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madelinelilyy97's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Second book of this connected standalone series, new characters are introduced and multiple POVS used. Alice in Wonderland retelling but DARK. Check trigger warnings, less spice 🌶️ than the first book. This book seems like it’ll flow more into the third book and those might be more of a duology feel. We keep Fin and Clara as characters from the first book which is a relief because the first book was so excellent I didn’t want them to go away. This ended on somewhat of a cliff hanger, we don’t know what happened to one character that left abruptly towards the end and there’s no closure between Alice and the Rabbit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
sylvanskezelene's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Cannibalism
sailinginthetea's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Sexual violence
druzyquartz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
ta2dlibrarian's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and War
Dark romanceofelias's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Curiosity is the dagger on which we impale ourselves.”
Kenney has made it a literary habit of taking a fairy tale and spinning it into a fresh, spicy retelling.
Where some fantasy retellings prioritize romance at the expense of plot and world-building, the Wicked Darlings series achieves quite the opposite.
This book takes us back to Faerie with some of the characters we’ve come to love and swoon over - like Sugarplum and Clara - but we are also thrust into a new fairy tale backdrop this time: Alice in Wonderland.
The newly-introduced characters - Cat, the White Rabbit, Hatter, among others - are just as chaotic and magnetic as others we’ve come to know. Well, perhaps a little more so, but what kind of an Alice in Wonderland retelling would it be without a little madness?
The new Unseelie queen, the Eater of Hearts, is hell-bent on eating all the hearts of Faerie and in turn creating horrific zombie-like creatures known as Heartless. When Alice is kidnapped by the White Rabbit, along with a dangerously magical tome, it is up to Clara and Sugarplum to save her from her new captors and the mad queen, and prevent the tome from landing in the wrong hands.
Kenney does such a fantastic job of paying homage to the magic and madness of the source material while twisting Alice’s story into something entirely new and chaotic and wonderful and heartbreaking.
The spice, albeit fantastic, takes more of a step back in this sequel, with an intense plot at the forefront. Every chapter has purpose, even with the multiple POVs we’re given with characters both old and new.
Overall, I’m so happy this was my first 2024 read. I can’t wait to dive into the next one and see where Faerie takes me this time. Hopefully somewhere with pretty, fantastical characters and unhinged magic - but no Heartless, please.
Kenney has made it a literary habit of taking a fairy tale and spinning it into a fresh, spicy retelling.
Where some fantasy retellings prioritize romance at the expense of plot and world-building, the Wicked Darlings series achieves quite the opposite.
This book takes us back to Faerie with some of the characters we’ve come to love and swoon over - like Sugarplum and Clara - but we are also thrust into a new fairy tale backdrop this time: Alice in Wonderland.
The newly-introduced characters - Cat, the White Rabbit, Hatter, among others - are just as chaotic and magnetic as others we’ve come to know. Well, perhaps a little more so, but what kind of an Alice in Wonderland retelling would it be without a little madness?
The new Unseelie queen, the Eater of Hearts, is hell-bent on eating all the hearts of Faerie and in turn creating horrific zombie-like creatures known as Heartless. When Alice is kidnapped by the White Rabbit, along with a dangerously magical tome, it is up to Clara and Sugarplum to save her from her new captors and the mad queen, and prevent the tome from landing in the wrong hands.
Kenney does such a fantastic job of paying homage to the magic and madness of the source material while twisting Alice’s story into something entirely new and chaotic and wonderful and heartbreaking.
The spice, albeit fantastic, takes more of a step back in this sequel, with an intense plot at the forefront. Every chapter has purpose, even with the multiple POVs we’re given with characters both old and new.
Overall, I’m so happy this was my first 2024 read. I can’t wait to dive into the next one and see where Faerie takes me this time. Hopefully somewhere with pretty, fantastical characters and unhinged magic - but no Heartless, please.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Cannibalism
lola218_'s review against another edition
The first book in the series was good. Had some dark themes but nothing too crazy. This book was way too messed up. I don’t know how this has such high ratings when the whole book is about kidnapping, torture, rape, and mutilation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship
koistyfishy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Rebecca Kenney does it again!!! MY GOSH! This was appetizing, delectable, delightful, exquisite, rich, spicy, tasty, scrumptious, DELICIOUS, and mouth-wateringly sinful. It left me with this insatiable craving for a peppermint creampuff or a sugarplum that changes flavour!!!
This is the second book in the Wicked Darlings series and it is a triple POV story with two characters we already know and love (Clara and Fin) and a new naive girl, who follows a white rabbit down a hole to a "Not-So-Wonder" Land - The Unseelie Kingdom. Drosselmeyer (Clara's Godfather) sees the "kidnapping" and notifies Fin and Clara as Alice has with her a powerful dark spellbook of Unseelie Magic that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Our "heroes" worried that the human girl is in grave danger as the White Rabbit is known for experimenting on his victims, go on a mission to free her from the clinical sadistic White Rabbit and sexual little pussy Cat with a mischievous grin. The quest is dangerous as they have to enter deep into the Unseelie Kingdom, a place now ruled by the Eater of Hearts. The Queen with a ravenous appetite who devours the hearts of her victims and turns them into Heartless. (No we are not playing Kingdom Hearts)
I absolutely love Clara and Fin. So given the opportunity to spend more time with our naughty little Sugarplum Fairy and his coy mischievous little Clara was fantastic! Alice in Wonderland also happens to be one of my favourite stories. I know this is a Wonderland retelling, but take it with a pinch of salt, as the world is somewhere in between the traditional Wonderland, American McGee's Wonderland and a Sex Dungeon. Everything is dark, gory, messy, trying to kill you and there might be debauchery happening on the steps in front of you.
