Scan barcode
A review by isi__1
Into the Wonder Dark by Lilian T. James
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Quick disclaimer: I do realise that my issues with this book are based on personal preferences / dislikes and are not inherently indicative of someone else‘s reading experience. I simply like to voice my opinion, so that people who see themselves in this review, because they have similar taste, can better judge if they want to read the book or not. On the other hand, if anyone tends to like the aspects I mentioned as dislikes, they could very well be more inclined to pick this book up.
I was in the mood for a bit of a romance-heavier fantasy when I stumbled upon character art of this book on Instagram. After reading the synopsis, I was quite intrigued: An Alice in Wonderland retelling, where everyone tries to kill Alice. It sounded quite dark.
Additionally, the slow-burn romance was strongly advertised. If there‘s one romance trope I absolutely despise, it‘s insta-love / fated love. *sigh* Honestly, I‘m disappointed but not surprised. How many times have I picked up a fantasy romance book, based on the supposed slow-burn, just to find out that the author (or other readers) have a very different definition of what “slow-burn“ means? For the record, my understanding is that the characters can‘t just lie to each other, saying that they have no interest in the other person, but whenever we‘re reading from either of their p.o.v.s, they constantly think about how much they want to bang. If two characters are very clearly in love with each other from a relatively early point on, but they just pretend not to be, that‘s not slow-burn, imo. I don‘t understand why everyone always seems to disagree with this definition.
Furthermore, I dislike fated love, because it‘s almost always connected with insta-love and, additionally, it‘s usually used as an excuse to not give the romantic pairing any real chemistry.
The male love interest first meets the female mc when she‘s 8, while he has the appearance of someone in their early to mid thirties, but has lived a few decades longer than that, because that‘s when he stopped aging.
At first, he‘s not lusting after her, but as soon as she hits late adolescence / early adulthood, he‘s suddenly infatuated. There‘s just something a little bit weird about someone seeing a child slowly grow up like this, but as soon as they hit their twenties, they suddenly become an object of lust. Sure, they‘re both consenting adults - after the introductory part of the book -, but I can‘t help but be a little put off by this.
The prose was alright. Far from being the best I‘ve ever read, but also not the worst.
Another pet-peeve of mine that irked me quite a bit in this book is unnecessary swearing. I like to use language befitting the situation in a way that underlines my emotions the most effectively. As a general concept I have no issue with extreme swearing if the situation demands it, obviously. I use swear words to underline extreme dislike or frustration and I feel like that‘s the case with most adults. So, when an adult uses the word “fuck / fucking“ in every other sentence (talking about the male mc; the female mc doesn‘t do that), I suddenly can‘t help but feel like I‘m reading about a pubescent teenager, because this is what a lot of 12 to 15 year olds do (Myself included, at the time. I‘m definitely not exempt from this). They swear, just for the sake of it. They think it makes themselves look “cooler“ or “tougher“. Instead, it makes them look more immature, in my opinion. However, that‘s completely fine. They ARE immature, for the most part. When someone physically in their thirties (mentally, far older) does this, it makes them sound like such a young teenager. With that picture in mind, reading sex scenes makes me extremely uncomfortable.
Overall, the book didn‘t manage to pull me in. I wasn‘t really interested in the characters‘ well-being, because I didn‘t like them very much (mostly because I did get a little annoyed at some of their actions and their lack of communication when it mattered most), thus being quite uninterested in most of the plot as well. If you're more of a plot-driven reader, this might not be as much of an issue, though.
I was in the mood for a bit of a romance-heavier fantasy when I stumbled upon character art of this book on Instagram. After reading the synopsis, I was quite intrigued: An Alice in Wonderland retelling, where everyone tries to kill Alice. It sounded quite dark.
Additionally, the slow-burn romance was strongly advertised. If there‘s one romance trope I absolutely despise, it‘s insta-love / fated love. *sigh* Honestly, I‘m disappointed but not surprised. How many times have I picked up a fantasy romance book, based on the supposed slow-burn, just to find out that the author (or other readers) have a very different definition of what “slow-burn“ means? For the record, my understanding is that the characters can‘t just lie to each other, saying that they have no interest in the other person, but whenever we‘re reading from either of their p.o.v.s, they constantly think about how much they want to bang. If two characters are very clearly in love with each other from a relatively early point on, but they just pretend not to be, that‘s not slow-burn, imo. I don‘t understand why everyone always seems to disagree with this definition.
Furthermore, I dislike fated love, because it‘s almost always connected with insta-love and, additionally, it‘s usually used as an excuse to not give the romantic pairing any real chemistry.
The male love interest first meets the female mc when she‘s 8, while he has the appearance of someone in their early to mid thirties, but has lived a few decades longer than that, because that‘s when he stopped aging.
At first, he‘s not lusting after her, but as soon as she hits late adolescence / early adulthood, he‘s suddenly infatuated. There‘s just something a little bit weird about someone seeing a child slowly grow up like this, but as soon as they hit their twenties, they suddenly become an object of lust. Sure, they‘re both consenting adults - after the introductory part of the book -, but I can‘t help but be a little put off by this.
The prose was alright. Far from being the best I‘ve ever read, but also not the worst.
Another pet-peeve of mine that irked me quite a bit in this book is unnecessary swearing. I like to use language befitting the situation in a way that underlines my emotions the most effectively. As a general concept I have no issue with extreme swearing if the situation demands it, obviously. I use swear words to underline extreme dislike or frustration and I feel like that‘s the case with most adults. So, when an adult uses the word “fuck / fucking“ in every other sentence (talking about the male mc; the female mc doesn‘t do that), I suddenly can‘t help but feel like I‘m reading about a pubescent teenager, because this is what a lot of 12 to 15 year olds do (Myself included, at the time. I‘m definitely not exempt from this). They swear, just for the sake of it. They think it makes themselves look “cooler“ or “tougher“. Instead, it makes them look more immature, in my opinion. However, that‘s completely fine. They ARE immature, for the most part. When someone physically in their thirties (mentally, far older) does this, it makes them sound like such a young teenager. With that picture in mind, reading sex scenes makes me extremely uncomfortable.
Overall, the book didn‘t manage to pull me in. I wasn‘t really interested in the characters‘ well-being, because I didn‘t like them very much (mostly because I did get a little annoyed at some of their actions and their lack of communication when it mattered most), thus being quite uninterested in most of the plot as well. If you're more of a plot-driven reader, this might not be as much of an issue, though.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment