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Alice: Pick a Card #2
Alice In the City of Diamonds
There is no way back from Wonderland—or so they claim.
Not when the only door leading to my world is broken, and the magic of Wonderland has been thrown out of order. The magic itself relies on the clock at the center of Wonderland; but with the clock broken, my home in a state of disarray, and the man responsible for it missing? There is no hope.
But there is someone who knows how to fix the clock; Fitz, the annoying, self-serving rabbit who got me into this whole mess. Too bad he’s more concerned with wooing his prospective bride and becoming the King of Cards.
He’s locked in a race to the altar; staring down the threat of his youngest brother’s blooming romance with the Red Queen, Fitz’s own unwilling bride, and his unresolved feelings for me. Meanwhile, I couldn’t care less what troubles Fitz faces; I swore he would never become King of Cards, and that I would get home no matter what the cost.
Even if it means interfering in the lives of the royal court to pressure the man who I hate more than anything in this world into working beside me, facing down the Jabberwock, and becoming entangled in a sordid love affair.
But it’s not just the Kings I have to worry about, or even the menacing jaws of the Jabberwock. There’s still someone lurking in the background, someone determined to keep me in Wonderland at any price.
Not when the only door leading to my world is broken, and the magic of Wonderland has been thrown out of order. The magic itself relies on the clock at the center of Wonderland; but with the clock broken, my home in a state of disarray, and the man responsible for it missing? There is no hope.
But there is someone who knows how to fix the clock; Fitz, the annoying, self-serving rabbit who got me into this whole mess. Too bad he’s more concerned with wooing his prospective bride and becoming the King of Cards.
He’s locked in a race to the altar; staring down the threat of his youngest brother’s blooming romance with the Red Queen, Fitz’s own unwilling bride, and his unresolved feelings for me. Meanwhile, I couldn’t care less what troubles Fitz faces; I swore he would never become King of Cards, and that I would get home no matter what the cost.
Even if it means interfering in the lives of the royal court to pressure the man who I hate more than anything in this world into working beside me, facing down the Jabberwock, and becoming entangled in a sordid love affair.
But it’s not just the Kings I have to worry about, or even the menacing jaws of the Jabberwock. There’s still someone lurking in the background, someone determined to keep me in Wonderland at any price.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 30, 2022
Having read the first book in the Alice: Pick a Card series Alice in the Land of Clovers earlier this winter, I squealed with joy when I saw BA Lovejoy's email come through saying this second book was out. I immediately hopped like a bunny over to Booksirens to grab it!
Thanks to Booksirens and the publisher for the copy of this book. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
General Overview:
- It's 3 months after the events of book 1, and Wonderland is still in sh*t. The clock is still broken, Thomas Caard is still missing, and Alice is still stuck in Wonderland.
- Alice is attempting to fix the clock but is running in circles due to unknown reasons (read that as there is a mystery afoot). The only one who can help her, won't talk to her.
- Manon has had enough.
- There is not enough Kaeden
- The Jabberwock has arrived!
- Every man in this world still loves Alice
What I liked about this book:
1. The characters, because they really are 1/2 of what makes this series amazing.
Alice - I continue to love your wit, especially in your hatred towards Fitz, but there were definitely times you should have kept your mouth shut!
Definitely funny, but definitely troublesome. I can't help but love how you always root for the underdog though.
Fitz (the White Rabbit) - the snob King of the City of Diamonds. You make it so easy to hate you, but at the same time, I love how you're one of the only ones who will tell Alice no. I don't love that you're in love with her still, and I don't love your political agenda with the Jabberwock, but at least you're consistently you.
Claude (the Cheshire Cat) - so what happened to being a player????? Now you love Alice too??? I still don't trust you with your crazy smile and shady intentions. You are straight up lurking and I'm onto you.
William (the Mad Hatter) - Typical commitment phobe, you had to lose someone to know what they were worth to you?
Kaeden (the King (not Queen) of Hearts) -
Me during the first half of the book: "Where the f*ck is Kaeden??? This is not what I wanted!"
Me during the second half of the book: "And this is why Kaeden is the best!"
Roison - You are immature and the epitome of a girl who will steal another girl's crown, BUUUUUT, I think you may be the "good one". I guess we'll see....
Manon - You seem super cool, you stood up for Alice, you have a soft spot for the Jabberwock, and you are a feminist and rulebreaker, HOWEVER, I believe you are not as good-natured as we are being led to believe. I think you have ulterior motives that involve the Jabberwock and you ruling the entire Wonderland. I preface this assumption with I have very basic Alice in Wonderland knowledge, no Through the Looking Glass knowledge, and I have never heard of the white or red queen before this book. Maybe I'm a genius and I'm right, maybe I'm a wackadoodle.
Jabberwock (Jaxton) - FINALLY!!!! HE HAS ARRIVED!!!
2. The first book set up the idea of all of these realms ruled by the different suits and a king of Cards, as well as human folk vs. animal folk. I thought all of this was crazy interesting and beautifully written.
THEN this book brought into play a different country (if you will) within Wonderland that is separate from the suit "country": Chess. The two queens (one red, one white) are the rulers of Chess. Chess is a place where there are more rules and less leniency than the country ruled by card suites, which totally makes sense! Add to this the bonkers political systems in place, especially dealing with the trial of the Jabberwock? OH MY GAWD, it's just so creative and so beautifully written and interesting.
3. When Alice decides she is going after the Jabberwock and Kaeden shows up to help her get ready! Requiring the best armor, a great sword, and gifting literally the clothes off his back??? This man is a God! And OH MY GAWD he dressed her!!! THAT WAS THE BEST SCENE IN THIS BOOK!!!
Why it didn't get 5 stars:
1. As previously mentioned, I needed more Kaeden. He's definitely the King of my Heart.
2. I don't understand how Alice went from defending the life of the Jabberwock to quickly being ok volunteering to slay him. Like, what?
3. This was obviously the second book in a four book series because it fell into the usual trappings. There is so much left to explore, and this second book just added more questions than answers, so it dragged a bit at times.
4 stars!
Thanks to Booksirens and the publisher for the copy of this book. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
General Overview:
- It's 3 months after the events of book 1, and Wonderland is still in sh*t. The clock is still broken, Thomas Caard is still missing, and Alice is still stuck in Wonderland.
- Alice is attempting to fix the clock but is running in circles due to unknown reasons (read that as there is a mystery afoot). The only one who can help her, won't talk to her.
- Manon has had enough.
- There is not enough Kaeden
- The Jabberwock has arrived!
- Every man in this world still loves Alice
What I liked about this book:
1. The characters, because they really are 1/2 of what makes this series amazing.
Alice - I continue to love your wit, especially in your hatred towards Fitz, but there were definitely times you should have kept your mouth shut!
Definitely funny, but definitely troublesome. I can't help but love how you always root for the underdog though.
Fitz (the White Rabbit) - the snob King of the City of Diamonds. You make it so easy to hate you, but at the same time, I love how you're one of the only ones who will tell Alice no. I don't love that you're in love with her still, and I don't love your political agenda with the Jabberwock, but at least you're consistently you.
Claude (the Cheshire Cat) - so what happened to being a player????? Now you love Alice too??? I still don't trust you with your crazy smile and shady intentions. You are straight up lurking and I'm onto you.
William (the Mad Hatter) - Typical commitment phobe, you had to lose someone to know what they were worth to you?
Kaeden (the King (not Queen) of Hearts) -
Me during the first half of the book: "Where the f*ck is Kaeden??? This is not what I wanted!"
Me during the second half of the book: "And this is why Kaeden is the best!"
Roison - You are immature and the epitome of a girl who will steal another girl's crown, BUUUUUT, I think you may be the "good one". I guess we'll see....
Manon - You seem super cool, you stood up for Alice, you have a soft spot for the Jabberwock, and you are a feminist and rulebreaker, HOWEVER, I believe you are not as good-natured as we are being led to believe. I think you have ulterior motives that involve the Jabberwock and you ruling the entire Wonderland. I preface this assumption with I have very basic Alice in Wonderland knowledge, no Through the Looking Glass knowledge, and I have never heard of the white or red queen before this book. Maybe I'm a genius and I'm right, maybe I'm a wackadoodle.