I love Rebecca Kenney's writing. She has such a miraculous way of being so vivid in her descriptions that you can see, smell and experience the world, but also she creates complex, multi-faceted and layered characters that you can instantly fall in love with. The new characters introduced into this series were spectacular!
Alice: She was a naive, innocent, sweet, sweet girl who is just curious and wants to learn and hasn't been given the opportunity to. And the way that her curiosity sparks an interest in our clinical rabbit and the curious cat was fascinating. I also really enjoyed the White Rabbit and Cat as characters. Our Rabbit is not the best of people. He is Unseelie and did initially kidnap Alice to experiment on her and harvest her parts for science, but I still really enjoyed his dark and twisted nature. But I really do have a soft spot for anyone using the word "kitten" as a pet name as I am a girl of simple pleasures. And the same with our horny little kitty cat and his playful grin. He was adorable, even though he was super kinky and just wanted to snuggle.
I think this is probably the darkest, sexiest or kinky story I've read of Rebecca Kenney as it takes things a little bit deeper on the smut and triggers, and there were a couple of trigger warnings I wasn't expecting, but I still really, really enjoyed it! I just love the way that she manages to take an idea and inspiration of something and make a story uniquely her own while still incorporating a couple of quotes or phrases within the story you know, love, and recognise from your favourite tale. It's stories like this that solidly emphasise my love for retellings.
The Tropes from this lovely tale:
▶ You touch her you die
▶ Fae/Human Romance
▶ Only one for me
▶ Captor/Captive Relationship
▶ Love Triangle (...it's more like a Penrose tribar)
▶ Retelling
If you want something that is delectable, and spicy; while still giving you that perfect balance of plot, this is the book for you! The storytelling is brilliant, it's action-packed, emotional, engaging and has a way that makes you want to keep reading!!! - (Officially out 31 March 2023)
Thank you Rebecca for an eARC in exchange for a review!
All thoughts and feelings are my own
Rebecca Kenney does it again!!! MY GOSH! This was appetizing, delectable, delightful, exquisite, rich, spicy, tasty, scrumptious, DELICIOUS, and mouth-wateringly sinful. It left me with this insatiable craving for a peppermint creampuff or a sugarplum that changes flavour!!!
This is the second book in the Wicked Darlings series and it is a triple POV story with two characters we already know and love (Clara and Fin) and a new naive girl, who follows a white rabbit down a hole to a "Not-So-Wonder" Land - The Unseelie Kingdom. Drosselmeyer (Clara's Godfather) sees the "kidnapping" and notifies Fin and Clara as Alice has with her a powerful dark spellbook of Unseelie Magic that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Our "heroes" worried that the human girl is in grave danger as the White Rabbit is known for experimenting on his victims, go on a mission to free her from the clinical sadistic White Rabbit and sexual little pussy Cat with a mischievous grin. The quest is dangerous as they have to enter deep into the Unseelie Kingdom, a place now ruled by the Eater of Hearts. The Queen with a ravenous appetite who devours the hearts of her victims and turns them into Heartless. (No we are not playing Kingdom Hearts)
I absolutely love Clara and Fin. So given the opportunity to spend more time with our naughty little Sugarplum Fairy and his coy mischievous little Clara was fantastic! Alice in Wonderland also happens to be one of my favourite stories. I know this is a Wonderland retelling, but take it with a pinch of salt, as the world is somewhere in between the traditional Wonderland, American McGee's Wonderland and a Sex Dungeon. Everything is dark, gory, messy, trying to kill you and there might be debauchery happening on the steps in front of you.
I love Rebecca Kenney's writing. She has such a miraculous way of being so vivid in her descriptions that you can see, smell and experience the world, but also she creates complex, multi-faceted and layered characters that you can instantly fall in love with. The new characters introduced into this series were spectacular!
Alice: She was a naive, innocent, sweet, sweet girl who is just curious and wants to learn and hasn't been given the opportunity to. And the way that her curiosity sparks an interest in our clinical rabbit and the curious cat was fascinating. I also really enjoyed the White Rabbit and Cat as characters. Our Rabbit is not the best of people. He is Unseelie and did initially kidnap Alice to experiment on her and harvest her parts for science, but I still really enjoyed his dark and twisted nature. But I really do have a soft spot for anyone using the word "kitten" as a pet name as I am a girl of simple pleasures. And the same with our horny little kitty cat and his playful grin. He was adorable, even though he was super kinky and just wanted to snuggle.
I think this is probably the darkest, sexiest or kinky story I've read of Rebecca Kenney as it takes things a little bit deeper on the smut and triggers, and there were a couple of trigger warnings I wasn't expecting, but I still really, really enjoyed it! I just love the way that she manages to take an idea and inspiration of something and make a story uniquely her own while still incorporating a couple of quotes or phrases within the story you know, love, and recognise from your favourite tale. It's stories like this that solidly emphasise my love for retellings.
The Tropes from this lovely tale:
▶ You touch her you die
▶ Fae/Human Romance
▶ Only one for me
▶ Captor/Captive Relationship
▶ Love Triangle (...it's more like a Penrose tribar)
▶ Retelling
If you want something that is delectable, and spicy; while still giving you that perfect balance of plot, this is the book for you! The storytelling is brilliant, it's action-packed, emotional, engaging and has a way that makes you want to keep reading!!! - (Officially out 31 March 2023)
Thank you Rebecca for an eARC in exchange for a review!
All thoughts and feelings are my own
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail