king from remembering he wants to ask me to marry him" was not as compelling to me when compared to ...well anything else in the book really. I know it is a Regency- themed plot in that regard, so I am not knocking that part of the plot at all, or Meyer's focus on it....I just was more intrigued by the motley crew from Chess.
I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings and back stories so this was right up my alley in theme. I thought Wonderland was a good mix of strangeness and Regency, and, as usual, I enjoyed the way Meyer writes. She is skilled at weaving her words into a great story.
It had much more straight up direct allusions and connections to Alice in Wonderland than The Lunar Chronicles to the fairy tale inspirations that are woven into that series. It totally works for this story through, and it made my geeky English major self happy in that regard.
The love story was the usual, and the plot pretty expected, but not in a terrible way. There is only one way this could end of course, considering what we know of the Queen of Hearts from Lewis Carroll. And Catherine was a perfectly normal girl who grows up to be a murderous "off with their heads!!" Queen so you know something truly awful and heartbreaking had to bring her to that state because you don't go from "la la la pies!!!" To "kill everyone!!!" Without some major trauma.
I imagine the reason I am wrestling with my feeling on this one is two part. 1. The first half felt like a different book than the end, it was too fluffy the start to later become so ruthless. I felt like after Mock Turtle I had totally changed the channel...actually that disturbed me. Also you know, when characters I like are offed I find it hard to jump for joy and gush over a book lol. Sorry Cath, you may have been the main character but your whole "how do I distract the king from remembering he wants to ask me to marry him" was not as compelling to me when compared to ...well anything else in the book really. I know it is a Regency- themed plot in that regard, so I am not knocking that part of the plot at all, or Meyer's focus on it....I just was more intrigued by the motley crew from Chess.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think if you love Alice in wonderland, it’s a great read. I think I missed out on a lot as someone who hasn’t watched the Disney film in years or read the book at all. It picked up halfway through and I thought some of it was really clever as the origin story to the queen of hearts.
“over everything. i choose you”
“off with his head”
I LOVE THIS BOOK. i’ve always loved the story of alice in wonderland and this book blew me away. it was heartbreaking and gives a whole new perspective on the queen of hearts and how she came to be. i absolutely loved jest and how ruthless catherine became after his death. i loved the dark and numb ending. it different and sad, but that’s what makes it so incredible.
“off with his head”
I LOVE THIS BOOK. i’ve always loved the story of alice in wonderland and this book blew me away. it was heartbreaking and gives a whole new perspective on the queen of hearts and how she came to be. i absolutely loved jest and how ruthless catherine became after his death. i loved the dark and numb ending. it different and sad, but that’s what makes it so incredible.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Only read if you’re ready for an unhappy ending.
BRO SHUT UP MY HEART PHYSICALLY ACHES FOR CATH JEST AND HATTA LIKE WDYM THEY DIDNT GET THEIR HAPPY ENDING