Book Review: Queen of Hearts by Collen Oakes

Title: Queen of Hearts
Author: Colleen Oakes
Series/Standalone: Queen of Hearts Saga (Book #1)
Genre: Retellings, Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 306
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year Published: 2014
Format: Hardcover Physical Copy (Own it)
First Line: "'Oh, my future queen, you're late!'"

"Only queens with hearts can bleed.

This is not the story of the Wonderland we know. Alice has not fallen down a rabbit hole. There is no all-knowing cat with a taunting smile. This is a Wonderland where beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand, and only prisoners tell the truth.

Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over wonderland. She has not seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father's approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland's dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one steap ahead of her cunning enemies or she'll lose not just the crown but her head.

Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.

This is not a story of happily ever after.

This is the story of the Queen of Hearts."

My Rating: 4/5 

I'm not a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and while I know the story and am interested in the world it creates, I want to start this review by saying I'm not here to critic this book for its alignment with the original classic. I think that retellings are something that you have to take with a grain of salt, which means you have to both respect the fairytale in its original aspect, but also be willing to give up some ideas you might hold it to. And if you do these things I think that you would really enjoy Queen of Hearts. This story is not one for the faint of heart. The author brings together violence and beauty in a way that is both poetic and startling to read about. And while this is a short first instalment in the Queen of Hearts Saga it is a powerful one. The world painted by Colleen Oakes is one of mystery, political intrigue, horror and wonder, after all, what would Wonderland be without that. I think that this book was very well done, but wished that the twists and turns hadn't been quite so predictable. There were points in this book where I could guess what was going to happen next and found that to be extremely frustrating. I look forward to continuing the series and following Dinah in her quest for the crown. 

Thanks for reading,
Sidny