3.75 stars - I'm getting really specific with this one.

I love Alice in Wonderland and will give almost anything related to it a read. I had really high hopes for this book because I LOVED the Lunar Chronicles and it was a Queen of Hearts story. Unfortunately I was left a little disappointed.

My biggest issue was the first 200-ish pages felt painfully drawn out. We spent so much time hearing the same details over and over - how childish the king is, how ugly Margret is, the color of the jokers eyes, how delicious Cath's baked goods are, what store they want to buy.... It got so long winded that I almost DNF'd this book about 3 times. My second issue was, overall the story was pretty 1 dimensional. The only thing that moved the plot along was the forbidden romance. And while certain details were really clever,

Spoiler

like how the entire story had been prophesied by the Sisters

I wanted more from the story/characters.

BUT, the last half of the book totally captivated me. I became really invested and needed to know how the stories played out. And even though I knew the ending - evil Queen of Hearts - I still found myself rooting for Cath and Jest.