Queen Of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

Hi, everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes! Let me just start off by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! I love the story and always liked Lewis Carroll and his works. So when I saw this book, I had to give it a shot since it was based on Wonderland. Here's my thoughts on it...

What's The Story?

Dinah is the princess who will soon take over as the ruler of Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark side of her father's kingdom, and all she wishes for is approval from her father and to have the boy she loves. However, when a stranger arrives at the Palace, she starts to see everything crumble around her. A series of strange and violent acts start happening, suggesting that there is something sinister lurking in her midst. So it's up to Dinah to uncover the mysteries and find out what is lurking within and outside of the Palace.

Likes

In the beginning, I saw that this book was a re-telling of Wonderland, but all about the Red Queen and her origins. I actually thought that would be pretty cool to read, so I could learn about the darker aspects of Wonderland that we never got to see in the original work. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as thought I would, but it was worth the read and it left me intrigued to see where the rest of Dinah's story goes.

I read the original Alice Adventure's In Wonderland many times, so I could see that how characters from this story compared to those in the original. If you've read it before as well, I think you'll appreciate the parallels it draws to Carroll's characters.

Once I got into the story (which took awhile for me, to be honest), I was starting to enjoy and get caught up in the suspense. I liked the fact that there is a darker side to Wonderland and that it isn't always the wacky, fun place that we remember. There's much drama and many issues in Dinah's life, and we get to see that as the story moves forward. I was actually stuck in Wonderland and could see everything in my mind as things progressed.

Dislikes

Dinah isn't exactly the most likable character, and definitely not the kind of main character you hope for. She has a really spoiled attitude and is so fearful of her father, trying everything in her part to please him. Her father, meanwhile, doesn't even love her and is trying so hard to make sure she's off the throne. If you ask me, he was the definition of a jerk!

It wasn't until you get halfway into the book that stuff gets interesting. Up until that point, though, the story just wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be. But when you get to the part where the suspense starts and Dinah discovers her true purpose, it actually gets pretty exciting. At that point, I started to cheer Dinah on and wished that something positive would happen in her life. But it does take awhile to get to that good stuff.

Is It Worth Reading?

Well... I wouldn't say that I really suggest this one as much as other fantasy books I read. It's not the best Wonderland retelling, but then again it isn't the worst thing either. I guess it depends what you're looking for. I liked the fact that it was an epic fantasy, though, and that it showed us that there was a dark side to Wonderland before Alice came along. 

Would Lewis Carroll approve? Oh, definitely not! But... I'm a little intrigued into seeing where the next one goes.

Rating

★★★☆☆