Am I completely insane for enjoying this incredibly dark and slightly disturbing story? Because I was absolutely entertained and downright gleeful when reading this book of blood and vengeance. As the author warned, this book has many taboo subjects. It explores the dark side of humanity that a lot of us are ignorant towards. Myself included. I found this story very hard to put down and at times some of the things that happened had me on one hand wanting to hide and cry…and on the other, wanting to join the killing spree. Like I said, am I completely insane? Though this book is most definitely dark, it was also romantic. Insane, but very romantic.

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Characters:

Ellis Earnshaw aka Dolly – If you can’t tell by the name, Ellis is our Alice in Wonderland. Her mother has read her the story countless times and from that, Ellis’ obsession with Wonderland began. She not only resembles Alice but dresses like her too. At the age of seven, she meets a boy who is wearing all black and ripping the wings of a butterfly. But that isn’t what catches her eye. It’s the pocket watch he has in his hand. That is the moment Ellis found her Rabbit.

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“The way to Wonderland is here, Rabbit. I know it…and one day we will find it. Find it and escape.”

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Heathen James aka Rabbit – At nine years old Heathen has seen death before. Seen it, and has become completely fascinated by it. He goes to live with his father when his mother becomes too scared of him. Most young boys would be sad, but he felt nothing - feels nothing towards anyone. Except for the girl next door; his Dolly. He never knew that the most pure and innocent person could be living inside a nightmare. One he enters and suffers behind closed doors. They send him away…but eleven years later he comes back.

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“I thought of the journey ahead. Thought of the blood we would shed, the hearts we would stop and the lives we would steal. And all the time, a smile threatened to grace my lips.”

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The dynamic between these two bordered on psychotic but they worked so very well as a couple. The relationship wasn’t abusive emotionally or physically and if you take away the dark aspect in the story, this was a very cheesy and sappy romance. The author brilliantly made the insanity of their actions seem like they were just taking a walk on the beach.

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Plot:

This book was very well written and easy to comprehend. To my delight, this book was told in dual point of view. Having it based on Alice in Wonderland only brought more intrigue to the plot as the tale of Alice is a relatively well known one. Whereas the original tale of Alice is one of surrealism and nonsensical fantasy, this twist is one of lunacy and blood thirsty revenge. Definitely not a book for the fainthearted. Without giving too much of the book away, the protagonists are vengeful and seek revenge on those who wronged them. The inclusion and the twist on the other original Wonderland characters such as the Cheshire Cat and the Caterpillar was genius and very creative!

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Last Note:

Dark romance is a sub-genre to Romance and includes intense fascination with melancholia, insanity, crime and shady atmosphere. It embraces the grotesque and the irrational. It commonly features outcasts from society, personal torment as well as difficulties towards social norms (Leaphaert, 2015).