Began reading: 21.5.2017
Completed reading: 26.5.2017
Overall rating: 5 stars
The queen will rise.
Dinah has been exiled from Wonderland.
Her vicious father has framed her for the brutal murder of her brother, and turned the kingdom against her.
Now hiding in the mysterious Twisted Wood with only her war steed at her side, Dinah is faced with a choice. She could leave Wonderland behind forever or return and fight for her throne.
A chance encounter with one of her father's enemies brings Dinah more allies than she ever could have imagined. But before she can lead her people into war she must confront certain truths about her heart and her destiny - no matter how dark those truths may be.
Revolution is rising in Wonderland.
Dinah's battle has begun.
Blood of Wonderland by Colleen Oakes is the second book in the Queen of Hearts saga. It is a fictional young adult retelling of Alice in Wonderland, containing fantasy themes. I was so excited to get my hands on this book because I fell in love with Dinah in the first novel. I loved this book so much, and I don’t have a single negative to say about it!
Dinah, framed by her father for the murder of her brother, has been forced to flee from her home in Wonderland Palace into the Twisted Woods. The King of Hearts has turned the kingdom against Dinah and placed her half-sister Vittiore on Dinah’s throne. While hiding alone in the woods, she chances upon her father’s best tracker who decides to help her escape the wrath of her father. Together, they meet Mundoo, the Yurkei chief and the King of Hearts’ sworn enemy. After learning of Dinah’s situation, Mundoo welcomes her into the mysterious Yurkei tribe and allows her to decide her fate – to return to Wonderland and fight for her crown, or live a quiet nomadic life in the mountains. With this decision, Dinah will have to look within herself to figure out who she really is and what she wants. Things become increasingly complicated when one of the king’s most trusted servants appears and hits Dinah with a secret that makes Dinah question everything she thought she knew. While Dinah is discovering herself, she will plot against the king – but if she chooses to return to Wonderland, will she be the same queen as the one that abandoned her royal lifestyle months ago? Will Wonderlanders accept her over her father’s tyrannical rule and her beautiful half-sister’s reign?
The book was well-written, which is what I expected after reading the first novel. It was structured well, and the pace was steady. I loved the use of literary techniques throughout the text; some examples will be in the list of notable quotes below. Oakes utilised a variety of literary techniques to assist readers with comprehending the story. Some examples include the setting, conflict and foreshadowing. Aside from literary techniques, there were also some great quotes, including:
Her life was like nightfire – a place that once burned with bright hope, now nothing more than a flickering blackness, her suffering invisible to the naked eye (p. 96).
Pain cemented things in the brain the way reading did not (p. 97).
Dinah’s hands were gripping the tablecloth, her nails tearing through the thin fabric. Her world was collapsing, inside and outside. Her watery eyes made the stars look like they were falling (p. 194).
‘We become who we must to overcome pain and to make things right again’ (p. 213).
If she could not quench the fire within her, she would set Wonderland ablaze (p. 319).
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I’m a sucker for a good plot. It needs to be dramatic, innovative and unique. I absolutely loved how this book followed on directly from the previous one, and that it still felt like a new tale at the same time. The overall message about finding and staying true to yourself was inspiring and sweet. The plot held some adventure and tantalising drama woven throughout the book, which kept me hooked. I believe that Oakes has definitely improved upon her first novel, and the fact that I didn’t want to put the book down demonstrated that.
Plot twists are a great way for authors to keep their stories interesting for readers. There needs to be a balance of predictability and unpredictability to the twist, and it also needs to leave readers wanting more. The plot twists in this book were amazing because they were full of feeling and left me reeling. The revelations were unpredictable (especially the final one) and refreshing, as I did not expect anything like that to happen. A day after finishing the book and I’m still in shock! I am dying to get my hands on the next book, and this is how writers should make readers feel.
Secondary characters are so important for a story because they keep the protagonist focused on the main objective, provide plot twists that keep us interested, and help with expanding the narrative by supplying sub-plots and their own reactions to events in the novel. In the first book, Oakes introduced us to various secondary characters to help build the story and this continued in this book. We saw some of the characters from the previous book, but we were also introduced to new supporting characters that provided diverse personalities and fascinating back stories. Because they were only briefly mentioned in the last book, we weren’t able to gain a decent amount of insight into how they behaved with other supporting characters (I’m referring to knowing how the King of Hearts hated Mundoo but we weren’t able to see them interact); but I now know that they definitely won’t get along. We will see how they will react to each other in the next book, which shows just how important secondary characters are to the story.
Another significant aspect of a good narrative is the use of emotion to manipulate readers’ reactions to events. By including a decent amount of emotion to a plot, the author is increasing the likelihood of their tale being memorable. I find narratives much easier to remember when a story has made me feel some type of way. Oakes is very good at doing this because it happened in the first book, and it happened again in this one. The conclusion was just so emotional that I became teary, and sobbed when I finished the book. I don’t know about you guys, but any book that can pull on my heartstrings like this deserves a high star rating!
While we’re talking about the conclusion, I thought that I’d add my reason for why I loved it so much (aside from the emotion). When I’m reading a story, I want the conclusion to consistently portray the protagonist the way they were introduced in the beginning of novel. Of course, there should be some character development throughout the narrative, but if a character is portrayed as ‘fearsome’ or ‘badass’ in the beginning, then they should be shown in the same way in the conclusion. Dinah’s character was consistent throughout the book, and the conclusion demonstrated that. At the end, she was just as intimidating and passionate as she was at the start of the tale. The conclusion was dramatic, and provided a foundation for the next book. It didn’t end on a cliff-hanger, but it did use foreshadowing to get readers excited about what’s to come.
My favourite character by far is Dinah. She is ambitious, compassionate, courageous and a downright badass. I loved being able to learn more about her in this book, especially learning about her feelings for Wardley and her thoughts on Vittiore. Sir Gorran is a notable character.
Although Wardley came into the story half-way through, I was so happy for Dinah. As she says in the book, her thoughts of him and knowing that they’ll see each other again is what kept her going in the Twisted Woods. I’m just so angry at Wardley for what he did – I know that it technically isn’t his fault, but he broke my heart! All I have to say to Wardley is: what the hell is wrong with you? Also, I have mixed feelings about Cheshire. Like Dinah, I’m very wary of him and I don’t trust him. We’ll see if he was telling the truth when we read the next book.
My favourite part of the book was chapter sixteen onwards. It was an amazing way to conclude the narrative, as it was full of emotion and drama. It’s got me SO EXCITED for the final book in the series! I need to see Dinah tear down Wonderland!
Recommendation time! If you like The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter, The Looking Glass Wars series by Frank Beddor, and the Beautiful Madness series by Kellie Sheridan, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Disney’s version of Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton’s versions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
I will be reviewing the rest of the Queen of Hearts saga, including War of the Cards, when the book becomes available. Keep an eye out for that!
My review for Queen of Hearts can be found by clicking on the title.
Happy reading!
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