Fall is almost upon us, which means the leaves will begin rusting, the air will turn frosty, the sky will be foggy, and then HALLOWEEN. Most of us might not like a spook or scare, bur whether you do or don’t, this retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is sure to entwine you in gore and horror.

The Chronicles of Alice is a series of two books (a duology, to be proper) by Christina Henry. The first book, Alice, is one of my favorite books. The second and final installment, Red Queen, was released back in July. I read the second book this last month, and though I didn’t love it as much as the first, it still kept me enthralled and tangled in a world of darkness and magic.

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Alice

Synopsis:

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

Henry creates a dark, psychotic world full of madness and blood and death. But what I love about her writing style is how she lays out the horror with a casualness that left chills up my bones. She took the silly characters from the colorful world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and turned into something fierce and terrifying.

This was my first horror book, and it didn’t disappoint. It left me gaping, unable to stop turning the pages. What I admire about this book is it never gave you quite what you wanted. It would set up something dramatic, only to have it end expectantly, just as real life works. It almost never goes the way we want, whether it be positive or negative.

I will always remember this book as my first and favorite horror book.

{Goodreads; Amazon; Book Depository}

Red Queen

Synopsis:

(To avoid spoiling those who don’t want to know, I will be leaving this blank. For those of you who have read the first book and are interested in the second, be sure to click the Goodreads link down below to read the synopsis and add it to your list.)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review: 

Again, I don’t want to say too much about this since it’s the sequel. All I can say is I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the characters and the increase in the magic. Really, this was more of a fantasy novel rather than horror with all of the magic, which I don’t mind. But I’ll admit I missed the gruesome scenery that the first book captured.

This sequel, like many other sequels, was also quite slow in the beginning. It started to pick up about a quarter of the way through, but it started to dwindle again, at times. Still, this tied up the series well and I enjoyed it as a whole.

{Goodreads; Amazon; Book Depository}

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I hope you give this series a go if you haven’t already and enjoy it as much as me. I hope you also like this new setup of mine. I’ve been cleaning up my social media accounts (mainly my Instagram) and figured it was time to have my blog match my clean, minimalistic aesthetic.