Book Review: War of the Cards (Queen of Hearts Saga #3)

Release Date: November 7, 2017
Author: Colleen Oakes
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 352 pages
Source: Purchased Book

The final book in the twisted YA trilogy re-imagining of the origin story of the Queen of Hearts.

Dinah has lost everyone she ever loved. Her brother was brutally murdered. The wicked man she believed was her father betrayed her. Her loyal subjects have been devastated by war. And the boy she gave her heart to broke it completely.

Now a dark queen has risen out of the ashes of her former life. Fury is blooming inside Dinah, poisoning her soul and twisting her mind. All she has left is Wonderland and her crown, and her obsession to fight for both. But the war rages on, and Dinah could inherit a bloodstained throne. Can a leader filled with love and rage ever be the ruler her kingdom needs? Or will her all-consuming wrath bring Wonderland to its knees?

This is not a story of happily ever after.

This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Dinah feels as though she's lost everything in her life, her mother and brother are dead, her kingdom was viciously taken from her, and now the boy she loves doesn't love her back. The fury growing within her is more volatile than ever as she heads off to go reclaim her crown. I really liked seeing more of Dinah's dark side in this installment, while there's still a bit of a moral compass there, she's closer than ever to being a villain and I soaked up every minute of it. I really enjoyed the complexity of Dinah's character and how the choices she makes in this story affect the rest of her journey. Even though she's destined to become the cruel and villainous Queen of Hearts there are things about Dinah's future and about where she ends up by the end of this story that really caught me off guard and surprised me.

Romance: So, I have to say that I really loved how the author handled this romance from the very beginning. Even though Dinah's feelings for Wardley feel very presumptive and obsessive since the very beginning, it's obvious she does truly care for him, and I love that the author showed that even though he wants to he can never feel that way about her. It felt obvious from the beginning that that rejection would be what set her off and ignited her fury, but the nuances of the how everything comes together and just how far Dinah's feelings go really surprised me. This romance, or lack thereof, isn't over yet and even though Dinah's heart is crushed, that doesn't mean she'll give up.

World Building: So, going into this book I expected it to end with a hardened and furious Dinah taking the throne and ushering in the reign of the Queen of Hearts. I expected that to be where this story ended, but Dinah becoming Queen is just the beginning. A lot of this book deals with Dinah's reign and her struggle to be a good leader that Wonderland needs. Even though I had different ideas for where this story would end going in, I loved how this all unfolded more and more. Okay, so in my review of the previous book in this series I decided not to let the fact that the connections between this series and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are extremely thin affect my rating of the story, however, there's one connection in this story and a sort of justification for why it's so different that really bothered me. I mean, it all just sort of fell apart for me and cemented the feeling that this series would be better without the ties to Lewis Carrol's books.

Predictability: So, as I said before this book turned out drastically different than I initially thought, but in addition to that there are a lot of amazing twists and turns in this book. I mean, there's one that even though I was able to predict it relatively early, when things started happening related to that twist, I was so excited to see the path to its revelation. Everything played out perfectly and even though I knew the main twist, how everything came to be was still a revelation that I was excited hearing. There are a few other great revelations and while the predictability of those varies, I never felt like any of the twists lacked impact or were extremely easy and almost boring to predict.

Ending: So, I'm not quite sure how to talk about the ending of this book. I mean even if I don't give away specifics if I say things ended for Dinah like I expected then it's a spoiler, mostly, and if I say they didn't end up the way I was expecting, well that's also a spoiler. I will say this, the final climax of this story is amazing and much less action-packed than I expected. There is an epilogue to this story that ties up all the loose ends, while (possibly unintentionally) creating some new loose ends. I enjoyed the epilogue a lot and really enjoyed where and how the author chose to end this story.

Rating:

I want to give this book five stars. You have NO IDEA how much I want to give this book five stars because the story is fantastic and it definitely doesn't fit the YA mold in the best possible way, but it REALLY didn't need to be tied to Alice's Adventure in Wonderland in any way. The connection is so thin, mainly being names and titles, and the justification that we get for it in this book, while I like the concept, doesn't work with just HOW different everything is.

Book Review: Queen of Hearts (Queen of Hearts Saga #1)

Release Date: May 3, 2016
Author: Colleen Oakes
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 306 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Only queens with hearts can bleed.

This is not the story of the Wonderland we know. Alice has not fallen down a rabbit hole. There is no all-knowing cat with a taunting smile. This is a Wonderland where beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand, and only prisoners tell the truth.

Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland’s dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her cunning enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown but her head.

Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.

This is not a story of happily ever after.

This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Dinah is the future Queen of Hearts, when she comes of age she will take her place next to her spiteful and hate-filled father until she marries. This is a responsibility Dinah has prepared her entire life for. However, when her father introduces a newly discovered illegitimate daughter to the people of Wonderland, it sends Dinah snowballing into discoveries of the dangerous political games she never fully understood before. Dinah is a very likable character, a girl who hasn't yet been tainted by the world and has a very optimistic outlook on life. However, as the story progresses she is exposed to the seedy underbelly of Wonderland and her eyes are open for the first time to what being Queen one day will mean. We don't see much about the telltale Queen of Hearts from the Alice in Wonderland story, but it's obvious that something is awakening within Dinah, something that could ignite her change from sweet naive girl to the bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts.

Romance: So, there is romance in this book, though honestly not that much of it. Throughout the book Dinah has feelings for her childhood friend, Wardley, but they've never really discussed their relationship or their feelings for one another. Dinah dreams of marrying him and for him to become her king and save her from having to rule alongside her father, but not much comes from it, in this book at least. There are moments when I truly do like them together and think they would make a good couple, but there isn't a lot of romantic tension or really any actual chemistry there.

World Building: So, I've read this book before, when it was published by SparksPress, and on the whole, my feelings for the book remain the same, especially when it comes to the lack of "wonder" in this Wonderland. There are no talking animals, no nonsensical whimsy, it just feels like a standard fantasy world with a few differences from our world, such as pink snowfall. That being said it is a rather interesting fantasy tale, but on the whole, it's hard to find the connective tissue between this story and the Alice in Wonderland tale many of us are familiar with.

Predictability: Like I said, I've read this story before and honestly there isn't all that much difference between the two versions of this story. There's an extended epilogue and possibly a few more small changes, though I'm not entirely sure since it's been a while since I first read this tale. If you want to read my initial thoughts on the predictability of this story click here.

Ending: So, like I said there's an extended epilogue to this tale that honestly doesn't add all that much extra, though we'll see if/how it entwines with the second installment, but on the whole, the ending is really well executed. There are really climactic and tension-filled scenes near the ending that seems like it would have been the perfect place to end the story, but the author takes it a bit farther and ends in a more plateaued place that helps to set up the next leg of this journey and catapult our heroine into the right place to be.

Rating:

So, my rating hasn't changed since I first reviewed the story, though instead of leaving off half a star for the pacing, which didn't bother me at all this time, though I've read the story before, but the fact that it's so hard to connect this to a familiar Wonderland, and if the author had just changed a few names and basic world building things this could have been a completely different world.

Book Review: Heartless

Release Date: November 8, 2016
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Length: 464 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

    

Review:

Protagonist: All Catherine has ever truly wanted is the chance to sell her confections in her own bakery. Her dream has slowly started to become a reality. She has a logical partner with a head for numbers, a local storefront has recently become available, and her skills at baking are among the best in all of Hearts. Her parents, the marquis and marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove, have other plans for her, however. Cath's baking talents have caught the attention of the King of Hearts, who has decided to propose marriage to the dumbstruck Catherine. After keeping him at bay, for the time being, she hopes to find a way to open her bakery, but how long can she push away her fate to become the infamous Queen of Hearts. I really liked Cath, she's fiery, determined, and while she is nowhere near the crazed Queen of Hearts, it's not hard to see the path that may lead to her fury becoming unleashed.

Romance: Before venturing into this book I wasn't expecting there to even be a romance in this book. That being said, I'm actually very happy that there is a romance in this book, not only because of its role in the story but because it's probably one of the best-written romances I've read. At least at first. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I could root for a couple who pronounce their love moments after meeting, it just wouldn't feel realistic to me, but if that was the route the author went here, it wasn't by the way, I could almost believe it. I don't quite know what it was but the near instant connection between Cath and Jest was extremely palpable and their chemistry, in the beginning, was undeniable. I won't say that this was a perfect romance, this is Cath's journey to become the crazed Queen of Hearts after all, but for what this romance is, and what's it's supposed to be, it's darn near as close to perfect as it can get.

World Building: Boy, is this Wonderland wondrous. In the past, I've read Wonderland retellings or adaptations that either take the wonder out of Wonderland (no talking animals, no real sense of magic, etc) or twist it into something dark. It was refreshing to see something embrace the wonderfully strange and curious elements of Wonderland, and bring them to life in such a vivid way. There are appearances from many fan favorite Wonderlandian characters, and I was pleased to see that the author wove in other classic characters from stories and nursery rhymes to the story adding to the depth of this world even more. This world just jumps right off the page. At first, at least in regards to the pacing of the story, I was a bit anxious. This book, in the beginning, feels very much like the first installment in a series, not a standalone tale. If the author wished I could have easily seen her expand this story so much more, and yet, as the story progressed, and it became obvious just how the author was going to transform Cath into her villainous alter ego, everything made sense, and given that this is not a short story by any means, there was plenty of time to explore nearly every question posed by this world.

Predictability: I've been trying to figure out a way to talk about the predictability of a book, wherein the end, we know what's going to happen to our main character. It's inevitable and yet still I found myself hoping that Cath got a different fate. Even when Cath's not so innocent or clear-headed side started to rear its ugly head, I still wished that all her dreams would come true, knowing that, in the end, she'd be saddled with a husband she doesn't love and become the crazed shrew that has become a cultural icon. Now I will say that even though the reader knows going in what the main character's fate will be, it doesn't mean that this book is incredibly predictable, there is a main plot that's sort of separate from, yet entwined with, Cath's fate. That story does have some rather unpredictable turns. There are things that start to piece themselves together and make this book, that might feel, initially, like it would have a lot of loose ends, come together into a twisted and spectacular climax.

Ending: Again, how do I discuss an ending that's fated, an ending that we as readers knew before ever diving into this story? I can talk about the plot that's separate from Cath's fate, how the author, many times before the end, made me almost believe that this story might have a happy ending. I could talk about how the final climax was something I didn't quite expect, and yet made perfect sense with this story. I can talk about how I was blown away by the events that finally lead up to Cath becoming the infamous Queen of Hearts and how even after what I consider to be the final climax, in a traditional sense, of course, there was still more story to tell. Finally, I can talk about how the ending, the final words lined up perfectly with what this story was supposed to be.

Rating:

Okay look, this rating isn't much of a surprise. I knew going into it that I would love it. What I didn't know going into it was that I would love it so much that I would feel compelled to savor it and take many more weeks to read it than I had initially planned. In fact, I had planned to binge read it within a day, and instead, it's been almost three weeks since it came out.

Book Review: Alice Takes Back Wonderland

Release Date: September 28, 2015
Author: David D. Hammons
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Length: 283 pages
Source: Review Copy via NetGalley

After ten years of being told she can't tell the difference between real life and a fairy tale, Alice finally stops believing in Wonderland. So when the White Rabbit shows up at her house, Alice thinks she's going crazy.

Only when the White Rabbit kicks her down the rabbit hole does Alice realize that the magical land she visited as a child is real.

But all is not well in Wonderland.

The Ace of Spades has taken over Wonderland and is systematically dismantling all that makes it wonderful. Plain is replacing wondrous, logical is replacing magical, and reason is destroying madness. Alice decides she must help the Mad Hatter and all those fighting to keep Wonderland wonderful.

But how can she face such danger when she is just a girl?

Alice must journey across the stars to unite an army. She discovers that fairy tales are real in the magical world beyond the rabbit hole. But they are not the fairy tales she knows.

Fairy tales have dangers and adventures of their own, and Alice must overcome the trials of these old stories if she wants to unite the lands against Ace.

With the help of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White and heroes old and new, Alice may have the strength to take back Wonderland.

    

Review:

Protagonist: When our story begins Alice is just leaving Wonderland and reentering the real world. After that she's put on medication and goes to counseling to quell these delusions she has. Over time, even she begins to doubt Wonderland's existence, then, 10 years after she left Wonderland, the White Rabbit appears. She's thrown back into a Wonderland she doesn't know, on that has changed and shifted to become more logical and orderly, and has lost most of it's wonder. Alice now has to assemble an army of fairy tales and take back Wonderland. Alice is a fantastic character, at first she comes off witty, but not someone to always take charge, she does sometimes, but you can't really rely on her to lead. However over the course of the book she becomes more sure in herself, her motivations, and her decisions. She grows into a character born to lead her army into war for Wonderland.

Romance: So there's actually very little romance in this book. In fact it's so subtle that I didn't fully realize it was romance until Alice and her love interest kissed. I was sort of vaguely aware but I had figured that it was more that I wanted them together than actually thinking their interactions were intentionally romantic. The romance is good, the characters fit and have some great chemistry, but I just wish it'd been more obvious that they were flirting or that the romantic tension was more palpable.

World-Building: Surprisingly this adventure takes place mostly outside of Wonderland. Since most of the wonder has been sucked out of Wonderland, Alice needs to find and army to join her in her fight to overthrow the Ace of Spades. Along the way she teams up with familiar fairy tale characters such as Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White, and Robin Hood all of whom are twisted versions of the classic characters we know and love. Even though we didn't get to see that much of Wonderland I did really enjoy getting to see this vast world and learn how it works. As I said before, these aren't the fairy tales you're used to. Some have become more modern while some keep the same feel of the classic story they come from, and some are a bit of both.

Predictability: So, in terms of the identities or sometimes dual identities of certain characters, those surprises were pretty easy to figure out. There was a lot of foreshadowing for them and by the time the big reveal happened I either had it figured out or the author over killed on the foreshadowing so much that any surprise I could have had was gone a long time ago. That's not to say that I was never surprised during this book. On the contrary, there were many times throughout this book that I wasn't all that sure what was going to happen and definitely during the grand finale I was so unsure of how everything, if anything, would turn out well to give our characters their Happily Ever After.

Ending: So I was relieved that this book ends with a spectacular battle. With as much build up as we had I would have been very annoyed if the ending just sort of sorted itself out without much fighting and casualties. While the final battle isn't as epic as I would have wanted it to be, it was pretty darn epic, and the fallout of it was stressful enough. This doesn't have a perfect or idealistic ending, I was surprised with how surely the author stuck to the whole "not everyone gets happy endings" shtick. The book does however tie up most if not all loose ends which was fantastic, and while it was a bit sad to say goodbye to this world even after only one book, it was a bittersweet one.

Rating:

While I really enjoyed this story, I felt the romance could have either been more pronounced or taken out, the foreshadowing could have been less heavy handed at times, and we could have seen a bit more of Wonderland. Other than that however, this book is chock full of magic, fairy tale twists, and all the action and adventure you could want, oh and flying, there's lots of flying!