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faehistory's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
boundforinfinity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape and Trafficking
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
justacowboy's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Trafficking
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, and Cannibalism
Minor: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
mikathereviewer's review
2.0
Writing style. I can't empathise it enough. Christina Henry has a writing style no one else has. It's so unique. For instance, she used a methapor of blood spilling out like milk or at the beginning of this book added a ryhme.
Plot (except the
Characters. They are so unique. I'm honest some traits are stereotypical sometimes, but they have something that I can't describe. Sometimes so detailed and have unique quirks.
Dislikes:
Alice is supposed to be
You nit, you nit, you nit. All the time said by literally EVERY character. There are also multiple characters who have the habit of repeating words or sentences and it just makes them seem like they don't have a own voice or speech pattern.
The
The romance between
Why is Alice so good in
Coming back to the character deaths. They were so bad and didn't seem like they had any impact on the story. Especially the last 2 deaths were so meh and I quite expected more than
Logic leak. There is a scene where it is said that a girl hasn't slept and cried for 12 days straight. One usually dies of sleep deprivation after 6-9 days. It's not possible for her to still live.
Triggering (every chapter is rape and sexual assault mentioned)
Literally the worst was the end of chapter 11 with
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, and Cannibalism
Minor: Slavery and Fire/Fire injury
keraashley's review against another edition
0.25
This is the most disturbing and horrific book I’ve ever read.
This is 300 pages of someone’s r*pe fantasy. Every woman in this book has been assaulted in some way, and is still under constant threat of being snatched and abused by any man walking by on the street. And nearly every woman besides Alice is characterized as nothing more than “sad sex slave”. Alice admits herself that she hasn’t mentally aged past 16 (she’s 26) when she got put in the mental hospital and then starts dating an axe murderer man who is almost 40. Who is almost overcome by lust to assault her multiple times. Even tho he knows she’s already been r*ped. And so was his wife!! Which sent him into a murderous rage and got him put in the hospital. One of the villains is so disgusting that I dnf’ed immediately, skipped to the end to see how it wraps up and even missing most of the book, it is the dumbest and most unsatisfying ending to Alice’s “revenge” against the man that assaulted her and mutilated her face as a way to “claim her”. The writing and plot/character development is bad and nearly nonexistent. Please explain how a girl locked up for 10 years with no skills could murder the worst mob bosses in the city simply by “catching them by surprise”?? But nothing can make up for the plot and constant violence against women.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
chloeam3103's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
samfang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The nods to Carroll’s original story are well done without being a carbon copy. With that said, it’s nearly impossible to accurately capture Carroll’s writing style, so some more direct references — especially in such a dark setting — feel out of place. And I may be in the minority but I absolutely despise Alice x Hatter romance in Wonderland retellings. The charm of the original story was its nonsensical nature, and shoehorning a romantic relationship between two of the few human characters in the original story is just so unnecessary.
A solid 3 stars for its engaging story, full of great twists and turns and definitely offering a dark and horrific take on the original story of Alice, though its more graphic violence and cringey romantic thread both detracted from its strengths.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Classism
hookerkitty's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this book (obv minus when the above kept getting brought up). I don’t remember if I ever actually read the original book, and it’s been a long time since I’ve even seen the movies, so that may be a factor in why I enjoyed it more lol. I say “mostly” though, because I thought the end was rather anti-climactic, which was hella disappointing. I don’t know if the author ran out of steam and time before the deadline, but I was hoping for much more than there was.
However I really enjoyed how they showed Alice learning to find herself again after a deeply traumatic event. I’ve been through a lot of similar events that Alice went through, and found that the representation of being deeply scarred and the struggles of trying break out of that cocoon you placed yourself in to be rather accurate. I would’ve been annoyed if they instantly made her a girlboss™️ once she escaped the institution. I find it incredibly frustrating when stories (books/movies/anything) force toxic positivity down our throats like that actually solves all our problems, so this was a refreshing (albeit triggering) change.
Anyway, hopefully this makes sense. I not only have a migraine, but even rehashing this stuff is taxing mentally and emotionally. So keep your furry friends (or stuffed animals) nearby to help you through those portions if it’s triggering (and it’s totally okay to skip this book for now, or ever, if you don’t want to encounter those parts of the storyline), and check in with your body to see if you need a break. I’m now curious to read the original book(s) to compare different aspects of the storylines.
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence, Slavery, and Kidnapping
jabioks55's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder