Alice the Assassin

Malice in Wonderland #1

by Lotus Rose

You've been misled. Lewis Carroll didn't reveal the whole story...

Alice never left Wonderland. She's trapped. She's angry. And she wants revenge.


If you're a fan of twisted fairy tales, you'll love this dementedly funny series, brought to you by the author of Dorothy vs. Alice.


The truth is not what you were led to believe. It wasn't all "just a dream." It's a nightmare. A nightmare she can't escape, where formerly pleasant characters throw her unhappy unbirthday parties to torment her, while others like to make her cry so they can lick her tears.


But one day after years of this unpleasantness, she loses her heart. Literally. Well, technically somebody steals it.


And she has to get it back. By any means necessary. And it's a lot easier to be ruthless now that she's heartless.


Alice is fed up with all the losers of Wonderland, from the sadistic Queen of Hearts to the goofy Mad Hatter to the bloodthirsty Cheshire Cat.


And she's tired of being so sweet and innocent, with all her dimples. She used to be a preteen, but today is her 13th birthday, and she'll be singing “unhappy birthday” loudly as she delivers violent justice! Yeah, she used to be so sweet you could die. Well, now they all shall die...literally.


It may be 1865, but Alice is about to go medieval.


She will have her heart returned to her even if she has to kill all the citizens of Wonderland one by one...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Ebooks, Amazon, Retellings, Adult

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2012

About the author

Lotus Rose is like this generation’s twisted, more adult version of Roald Dahl. And since Lotus wrote a continuation of Alice in Wonderland, he’s also like the demented doppelganger of Lewis Carroll. But he’s not like one of those doppelgangers who kills the original then takes their place, because Lewis Carroll is already dead. Really, though, Lotus is a sweetheart.
His style can best be described as “children’s stories for adults.” He retains all the best of children’s literature—the imagination, the playfulness, the outright weirdness—then adds an additional layer of mature themes and subjects. And often with a dark sense of humor.
So, if you ever wanted to revisit your childhood, to reexperience the wonder of children’s literature, but without all the innocent naivety holding you back, the Lotus Rose books are sure to deliver. From The Poniworld Chronicles, to The Malice in Wonderland Saga to The Twisted Holiday Specials, you’ll love his twisted takes on sacred childhood institutions, and are guaranteed to laugh throughout.

Here's a short poem he wrote:

O, shall I be like the lotus,
And bring you dark dreams and soft sighs?
Or shall I be like the rose is,
Sweet-scented and tempting your eyes?

For the unending sleep can seduce you,
To the world behind unseeing eyes.
And the beauty that beckons, then cuts you,
Is also the cruelest of lies.

Lotus currently lives in Austin, Texas. He likes Newcastle Brown Ale.

Reviews

[Melissa Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Alice re-tellings and am always on the hunt for a new one. This short little book was a fun read. 4 stars.

I'm pretty sure I got this ebook for free on Amazon. It also says it's for adults, but nothing really happens that is adult-like, unless you count blood and gore, than I guess it's adult.

Alice has been locked up in Wonderland since the age of 7. She is now 13. Over the years the characters of Wonderland have become more and more mad and vicious. Before the madness was just silly, but now they like to torture her. Every day that is not her birthday is an unbirthday. Those days are the worst because a lot of the characters like to come and make her cry, by hurting her. Today however, is different because it is her birthday and she has turned 13. A playing card that is unlike the others shows up at her door, proclaiming that he is her birthday present. That he is the 13 of heartless and if she wants to she can become heartless as well. This seems like a good idea to Alice. Without a heart maybe she can fight back instead of always feeling sorry for herself.

The book goes on an adventure through Wonderland, focusing on the characters. This is quite dark. There is a lot of killing.

I am definitely going to try out book two if it's not too much on Amazon. If you like Alice re-tellings and you like short books, give this one a try.

P.S. the entire trilogy + the prequel is free on Amazon for the kindle. (8/31/21)

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't know what I signed up for when I got this from Amazon for free lol. I thought it was a great concept and an easy read (prose-wise). I love fairy tales and twisted fairy tales, of course, but this wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be. That was probably the reason why it took a few days for me to finish something I'd read in half a day. I kept finding more interesting things to do.

Probably the most entertaining parts were those with the double meanings ... as in Humpty Dumpty tells Alice to "come bend over my lap and I'll give you a spanking, you bad, baaaaad girl" ... or something of that sort.

[Ilona Nurmela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost exactly what it says on the tin - bullied Alice takes her revenge

I’m ambivalent about this one. On one hand, it’s brill and along the lines of Lewis Carrol absurdity & poem-wise; on the other hand it could easily be a trascribed dream of someone who wishes they took to arms to stand up to their bullies. Hmm… yes.

Alice is T-1 to being 13 and has been trapped in Wonderland for a year. All the elements of the all-time favourite story have been severely twisted into every single character bullying Alice to tears. Literally. When a 13th card of Hearts arrives, she gets impetus to break the rules and the killing spree starts. It’s the killing spree that gave me pause when liking the book. While Alice is 13 in this story, I strongly suggest only adults reading this book, NOT teens - as there’ve been too many school violence incidents overall and this book justifies meeting mental violence with physical removal. Fiction yes, but some ideas can be dangerously contagious. So, teens, if you do pick this up, don’t take this as a manual.

I liked the way the author created heartless creatures - tho some of Wonderland’s characters who were supposed to have a heart really didn’t, so heartless is an arguable point here. Still, a great portrayal of what not having a heart eliminates in humans.

I liked the debunked myth of cats having 9 lives. Loved the Alice-Malice duality and the wordplay plus the catchy absrudities. The poems were funky, too. Overall, a good quick read, story flows well, but would recommend to adults over 20 who like fairytales so twisted they’re outright cruel and can tell reality from wishful thinking. This is not for you if you love the original Alice in Wonderland - you’ll never be able to look at that book after this one - ever again.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cover/Title: The cover didn't really draw me in. However, I like remakes of familiar tales so I was looking forward to this once I saw the title & series name.

Characters: Honestly, I couldn't have cared any less for these characters. In the original story, the characters were quirky and fun. In this they were sadistic and cruel. I really didn't have any empathy for any of them. Not Alice, not Malice, the Mad Hatter or any of them. I just didn't like them.

Plot: Alice is kept chained up unless she is doing her rounds. Her rounds being that she gets to spend time with each of the wonderland creatures being tortured until she cries. She gets a Thirteen of Hearts card which allows her to remove her heart. The heart is stolen and she gets even with the characters as she searches for her heart.

Overall: I really didn't care for this book. I loved the original quirky and fun characters but in this book they are just sadistic and cruel. I don't like the characters and I didn't really care for the story. The best part of the book was that it was short so I finished it quickly. I will not be reading any more of this series.

[Bella Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Not as excellent as Snow white by Katherine Pine but still this is the book if you like reading retellings.Characters 10/10. Originality 10/10. Plot 10/10

[Mia Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cool book

I gave it a five because it was really good. I love the twists and turns in the book. Lotus Rose did an excellent job!

[Tiffany Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice the Assassin (Updated)
Alice is chained to her writing desk playing solitaire when a guard card approaches. The strange thing about this card is its holey. She gives him permission to enter. The card introduces himself as the Thirteen of Hearts. He’s a new car (a wild card). Alice says a better name would be “Heartless”. She says she’s 13 too (more or less). He asks what she’s the 13 of (clubs, hearts, diamonds). Alice says she’s just a girl. Not a card.

The card says that she is thirteen today. The Queen threw a party. Only Alice wasn’t invited. He questions if the Queen took her heart too. Alice says she has one, but it’s on the *inside*. Alice points out that the card can’t be heatless, but he points to his missing hearts. She wonders if she got rid of her own heart, would this make her a “one of heartless”. The card wants to know if Alice’s heart is red or black, and she replies black from living in this horrible place all these years. She says she wishes she could be heartless like him.

The card says she should, and questions how hard could it be to get rid of her heart. She says girls need their hearts, but he says she should be like him-a renegade. He just popped out her cake. Created for her especially. The Thirteen of Heartless says he’ll help her remove her heart for a while to help her get revenge. When other guard cards come for her “surprise” unbirthday party (the surprise being how they’ll torture her this time), the Thirteen of Heartless card shrinks, and she puts it in the pocket of her dress.

