Book Review: Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay, I need to quit with the Wonderland themed books because they are getting worse as I go.

So, I love wonderland. I mean, my blog is called Lizz in Bookland and I'm currently wearing leggings with Alice on them. Seriously. Give me all the Wonderland. HOWEVER, there is a slight problem, most Wonderland retellings AREN'T Alice in Wonderland and I'm left disappointed.

This book is lacking though, even more on the Wonderland bit. I actually liked the sneaky bits of Wonderland that were brought into this story. But there wasn't much of a story. There wasn't much plot. Like the writing was rushed but the whole time I felt like calling out "where are we going" and then end was just kinda like, "eh, it's over, oh well."



So we can chat about the characters, except they were all flat as cards (pun intended, I'm trying to liven up this review). Dinah was dull most of the time - she hated, she loved, she wanted to be loved, no one loved her, oh woe is Dinah. The cards were scary, we knew this because we were TOLD they were scary, not because we really ever saw evidence of it. Her father was mean and cold, but we have no clue why. Her step sister ... that whole thing is weird and un-fleshed-out.

The world building really relied on knowing the story of Wonderland and being okay with no asking any questions. Ever. There is nothing behind those doors. Does the author even know what the world looks like?

The only redeeming part of the story were the characters of Cheshire and Dinah's brother (the Mad Hatter character ... whose name I can't remember, seriously, I should take notes).

Okay, so let's review. The king hates his daughter, why, no clue. The king "discovers" a step-daughter, how, no clue. The king loves his step-daughter, why, no clue. The plot of the story is ... oh, no clue. The evil that's come to Wonderland is ... um ... the king? I think I'm asking.

Oh, and there was maybe a love interest. Except, was he a love interest. I'm not sure. They had ZERO chemistry and I'm not even sure what happened to him, I might have fallen asleep ... my attention span just isn't what it used to be.

Morale of the story is ... don't read this.