Robb is one of my favorites so I was all in for giving this antho a go and it was a lot of fun. Each take was unique and interesting. I had favorites--Robb and Ryan and a couple misses as well--Fox and McComas--but all in all it was a twisty fun ride Down the Rabbit Hole.
Wonderment in Death by JD Robb--4 stars
It's Eve and Roarke. You need it. Need it now! lol I love everything about this series and getting a tasty little treat with a side of woo-woo is always a delight. It's a quick little murder mystery as Eve and the team are called to a murder/suicide that may have had some outside influences and is riddled full of Alice in Wonderlandish connections. It was a good time. Classic Robb. Humor, friendships, a little romance and loving and a curious mystery that kept the pages turning.
Alice and the Earl in Wonderland by Mary Blayney--3 stars
A jaunt through time to save them all!!! Okay, really just a little time travel to set two hearts free and give them a chance at love as Alice and Weston are suddenly catapulted into present day London. Their lives switched with their contemporaries who are sent to replace them in times past. Everything they know to be true rocked and their eyes and hearts opened by the experience. These two had been in love once upon a time but scandal and worries tore them apart despite still being in love and yearning for each other. I liked these two. They had that sadly sweet feel of wanting each other but not thinking it was possible--her because of her parents scandalous divorce and him because of inheriting a nearly bankrupt earldom. I liked seeing them together and watching them realize that none of that mattered. While there was some nice tension between them there's little to no heat. I enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away but it was a nice read overall. I'd be up for checking out the series.
ILove by Elaine Fox--1 star
ILove didn't work for me on any level. Basically the heroine hastily dumps her boyfriend at breakfast without explanation and walks away from him because she thinks he spends too much time on his phone instead of focusing entirely on her. And as she walks away he gets sucked into that phone into a crazy world... to be rebooted. He can only get out if he finds love via the ILove app available to him.
I didn't care for the heroine at all. Or really any of the storyline. It came off as a preachy anti-technology PSA to live in the moment and get off technology. I get the idea but the preachy voice put me off. And then everything was so wishy washy. She dumped him but then was upset he didn't call her afterward, she'd tell her friends and they'd act like she was crazy because he was a good guy then next page they were telling her he just didn't love her, he was always on his phone but examples were him waiting for an important work message or looking up something that they'd talked about (like if you're talking and go I wonder what...and he looked it up) or her taking him to a baby shower and him checking out his messages. It just didn't work for me. Had it been a more positive thing maybe I could have gotten into it but it seemed like the entire thing was about the hero learning how horrible a person he was and then the heroine finally realizing she was a horrible person too and things magically being fixed between them because they'd rather be together. It made me a bit grouchy and I was glad it was only a handful of chapters.
A True Heart by Mary Kay McComas-- 2.5 stars
Whew! Now, True Heart, definitely had me feeling like I had actually fallen down a rabbit hole. In a mix of A Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland Elsie visits with a friend while costume shopping and slips into another world with a guide intent on showing her the troubles with her life one costume change at a time.
I spent a lot of the time feeling all swoopy and admittedly fairly confused on what was happening. I was totally feeling the down the rabbit hole vibes. Overall it was an okay read even with being all swirly. Elise and her guide wander through the shop trying on costumes that are supposed to help her with her figure out her life. The negative ways she behaves, etc. while watching flashbacks of conversations or moments with friends over the years. It was a little cliche at the end but personal growth and a couple smiles along the way did make it fairly enjoyable.
Fallen by RC Ryan--4 stars
Sexy highlanders. I just. Are more words needed? lol I loved Fallen. It was curious, sexy, fun and had a little danger added to the mix. It was a very quick read and one I didn't want to put down as Bethany travels to Scotland to broker a land sale and while making her way to the castle she falls, knocks her head and is transported into the past and the life of Laird Colin who is living under a curse and with two evil step siblings out to do him harm.
They were both lovely characters that suited each other and fit nicely. The world was magical and all of the characters (sans Bethany) waffled in and out of human and animal forms which was kind of fun. Things move quick, there's a little heat and a spot of evil lingering in the backgrounds. I was all set to be highly ticked with how things were ending but Ryan pulled off what could easily have been either cliche or a huge OMG NO YOU DIDN'T! move and instead left me smiling and wishing there was more from this little world. Nicely done!
Do you have a favorite Alice in Wonderland Retelling?
Have a favorite from any of these ladies?
You’re late for a very important date...
Enter a wonderland of mesmerizing tales. It’s a place that’s neither here nor there, where things are never quite as they seem. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s whimsical masterpiece, ranging from the impossible to the mad to the curiouser, these stories will have you absolutely off your head.
Don’t be afraid to follow them…
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