Tweedledee and Twiddledum enter the room carrying a chocolate unbirthday cake and singing Unhappy Birthday. Humpty Dumpty, the March Hare, the Dormouse, the Mad Hatter, the Three of Hearts, and the Jabberwock join them. After the routine of blowing out the trick candles, Alice tells them the party is inappropriate because it's her actual birthday. They express their disappointment in their ruined plans. The Hatter wanted to throw pies in Alice’s face. The Tweedles wanted to play pin the tail on Alice (and everywhere they pinned the tail, they’d stick the real Alice). Then they start to leave.

Alice tells the Hatter she has a game for him and she’ll let him win and toss his pies in her face. The game is called “Toss the Card in the Hat”. The rules are that the winner is the person who doesn’t toss the card in the hat after the other player does. It takes several tries, but finally Alice manages to toss the card in the hat. Then the card starts to glow. Alice pulls out her heart and puts it in a box. She tells the others to close their eyes.

She tells them she has a surprise for them, and when they open their eyes, she’s holding the Hatter’s pies. Then she lets him smash the pies in her face. They all begin leaving, except for the card guard. She asks the guard card she’d like him to blow out her candles. Since it's her birthday, the rules are reversed. He can blow the candles out. The guard card leans in and catches fire. Alice enjoys this and laughs. She unchains herself and goes to the jewelry box. Her heart is gone. Her first suspect is Humpty Dumpty. She’ll find him and make him pay for stealing her heart.

Alice approaches the Cheshire Cat, who tells her to kill herself. He’ll provide her with the pistol. This is his offer, and he tells her he can tell she’s thought of it. She tells him she’s searching for something that was stolen from her. He asks what it is, but she says she’d rather not say. She just wants to know if he knows who has it. He asks if he helps her, will she kill herself? She says yes. She’ll be so happy that once she finds it, she’ll shoot herself very soon if he lets her have the pistol. He makes her promise not to do it without him there to watch. He tells her don’t miss. It’s a single bullet (indicating her brain is small).

Alice passes the Twiddles who are fighting over the rattle. She aims her pistol, but finds she can’t get a good shot. Then, if she kills one, she’ll have to deal with the other one’s anger. They notice her and think the pistol is a toy. They start to argue over who can use the pistol better.

She tells them she’s looking for something that was probably stolen by Humpty Dumpty. They see they saw him do it. Only they didn’t see what. She tells them her heart was stolen. They ask if she’s heartless; does that mean she’s going to try to get revenge. Alice just shrugs. They tell her if she does, they’ll slit her throat or, worse, they’ll tell the Queen. Alice tells them she won’t try anything. So, they decide to test her by pulling her hair. Before they do, Alice asks where Humpty put the heart. They say he might have put it inside himself. The Twiddles start to ramble about what’s inside Humpty. They say that they found out it's not egg that’s in Humpty. While they’re reciting a poem about it, one of them tries to grab the pistol.

Alice runs away and then stops. They both say they want the pistol. Alice throws it, and it lands between them. The two start to fight over the pistol. While they’re doing this, Alice grabs their rattle and slips away. She then finds herself in front of Humpty on his wall. She demands her heart back. He says it's not on him. All his possessions are at the base of his wall. She says she saw him take it, and he says maybe he gave it away. She asks to whom and he says none of her business.

She asks how does she even know if he’s telling the truth. Maybe her heart is around. He tells her to look all she wants. Maybe tho if she’s good and plays with him, he’ll help her get it back. Alice tries to topple Alice. He slashes at her with the razor. Alice finds out that a snake caused one of the Tweedles to make Humpty lose his balance and topple. So, when he hears the rattle, he thinks it’s a snake. Alice says she thinks she hears a rattlesnake and it's behind him. He turns to look, and she shakes the rattle. He teeters. She continues to play with his head (telling him the snake is different places) and then she shoves him off the wall.

Alice sees a girl covered in egg bites. She’s the mirror image of her. She doesn’t know what her name is, and that she doesn’t remember being in the egg. Alice gives her the name Malice (as in the girl in Humpty’s previous poem). Malice says that suits her fine. Alice then explains her mission. Alice finds out that Malice is also heartless. Alice offers to share, but Malice says no need. Having a heart sounds like a burden. They start to go back to the Twiddles, but the Cheshire Cat appears. He reminds her that she’s not dead. She says she’s had things to take care of. He gets excited by the thought of a double suicide. Alice confirms that they’ve made a suicide pact and they’ll let him lick their (magical) tears.

