A DREAM SO DARK - L.L. McKinney


 Alice is still in shock after the event of the previous book, but she's also got the pressure of being a Dreamwalker - a protector of the world, but she can't tell anyone and she still has to do all her typical teenage girl things, like going to school and listening to her over-protective mother.

The Black Knight arrives in Alice's mundane world, confronting both Alice and her mother, forcing Alice to let her mother in on some of what she (Alice) is doing. Now Alice must return to Wonderland to uncover who the Black Knight is working for and she worries about her friends Hatta and Chess.

I was a little bit tepid about A Blade So Black (the first book in this series) but I definitely liked this book much more, even though it would be pretty important to have read the first volume. While the first book did a good job of setting the scene and introducing us to the characters, this book has an energy about it that's hard to ignore.  There's angst and action, danger and drama, and author L.L. McKinney weaves us through a dark, tangled tapestry of Wonderland that is both familiar and stranger than you might expect.

I do love stories that border (and cross the line into) the absurd, and I also like dark fiction, so this book ticks two of my favorites. But I think that what makes this a stronger book than the first one, and one well worth reading, is the more personal connection we get with Alice. And this connection comes through with the scenes with her mother.

At first it seemed as though we were getting a little stereotypical with the over-protective mother but McKinney works this really well and it feels natural.

Wonderland feels more fleshed out here. It's not a constant danger, which is how it felt before. It's still not a safe place, but we get to look around the corners and survey it a bit.

I'm glad I stuck with this for the second volume and I'm definitely interested in seeing how this series continues.

Looking for a good book? A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney continues the dark adventures in Wonderland with an Alice who's a fighter, a protector, keeping us safe from what comes from Wonderland.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

* * * * * *

A Dream So Dark

author: L.L. McKinney

series: The Nightmare-Verse #2

publisher: Imprint

ISBN: 9781250153920

hardcover, 416 pages

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