Alice (The Chronicles of Alice)

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would and want to continue through the series. It was an interesting and bloody twist on Alice in Wonderland. Didn't really love the ending.

**This book has trigger warnings!**

Unrealistic Love
Maybe I missed something at the beginning of the story, but the author kept pushing a love between Alice and Hatcher that was more than just platonic or strangers thrown into similar situations together. Rather, there was a romantic love. Or at least, the author intended for there to be romantic love, but it didn’t feel real from my point of view. Their love had no basis in my mind and felt completely out in left field throughout the entire book. It kept… disconnecting me from the reading every time it was brought up.

A little too Convenient
I understand this book has magic and strange happenings, but everything worked just a little too well. Things popped up at just the right times. Everything fell into place just right for the characters and it took away the sense of suspense, the sense that the characters might not make it. Honestly, it felt like they didn’t even really have to try.

Drag through the Mud
The beginning was so slow that it felt like the reader was being dragged through the mud. The first chapter was an explosion… and then it dropped off… a cliff. -.- There were little explanations here and there and the characters had a goal, but they went nowhere for chapters and chapters. Sure, it tied together in the end, but, looking back, it wasn’t strong enough to be necessary.

Mad Dash for the End
And the biggest mistake after having a slow beginning is the mad dash for the end. The story took forever to build and then suddenly everything speeds up and all compiles on each other and all the important scenes happen back to back. Not only was this bad, but the ending after all this was extremely anticlimactic and unsatisfying.

I was curious abt Alice's experience in an asylum when Alice shares Wonderland w/others. Since the world cannot handle creativity, it makes sense they were convinced Alice had lost her mind & was better off locked up. Instead the story takes on a different path. The comparisons were interesting even among the characters. I did like the author's creation of the Old City & the New City as Lewis Carroll begins w/his regimented world on what is proper & polite etiquette for the British & then turns it all upside down in another world he decides to call Wonderland. As the story progressed, a part that dug into me was when Alice throws the 🔪 & the blue-green 👁 into the river, as if the river could just take the memory along & never be faced w/again since the flow of the river is irreversible. I imagine this is what Alice carried in her heart as she released the 🔪 & the blue-green 👁. How easy it sounds, if only we cld get rid of unwanted experiences so cleanly & quickly. My fav quote from this book, "This broken, shrunken creature was her nightmare?" Why do we give our monsters power to grow strong? However this book was not for me. I cldn't handle all the rape content. This book is perverted & offensive!!!

It's not the worst novel I read but not my of my favorites. Warning: This novel contains rape, violence, pedophilia, cannibalism, and sexual content. This is not for everyone, and please be advised what to expect when reading this. On to the review, it will contain slight spoilers. The story had potential and has it moments when it shines. In all honestly, this would have worked fine without the elements/characters from Alice in Wonderland. If anything, this was a horrible use of these characters, and the story would have shined better without it. To the setting to theme and yes, storytelling, it did not work to this author's advantage. A better version of another telling of Alice was American Mcgee Alice. Putting aside, it is a game. The story itself came together and fit the setting and theme perfectly. You felt like you were in the world of Alice, and the characters didn't seem out of place. I didn't get that feel from this novel. Had you just switched the characters' names and put them in a fantasy setting, this would make no difference to the story. Both versions had all the same dark and twisted topics, but Mcgee pulled it off where you feel it is the same characters, just another telling of them. Christina's story is interesting and creative, I found it enjoyable until the end. The ending was anticlimactic and lacked luster. We get this buildup of blood, gore, and fighting only for it all to end without a battle. It simply did not fit the ending that this story was building up. A wish defeated the all-powerful nightmare fuel Jabberwocky. Not Alice training or using a tactical strategy to defeat him but wishing defeated him. This was done in his human form, so we don't actually get to fully see the Jabberwocky, making my point valid about not needing set characters for this tale. There were some questions left unanswered and not in a way to leave readers wondering, but questions the the story failed to answer. What are the rules to magic? How did Cheshire, Rabbit, and Caterpillar get their magic? (I know they are supposed magicians, but no backstory or history was told) How did Dor know Alice had magic? Why did Alice's mother try to hide it? Can anyone eat the magic user and gain their power? If the magicians never left, what happened to the remaining that was there? I am aware there is a second part of this tale, but most of the questions should have been answered before the second book. One final thing that bug me about this book was the romance between Alice and Hatcher. Before you reject this, I was actually for it and rooting for them until I learned about his daughter. I can do most dark topics, but one line I can’t cross is pedophilia. His daughter is the same age as Alice or around the same age. He had met Alice when she was 16, which is when she was still a child. The first chapter makes it clear he is 10 years older than her. I was fine with it, but upon learning about his daughter with the same age group, this was a definite downside for me. He had raised his daughter, saw her when she was small, and then to lust for another girl who COULD be his same daughter is disgusting, and I could not accept. I don't understand the need for the daughter. He will follow Alice anywhere and only need his wife to seek revenge. One could say to lead to the second book, but there could have been other reasons for them to continue on. I have mixed feelings about this novel. My overall verdict is 4/10

I WAS not impressed with this book. Yes the author has a unique way of writing and her skill at turning a childhood fable into a modern day story is much appreciated. But in my opinion this was done poorly. The book begins with blood running down Alice’s leg. Seriously!!! The book begins with a rape scene. That didn’t bode well for me but because this book was hand picked for our book club I decided to continue reading. I just wished I had followed my instincts and called it a day after reading that first chapter. Luckily I was able to get this book through the local library because if I had paid for it I would not have been happy. Every chapter was either unnecessarily violent or dealt with violent rape scenes. I was looking for a different take on the Alice in Wonderland but this book is more about Alice escaping violent rapes which include anal, fellatio, you name it. I did finish the book, but the only thing I have to say is do not read this book if you know anyone that was sexually abused, raped or human trafficked. I frankly will never read another book Christian Henry has written or will write. Imaginations like this are a bit too dark for my taste and makes me wonder if non-fiction has found its way into a fictional story. With that said, would I recommend this book? Absolutely not! Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Pedro Alonso Lopez, etc etc would have loved this book, I didn’t.