Published: June 15, 2020
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Source: Author
Series: The Wonderland Court
Synopsis:
They call me the dagger.
I’m an indentured assassin, a lone wolf with capabilities that make me desirable on the black market.
Given my reputation, you can imagine that a fluffy white rabbit throwing my world upside-down was the shock of my life. Especially when he told me I was the fae heir to Wonderland. The only surviving heir because the Red Queen had brutally murdered the family that I’d one day hoped to find.
While that was devastating, I could have handled it—eventually—as long as I got revenge.
What I can’t handle is Hatter.
He’s a gorgeous and strange artist who is also working to end the Red Queen.
He makes my heart stop. He infuriates me. He touches my soul in ways no one else ever has. He sings songs in the street like an idiot.
I want to throttle him as much as I want to kiss him.
But first, I want revenge against the Red Queen. And of course, Hatter insists on sticking by my side despite my claims that I work alone.
One thing’s for sure, assassinating the Red Queen will be unlike any other job I’ve ever taken.
*Thanks to the author and booksprout for a copy in return for an honest review*
” I blinked as a white rabbit dressed in a cobalt-colored waistcoat, with a pocket watch hanging from the jacket, hopped out from behind a bush.”
Fae inspired Alice in Wonderland Retelling with an interesting magic system and new twists to familiar characters!
If you are new here, I am such a huge fan/lover of Alice in Wonderland. So you can imagine how excited I was to pick up a fae retelling of Alice ! McLeo did a great job taking a beloved story and putting her own spin and sprinkling of elements to it. I really enjoyed Alice’s background and the journey she went on to find herself and learn about her family. She is an assasin, indebted to a vampire, when a white rabbit in a waistcoat, also known as a pooka enlightens Alice to information about her family and where she comes from. Only with her can they take back the Wonderland Court!
“Unlike the shell I presented to the outer world, which included an all-black attire and hard attitude, this place was all softness and light and air.”
At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story being so similar to the original, but the more we got into the story the more it became its own. It took just enough from the original to feel familiar and comforting, but also fresh and unique. The characters had such large personalities and I loved them all so much! Alice was my favorite kind of character, independent and kickass! We got to see character development from her as she realized there are people who care for her and love her.She realized she isn’t alone anymore. I have to say Dee and Dum were my favorite characters from this book. They were so sassy, entertaining and just brought a lot of fun!
I felt like the setting and fae elements fit so well with the world of Alice in Wonderland and really worked for this retelling. I enjoyed the scheming and battles and thought that the trials was such a perfect addition! There was a slight (and I mean slight) romance in this story, I think people might consider it a slow burn, but I wanted so much more from it. There was also more sad scenes then I was mentally prepared for going into this story. It sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions.
“The rebels call her the Red Queen because she’s made so many heads roll, but she prefers to be called the Queen of Hearts.”
Overall this was a whimsical, slightly dark and fae filled tribute to my favorite book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It had a little bit of everything, from humor to magic to fighting for your life. It had me in suspense and flipping thought the pages! I cannot wait to see where this story goes! Although the author wrapped it up well we are left with some questions and a possible next mission for Alice and the gang to put back all that the Red Queen destroyed.
