Trapped in Wonderland by Dani Hoots
Goodreads Rating: 5 stars
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I received a copy of Trapped in Wonderland from Netgalley. This is my own review. I was not paid for this review.
This is the first book I have read by Dani Hoots and I can guarantee it will not be the last. Having said that, before I get to the “good stuff,” I want to explain why my actual rating was 4.5 stars.
There were times in the story, especially the first few pages, where it felt very rushed. The narration was very fast paced, almost like a kid hopped up on too much sugar. I felt I had to read fast to keep up. As the story went on, the narration pace slowed down.
I know this is an ARC, and hopefully there are many revisions to come as there are some things that need editing. This includes the use of wrong words, sentence structure issues, and some redundancy. I did not count off for this in my rating as, again, this is an ARC copy. I wanted to make note of this for editing purposes.
Normally I complain about weak female characters but in Trapped in Wonderland this worked. Alice, who is not a very confident girl, gets sucked into Wonderland by kids she knew from school. It is her job to destroy Morpheus and the Cirque de Reves, a circus that brings about darkness from the inhabitants’ of Wonderland fears. Alice considers herself a weakling and is confused on what she can do to help. She is accompanied by the Mad Hatter, The March Hare, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat, and eventually the Knave of Hearts. This group, who develop and strengthen friendships as the adventure continues, traversed through the Red and White Kingdom, escapes the Dream Kingdom, enters the Dark Forest and lives to tell the tale. With each adventure, Alice becomes bolder and more confident in her abilities to possibly succeed when she meets with Morpheus for a second time. Will she succeed? You’ll just have to read the book to find out!
My favorite character is Chase, or as we know him from the stories, the Cheshire Cat. He is funny, troublesome, and caring. He’s definitely my book boyfriend and I look forward to seeing more of him in the series. I found this image by thezayniac and I think it would be a perfect Chase:
I found myself becoming completely immersed into Wonderland and this particular story. I liked the various nods to the original story, while keeping true to this retelling. I have read a few Alice in Wonderland retellings, and Trapped in Wonderland is probably my favorite. I look forward to recommending this to friends once it is released and I look forward to future books in this series!
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