Jabberwock (Jaxton) - FINALLY!!!! HE HAS ARRIVED!!!
2. The first book set up the idea of all of these realms ruled by the different suits and a king of Cards, as well as human folk vs. animal folk. I thought all of this was crazy interesting and beautifully written.
THEN this book brought into play a different country (if you will) within Wonderland that is separate from the suit "country": Chess. The two queens (one red, one white) are the rulers of Chess. Chess is a place where there are more rules and less leniency than the country ruled by card suites, which totally makes sense! Add to this the bonkers political systems in place, especially dealing with the trial of the Jabberwock? OH MY GAWD, it's just so creative and so beautifully written and interesting.
3. When Alice decides she is going after the Jabberwock and Kaeden shows up to help her get ready! Requiring the best armor, a great sword, and gifting literally the clothes off his back??? This man is a God! And OH MY GAWD he dressed her!!! THAT WAS THE BEST SCENE IN THIS BOOK!!!
Why it didn't get 5 stars:
1. As previously mentioned, I needed more Kaeden. He's definitely the King of my Heart.
2. I don't understand how Alice went from defending the life of the Jabberwock to quickly being ok volunteering to slay him. Like, what?
3. This was obviously the second book in a four book series because it fell into the usual trappings. There is so much left to explore, and this second book just added more questions than answers, so it dragged a bit at times.
4 stars!
January 29, 2022
Well shitting hell, this book has made me realise my toxic trait...
...I forgive the bad guy too easily.
Ok, i’m not saying Thomas is completely forgiven, or even at all really, but, like...why did I like him so much more in this book than the last one KNOWING what I know now?😱😂
I legit screamed when he turned up, felt like I was waiting for that moment the entire book, and Bethany Anne Lovejoy did not disappoint🙌 That entire chapter was perfect, I loved it. Gotta stan the sweet and caring psycho😭😂
Speaking of psychos...have I lost it? Was I supposed to warm up to Fitz so quickly? And WHY did I warm up to Fitz so quickly!? It’s hard enough swooning over the ridiculously charming Claude, sweet and awkward Kaeden (though King Kaeden is a whole other story, like hello👀🤤), and the manic yet caring Thomas, now Lovejoy has got me falling for a damn stuck up bunny too!?
I need to get my head checked.
Or, preferably, fall down my own rabbit hole into Wonderland.
Failing that, i’ll just sit ‘patiently’ awaiting the next instalment.🥰
Some of my favourite scenes and details were;
-Alice wrestling with William’s rain cloud.
-The whole clock fixing aspect and Wonderland being in disarray.
-Learning more about Wonderland, particularly it’s layout and laws.
-The power that Lovejoy put behind the name Alice.
-‘With smiles like that you could tempt me.’😍😍
-Claude’s words of affirmation to the weeping willow staircase😂
-‘Mary Ann Carroll’ loved that little nod to Lewis Carroll.
-‘If you cannot see it, it cannot harm you.’
-And, of course, those final four words we were left with😱
I can’t wait for the next book!🙊 You 100% have a new fan in me🙋♀️💜
♣️♦️♠️♥️
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
...I forgive the bad guy too easily.
Ok, i’m not saying Thomas is completely forgiven, or even at all really, but, like...why did I like him so much more in this book than the last one KNOWING what I know now?😱😂
I legit screamed when he turned up, felt like I was waiting for that moment the entire book, and Bethany Anne Lovejoy did not disappoint🙌 That entire chapter was perfect, I loved it. Gotta stan the sweet and caring psycho😭😂
Speaking of psychos...have I lost it? Was I supposed to warm up to Fitz so quickly? And WHY did I warm up to Fitz so quickly!? It’s hard enough swooning over the ridiculously charming Claude, sweet and awkward Kaeden (though King Kaeden is a whole other story, like hello👀🤤), and the manic yet caring Thomas, now Lovejoy has got me falling for a damn stuck up bunny too!?
I need to get my head checked.
Or, preferably, fall down my own rabbit hole into Wonderland.
Failing that, i’ll just sit ‘patiently’ awaiting the next instalment.🥰
Some of my favourite scenes and details were;
-Alice wrestling with William’s rain cloud.
-The whole clock fixing aspect and Wonderland being in disarray.
-Learning more about Wonderland, particularly it’s layout and laws.
-The power that Lovejoy put behind the name Alice.
-‘With smiles like that you could tempt me.’😍😍
-Claude’s words of affirmation to the weeping willow staircase😂
-‘Mary Ann Carroll’ loved that little nod to Lewis Carroll.
-‘If you cannot see it, it cannot harm you.’
-And, of course, those final four words we were left with😱
I can’t wait for the next book!🙊 You 100% have a new fan in me🙋♀️💜
♣️♦️♠️♥️
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2022
I have to admit that I was already doubting about accepting this arc from BookSirens. I did enjoy the first book in the series and the world Lovejoy created, but I also remember that the book was slow and the pay-off in the end wasn't that big. However, it's Wonderland and I always have trouble saying no to Wonderland inspired stories so I eventually gave in and decided to give this book a chance anyway. Especially because I hoped we'd see more of its four kings.
I'm not entirely sure if I read the book at the wrong time, I'm mentally not in the best place at the moment and although I have no issues reading I can imagine it does impact my reading experience, or if the issue is the book. If you follow my reviews you know that I don't need action or fighting in a book, but I do need compelling and interesting characters with amazing emotional journeys and confrontations with themselves and each other.
And I somehow felt this book didn't offer me much of that. What the book does offer is an amazing and beautiful writing style. It also offers us a great new city to explore, new characters to meet and loads of court intrige, and yet I didn't have the feeling that much had changed by the end of the second book. It felt like the characters didn't really change between the start of the book and the end of the book. Just like Wonderland didn't really change.
I know that the original Wonderland also lacks in the character development department and that it's in a way part of its core, but since I assume this series is gonna be at least 4 and maybe even 5 books long I need a little more. In the first book all the characters were new and the world was exciting, but in this book we simply got more of the same. I have to admit that I almost quit reading, but I pushed through hoping for a game changer in the end. I don't think that game changer truly arrived.
I'm not sure if I will check out the other books in this series. I think that I for sure won't read them in my current mental state. But, maybe I'll give this book and the sequels another chance when I feel better.
I'm not entirely sure if I read the book at the wrong time, I'm mentally not in the best place at the moment and although I have no issues reading I can imagine it does impact my reading experience, or if the issue is the book. If you follow my reviews you know that I don't need action or fighting in a book, but I do need compelling and interesting characters with amazing emotional journeys and confrontations with themselves and each other.
And I somehow felt this book didn't offer me much of that. What the book does offer is an amazing and beautiful writing style. It also offers us a great new city to explore, new characters to meet and loads of court intrige, and yet I didn't have the feeling that much had changed by the end of the second book. It felt like the characters didn't really change between the start of the book and the end of the book. Just like Wonderland didn't really change.
I know that the original Wonderland also lacks in the character development department and that it's in a way part of its core, but since I assume this series is gonna be at least 4 and maybe even 5 books long I need a little more. In the first book all the characters were new and the world was exciting, but in this book we simply got more of the same. I have to admit that I almost quit reading, but I pushed through hoping for a game changer in the end. I don't think that game changer truly arrived.
I'm not sure if I will check out the other books in this series. I think that I for sure won't read them in my current mental state. But, maybe I'll give this book and the sequels another chance when I feel better.
July 11, 2022
ALICE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS
BY: B.A. LOVEJOY
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“War changes people, Wonderland does too. You may be blind now, Alice, but some day you will wake up and realize that too. Your father’s presence might have made this land a home for you, the Kings may have treated you like royalty, and you may hold more power than you ever did before in this land – but this Wonderland? The one you know? It’s only an illusion, and it will fade all too quickly when you turn old and grey.”
ALICE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS is the second book in the Alice: Pick a Card series. It follows the event of the first book months later, while more drama unpacks itself.
I did think it suffered a bit from second book syndrome, with the pacing being slower than the first book. A lot happened back and forth, and while I do think it made sense for it to take time to solve things, it happened a bit too slow for my liking. It did pick up the pace at the end, so I did like that part of the book.
Alice as the main character is fun to read, but I did think she repeated a lot of her characteristics a lot and never really changed as a character that much. I think there were moments when she could have a great realization about how she acted, so she could move forward to some character development, but it never really happened.
The rest of the cast of characters is still fun to read about. I like that everyone feels like they got fleshed out enough, and you get to understand their motives and how they fit into the world. The new characters we got introduced to, also felt easy to understand, so it was never too confusing. The romance aspect of the story is also slowly developing, at a pace I enjoy reading.
The world-building feels still a bit confusing, which partly gets played into this being Wonderland where nothing makes sense anyway. The descriptions of settings were rich enough for me to picture them, but overall, I feel like if Wonderland did make a bit more sense, I would understand why certain things happened more.
Overall, I still like the series, even though the pacing felt off and there were some errors (words being capitalized when they shouldn’t), the last few chapters made it worth the read.
BY: B.A. LOVEJOY
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“War changes people, Wonderland does too. You may be blind now, Alice, but some day you will wake up and realize that too. Your father’s presence might have made this land a home for you, the Kings may have treated you like royalty, and you may hold more power than you ever did before in this land – but this Wonderland? The one you know? It’s only an illusion, and it will fade all too quickly when you turn old and grey.”
ALICE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS is the second book in the Alice: Pick a Card series. It follows the event of the first book months later, while more drama unpacks itself.
I did think it suffered a bit from second book syndrome, with the pacing being slower than the first book. A lot happened back and forth, and while I do think it made sense for it to take time to solve things, it happened a bit too slow for my liking. It did pick up the pace at the end, so I did like that part of the book.
Alice as the main character is fun to read, but I did think she repeated a lot of her characteristics a lot and never really changed as a character that much. I think there were moments when she could have a great realization about how she acted, so she could move forward to some character development, but it never really happened.
The rest of the cast of characters is still fun to read about. I like that everyone feels like they got fleshed out enough, and you get to understand their motives and how they fit into the world. The new characters we got introduced to, also felt easy to understand, so it was never too confusing. The romance aspect of the story is also slowly developing, at a pace I enjoy reading.
The world-building feels still a bit confusing, which partly gets played into this being Wonderland where nothing makes sense anyway. The descriptions of settings were rich enough for me to picture them, but overall, I feel like if Wonderland did make a bit more sense, I would understand why certain things happened more.
Overall, I still like the series, even though the pacing felt off and there were some errors (words being capitalized when they shouldn’t), the last few chapters made it worth the read.
August 25, 2022
I received this book as an e-arc in return for an honest review.
Like the first book, I really really enjoyed this one. I just love the plot and the characters are so interesting. Alice was getting a bit on my nerves in this book though. She was really rude and her attitude was not it. I mean, I get she wants to go home and all but no need to be that mean?!
I really loved seeing more of Claude and Alice's friendship, but I still want to see more of Alice and Kaeden! you get to know more about the kings in this one, and just a little more background information of everything. There's some new characters in this book as well, who we hopefully get to know a bit better in the next books. Overall I really enjoyed this one again and I am excited to read the next book :)
Like the first book, I really really enjoyed this one. I just love the plot and the characters are so interesting. Alice was getting a bit on my nerves in this book though. She was really rude and her attitude was not it. I mean, I get she wants to go home and all but no need to be that mean?!
I really loved seeing more of Claude and Alice's friendship, but I still want to see more of Alice and Kaeden! you get to know more about the kings in this one, and just a little more background information of everything. There's some new characters in this book as well, who we hopefully get to know a bit better in the next books. Overall I really enjoyed this one again and I am excited to read the next book :)
January 29, 2022
I really enjoyed this second volume of Alice's adventures in Wonderland. I was very enthusiastic about the first novel and was thus impatient to see what would happen next.
I liked how the author developed characters in this novel. We have a new insight on Fritz and the volume introduced new characters and a new plot. It was a bit as Through the Looking Glass did in the original work. Knowing that, I really am curious to discover what the author will do with the next book since there exists no 3rd book of Alice's adventures from Lewis Carroll. I particularly look forward to the development of romance!
Again a very exciting and enjoyable read to recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I liked how the author developed characters in this novel. We have a new insight on Fritz and the volume introduced new characters and a new plot. It was a bit as Through the Looking Glass did in the original work. Knowing that, I really am curious to discover what the author will do with the next book since there exists no 3rd book of Alice's adventures from Lewis Carroll. I particularly look forward to the development of romance!
Again a very exciting and enjoyable read to recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 8, 2022
These books are honestly everything I could want in life and they make me so happy. I adore the unique spin on the story, while it still holds dear to the Wonderland I know and love.
And I absolutely adore Alice. She’s witty and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. Kaeden is a sweet Angel and I want nothing but happiness for him and Claud is so funny and mischievous that it makes my heart happy.
I just love everything about them and I can’t wait for book 3 to be released!
And I absolutely adore Alice. She’s witty and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. Kaeden is a sweet Angel and I want nothing but happiness for him and Claud is so funny and mischievous that it makes my heart happy.
I just love everything about them and I can’t wait for book 3 to be released!
November 23, 2023
This book, as the title suggests is more focused on Alice's relationship with Fitz.
The clock is still broken and Alice can't leave Wonderland without fixing it. And Fitz will not help.
Alice is still.. Alice. Even when she's supposed to play nice to the White Rabbit and the Duchess, she has to open her mouth and help herself into more trouble.
In this book, we get more plot, and we learn a few more things about Wonderland and the inhabitants, but the pace is a bit slow, mostly because of Alice.
There was no real character development, except for William and Fitz.
There was also a change in the relationship between Alice and Claude, which I really liked and enjoyed reading about.
And Kaeden. Ah.. Kaeden. He is still my favorite. I love this man!
I liked the plot twist at the end, and I was expecting the cliffhanger.
On to the next one with Claude!
Thank you to BookSirens for the ebook.
The clock is still broken and Alice can't leave Wonderland without fixing it. And Fitz will not help.
Alice is still.. Alice. Even when she's supposed to play nice to the White Rabbit and the Duchess, she has to open her mouth and help herself into more trouble.
In this book, we get more plot, and we learn a few more things about Wonderland and the inhabitants, but the pace is a bit slow, mostly because of Alice.
There was no real character development, except for William and Fitz.
There was also a change in the relationship between Alice and Claude, which I really liked and enjoyed reading about.
And Kaeden. Ah.. Kaeden. He is still my favorite. I love this man!
I liked the plot twist at the end, and I was expecting the cliffhanger.
On to the next one with Claude!
Thank you to BookSirens for the ebook.
July 11, 2024
Here we are again to another Alice; Pick A Card book, 3 more to go!
As always let's start with the positive things first;
(My first 3 positive ones will just be the ones I made notes of before writing my review so they might be a bit slumpy)
The whole Bob, Robert and Bobbie thing was so funny especially the way how Alice reacted to all this. It made me laugh too.
I loved how Alice actually adored, yes adored!, someone who was actually rather rude to her. She was rather astonished by the bluntless of Rosin and therefore said that she adores Rosin for that. Generally, I noticed that in this book Alice seemed to get closer to the girls (Manon too!)
The way Kaeden holds his hand before Alice eyes so she doesn't need to see something brutal >>>
There were strong character development, especially Kaeden ones. From more reserved to actually talking back and being a bit more cunning (his personality didn't change or anything he still is reserved like before, but not that much anymore). Fitz also seemed to change but I think that would be a spoiler so just make up yourself what it is. But yeah, the character developments and also relationship developments were really something in this book. Maybe that's why it was sometimes a bit slow-paced. If that's the reason it was definitely worth it!
I liked how the dialogues and writing style wasn't the same always, but still alike enough to know that it was still the same person who wrote it. Variety. And I loved it!! A reason I think this author is underrated as she actually tries to keep the reader hooked and not bored out, like some other authors.
The pace mainly throughout the book was medium-paced. Since there are 3 more books in this series and we also have high fantasy I get it that we sometimes get full pages on describing the environment (especially when Alice visited all the kingdoms she hasn't yet). Due to this and 'cause it has a slowburn romance (which is my favourite), I would say it's rather on the positive side in my review.
Now come the dislikes and the reason I lowered my rating, comparing to the first book which I unfortunately have to say liked more, but there are more books so perhaps it gets better again.
Why does everyone seem to be obsessed to either touch Alice's wrist (mainly Kaeden) or waist (mainly Claude)?!
I mean it's cute but I notice that they do that quite often and I get it that it's romance but she never protests against any of these, just any thing, but this. Let me explain, she is not that fond of everyone who does that and still allows it and she also is sometimes in a bad mood and still accepts it. She never said no and it made me thing that she might not have boundaries even though she shows that she has in other ways, but why not in this way? I mean getting touched and not protesting for the sake of a romantic moment for the readers makes sense, but she should also be allowed to say once in a while that she doesn't want it. Letting us see that she is still having boundaries.
I remembered from the first book that Alice was rather grumpy and complained a lot. In the first book it seemed alright and made lots of sense due to the plot and events (I would have complained too if I would have been her!), but now I didn't see any reasoning and it seems like that angriness and always responding like she is in an argument way is actually meant to be spotlighted (which I don't like). As already said in my other review about this series; Kaeden and Alice switched places. Kaeden was supposed to act like the Red Queen (yes that evil one) and Alice like, well, Alice, curious, nice and naive (the last part kinda fits Alice though). But they switched. Alice is now the grumpy one and Kaeden the sweet boy who seems to care about others more than himself. I get it that not every character can have the same attitude and personality, but we can't have a protagonist who seems to only make trouble. Even other characters protest against her doing things and the Cheshire cat who is supposed to be the funny one even gets serious and says she should stop and think more carefully of her actions as she always seems to get in trouble. Even Kaeden looked at Alice like he never met a more stupid person (page 143). Don't get me wrong I think her attitude is sometimes funny and cool, but on the long run it's annoying as she always complaints and barely manages to bond to all 4 brothers (only bond to 2 really, kinda 1 other, and the last one not at all). I wish she would have more personality as actually the protagonist falls more flat than any other character there. It's ridiculous as even a side character we barely get to know has more personality than Alice. We only got Alice's backstory, her desires and that on-going attitude of hers. It's not a personality trait as she is actually kind, but she barely shows it. I wish she could show more her personality than her attitude.
The Kaeden and Alice relationship was kinda changing into a way I wasn't sure anymore if I liked it. Kaeden tried to talk to Alice about the issue they both had due to an event that happened at the end of the last book, but Alice tried to block him away and even though it should have been resolved after they talked and she listened (finally), it still felt unresolved and their relationship was one-sided. Also, due to this 'drama' it made the love-triangle which we had in the first book completely poof away and that makes me sad as I thought that was supposed to be a consistent trope (or maybe the ending of this book with a certain character was meant to mean that the love triangle comes back in the next book).
Once again we have the problem of trying to write British as it plays in a British setting but poorly handled (American vocabulary mostly).
Pace is sometimes a bit slow. Mainly due to it being high fantasy and lots of things get described, in a good way though. But that's not the only reason as sometimes it takes actually time till some event happens and the plot continues.
And lastly, the ending was a disappointment to me. As some might already noticed I tend to know about plot twists before they even happened/revealed so perhaps that a me-thing, as the ending was kinda obvious? Like I thought that just made sense and I wasn't really baffled (which I think was intended to be shocking).
———
Even though my rating got lower compared to the first book, I still really like the series and looking forward to reading the next one. There is a reason I say this author is underrated. Yes, she has some things some might not like, but that's normal as there is no perfect author and she isn't that well-known so she doesn't get as much feedback as someone who is well-known, so I get it that it's therefore harder to improve and this book was one of the first she wrote. I would recommend this book nevertheless to anyone who likes Alice in Wonderland retellings like me.
As always let's start with the positive things first;
(My first 3 positive ones will just be the ones I made notes of before writing my review so they might be a bit slumpy)
The whole Bob, Robert and Bobbie thing was so funny especially the way how Alice reacted to all this. It made me laugh too.
I loved how Alice actually adored, yes adored!, someone who was actually rather rude to her. She was rather astonished by the bluntless of Rosin and therefore said that she adores Rosin for that. Generally, I noticed that in this book Alice seemed to get closer to the girls (Manon too!)
The way Kaeden holds his hand before Alice eyes so she doesn't need to see something brutal >>>
There were strong character development, especially Kaeden ones. From more reserved to actually talking back and being a bit more cunning (his personality didn't change or anything he still is reserved like before, but not that much anymore). Fitz also seemed to change but I think that would be a spoiler so just make up yourself what it is. But yeah, the character developments and also relationship developments were really something in this book. Maybe that's why it was sometimes a bit slow-paced. If that's the reason it was definitely worth it!
I liked how the dialogues and writing style wasn't the same always, but still alike enough to know that it was still the same person who wrote it. Variety. And I loved it!! A reason I think this author is underrated as she actually tries to keep the reader hooked and not bored out, like some other authors.
The pace mainly throughout the book was medium-paced. Since there are 3 more books in this series and we also have high fantasy I get it that we sometimes get full pages on describing the environment (especially when Alice visited all the kingdoms she hasn't yet). Due to this and 'cause it has a slowburn romance (which is my favourite), I would say it's rather on the positive side in my review.
Now come the dislikes and the reason I lowered my rating, comparing to the first book which I unfortunately have to say liked more, but there are more books so perhaps it gets better again.
Why does everyone seem to be obsessed to either touch Alice's wrist (mainly Kaeden) or waist (mainly Claude)?!
I mean it's cute but I notice that they do that quite often and I get it that it's romance but she never protests against any of these, just any thing, but this. Let me explain, she is not that fond of everyone who does that and still allows it and she also is sometimes in a bad mood and still accepts it. She never said no and it made me thing that she might not have boundaries even though she shows that she has in other ways, but why not in this way? I mean getting touched and not protesting for the sake of a romantic moment for the readers makes sense, but she should also be allowed to say once in a while that she doesn't want it. Letting us see that she is still having boundaries.
I remembered from the first book that Alice was rather grumpy and complained a lot. In the first book it seemed alright and made lots of sense due to the plot and events (I would have complained too if I would have been her!), but now I didn't see any reasoning and it seems like that angriness and always responding like she is in an argument way is actually meant to be spotlighted (which I don't like). As already said in my other review about this series; Kaeden and Alice switched places. Kaeden was supposed to act like the Red Queen (yes that evil one) and Alice like, well, Alice, curious, nice and naive (the last part kinda fits Alice though). But they switched. Alice is now the grumpy one and Kaeden the sweet boy who seems to care about others more than himself. I get it that not every character can have the same attitude and personality, but we can't have a protagonist who seems to only make trouble. Even other characters protest against her doing things and the Cheshire cat who is supposed to be the funny one even gets serious and says she should stop and think more carefully of her actions as she always seems to get in trouble. Even Kaeden looked at Alice like he never met a more stupid person (page 143). Don't get me wrong I think her attitude is sometimes funny and cool, but on the long run it's annoying as she always complaints and barely manages to bond to all 4 brothers (only bond to 2 really, kinda 1 other, and the last one not at all). I wish she would have more personality as actually the protagonist falls more flat than any other character there. It's ridiculous as even a side character we barely get to know has more personality than Alice. We only got Alice's backstory, her desires and that on-going attitude of hers. It's not a personality trait as she is actually kind, but she barely shows it. I wish she could show more her personality than her attitude.
The Kaeden and Alice relationship was kinda changing into a way I wasn't sure anymore if I liked it. Kaeden tried to talk to Alice about the issue they both had due to an event that happened at the end of the last book, but Alice tried to block him away and even though it should have been resolved after they talked and she listened (finally), it still felt unresolved and their relationship was one-sided. Also, due to this 'drama' it made the love-triangle which we had in the first book completely poof away and that makes me sad as I thought that was supposed to be a consistent trope (or maybe the ending of this book with a certain character was meant to mean that the love triangle comes back in the next book).
Once again we have the problem of trying to write British as it plays in a British setting but poorly handled (American vocabulary mostly).
Pace is sometimes a bit slow. Mainly due to it being high fantasy and lots of things get described, in a good way though. But that's not the only reason as sometimes it takes actually time till some event happens and the plot continues.
And lastly, the ending was a disappointment to me. As some might already noticed I tend to know about plot twists before they even happened/revealed so perhaps that a me-thing, as the ending was kinda obvious? Like I thought that just made sense and I wasn't really baffled (which I think was intended to be shocking).
———
Even though my rating got lower compared to the first book, I still really like the series and looking forward to reading the next one. There is a reason I say this author is underrated. Yes, she has some things some might not like, but that's normal as there is no perfect author and she isn't that well-known so she doesn't get as much feedback as someone who is well-known, so I get it that it's therefore harder to improve and this book was one of the first she wrote. I would recommend this book nevertheless to anyone who likes Alice in Wonderland retellings like me.
November 28, 2023
"Alice in the City of Diamonds" takes readers on a whimsical and dazzling journey through a Wonderland like no other. The author weaves a tapestry of enchantment in this modern-day adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic, "Alice in Wonderland." The City of Diamonds is a mesmerizing landscape where the ordinary is extraordinary, and the familiar is delightfully distorted. Lovejoy masterfully captures the essence of Carroll's Wonderland while injecting it with a contemporary flair. The author's prose is both lyrical and accessible, making the narrative a joy to follow.
The characters in "Alice in the City of Diamonds" are a quirky and charming bunch, each with their own peculiarities and idiosyncrasies.
The plot unfolds with a series of episodic adventures that mirror the episodic nature of Carroll's original work. Each chapter brings a new challenge or puzzle for Alice to navigate, adding layers of complexity to the narrative.
The pacing is brisk, and the story maintains a sense of wonder from start to finish.
The characters in "Alice in the City of Diamonds" are a quirky and charming bunch, each with their own peculiarities and idiosyncrasies.
The plot unfolds with a series of episodic adventures that mirror the episodic nature of Carroll's original work. Each chapter brings a new challenge or puzzle for Alice to navigate, adding layers of complexity to the narrative.
The pacing is brisk, and the story maintains a sense of wonder from start to finish.
May 23, 2023
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Enjoying the first book and the writing, I was looking forward to reading the second installment in the series. Unfortunately, though, I could not get into this one, and the slow pace that I found in the first book continued into the second but almost tenfold for me. I finished this book just to finish and sadly have no interest in continuing this series.
February 28, 2022
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗕 𝗔 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗷𝗼𝘆
“𝙰𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎,” 𝙸 𝚜𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝, “𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝.”
This is the second book in the Alice Pick A Card series, a fantasy-romance retelling of Alice in Wonderland, and it continues on from the last book pretty soon after we left off. In this book we continue to follow Alice as she is learning to navigate life now that she is stuck in Wonderland. Or is she?
I enjoyed this book a lot. In the last book it felt like we needed more character development and I do feel the author did improve on this from the last book. Alice is a fun protagonist. She is spunky, funny, confident and struggles to keep her mouth shut. It’s a lot of fun! I really enjoy being in her head and the author writes her very well.
The other characters are all variations of those seen in the Alice in Wonderland story, with a few original characters added in too. We get the Claude, the flirty and mischievous Cheshire Cat. Fitz, the White Rabbit, who I honestly wanted to punch in the face several times. William, the Mad Hatter, who isn’t what I expected and I love it! The cloud moment was so funny. There is also the King of Hearts; Kaeden, more of an original character and I honestly need to see more of him in the next book please. There are others too but what I really noticed and enjoyed was how each character had their own distinct voice. They all have their quirks and are very unique. I enjoyed all of them.
Another thing I love about these books is the writing style. It’s written beautifully! It took me a while to get into again but I love the whimsical and Lewis Carroll-esque feel the writing. The world building is very reminiscent of the original story too, and the author really did so well with that in my opinion. It’s a tricky book to adapt and I liked the authors take on it. Things expand here even more than in book 1. The Jabberwocky comes in to the story, and I loved how that was done. There are lots of connections and fun moments to spot that link to the original story. I had fun spotting them.
I do feel that, even though I enjoyed the characters in this one a lot, I would love to see even more character building moments and I would love to have more time to see their relationships with each other develop. It still had a bit of an ‘insta-love’ feel to it. Lots of the men in the story are enamoured with Alice and I just didn’t feel like we got enough time with them together to really see why this was so, in a more believable way. What we had was done really well, but I just wanted more of it.
As for romance, it’s super slow burn. No spice really at all in this one, but I’m a fan of slow burn so I’m here for it. Also, I just wanted to scream at Alice at some points to stop wanting to go home so badly and to see how fun Wonderland could be! Enjoy it more, come on! But perhaps that’s just me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and Booksirens for the review copy.
“𝙰𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎,” 𝙸 𝚜𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝, “𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝.”
This is the second book in the Alice Pick A Card series, a fantasy-romance retelling of Alice in Wonderland, and it continues on from the last book pretty soon after we left off. In this book we continue to follow Alice as she is learning to navigate life now that she is stuck in Wonderland. Or is she?
I enjoyed this book a lot. In the last book it felt like we needed more character development and I do feel the author did improve on this from the last book. Alice is a fun protagonist. She is spunky, funny, confident and struggles to keep her mouth shut. It’s a lot of fun! I really enjoy being in her head and the author writes her very well.
The other characters are all variations of those seen in the Alice in Wonderland story, with a few original characters added in too. We get the Claude, the flirty and mischievous Cheshire Cat. Fitz, the White Rabbit, who I honestly wanted to punch in the face several times. William, the Mad Hatter, who isn’t what I expected and I love it! The cloud moment was so funny. There is also the King of Hearts; Kaeden, more of an original character and I honestly need to see more of him in the next book please. There are others too but what I really noticed and enjoyed was how each character had their own distinct voice. They all have their quirks and are very unique. I enjoyed all of them.
Another thing I love about these books is the writing style. It’s written beautifully! It took me a while to get into again but I love the whimsical and Lewis Carroll-esque feel the writing. The world building is very reminiscent of the original story too, and the author really did so well with that in my opinion. It’s a tricky book to adapt and I liked the authors take on it. Things expand here even more than in book 1. The Jabberwocky comes in to the story, and I loved how that was done. There are lots of connections and fun moments to spot that link to the original story. I had fun spotting them.
I do feel that, even though I enjoyed the characters in this one a lot, I would love to see even more character building moments and I would love to have more time to see their relationships with each other develop. It still had a bit of an ‘insta-love’ feel to it. Lots of the men in the story are enamoured with Alice and I just didn’t feel like we got enough time with them together to really see why this was so, in a more believable way. What we had was done really well, but I just wanted more of it.
As for romance, it’s super slow burn. No spice really at all in this one, but I’m a fan of slow burn so I’m here for it. Also, I just wanted to scream at Alice at some points to stop wanting to go home so badly and to see how fun Wonderland could be! Enjoy it more, come on! But perhaps that’s just me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and Booksirens for the review copy.
February 14, 2022
This book... oh this book... how I loved my time with thee! At first I wondered if it would/could/should be possible for this second book to live up to the first book's success. I debated with myself about whether or not to tempt fate and the literary Gods by diving into the Alice: Pick A Card world once again and boy am I glad that I did. It started a few months after Alice In The Land Of Clovers left off and to be honest, it took a bit for me to get back into the story's rhythm. It was touch and go there for a minute but soon the writing ensnared me just as it had in book #1 and things only got better from there. The plot progressed seamlessly, and joyously Wonderlandian, that I was delightfully bewitched, befuddled, bedazzled, beguiled and any other endearing be-adjectives. It was an excellent addition to the series and I absolutely can not wait to get my hands on the next installment, Alice In The Palace Of Spades. The Author's page says it's coming in February 2022 but it's already half way through the month and I havent seen hide nor (White) hare of it...Da Dum Chhh... and YES I sound desperate, I NEED to know what happens next for our lovable crew of kooks. On one hand it's about Alice trying to get back to England but in true Wonderland, frenetic, style there's a riot of other things going on. Who loves whom? Who will be married first? Who will be married at all? Who will become the King Of Cards? Who will fix the clock and will it restore Magic? Who will bring Thomas Caard to justice and who will dispatch the Jabberwock? Sounds exciting right? I know you'd say yes and I agree too so let's agree together and move right along.
Have I said that I LOVE these characters yet? Well I do, I adore them all. I am rooting SOOO hard for Alice to stay and end up with Kaeden that it hurts a bit... in my chestal region. He deserves a happyily/crazily ever after and she flourishes in Wonderland like she does nowhere else. Also, Thomas Caard was brilliant... again... which is a tad annoying but slightly endearing all at the same time. Fitz was a lot more tolerable in this book and by the end I actually found that I liked him... go figure. There wasn't enough of Kadean (by far) but the little we did get was everything I could have asked for... shy of some sexytime and a wedding. Oh well, fingers crossed for later on in the series.
Overall:
This second installment suffers none of the dreaded second book woes. The writing was solid, engrossing and evocative. The plot was interesting and the characters superb! What more can I say? Loads actually but for brevity's sake I'll just profess that this series has me hook line and sinker... it's a definite win and I highly recommend it for your mountainous TBR pile!
~ Enjoy
*** I received a copy of this book from BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily ***
Have I said that I LOVE these characters yet? Well I do, I adore them all. I am rooting SOOO hard for Alice to stay and end up with Kaeden that it hurts a bit... in my chestal region. He deserves a happyily/crazily ever after and she flourishes in Wonderland like she does nowhere else. Also, Thomas Caard was brilliant... again... which is a tad annoying but slightly endearing all at the same time. Fitz was a lot more tolerable in this book and by the end I actually found that I liked him... go figure. There wasn't enough of Kadean (by far) but the little we did get was everything I could have asked for... shy of some sexytime and a wedding. Oh well, fingers crossed for later on in the series.
Overall:
This second installment suffers none of the dreaded second book woes. The writing was solid, engrossing and evocative. The plot was interesting and the characters superb! What more can I say? Loads actually but for brevity's sake I'll just profess that this series has me hook line and sinker... it's a definite win and I highly recommend it for your mountainous TBR pile!
~ Enjoy
*** I received a copy of this book from BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily ***
April 19, 2022
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙒𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙—𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢.
I don't know what it is about this series but for some reason it has me wholly invested. It's not particularly entertaining or that great but I've just finished the sequel and gearing up for the third installment.
As I predicted and much like the first book, the real excitement only came during the last few chapters and then that final chapter, the way it ended, was so underwhelming, yet I'm preparing to read the third book. Again, things happened haphazardly and most times I was confused and more than a little bored. While not nearly as draggy as the first book, it had far more action if a little chaotic. Again, really hitting a home run with the literary nonsense.
I think what has me intrigued is despite the fact that this story errs on the side of boring and nonsensical, the characters are interesting and there was definitely some character development displayed from the first to the second book. I've since grown a tiny bit of sympathy for Fitz, Claude has become less aggravating and I'm really here for his friendship with Alice and of course, Kaeden has my heart. But the MC, Alice, is the most infuriating character in fiction since Bella Swan and even in this series it seems every single male character is infatuated with her, just like in the Twilight saga. Even good humoured Claude seems low key obsessed with Alice. The only one with heart eyes I'm interested in seeing interact with Alice, however, is the King of Hearts himself, Kaeden Hart. The way I live for their interactions. The little bits of them sprinkled in had me so hooked, I might as well have been a fish caught at the end of a fishing rod. Probably my favourite thing in the entire series. Kaeden is probably my favourite character ever. And he isn't even that remarkable but the thing where he is usually awkward and quiet but then when it matters most his authoritative and firm, it's so bloody hot.
So, of course, I am straddling the line between love-hate with this book. I enjoy it enough to go back but it's not something that totally blew my mind. I am a tad obsessed though and it's a problem because I don't even think it's that great. But I would recommend, if only so you can sit in this torture with me. Also, retellings are kind of my jam and if you like renditions too, you might like this series.
Thanks to booksirens for this arc. Now onto the third 😬
I don't know what it is about this series but for some reason it has me wholly invested. It's not particularly entertaining or that great but I've just finished the sequel and gearing up for the third installment.
As I predicted and much like the first book, the real excitement only came during the last few chapters and then that final chapter, the way it ended, was so underwhelming, yet I'm preparing to read the third book. Again, things happened haphazardly and most times I was confused and more than a little bored. While not nearly as draggy as the first book, it had far more action if a little chaotic. Again, really hitting a home run with the literary nonsense.
I think what has me intrigued is despite the fact that this story errs on the side of boring and nonsensical, the characters are interesting and there was definitely some character development displayed from the first to the second book. I've since grown a tiny bit of sympathy for Fitz, Claude has become less aggravating and I'm really here for his friendship with Alice and of course, Kaeden has my heart. But the MC, Alice, is the most infuriating character in fiction since Bella Swan and even in this series it seems every single male character is infatuated with her, just like in the Twilight saga. Even good humoured Claude seems low key obsessed with Alice. The only one with heart eyes I'm interested in seeing interact with Alice, however, is the King of Hearts himself, Kaeden Hart. The way I live for their interactions. The little bits of them sprinkled in had me so hooked, I might as well have been a fish caught at the end of a fishing rod. Probably my favourite thing in the entire series. Kaeden is probably my favourite character ever. And he isn't even that remarkable but the thing where he is usually awkward and quiet but then when it matters most his authoritative and firm, it's so bloody hot.
So, of course, I am straddling the line between love-hate with this book. I enjoy it enough to go back but it's not something that totally blew my mind. I am a tad obsessed though and it's a problem because I don't even think it's that great. But I would recommend, if only so you can sit in this torture with me. Also, retellings are kind of my jam and if you like renditions too, you might like this series.
Thanks to booksirens for this arc. Now onto the third 😬
May 21, 2022
It just keeps getting deeper!
Alice In the City of Diamonds by Bethany Anne Lovejoy is the second in the Alice: Pick a Card Series and is a beautiful extension of the previous. You most definitely need to read these books in order. We begin 3 months later and Alice is working hard to fix the clock tower so she can get back home. But one thing after another stops her from getting it done.
I may or may not have read this book in a few hours. Okay, I couldn’t put it down! The plots moved faster from the start, The first was amazing and this second installment continued the story and more! I loved getting a deeper connection to characters who were not as prominent in the first book, while continuing relationships that were. The fact that as the series progresses, the character’s story arcs are also progressing is awesome. We don’t get a full arc for every character with each book, but there are subtle changes for everyone, whether we see it as it’s happening or later. We also got a few new characters and themes of real love vs forced relationships.
We were given more magic, a darker side of Wonderland, and a huge expression of the world. We previously only had bits and pieces from the Land of Clovers and even less from Hearts. But now, we have the City of Diamonds and a taste of Spades territory. B.A. Lovejoy is setting up the entire series arc beautifully. I have so many questions and I can’t wait to find out the answers!
I highly recommend this book, but make sure you read the first before this one!
I read through this book so quickly and I’m excited to jump right on into Alice in the Palace of Spades.
*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Alice in the City of Diamonds from B.A. Lovejoy via BookSirens
Alice In the City of Diamonds by Bethany Anne Lovejoy is the second in the Alice: Pick a Card Series and is a beautiful extension of the previous. You most definitely need to read these books in order. We begin 3 months later and Alice is working hard to fix the clock tower so she can get back home. But one thing after another stops her from getting it done.
I may or may not have read this book in a few hours. Okay, I couldn’t put it down! The plots moved faster from the start, The first was amazing and this second installment continued the story and more! I loved getting a deeper connection to characters who were not as prominent in the first book, while continuing relationships that were. The fact that as the series progresses, the character’s story arcs are also progressing is awesome. We don’t get a full arc for every character with each book, but there are subtle changes for everyone, whether we see it as it’s happening or later. We also got a few new characters and themes of real love vs forced relationships.
We were given more magic, a darker side of Wonderland, and a huge expression of the world. We previously only had bits and pieces from the Land of Clovers and even less from Hearts. But now, we have the City of Diamonds and a taste of Spades territory. B.A. Lovejoy is setting up the entire series arc beautifully. I have so many questions and I can’t wait to find out the answers!
I highly recommend this book, but make sure you read the first before this one!
I read through this book so quickly and I’m excited to jump right on into Alice in the Palace of Spades.
*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Alice in the City of Diamonds from B.A. Lovejoy via BookSirens
July 6, 2022
Months in and our girl, Alice, is no better off... Though she at least knows who has what cards to play. Miss lady has plopped herself in the middle of a situation that she needs help fixing, but those who she has to rely on just so happen to be the people she can't stand. Hopefully she can manage to play nice long enough to get her way back home at least fixed so it can stop being a pawn in the chess game she's playing, as well as secure her future survival in the process.
I kind of agree with some other reviews I saw on BookTok as far as Alice is concerned. Her personality is starting to get aggressively uncomfortable, but thankfully not enough to make this an unpleasant read. It just makes her slightly less likeable as a character. I'm hoping she learns to get over herself and comes out a better person for the sake of herself and Wonderland as a whole.
The pacing, character development, relationships, and world-building were as to be expected after the first book. It was a definitely win as far as second books go. Things flowed nicely. Characters became refreshingly complex instead of plateauing. Relationships got uncomfortable in the best way with the added spice I come to expect in those odd pairings. The reverse harem aspect is rounding out nicely and smoothly, which is kind of awesome.
I'm looking forward to getting the next book and seeing how things end up for our Wonderful lovers. ;)
[I received an ARC, and am voluntarily leaving a review on my experience...]
I kind of agree with some other reviews I saw on BookTok as far as Alice is concerned. Her personality is starting to get aggressively uncomfortable, but thankfully not enough to make this an unpleasant read. It just makes her slightly less likeable as a character. I'm hoping she learns to get over herself and comes out a better person for the sake of herself and Wonderland as a whole.
The pacing, character development, relationships, and world-building were as to be expected after the first book. It was a definitely win as far as second books go. Things flowed nicely. Characters became refreshingly complex instead of plateauing. Relationships got uncomfortable in the best way with the added spice I come to expect in those odd pairings. The reverse harem aspect is rounding out nicely and smoothly, which is kind of awesome.
I'm looking forward to getting the next book and seeing how things end up for our Wonderful lovers. ;)
[I received an ARC, and am voluntarily leaving a review on my experience...]
April 23, 2022
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The second book in the Alice: Pick a Card series. An amazing, original Alice In Wonderland retelling.
The second book described the same little Wonderland details and objects to us, making it feel like we were really in Wonderland. The four kings we learned about in the first book are also present again in the sequel. Their characteristics seem to develop and unfold before our eyes, and the relationship they build with Alice takes more shape. There is some love interest with some characters, others have a real love-hate or friendship vibe. All the kings, and the other characters we get to know, have their own little wonderland-like characteristics. I love to read these small details and fun lines related to the world we are placed.
The pace of the book is fast, there is always something lingering in a chapter that makes you start the next chapter right away, or it's the funny chapter titles of the book. These, too, make for a worthwhile read.
The story itself, is filled with adventurous, exciting and also slow smoothing scenes. It is well balanced into a good fantasy-romance novel.
I enjoyed reading the second book, and immediately started the third and final? of the series.
I recommend this book to people who like Fantasy romance and Alice in Wonderland retellings.
The second book in the Alice: Pick a Card series. An amazing, original Alice In Wonderland retelling.
The second book described the same little Wonderland details and objects to us, making it feel like we were really in Wonderland. The four kings we learned about in the first book are also present again in the sequel. Their characteristics seem to develop and unfold before our eyes, and the relationship they build with Alice takes more shape. There is some love interest with some characters, others have a real love-hate or friendship vibe. All the kings, and the other characters we get to know, have their own little wonderland-like characteristics. I love to read these small details and fun lines related to the world we are placed.
The pace of the book is fast, there is always something lingering in a chapter that makes you start the next chapter right away, or it's the funny chapter titles of the book. These, too, make for a worthwhile read.
The story itself, is filled with adventurous, exciting and also slow smoothing scenes. It is well balanced into a good fantasy-romance novel.
I enjoyed reading the second book, and immediately started the third and final? of the series.
I recommend this book to people who like Fantasy romance and Alice in Wonderland retellings.
January 16, 2024
that was fun!!
i adored the second book actually. it was a lot more focused on fitz and his kingdom and alice’s relationship with fitz. i dont hate him as much as i thought i would now. kaeden is still a dream boat. a HUGE tease. manon and willaim are a thing, as they always were. and claude is just as charming and wonderful as ever. ALSO WE STILL HATE THE JOKER!!!! but i mean he came in clutch at the last second—unfortunately. but whatever. we still hate him. the world building was a lot more prominent in this one. also despite the book having like 10 grammatical errors or misspells, i honestly had loads of fun reading this one. on to the next hehe honestly at this point my hc for the ending is alice becomes king and just like the previous one she has a child with each kingdom haha (well maybe not william, but everyone else), because honestly at this point i ship her with all three of the kings. obviously more-so kaeden but claude is a big all time childhood fav AND fitz is warming up to me despite him being a total fucking self centered shitface LMFAO
overall i would give the second book a 4.8/5 ⭐️ and 1/5 🌶️. not a lot of spicy action in this one but nontheless it was good.
i adored the second book actually. it was a lot more focused on fitz and his kingdom and alice’s relationship with fitz. i dont hate him as much as i thought i would now. kaeden is still a dream boat. a HUGE tease. manon and willaim are a thing, as they always were. and claude is just as charming and wonderful as ever. ALSO WE STILL HATE THE JOKER!!!! but i mean he came in clutch at the last second—unfortunately. but whatever. we still hate him. the world building was a lot more prominent in this one. also despite the book having like 10 grammatical errors or misspells, i honestly had loads of fun reading this one. on to the next hehe honestly at this point my hc for the ending is alice becomes king and just like the previous one she has a child with each kingdom haha (well maybe not william, but everyone else), because honestly at this point i ship her with all three of the kings. obviously more-so kaeden but claude is a big all time childhood fav AND fitz is warming up to me despite him being a total fucking self centered shitface LMFAO
overall i would give the second book a 4.8/5 ⭐️ and 1/5 🌶️. not a lot of spicy action in this one but nontheless it was good.
August 29, 2022
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Another great story of Alice's new and different adventures in Wonderland! I really enjoyed the first installment in this series, and decided to continue reading on. I am glad that I did, and looking forward to the third book as well. I love how the author has taken such a well known story and turned it on its head (in true wonderland fashion) to make it a truly entertaining YA story with fantasy, romance and humor. The characters are so entertaining in this series, and Alice's adventures continue on from book 1 with new experiences and challenges. The reader gets to experience new environments and characters in this story, including a look inside the palace of hearts and the land of diamonds, where many inhabitants are rabbits and other animals, as well as a new look at the Jabberwock. The play in from the original Alice in Wonderland story is throughout, but everything is different and unexpected at the same time. These are quick and easy reads, but definitely keep me happy and entertained. I'm looking forward to seeing how her adventures continue and hopefully resolve eventually!
March 8, 2024
This book was much harder for me to get into than the first. It really took awhile to grab my attention. I loved hearing more and more about wonderland, she really did a fantastic job explaining the lovely wackiness that is wonderland. Although this book felt kind of just like filler, as much as I loved all the ideas of wonderland and the characters, it really felt like the story fell short. I can’t explain enough how much I love the mysteries that are happening, and how you really do feel lost and upside down just as much as Alice does, and I will continue reading this series because I’m so intrigued by it, but this book fell flat for sure. To me, and again I obviously haven’t finished the series, I think this series maybe could’ve been cut short to a trilogy so that we could get these details without having a filler book. Really though, I can’t speak enough how well this book is written to feel like my favorite childhood story, but also being SO different and really its own wonderful adult twist. Alice and Cheshire continue to be my two favorite characters which is very on brand for me, and I love this series for that.
