Showing posts with label A Dream So Dark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Dream So Dark. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2020

The Friday 56 (181) & Book Beginnings: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


42642065Synopsis from Goodreads...

Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes—Wonderland is trying to save her. There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own. Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself...

Beginning: "What do you mean gone?" Court jerked the car to the side, dodging around a slower truck as she shouted the same question Alice had asked Hatta a few minutes ago."

56: "Confused, Alice whirled to spot Nana Kingston stepping out of the building, Mom behind her."


Comments: I already talked about A Dream So Dark before, but recently I've been rereading some of my favorite scenes (from books like this one as well as The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden). I chose different quotes (from the beginning of chapter two and from page 57). What are you reading this week?

Friday, April 17, 2020

Sketchbook: Alice (featuring The Nightmare-Verse by L.L. McKinney)



Comments: It’s been quite some time since I did something art related on the blog. As it so happens, I completely overlooked Our Thoughts Precisely’s blogiversary two years in a row, and so I decided to celebrate—belatedly—by sitting down and tackling one of the art projects that’s been on my mind for some time. I hardly ever draw fan art these days, but I’ve always wanted to make something inspired by Alice in Wonderland. I got a big dose of inspiration after I read A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney. I took my inspiration from various elements within the series instead of any one specific scene (so you don’t have to worry about spoilers). Some of my initial ideas were too cutesy for what I wanted. When my main goal was to capture more of the creepy-horror-action-aspect (the nightmares, the sword and daggers from the book covers), which are pivotal parts of the series. 

Materials for this project…
  • Ucreate 75lb, acid-free, lignin-free drawing paper
  • Artist’s Loft Necessities colored pencils in the color Light Orange
  • Art Minds Permanent Marker

What are you working on this week?


Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Review: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

42642065Title: A Dream So Dark
Series: The Nightmare-Verse #2
Author: L.L. McKinney
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Young Adult; Retelling
Publisher/Publication Date: Imprint; September 24, 2019

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...
Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes—Wonderland is trying to save her. There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own. Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.
The thing with sequels is they can go either way, good, bad, and anything in between. In the case of A Dream So Dark, it was the kind of sequel that got me excited for the next book in the series. I enjoyed it more than I did A Blade So Black. It was the kind of Alice in Wonderland retelling I’ve been looking for. I mean there was everything from a little bit of a mystery to interesting characters, Sailor Moon references, lots of scenes in McKinney’s version of Wonderland, plenty of action, and some pretty entertaining twists. That is to say, A Dream So Dark was worth the read.

From here on out, there may be minor spoilers for the first book. You have been warned.

The story picked up pretty much after the end of the first book, and it followed Alice as she dealt with the fallout of her most recent battle and about what happened to her friend, Chess. In a general sense, I liked the overall story. There was plenty of action to keep me turning the pages. And while I could guess some of what would likely happen, I didn’t know the full story—like the motivation behind the antagonists plots, and how it would all come together and playout in the end. So, I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

The setting was much more developed, and I liked that more of the story took place in Wonderland. It was such an interesting and colorful place, and I liked getting to see more of it—especially the people, the towns, the different kinds of creatures, and so on.

I loved the character development that happened in A Dream So Dark. At the end of A Blade So Black, I had a lot of questions about Alice’s character—and I still have a number of them—but I liked the direction the author took with her character. This time around, Alice was definitely more prepared. She had learned from her past mistakes, and she was ready for a fight. I thought it was great. Another thing I was a fan of was how much more present Alice’s family was. Like there was always the issue of her absences and her mother not being a fan of it or her lies, at all. So there were these really great scenes between her and her mother. There were also scenes with her grandmother as well (who, by the way, was an absolute delight and one of my favorite additions to the story; she’s a character that I want to see more of). I also liked Alice’s friend, Courtney (also known as Court). She was such a personality. She had some pretty entertaining one-liners, and I loved all the scenes she was in. There was also a little more about Addison Hatta’s history, which I liked.

All in all, I really enjoyed A Dream So Dark. It was a great addition to the series, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Friday 56 (165) & Book Beginnings: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


42642065Synopsis from Goodreads...
Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes—Wonderland is trying to save her. There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own. Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.


Beginning: "Alice couldn't run. She couldn't hide."

56: "Frozen, her hands still in the air, she nodded slowly. The way he said her name, like he wasn't certain it was her but desperately wanted to believe it was, sent a not-unfamiliar thrill through her."


Comments: I finally got around to reading the sequel to A Blade So Black, A Dream So Dark. I liked the story, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. What are you reading this week?

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

5 Star Books In 5 Words

It has been a long time since I participated in any kind of book tag, and recently I was tagged by Ronnie @Paradise Found for the 5 Star Books in 5 Words book tag. It looked like something fun and easy to do. So I decided to go ahead and participate. Before I begin, I need to quickly go over some of the technical details. This tag was originally created by Matthew Sciarappa over on Youtube. Check out the original video HERE.

The rules
  • Pick 5 five-star reads 
  • And Pick five words that best describe what it is about the books that made me like them as much as I did
And thank you to Ronnie @ Paradise Found for tagging me. Make sure to visit the blog post over there at this link: 5 Star Books in Five Words Halloween Edition. Let's begin!


43069601. sy475 Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Spooky; Ghosts; Lodge; Isolated; Snowstorm









42642065A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

Retelling; Action; Wonderland; Nightmares; Knights









36896898. sy475 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Wintry; Atmospheric; Gold; Fire; Mountain

25526296





Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Portals; Fantasy; Mystery; Home; Magic









40969531. sx318 A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegarde Serle

Mirrors; Arrangements; Scarf; Danger; Cold


That’s about it for today. I’m not tagging anyone specific, because I hardly ever do. So if this seems like something you want to participate in, then you can consider yourself tagged!


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