He produces another pistol and gives it to Malice. Alice asks if they’re heatless: how will their tears taste. He says like acid. The Twiddles confess they’re glad Dumpty’s gone, but that they knew Humpty didn’t have their heart. It was snuck to the Mad Hatter. Alice says she has an idea to solve who gets the rattle. They can have a pretend duel, and one will pretend to die. She and Malice will judge who dies the best. But the pistols have real bullets. They shot each other, and then decide to shot Alice and Malice. Put there’s no more bullets and the Twiddles die.

Malice turns on Alice and says now she has to go. As she said, there’s only one heart. Alice, tho, reminds her that if she dies, so will Malice. Alice declares them rivals, wishes Malice luck, and says maybe they can find a way to share. They then go their separate ways. Alice, before leaving, tosses the rattle on Tweedledee’s chest. Then heads to see the Caterpillar. (Somewhere that I’ve missed they were taped up. Malice freed herself.

The Caterpillar likes to experiment and try his spices out on her. He says he has a new spice to try on her. She says before she does, she wants to know if she’s heard anything about a stolen body part. He says he doesn’t know anything about it. Alice takes tape and tapes the hookah to the Caterpillar’s mouth. She then takes the tubing so he won’t grab it and slaps his hands away. He falls off the mushroom, and so does she. He starts to convulse, and his legs begin to twitch. He then dies (with his eyes open in terror). She tells him to watch out for the spice. It’ll kill him. She then heads off to see The Hatter.

There’s now an inverted mushroom and a cocoon. Alice eats a piece of the mushroom. Then a black butterfly flies away. Humpty Dumpty is now standing in front of her. He says the King and his men put him back together, and he’s building a new spot. He’s on a brick on a railroad track. She tries to tell him it’s a bad spot. Then she sees the White Rabbit and the March Hare fighting a duel with carrots and arguing that there can only be one rabbit. A train approaches, and Alice jumps up and knocks Humpty from the wall. He explodes in sparkles, and she goes down. All of a sudden, she’s lying on the ground on her back as if none of that happened. She looks around. She sees the little mushroom, right side up, and the little dead caterpillar next to his hookah. Then she heads to the Mad Hatter’s table.

On the way, she sees scratch marks on her arm and realizes something must have scratched Malice. The tea things and the table are in disarray so this means Malice has been there. She found out he gave Malice the heart, but she said she didn’t know how to put it back in. He might die. Malice made him like his hat. His hat is special because it can watch her. But only three times a day. He likes to watch her get tortured. He says maybe she can wear to hat to watch her twin to get revenge for his death.

He asks whose heart it is, and she admits it's hers. Before he dies, she asks him why a raven is like a writing desk and then slams a pie in his face. She then sees that the dormouse’s throat has been slit. She takes the Hatter’s hat and places it on her head. She then flips the table and sends china flying. Alice's shadow tells her it's outraged with her behavior. He’s been hopping back and forth between the two, and he’s tired. Alice tells him to choose one. The shadow says to get back together, or he’s leaving them both. Alice says she doesn’t know how. The Shadow says she must go to the Looking Glass and be reflected by it at the same time. He says he can convince Malice to this. But then the shadow sees that Malice is trying to summon the Cheshire.

Malice is in the execution center in a catsuit of the Queen’s tailor. She uses it and catnip to summons the cat and tells it before she shoots herself that she wants her kiss of death. So, the cat agrees. The gun doesn’t go off. Malice starts to act like a cat and begs the Cheshire to play with her. He says the Queen will get him, but she says it's just then. Then she asks for another kiss. She says she’ll only let him play with her yarn if he kisses her. So, she does. They play and she coaxes two more kisses from him. Alice suspects her kisses are laced with catnip.

Malice says she wants to marry him. He says he doesn’t know. Something doesn’t feel right. She pouts, and he can’t resist. He walks toward her for a kiss, and Malice uses the guillotine to slice off his head. Alice then sees Malice meet with the Queen. The Queen thanks her for killing the cat. She then invites her to the ball. Alice says she has a surprise for the Queen and offers to give her a makeover. The makeover consists of a brand-new face. She then spritzes her with Alice’s tears. Her faces begins to sizzle and smoke. She then falls to the floor and cries. Malice tells her to have fun at the ball. She’s not killed tho. Just disfigured. Malice wanted her to suffer for her crimes.

