Reviews

Blood of Wonderland, by Colleen Oakes

chickiebean_loves_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I finished reading and listening to the second book in the Queen of Hearts series. Gave it 📚📚📚📚📚. Looking forward to reading the third book in this series next month. I’m not going to say five things about each book in the series but I’ll rate each one as I finish them and do a five things finale next month when I’ve read the final book in the series. 

ellie_gonzalez's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

coraliefrncs's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

liibookaddict's review against another edition

3.0

You can also find this review on my blog Lii's Adventures in Bookland

After absolutely loving the first book in this trilogy, I must admit that this one was a bit of a disappointment to me.

Dinah becoming incredibly annoying once she got into her head that she was in fact the queen, the rightful one and that she had power. Also the book just seemed to drag and drag along without much happening, if that even makes sense.

This being said, I did enjoy the plot and the big twist that took place with Cheshire - not gonna say what because I don't want to spoil it for you - and I did not see that coming. Also, finally having a freaking Caterpillar made my day, because I was longing to figure out who that would be.
And Wardley... I have a feeling he may be in love with someone which is not Dinah... Vittiore maybe? That would explain the beginning of the first book on which Dinah takes her head off. Woooo I would love that (yes I am that evil).

I am quite curious about the final book, mostly because I need my answers and I cannot wait to see Dinah scream "Off with her head!" to Vittiore (it's quite obvious that I do not like this character isn't it?!). Also I need to know what crap will Cheshire pull to ruin the "nice" idea we have of him now.

All in all it was an OK book. I just hope the last one in this trilogy doesn't drag as much.

sadpanda's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

aceofsphades_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, and Death

Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent

emijilia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

beccainabook's review against another edition

4.0

So I continued on with this series and thank god because this sequel was definitely a hail Mary if there ever was one. Holy molie was this so much better than I expected and so much better than the first of the series.

This book was so full of vengeance, power, intrigue, and the characters started to really grow on me! Dinah was such an annoying character in the beginning, but in this book, she really got her shit together and started taking names. I mean what a turn and thank god it was for the better and not for the worse. This girl grew into such a powerhouse and it was AWESOME! I also really liked Cheshire in this book. He represented a twist that I NEVER SAW COMING!

The Yureki were such an interesting element to the plot as well. Their culture and customs were so cool! It gave the world of Wonderland such a unique twist and I was obsessed with it. The only snag of this sequel was the character of Wardley. OMG that guy died in a hole. He is literally the worst. I dislike him so much.

The ending of this sequel broke my soul into a million pieces and I need to read the next book so I can see her get her vengeance.

quoth_chloe's review against another edition

5.0

I read this book in a couple of hours, I was so engrossed! I thought the first book was okay but this book was so so good. I swear, the first quarter of this book I read just for Morte. I love Morte so so much and I want one, he is so brutal and ferocious but so loyal, I just love him!

I really like Dinah, her character development in this book is so good, so much better than the first. I love who she is becoming and she truly is turning into the queen of hearts.

OMG that ending.... FML

I can completely understand why she is an angry character, how terrible is her luck. I swear that is the cruellest thing that could have happened when everything was starting to get a little bit better for her. Stupid Wardley. I bet he will fall for Vittoire, just to add salt to the wound.

Other than Wardley, this book was amazing and I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait to see what happens. I really hope the king gets what he deserves for all the people he has hurt, even Cheshire!

drowningfaithh's review against another edition

2.0

2.3/5 stars

Great ideas, terrible execution. I prefer the previous book over this because this felt like such lazy writing to me. Plot devices were revealed by monologues from the characters. Happened not once, but twice! One of them was a twist that could have been revealed in a better way, which would earn more of a shock factor. There was no build-up; there was no anything, just plain telling, and no showing. Also, regarding the twist, I wished there were more crumbs leading up to this.

Chesire was also a character often described as "clever" or "crafty", but I wasn’t able to see it in any part of the book. It was all description; no actual scenes showed that he possesses these characteristics.

I did not see any character growth for Dinah. Again, it was all narration. One day she just suddenly woke up and felt like she was a better warrior. Don’t tell me, show> me.

Seeing as I have a physical copy of the 3rd book, I have no other choice but to read it so it wouldn’t be a waste.