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A review by booksthatburn
A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney
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.