Now, Alice has to get past the Jabberwock on the 8th square. She has to make him confess to stealing the tarts. When she sees the Jabberwock and invites him to play a game of poker. She announces she has the Thirteen of Heatless, so he has to fold and confess. So, he confesses he stole the Queen’s tarts. He then takes the Vorpal Blade, kneels, puts the blade in front of him, recites a poem, and then commits suicide. Alice now wears a crown. She reunites with Malice whose also wearing a crown and carrying a blue bag and the vorpal sword.

So, they play the toss the card in the hat game. Alice wins the game and puts her heart back in her chest. As soon as she does, she gets knocked out by Malice and chained up. Malice then rips the card in half and flings the halves. Now that Alice got the heart, Malice says she can now kill her if she tries to escape (and it won’t affect her). She says she might just let Alice live just to watch the black heart torment her. (It seems the heart now after being out for so long has started to turn black).

Before she kills her, Malice says she has presents. She removes the Jabberwock’s head and the Cheshire’s from her bag. Malice is so busy bragging about her accomplishments that she doesn’t see that the Cheshire is still alive. Then claw marks start to appear on her face. She shrieks, slashes, and cuts the cat on the shoulder. The cat drops to the ground and hisses at her. She runs out the hut exclaiming “This isn’t over.”

Alice realizes that with no reflection she can’t go back through the Looking Glass, but the Cat points out to look on the bright side. Now she’s Queen.

My Thoughts:
WOW! So when I first read the prequel to this book, it was a jumbled mess of events and a timeline that didn't make sense. But something about it intrigued me, and I wanted to see where it went. This was the DARKEST, most APPALLING plot and version of Wonderland I'd ever read. When I was reading this I thought what the hell happened to this place and the creatures.

The message in this was all kinds of twisted, too. In most books, like for example if you read Kingdom Hearts, there's a battle between the darkness and the light. The message is always, even though there's darkness in us, we shouldn't give in to it. You will NOT find that in this book! This book is all about how it's better to not have a heart. This book encourages embracing and giving permission NOT to feel. How different is this?

Alice says it several times, and it’s the reason why she rips her heart out. Which I'ma just be honest and say I understand PERFECTLY! Because YES, I've been there. I KNOOOW what having a heart can get you. People just like the Wonderlandians will (and are constantly) out to kill your spirit and your mind. And that dark side will come right on out.

I thought that in the end, Alice would win over Malice because she got her heart back. And when she went to hunt them all down and pick them off one by one, I can't say I felt the least bit sorry for ANY of them. I thought I'd feel a tiny bit sorry for the Hatter (at first). But it's just as bad to take pleasure in voyeurism. If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. mpressive how they tricked these idiots into doing themselves in. Just the thought of a mirror half out to kill not only others but you is the making of a nightmare. Then the book kind of vaguely ends with just crazy twin on the rampage and sane twin not going back home any time soon. I wanted to know how she got sucked into all this in the first place. I will definitely be reading the next book.

RATING: 8 1/2. FABULOUS! This whole book from start to finish left an unease in my insides. The premise was gratifying. It wasn't the Alice in Wonderland Disney version, nor was it the TV movie. This was the Wonderland from HELL! The message wasn't clean-cut. This version of the characters will make your stomach turn in disgust. And the ending will make you curious about how much worse it can get in the next segment and top what's been done in this one. After all, there's only the Red Queen left.

[Lynz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is incredibly creative, there’s no denying that. The idea of Alice stuck in a twisted, nightmarish Wonderland long after the original story ends is bold and intriguing. It takes familiar characters and completely reimagines them in dark, often grotesque ways, and I appreciated the ambition behind that.

But something about it just never fully clicked for me. The world is imaginative, but the tone felt inconsistent, like it couldn’t decide whether to be edgy satire or serious horror. The constant sarcasm and over-the-top weirdness started to wear thin, and I found it hard to emotionally connect with Alice or the story itself.

