There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own.
Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.
Goodreads Ratings: 4.07 stars with over 1600 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction
Previous Review on the series: A Blade So Black
Goodreads Challenge: 32/50 (woohoo, back on track!)
2021 Reading Challenge: #8 Read a book where the main character is a High School or College student (Find the entire series here)
Book Review:
Hello readers! I burned through another book. Let's all just accept this is who I am as a person, shall we? Anyways I picked up A Dream So Dark when it was on sale recently. I read A Blade So Black last year and LOVED it. I was super excited to dive back into L.L. McKinney's version of Alice in Wonderland.
A Dream so Dark picks up immediately where A Blade so Black left off, which was nice because it quickly got through the first book's recap. The story moves fast because there are nightmares for Alice and her friends to fight. I was instantly drawn back into Wonderland, and in one night, I read 40% of the book. I really like L.L. McKinney's version of Alice. I feel like she'd be someone I'd be friends with.
There were parts of A Dream so Dark that hit home really hard for me. In some of the story, we meet Alice's grandmother Nana K, who at times suffers from Memory loss. Having watched both my grandmother and grandfather going through Dementia, this really just hurt my heart. Mostly Nana K seemed pretty lucid, and I adored her. Sassy Grandma's are my favorite characters. Not only was she sassy, but I feel like she may have some secrets that end up playing out. This is just a hunch I have; we'll see if I'm right. I don't really have much to say about the new situation with Alice's mom. I liked it; anything I can say beyond that will give all kinds of spoilers.
There were parts of A Dream so Dark that hit home really hard for me. In some of the story, we meet Alice's grandmother Nana K, who at times suffers from Memory loss. Having watched both my grandmother and grandfather going through Dementia, this really just hurt my heart. Mostly Nana K seemed pretty lucid, and I adored her. Sassy Grandma's are my favorite characters. Not only was she sassy, but I feel like she may have some secrets that end up playing out. This is just a hunch I have; we'll see if I'm right. I don't really have much to say about the new situation with Alice's mom. I liked it; anything I can say beyond that will give all kinds of spoilers.
I really liked how we got to see more of Wonderland. And we got to learn more about the connection between the various knights. Again, trying to not give out spoilers, but I suspect drama in the next book. We did get to meet a new gatekeeper and dream walker. I think Romi, the dream-keeper was a nod to the caterpillar. She was kind of grumpy, but I liked her and her pet dragon. While in Wonderland, Alice finds more of her "muchness". How she finds it almost had me in tears. It was somehow sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.
The biggest disappointment in this book is that I have to wait until 2023 to read the third book. I absolutely adored it and am eager to read more. I highly recommend this series if you love fantasy, Alice in Wonderland, and retellings of classics. It's so good.
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