Jabberwocky

The Tainted Wonderland #2

by Kell Frillman

When Alice first returned to Wonderland, she found strength through the love and adoration of four powerful, haunted, demonic men. Can she accept the crown and bend Wonderland to her will without losing her mind?
The Jabberwocky, a monster created out of the darkness with a thirst for carnage, chose Alice over his creator, but now he suffers an eternal fate of torture. Alice fears she will never be complete without him, but what will happen to Wonderland if she abandons her people to save him? Is she powerful enough to challenge the fate he chose for himself, or will the Jabberwocky be the ultimate downfall of sweet Alice and the world along with her?

"We're all villains in someone's story... maybe even yours."

JABBERWOCKY is Book 2 in The Tainted Wonderland series, a dark, steamy, RH / Why Choose paranormal romance. Who says adults can't enjoy fairy tales of their own? :)

Please check the author's site and the beginning of the novel for TW / CW

Genres: Retellings

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2023

About the author

Kell Frillman resides in Seattle. She works in animal rescue and enjoys spending time with her rescue pets, her horses, and her friends. She has been writing fiction since she was ten years old. The Surface Girl is her first published novel. She loves worldbuilding and her focus is on dystopian fiction.

Reviews

[Bobbi bobbijoreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jabberwocky is book #2 in the Tainted Wonderland Series and it picks right up at the cliffhanger from book 1. This could be read as a stand alone but given the option I would definitely read the series/story in the order it was written.

I preferred this to Ask Alice. Alice is coming into her own magic and doesn't come off as such a helpless girl. The spice is not as frequent as the previous book but it still very descriptive. I think I caught some feels for Cheshire.

If you like fairytale retellings, dark spice & a reverse Harlem trope this series will be right up your alley. 🔥

[Paula Sabol (Never Choose Fantasy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated Jabberwocky 4 out of 5 stars.  As Alice takes up the role of Queen of Wonderland, she continues to show her strength. However, she finally has some answers as she remembers her past. As the Jabberwocky continues to be the Queen's puppet, he realizes he has more power than he first realized. The characters in this story continue to make me. The plot twists and turns, leaving readers questioning Alice's sanity. Maybe she is made.  The story stays dark and spicy, with the men of Wonderland desperate to worship Alice. If you need darkness and depravity in your stories, this twisted paranormal reverse harem retelling of Through The Looking glass will have you desperate for more.

[Chubby Romance Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuation

Jabberwocky was a good continuation from Ask Alice and was such a detailed story that kept my attention. While everything may not be what it seems, I look forward to book 3 to read more about Alice and her men!

[Emma Milli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoa whoa whoa from a 1 star of the first book to a 3 star for the second?! We are getting crazy!!!! Honestly, I think this book was actually a good read. After being acquainted with Frillman's style of writing and especially her style of racy scenes, the enjoyment of the book goes up because the shock factor of it all does not drag you down. As she describes at the end of her book, "this book is short but jam-packed," and boy, was it ever. There was lots of action and additional characters that faired well to the development of the plot. The Jabberwocky was the most confusing character to me at first in the first book, but having a better understanding of him in the second really made me see that he is just misunderstood and the product of someone who is so evil and sadistic; the Blood Queen.
Anyways, would I recommend it for you to read? Honestly on it's own it's pretty good, but having the full idea from book 1 to book 2 is even better but I wouldn't recommend it. I'm just doing this for the plot now I guess.

(And yes I did put my date of finishing on the 18th despite it being 12:50am on the 19th, but I haven't slept yet so therefore it's not yet the 19th for me)

[Cheryl Filipiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow up novella to Ask Alice. Very short read, but full of story. Not quite as much spice as in the previous book but still a solid 3🌶. Alice and her Wonderland men are trying to find a way to bring the Jabberwocky home, only problem is that he brings along a very unwelcome surprise. Again leaves you wanting to read more. Can't wait for the third and final installment! I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review completely voluntarily.