Despite the interesting concept, it often felt like style took priority over substance. Scenes jumped from bizarre moment to bizarre moment without enough grounding, and the plot didn’t feel as cohesive or satisfying as I wanted.

Final thoughts:
I respect what this book was trying to do, it’s certainly different and has a distinct voice, but in the end, it just wasn’t for me. If you love dark, twisted retellings and don’t mind things getting a little unhinged, this might still be worth a shot.

[April Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm... 3.5 I think. This series is odd to me in the way that I like it, but I'm not loving it yet.. I think this is because, at least to me, there's no emotional connection to any of the characters in Wonderland.
There was the beginnings of what I thought was one between Alive and Hatter in the prequel, but that wasn't touched upon at all in this. Or possibly the oddness of Humpty proclaiming his love for 8yr old Alice in the prequel, but again, nothing here.
And while the characters were mean to Alice, I just didn't feel any emotion behind it.

Trudging on to book 2.. I'm hoping some emotion seeps in soon. Perhaps Alice will find a way to bring all the corpses back to life and I'll get some emotion now that she's queen.... Cause so far, the most compelling character is Malice.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you like terrible fanfiction?

Even if you do, I'd recommend giving this one a pass. The writing is awkward and stilted. One hopes that the writer was attempting to emulate the writing style of a children's narrative and did so poorly - at least then it would have been deliberate.

Weak word choices, awkward phrasing, and repetitiveness (in particular we're constantly, and I do mean constantly, reminded that now that sweet little Alice doesn't have a heart she's free to lie).

If there is an upside (it's not actually an upside), it's that the book was less 3edgy5you than I expected from "Lotey's" bio in the back.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what to think about this story other than I think I like the nice Alice with a heart much better.
Alice is in wonderland and she is fed up with all the hurtful pranks the characters constantly pull on her, she decides she wants revenge on all of them but her good heart wont let her do that without feeling terribly guilty, but the 13 of hearts has a way to help her if she is willing to remove her heart and let malice settle in.. what Alice doesnt relize, is the longer her heart is outside her body the blacker her heart turns. will she have a change of heart before its to late?

[Natelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice’s stay in Wonderland has been extended indefinitely. The denizens of that unusual land celebrate this every day. Of course, they do it by making her cry. How much of that can she take? Find out in these pages.

This book got darker and darker as it progressed. I am not sure I am brave enough to dive into the next one though my hopeful mind thinks it saw a hint of redemption at the end of this one. Definitely know that even if I make it to the final trilogy of the series, I won’t read it. Sorry, Lotus, that title seems like a warning for prudes not to bother.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story/novella is a pastiche on Alice in Wonderland. Alice originally went to Wonderland at seven years old and it is now her 13th birthday. The other characters have gotten madder and more cruel as the time passed.
I am not sure what to make of the story. The violence is escalated to the point of being disturbing and the humor isn't really humorous. Stuff happens but, for the most part, I don't see a reason behind the actions. By the end, I felt let down by the story.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one but I also couldn't put it down.
This read a lot like when my schizophrenic friends are having an episode. Which, if the author has that going on more power to them. My mother taught me to write down nightmares so they'd go away. Good use of nightmares.
I think this book actually gave me nightmares though...
Again, zero hate. It just wasn't for me. I wanna see this author keep creating.

[Shane Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting twist to Alice in Wonderland. A dark one at that. Very fun and witty. However, I am unsure if I want to continue this series forward. A small part of me wants to know what happens next. However, most likely, I will not continue the series. I feel sorry for Alice and I understand why she does what she does.

[Laura Ruetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't your Disney version of Wonderland. It is dark and depraved and is a fast but fun read. However, this really glossed over a lot, leaving a lot of hints but not a lot of substance. It would have been a very effective dark read had it gone a little deeper. Still, I would read the rest of the series, it was a good read and an original take on the Wonderland story.

[K.C. Otenti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice the Assassin is a fun, light (but dark) read. All the major players are there, but Wonderland has changed quite a bit since Alice arrived six years ago.

The humor reminded me of the way I used to write in high school. The prose is a little rough, and there's a lot of opportunity for further character and plot development, but overall it was enjoyable.

[Christine Shrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Malice in Wonderland series. Alice heart is stolen so she goes after the Wonderland characters and kills them. All her childhood she was tortured by then and now she is getting her revenge.