June 20, 2022
In this second book of the Alice Pick a Card Series we find Alice still on her quest to return to England. We also get to meet more characters from the original Alice in Wonderland series.
I found myself at times very frustrated with Alice. Although she is an adult her decisions are more childlike. She definitely doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble and makes some very bad decisions through out the book. Luckily there is always one of the Kings willing to come to her rescue.
The author continues to build the world of wonderland and does a good job of describing places being visited. The dialogue between the characters is wonderful and really adds to the story. I feel this also makes the characters very believable.
I really enjoyed this book and I’ve already started on the 3rd book in the series as I had to know more. I wonder if Alice will ever get back to England or if she’ll decide to stay in Wonderland.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I found myself at times very frustrated with Alice. Although she is an adult her decisions are more childlike. She definitely doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble and makes some very bad decisions through out the book. Luckily there is always one of the Kings willing to come to her rescue.
The author continues to build the world of wonderland and does a good job of describing places being visited. The dialogue between the characters is wonderful and really adds to the story. I feel this also makes the characters very believable.
I really enjoyed this book and I’ve already started on the 3rd book in the series as I had to know more. I wonder if Alice will ever get back to England or if she’ll decide to stay in Wonderland.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 22, 2023
Fantastic continuation of Alice’s story.
This second installment of B. A. Lovejoy’s Alice: Pick a Card series was just as captivating as the first.
With Alice finding herself stuck in Wonderland and her clock tower in need of repair, she also learns more about Wonderland and gets closer to the Four Kings.
I still find Lovejoy’s Alice having the flaws she does to be refreshing. I love how her relationships have grown - or not grown - with the different characters.
We get additions of more of the original book’s characters here and I love what Lovejoy has done with them. Her additions of certain classic scenes were done beautifully as well.
I’ll throw a reminder out there that this is not a spicy romance - in fact it is also only somewhat a romance - but the story and the romance in it are fantastic all the same.
I am excited to see where we go next in Alice in the Palace of Spades.
This second installment of B. A. Lovejoy’s Alice: Pick a Card series was just as captivating as the first.
With Alice finding herself stuck in Wonderland and her clock tower in need of repair, she also learns more about Wonderland and gets closer to the Four Kings.
I still find Lovejoy’s Alice having the flaws she does to be refreshing. I love how her relationships have grown - or not grown - with the different characters.
We get additions of more of the original book’s characters here and I love what Lovejoy has done with them. Her additions of certain classic scenes were done beautifully as well.
I’ll throw a reminder out there that this is not a spicy romance - in fact it is also only somewhat a romance - but the story and the romance in it are fantastic all the same.
I am excited to see where we go next in Alice in the Palace of Spades.
February 27, 2022
Down the rabbit-hole and into adventure. Alice faces off with the realm of Diamonds, a twisted Jabberwock, and an all new level of (dis)order in Wonderland.
Diamonds really added more complex layers to this Alice series. The addition of Chess, details of the City, the unpredictable rules of Cards all culminate in a fascinating and intricate world just waiting to be explored.
There was a lot of unexpected character development in characters that I had felt I understood here in book 2. While the storyline of this was slower than book one, it was also bursting with little details that pop and tie into one another throughout the duration of the novel. I'm excited to see where book 3 takes us; hopefully answering some of the questions that are niggling at me, as well as the inkling I have regarding a particular King.
Diamonds really added more complex layers to this Alice series. The addition of Chess, details of the City, the unpredictable rules of Cards all culminate in a fascinating and intricate world just waiting to be explored.
There was a lot of unexpected character development in characters that I had felt I understood here in book 2. While the storyline of this was slower than book one, it was also bursting with little details that pop and tie into one another throughout the duration of the novel. I'm excited to see where book 3 takes us; hopefully answering some of the questions that are niggling at me, as well as the inkling I have regarding a particular King.
July 23, 2022
We are back in Wonderland, Alice and her cohorts are reeling from the events of Book 1.Alice is on a mission to get home, Thomas the card is in the wind, Kaeden is waiting patiently to be acknowledge, William is barely keeping it together, Fitz just wants to be king and Claude is slightly amused about life. Alice lacks the self preservation skills to complete her mission. Alice is in a foreign land where she doesn't know the laws and that is ruled by chaos. She makes little to know effort to learn about her new "home". What she does because a sane person would openly pick fights with people of whom status we do not know. She is very lucky to not have loss her head. My favorite part of this was seeing Kaedein show the "Red King " out. It is also cute to see Claude affections grow. I was little confused the kings family tree and the crown court. I do feel like this is playing the long game. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 1, 2022
4 stars!
OMG OMG OMG
I read this book in one day. Yeah so, immediately after reading the first book I knew I had to read the second one. So, obviously Wonderland is out of balance which is kind of ironic since its Wonderland. Alice is still trying to get home and she like done with all the brothers or is she? (; These brothers are keeping me on my fucking toes, like seriously you can't trust anyone. I mean except for Kaeden, OH MY GOD my sweet, sweet Kaeden. BUT back to the book, the world-building is better developed as we see more of Wonderland being explored and I did enjoy the character development amongst the brothers, especially Fitz. Overall, this book had me squealing again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
OMG OMG OMG
I read this book in one day. Yeah so, immediately after reading the first book I knew I had to read the second one. So, obviously Wonderland is out of balance which is kind of ironic since its Wonderland. Alice is still trying to get home and she like done with all the brothers or is she? (; These brothers are keeping me on my fucking toes, like seriously you can't trust anyone. I mean except for Kaeden, OH MY GOD my sweet, sweet Kaeden. BUT back to the book, the world-building is better developed as we see more of Wonderland being explored and I did enjoy the character development amongst the brothers, especially Fitz. Overall, this book had me squealing again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 20, 2022
This has quickly become a favorite series of mine. I love the quirkiness and the exaggerated characters, but… I don't like Alice. She's selfish and often cruel when she isn't needed to be. Sometimes yes, but she mainly is selfish. Now I'm sure there will be a turn around in one of the books, but so far I am loving the series. Can't wait for the next. The author has built a wonderful world and a batch of colorful and intriguing characters. Definitely worth a read.
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own and honestly stated.
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own and honestly stated.
November 14, 2022
Seems that with each book that progresses in this Alice series, keeps on getting better. I'm definitely enjoying this series quite a bit. I like that all four kings are related, same father different mothers. Finally got to meet their aunt who happens to be the Dutchess Of Wonderland, the one that arranged the engagement of two sisters; one engaged to William the Mad Hatter and the other engaged to Khaden the King of Hearts. The author also brings in the Red Queen and the White Queen of Chess, coincidentally the fiancee's of both William and Khaden.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 25, 2023
Excellent continuation of the series! We are following Alice's adventures as she tries to fix her clock and restore magic to Wonderland. In doing so, we delve deeper into the city of Diamonds to procure the help of the unwilling Fitz, who appears to have stolen William's fiance with a bid to save the Jabberwocky. Delightfully zany, and the story moves along well. The storytelling definitely continues in the same vein as Lewis Carroll. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 29, 2023
This second book was a little too stretched without so much world-building as I was hoping there would be. Alice can get too much sometimes, and therefore it felt sometimes forced just to shock/annoy the reader. I would have liked a little more smoothness in Alice character. However, the story is still very entertaining and I'm still going to follow the next instalment to see where this is going. So much questions...!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 27, 2022
So- this one was a little slower paced. I didn’t care for it as much as the first but it was still good. We are still following Alice around as she tries to figure out how she can get home.
I got really annoyed with Alice but I can say that’s good writing when you want to Strangle the main character lol
Overall I can’t wait for the next ones and I REALLY want something to happen between Kaeden and Alice so *fingers crossed*
I got really annoyed with Alice but I can say that’s good writing when you want to Strangle the main character lol
Overall I can’t wait for the next ones and I REALLY want something to happen between Kaeden and Alice so *fingers crossed*
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