Carole´s Monday: Alice the dagger

Author: Ashley Mcleo

Title: Alice the Dagger

Series: The Wonderland Court #1

Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Romance 

Format: ebook

Pages: 420

Published: September 1, 2022

Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon)

Summary: 

They call me the dagger.

I’m a famed assassin.

It's all I've ever known.

All that I can remember.

So when a white rabbit tells me that loved ones are waiting for me in the Wonderland Court of Faerie, it's surprising. And then, I learn something even more shocking.

The Red Queen stole the crown from my mother—who she murdered. The queen singlehandedly created my reality of death and blood and murder.

While that's devastating, I can handle it. As long as I get revenge.

What I don't know how to handle is Henri Hatter.

He’s a rebel leader loved by everyone. A man who sings in the streets because people ask for aether’s sake. A faerie who knows more about my past than anyone—including me.

A good man who could crush my heart if I let him in. Which I can't do.

Not if I want vengeance against the queen who ruined my life. Despite my claims that I work alone, Hatter and two nosey little pixies insist on sticking with me.

Only one thing is for sure, with them by my side assassinating the Red Queen will be unlike any other job I’ve ever tackled.

Review:

Randomly picked this up when going freebie crazy in Amazon. Wasn't even sure what this was about. The title and the cover drew me in and I threw it with the rest of the freebies. I didn't even read the summary when I started reading this. To my absolute surprise, it is a retelling of 'Alice in Wonderland'!

Here we follow Alice who was raised to be an assassin and a killer. She is only a few days shy of her 18th birthday and her contract is over so she can be free! That is until a white rabbit storms into her life. This white rabbit tells her that she has a family waiting for her in Wonderland, a land of Faes, and she is the only one who can save everyone from the Red Queen.

This was a lot of fun!! I was pleasantly surprised (as I mentioned earlier) that this is a retelling of the classic tale. When the white rabbit appeared...I was all WHAT? So I went and read the summary and realized the truth! How fun!

There is a sprinkle of romance *cough* lust *cough* but it doesn't take over the story. They have enough to deal with. I do hope they explore more in the next book but I'm glad we just saw glimmers here while they get the rebels and Alice ready to take on the Red Queen.

My only issue with this is the pace. The pace of the story felt super rushed in some areas and dragging in others. It was a little jarring. Moments that were building up would just happen and be done.

Other than that, I really did have fun with this. I love the world and the references, but this story is pretty fresh. 

In the end, I'll give this 4 stars.