This book is very dark and has a lot of Gore in it.

I really love it! It kept me entertain and was a very fun read. It makes you feel really bad for Alice.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful twist!

This is the first book I've read that actually has a phenomenal spin on the Alice story. Not to give anything away, but Alice going around and taking care of those in Wonderland - fabulous!!! ... a definite must read!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre

Weird book. However, it did keep my attention. I found myself enjoying it more as it went along. Thank goodness...no zombies! I may read the rest of books...or keep it on my wish list just for looks! (Ha ha ha...I can make up dumb rhymes too!)

[stacy wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Characters were well developed. Didn't like the ending. Not sure if I will read the rest of the series .

[Angie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a morbid twist of Alice in Wonderland. Not sure I will continue the series. Definitely for mature readers.

[Ola Bell Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing I love 💖📖📓📕

I consider this book because I love the author and this book is really good like it is the opposite of Alice in wonderland with a twist and who doesn't love that

[Mysti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short book. It was ok. Not great but Ok.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sacrilege!!!

This was awful, I would have stopped before end but it was so short. Not my cup of tea this perversion of a childhood favorite.

[Anna Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this.

I devoured this with in a little over an hours. I loved it and now I must get the next one.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having a heart may sometimes prove to be detrimental to your health and survival, as demonstrated in the adventures contained within Lotus Rose's Alice the Assassin (Malice in Wonderland #1). 

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Trapped in Wonderland, Alice has found that over her years there the strange land is more of a nightmare than a dream. Held captive and endlessly tortured by Wonderland's residents for her apparently delicious and miraculous tears, Alice finds that telling lies and harming them is far easier when she doesn't have a heart. But her recently removed heart has been stolen from her and she wants it back. As she searches for her heart, deadly harm befalls the residents of Wonderland but Alice is determined to recapture her heart regardless of the cost to those around her.

A generally entertaining story, the narrative takes the lighthearted nonsensical world familiar to readers of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and weaves in morbid darkness to demonstrate the ruthlessness of a heartless Alice. I found it a bit unbalanced in how Alice was portrayed as there was a gradual descent to Alice's attitude toward the harm that the others around her befell and much of the more deadly or gruesome things that took place were more coincidental rather than intentionally planned, though she also did begin to plan for some outcomes, like for the Tweedles, which made her seem like she was of two minds instead of one. Beloved and quirky characters from the original story are incredibly cruel in this retelling of the tale, which in the brief amount of time spent in establishing this version of Wonderland didn't seem warranted; however, with more development of the characters and how this version of Wonderland functions, there could be potential for a stronger dark retelling of Alice.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally enjoy most books and especially books like these where they re-make stories, but this book disappointed me greatly. When i start reading a series, I always feel the urge to finish it no matter what but with this series I do not feel the need to buy or read the next book.
normally not judging a book on the length or the page count, the length of this story was to short as it caused the author to rush the story line or just the story in general, the pages went to fast and the explanations were very vague. like how did alice originally get there? why had the characters turned out like that? was there another reason for the characters to be like that? Why did the Cheshire cat decide to join alice? he could have easily been the most dangerous of the characters but he yielded to her so easily and quickly it was kinda disappointing.
The characters deaths were written really quickly and did not provide much detail. I get that some of the deaths were supposed to be quick although a few of the more important deaths needed to be explained more, such as, Alice's other self at the end of the book. The only death I remotely enjoyed reading was the Cheshire cats, as it was creative and well thought out.
Although the book had some interesting concepts and ideas and would have been great if portrayed and written at a better standard, then this book could have turned out really well.
I applaud the author for attempting to write another version of Alice.

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book; free and short too. It really captures the spirit and voice of the original Alice in Wonderland while elevating it to a slightly more mature audience. I did get tired of some repetitive or on the nose elements and the fact that nobody ever goes anywhere, they just sort of appear in certain places. The beginning was the best part and it sort of weakened after that but with it being such a quick and easy read I didn't mind too much. It's also got a ton of light poetry that was ok, though the extra at the end was really good.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of Alice in Wonderland type story is about Alice who is basically held in Wonderland against her will and tormented by the creatures there. She loses her heart and upon searching for it kills the creatures who have been mean to her. It was a strange take on the story but pretty good in a morbid sort of way.