An interesting re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. I love how it is similar to the movie we all know and love but is darker and focuses on how the Queen of Hearts gains her throne. ( )

Meyer did a fantastic job with this retelling and prequel to Alice in Wonderland. Took a story on a direction I did not expect and made me feel for what made the req queen the way she loved. Love all the Easter eggs to Alice in Wonderland book. ( )

Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: Blood, grief and loss depiction, sword violence, death of a boyfriend, forced marriage, war themes, animal attack
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

A friend in real life recommended this to me which came from a familiar author since I've read many of her books like Cinder, Scarlet, Renegades, Archenemies, Gilded, Cursed so I picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it, I thought it was only okay and not at the same level as Scarlet but I've seen worse. It starts with the main character Catherine whose last name I don't know living in Wonderland (that sounds familiar but it is an Alice in Wonderland retelling after all.) The first few pages start the narrative slowly and that pace continues throughout most of it. Here's where the flaws surface, the worldbuilding isn't one of the strongest as it felt more like a world set in the 19th century with the Wonderland label slapped on than an actual setting. I couldn't fully connect to the characters either and unfortunately it's a common issue among Marissa Meyer's works but there are some that I could connect to (not in this novel though.) What frustrated me the most is that the author decided to name the villain the Jabberwocky but it isn't real. It's a poem. Not a creature. So why is it in here? She could've come up with any another name and instead she chose this one.

Catherine is forced to marry the king so she becomes queen but she secretly starts a relationship with another significant protagonist, Jest (as I said earlier, I couldn't relate to any of them.) In the midst of that Catherine must go to a realm called Chess but I thought chess was a board game and not another kingdom interconnected with Wonderland. The ending was terrifying as Catherine thought she killed the Jabberwocky but instead she killed Jest due to an illusion from a person added in the for the sake of the story to move forward. Then after some bereavement Catherine turns into the well known Queen of Hearts concluding the book where Alice in Wonderland would pick up afterwards (there is also an afterword where the author gives an answer to the question of why is a raven like a writing desk.) ( )

I devoured this book, it enthralled me from the first. Though I liked Marissa Meyer's other books, this one stands out as truly great.

SPOILERS: This book left me a bit broken hearted, while it was a fantastic and fun read, I truly let me hopes get up there that there would be a happy ending. For the rest of today at least, my heart bears a resemblance to that of the Queen of Hearts. ( )

Such a good book. I loved all the tie in to the orginal story. I adored the characters and how it was such a fast pace/ heartbreaking novel. Such a good origin story! ( )