Review of The Dark Side of Wonderland

[Laney K]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dark Side of Wonderland" by Kayla Marie Gomez.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Alice's first college party, which she did not want to attend, turned her world upside down when she met Greyson, the brooding football star. He is immediately protective and possessive of her. Alice, too, feels an immediate connection to him. Their relationship is riddled with dangers as Alice's eyes are opened to a world of magic that she never knew existed. Her heritage becomes critical as she begins to wonder what the locket her grandmother gave her means. Will Alice be able to make sense of her own power before it is too late? Will the connection between her and Greyson be enough to keep them together? Grab a cup of tea and dive into The Dark Side of Wonderland by Kayla Marie Gomez to find out!

I appreciated the time that Gomez took to develop the world. While tropes such as werewolves, soulmates, and witches are nothing new, Gomez added her own unique spin. Heritage is important in this novel, and I found it interesting to see the characters take a dive into their personal history to learn more about how the past is shaping their present.

I also appreciated the callouts to other media in the genre, such as a mention of the Twilight series, as Alice is contemplating whether she is crazy or if Greyson really is something supernatural. There are also references to Alice in Wonderland throughout, which I quite enjoyed.

For me, there was only one aspect of the book that I disliked. The pacing of the book felt a bit all over the place. Towards the end of the novel, there was a series of high-stakes events that felt quite rushed. There were also rather jarring transitions at times. The characters would mention something that would be happening soon, and suddenly the event would be taking place, skipping days or weeks in a blink. While I appreciated that Gomez did not bog down the narrative with unimportant details of days where little happened, I believe that the tempo could use work in spots.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. The dynamic characters and beautiful world-building created an engaging story. The ending left me excited to read the next book in the series. I am taking off one star due to the issue I previously mentioned. Overall, The Dark Side of Wonderland is a thrilling book that will appeal to fans of romance and fantasy!

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The Dark Side of Wonderland
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[Onyemuwa-dave]

The premise of Alice's world turning upside down with magic and a brooding football star sounds captivating. I love that you highlighted the unique spin on tropes and the interesting heritage aspect. Your feedback on the pacing is clear, but it's great that the dynamic characters and world-building still earned a 4-star rating and left you excited for more! Thanks for the review.