[Sudeshna Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading it

This is an excellent sequel to the book "Ask Alice" and I absolutely loved reading it. This story is really an impressive version of the Jabberwocky we know. He is a tall, masculine, hot and handsome man and the chemistry between Alice and Jabberwocky was so hot. Alice and all the other guys of Wonderland are trying to bring back Jabberwocky to Wonderland from the Land Of The Dead and the adventures which they had to go through were quite interesting to read. I am waiting for the next book.

[K Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading it. Will he be interesting to see where she goes from here in the 3rd book.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Alice now the Queen of Wonderland, she's determined to get the Jabberwocky back from the dead lands, and have the four pieces of her soul and heart reunited. However, there's a lingering danger of him bringing back the Blood Queen upon his return, Alice must believe in herself more than ever, so she can defeat her once and for all, and bring peace and prosperity back to Wonderland.

'Jabberwocky' is definitely a lot more action-packed than the first one, with a mystery element added in. It's still as captivating and smooth as before, brimming with spice (lots of spice), and complex characters intent on worshipping Alice's every move. It was really beautiful though to see them navigating their own traumas, and slowly coming to terms with and embracing themselves for who they are, flaws, scars and all, showing just how resilient and strong they've been throughout their journeys. I INHALED IT

Alice's determination to heal and grow from her past trauma, was empowering, she's so tenacious, and steadfast in her resolve to persevere despite all the complex trauma and pain she's experienced, she takes her healing into her own hands, knowing that only she can heal herself, which was utterly astounding and so incredibly inspiring.

I also really enjoyed the deeper context to the Jabberwocky, diving into his origins, and the burdens he has to carry by being the Blood Queens beast, without being able to act on his own feelings or desires.

I would've liked the inevitable showdown between Alice and her aunt to have been a bit longer, it felt like it was gearing up to be a chaotic, gory and epic battle, but the Blood Queen put up so little of a fight, it fell a little flat of expectations.

'Jabberwocky' is definitely a lot more action-packed than the first one, with a mystery element added in. It's still as captivating and smooth as before, brimming with spice (lots of spice), and complex characters intent on worshipping Alice's every move. It was really beautiful though to see them navigating their own traumas, and slowly coming to terms with and embracing themselves for who they are, flaws, scars and all, showing just how resilient and strong they've been throughout their journeys. I INHALED IT

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

🖤 Jabberwocky ARC Review 🖤

Thank you so much to Kell Frillman and Katie & Brey PA for the opportunity to read and review this book!!

Jabberwocky is Book Two in the Tainted Wonderland Why Choose trilogy and picks up soon after the cliffy at the end of Book One, Ask Alice. Being as vague as possible to avoid spoilers, Alice must work together with her men to return the Jabberwocky to Wonderland.

It was definitely interesting to see where this story went after the first book. Like the first book, Alice is trying to reconcile her past experiences with her current situation - but I personally struggled a little bit with some of the timelines and it was difficult to discern what was a flashback and what was present tense in some places. Also - no spoilers, but some characters suffered abuse at the end of Book One and I struggled a little bit when these characters suddenly “got over traumatic experiences” without any struggle - I would have liked to have seen a more realistic portrayal of PTSD and healing with these characters.

Overall this was a three star read for me and a good addition to the series. There wasn’t as much smut in this one, but the scenes that were there were fun so two flames for spice. As always, please check your triggers, especially if you’re sensitive to abuse, trauma, on-page sexual assault and lack of consent

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically do not post reviews with spoilers but I don't intend to continue the series and I don't feel my review would be honest without some spoilers. Foremost, this book really made Ask Alice better in my opinion so I was excited about this in the beginning. I really enjoy some of the characters and why choose is normally my absolute jam... but this can't really be a why choose if Alice is not getting ALL the D. Here we are at the end of book two and she still hasn't sealed the deal on the Jabberwocky... let's be honest.. even with my love of both fairytale reimagining and a good gutter smut... this is the slow burn edging no one ever needed and the plot is not all we are here for... it wasn't bad enough for me to DNF but it's not good enough to read again or continue...

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Ask Alice and was excited to go back to the adult Wonderland.
I didn't enjoy this as much as book one but did like to see a bit more of a background to the characters and Alice finding herself and getting read to take on the Blood Queen. There was also a little bit of spice!
I'm looking forward to seeing how the story ends when book 3 comes out later this week and will be checking out Kell's other books

[Stacey Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are we going through the looking glass to find the reset of Jabberwocky? Come along Alice’s look through her looking glass. Is she back at the mental hospital trying to be coaxed back by her friend Liam? Or is she really back in wonderland and in search to get back her lover 5he Jabberwocky. To fight back the angry and psychotic Red Queen. The usual characters are there supporting her, Hatter, Rabbit, Cheshire…

[Catie Pier · Rating 3 out of 5]

great sequel!

Excellent sequel to the amazing Ask Alice. Cannot wait for the last installment!! Good spice but wish there was a liiiiittle bit more. I wanted more of the Queen’s depravity to shine through in this one but the last book is said to be an origin story so I’m pretty psyched either way!

[Jahara - Jarjarbindings · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Off with her head."

After featuring both of these on my page, I'm finally gracing your presence with a double review for The Tainted Wonderland Series!!

These books are a super fun spin off of Alice's world with a fun why choose romance entangled in the story. The Spice is absolutely incredible! I did wish there was more story line in the first book (you know me, I'm one of those boring people that doesn't want the spice to drown out the plots! The Jabberwocky's storyline is extremely intriguing to me, hes so dark and mysterious and can't wait to see how it all pans out!!

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? You've never experienced Wonderland quite like this. Thank you for letting me be on this tour friends!

Ask Alice ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Jabberwocky ⭐️⭐️⭐️.🌟
Both by Kell Frillman, Both on Kindle Unlimited! Check them out!!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this one as much as the first, but it was still really good! The story of Alice finding her place in Wonderland with her men continued nicely.
I was never super familiar with the Jabberwocky character from the original fairytale, but I am loving his character in this retelling.
I’m looking forward to the third in the series next!

[Cristina J Heanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story continues in Book 2 of the Tainted Wonderland and even though there wasn’t that much smut in the book like in Ask Alice, the book was written well. One thing that stood out was pages 59-65 are repeated. I’m sure that anyone who bought the paperback knows what I’m talking about. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book & look forward to reading book 3 from the series.

[Katie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down!

Frillman definitely understood the assignment with this series! I love the growth of Alice as well as Jabberwocky and the understanding of what is needed. Who knows what's real or who is actually in control? Still definitely check out the trigger warnings but I will definitely keep these books to read again and again!

[Nova Lenahan08 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF i cannot it's so bad

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all over the place and hard to fallow. Lack of world building and who’s talking. Just kept jumping around. Also, kindle unlimited version would repeat pages at a time.

[Charlotte Thurman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this book I'm going straight on to the 3rd 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I can't wait to see where Alice's path takes her wow

[Brittany Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will burn this wretched world for you 💗 book two did not disappoint! It was amazing I loved Alice even more amazing five stars now to book three 😍

[Nina Robbins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. So bad. Waste of time….didn’t even get the love scene between Alice and the Jabberwocky like I was hoping. 👎🏻

[Everythingthatsjess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate this reimagination of Alice In Wonderland.

This guy gets 2 stars for the writing of this book. I often has to reread pages i order to keep track of what is happening.

I appreciate seeing the authors skills develop from the first book.

[Ambry · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

It was a good book. I did like the first one better. There was one part that got repeated. But I liked the book. Was a slow burn. But written well.

[Sara Pawelkoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is meh......I am simply reading it to see what happens and how it ties together. The spice is good and creative. The book is an easy read. If you are in it for the plot don't bother.

[Lea Propst Fedder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t my favorite out of the series but the book was needed. It tied all the pieces together and stuck to the looking glass aspect which so like. It also gave a chance for you to understand the Wonderland men.

[Christine Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book in the trilogy and it was still hot and spicy but I didn’t feel the same excitement out it as I did in book 1. The spice scenes were still hot 🥵 as usual but the plot was almost too predictable for my taste. But overall still an enjoyable retelling. And it’s short! Only 166 pages 🫶🏼.