Began reading: 13.6.2016
Completed reading: 18.6.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars
Only queens with hearts can bleed.
This is not a story of happily ever after.
Beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand and Alice has not tumbled down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Not yet...
Princess Dinah will one day become the Queen of Hearts. She longs for her father's approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into danger. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her enemies or she'll lose not just the crown - it will be off with her head.
Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.
Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes is a fictional young adult retelling of the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland, containing fantasy, romance and mystery. I saw this book on Epic Reads, and I fell in love with the cover. IT’S SO PRETTY! Anyway, it was a retelling of a classic tale, which always excites me. It’s told from the perspective of a young Princess of Hearts (soon to be Queen of Hearts), and occurs before Alice enters Wonderland. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and I’m excited for the sequel!
The novel was decently written, with a few spelling and grammatical errors. I also took down some great quotes that I thought were pretty notable, including:
‘War is bloody and brutal, a thing that can rip through the very heart of men. War can make a man question everything he believes in, every truth that he holds dear’ (pp. 14-15).
‘A true man never needs to take by force’ (p. 183).
She was learning quickly that what was right and what must happen weren’t always the same thing (p. 193).
It’s so peaceful in here, she thought. A lovely bed for such a pretty liar (p. 224).
I did not die today, so I will not fear death tomorrow (p. 304).
‘How fine you look when dressed in rage’ (p. 306).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
As I mentioned earlier, I really liked this retelling – especially as the plot was interesting. I loved that this perspective was someone else’s, rather than Alice’s. Unfortunately, I was confused at some points. I found the plot to flow at particular points, and then become disjointed at other times. The fact that sometimes it flowed, and sometimes didn’t, left me a little puzzled. For example, I thought that the plot against her (put into place by a certain asshole) was completely different from the rest of the book. I understand that this would make the novel more dramatic and intense, but it came out of nowhere. Because of this, I was left wondering:
I loved the diversity of the secondary characters! Although the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat weren’t in their well-known forms, I knew immediately who they were in this book. Everyone had individual personalities, which made them more interesting. I also loved how some of the secondary characters had a significant impact on the protagonist, despite their minor roles.
It was very emotional, especially towards the end. I felt the pain and humiliation that Dinah experienced with her father, and I had so much sympathy for her. I can’t wait to see her destroy her father! Anyway, the lead up to the conclusion was very emotional with the death of a character. HE WAS SO INNOCENT! I’m not gonna deny it, I cried.
I found the love interest thing to be a bit confusing. One moment, Wardley would do something really sweet (almost romantic?) for Dinah, and the next he’d be pushing her away or rejecting her. MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Does he like her or not?! With all these mixed messages, I think that Dinah deserves someone better. I feel bad for Dinah but Wardley doesn’t seem to like her that much. I’m looking forward to seeing how this progresses in the sequel.
To be honest, I felt that this book was better suited as a novella or prequel. It felt like an introduction to what will be happening in the next book, as nothing significant really happened until towards the end. Because it took a while to understand Dinah’s situation, it affected her likeability. She was introduced as a bratty, whiny, spoilt princess but this changed towards the conclusion. It just seemed that it took a while to develop her character and I know that this bothered some readers.
My favourite character in this novel was Dinah, as she was loyal, strong, compassionate and feisty, yet she was flawed. I can’t wait to see how she’s portrayed and develops in the sequel. She needs to come back to rain terror on her back-stabbing traitor (and he was against treason, HAHAHA)!
Other noteworthy characters are Vittiore and Charles. I enjoyed reading about Dinah’s jealousy towards Vittiore, but I think they will become close friends in the next book or so. I just loved a feisty Dinah snapping at the innocent Vittiore. I also loved Charles! Despite being seen as a weakling, he was extremely talented and loving of Dinah. I wonder, did he get along with Vittiore? Did he know who she was? Did he wonder about his father? I just wanna give Charles a huge hug and protect him.
I have a deep hate burning for a particular character for EVERYTHING he did in this book! He was the cause of so much heartache and destruction, so I think I have a right to rage. He was so abusive, that I feared for Dinah’s wellbeing. How could he be SO cruel? I wonder if he’s the cause of the queen’s death… What will Dinah do to him? I can’t stress enough how excited I am to see his downfall!
My favourite parts of this book include Dinah’s time at the Wonderland Palace, and her interactions with Vittiore. I liked reading about Dinah in the Wonderland Palace because I got an insight into how she fulfilled her role and responsibilities, as well as how she interacted with other characters. I was able to see more than one side of Dinah, and each side intrigued me. I also enjoyed seeing how Dinah interacted with Vittiore because her father treasured her more. Seeing Dinah jealous and humiliated was rather emotional, but it was interesting to see how she changed – deciding to have tea with her. I hope they become close friends in the upcoming novels!
I will also be reviewing the upcoming novels in the Queen of Hearts saga. Keep an eye out for that!
Happy reading!
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