War of the Cards

I was surfing NetGalley, as one does, when I came across War of the Cards and I was intrigued by the synopsis – I love a good villain origin story. I requested and received the book and was all excited until I realised it was the third book in a series! Silly old me then had to binge read Queen of Hearts and Blood of Wonderland to then read War of the Cards. I’m actually really glad that I did this though, because I would not have been able to deal with the wait between books! This series is awesome and keeps you on your toes. Its an incredible reimagining of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and I loved it.

To summarise: this series, and this book in particular, is a unique retelling/origin story of Alice in Wonderland’s villain the Queen of Hearts. Oakes creates characters who are complex, empowering and interesting to read; whilst playing with the stereotypes of fairy tales and creates an interesting ambiguous cast who go against their stereotype of ‘hero’ or ‘villain’. This creates moral dilemna’s and depth that usually lacks in these styles of stories, which can be seen through her portrayal of the protagonist, Dinah. Dinah is a perfect lead to the story, she is a realistic role model who never quite manages to be the stereotypical hero, but strives to be the best version of herself. Dinah may have fought a war, but the battle continues inside her every day, something that many can relate to. The world is beautifully crafted to hint of the Wonderland we know, but also an entity in itself of a thought out wonderful world which you are transported to through Oakes magical descriptions. Oakes has achieved something marvellous and War of the Cards is an epic unexpected conclusion to this brilliant series.

Full review: https://mythicreader.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/review-war-of-the-cards/