The story was interesting enough to finish the book but, as someone who loves Alice in Wonderland, I found it to be just ok. I liked the idea that Beddor was going for but felt like something was missing from the story. The begining was slow and the story ended too quickly leaving me a little confused. I did, however, enjoy the characters and wished Beddor would have developed each a little more.

I found this completely different story of Alyss' time in Wonderland so interesting. Completely different twists and turns, and the other Alice.

Meh. Just meh. I finished it, but overall I just think meh. Alyss didn’t thrill me. Hatter Madigan was flat. Dodge Anders was one dimensional. The writing seemed to rely a lot on “the character thinks this but the reality is this”. I just found myself not caring. Nothing about Alyss made her that special to me. She was supposed to have a great imagination and it comes back at the most convenient times. However meh. I didn’t care about her. If anything I cared more about the chessmen. The Cat didn’t seem real and Redd was a very boilerplate antagonist. There asked seemed to be sections where Bedford would just say this happened but not really show it. Blah. Meh.

I was incredibly excited to pick up this book as my first “official” read of 2018. Frank Beddor captivated me with his unique re-imagining of my favourite classic tale, and I constantly interested to what the next chapter would hold. But there are reasons why I didn’t give this story 5 stars.

The story opens up on young Alyss Heart celebrating her seventh birthday with a multitude of other fantastical creatures we’d expect to see in the Wonderland we know and love. Along with her mischievous and playful attitude, we catch a glimpse of Alyss’ imaginative powers, and the use of said powers seems to be the foundation between good and evil in this reimagined Wonderland. White Imagination is good and used by all who are loyal to Queen Genevieve Heart while Black Imagination is used by Redd, the evil and disowned older sister of the Queen.
During the happy celebration of the young princess’ birthday, we also personally meet future love-interest Dodge Anders, the wise old Royal tutor Bibwit Harte, military Generals Dopple and Gänger (who can actually merge back into one General Doppelgänger), Royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan, the snobby suite families of Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds, and Alyss’ father King Nolan. However, in an untimely turn of events, Redd ambushes the palace with her newly formed army and takes control of the city. Hatter Madigan is forced to escape with the young princess to the Pool of Tears, which ends up being a portal to Earth (through which none have presumably returned). Hatter and Alyss are separated, and the loyal bodyguard spends over a decade locating her again to bring her back home so she can take her rightful place as Queen of Wonderland and face her Aunt Redd.
This story is a constant adventure of action and suspense, which I would’ve enjoyed much more had it been written better. I felt that Beddor skimmed over many events that would’ve benefitted from further detail, as I’m still not sure what purpose many things mentioned in the story held. Some of the characters that we frequently encountered seemed a bit shallow with little describing them or who they were; it was as if we were just expected to know on our own. That’s how I felt with many of the locations as well; it would’ve been nice to have a bit more describing them. But I definitely enjoyed the book so much that can’t wait to read the second one, which I’ve actually already started. If you love Alice in Wonderland as much as I do, I would recommend giving The Looking Glass Wars a chance.

This is a very good, exciting series. Full of adventure, suspense, action and eventually romance. I love the idea of revamping the Alice in Wonderland books, and to be honest, I prefer this story to the originals. This series & the characters feel very real by the end and I love reading them.

3.5

This is a fascinating story of Alice in Wonderland that ensnares you instantly. It's heartbreaking to see what Alyss went through, a confused, frightened seven year old who eventually grows into a strong, independent young woman who decides to make the best of her circumstances. The characters are well-fleshed and intriguing, especially Alyss, Hatter, and Dodge. All in all, I loved the story and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to fantasy or fairy-tale lovers.

Fun YA Alice-inspired story.

We LOVE a reimagining