Ever Alice is this authors thoughts on what possibly could have happened after the story we all know and love. Essentially we have Alice still enamoured by Wonderland and her belief and borderline obsession worries her family so much they are constantly seeking help and medical attention which leads them to place Alice temporarily in an asylum. All is not well though and Alice faces medical intervention that she realises too late will alter her permanently. Is it possible that Ralph the White Rabbit will reappear and once again whisk her off to Wonderland ?
The author takes the reader on an adventure that seemed to fit quite well within the original framework of Lewis Carrol’s acclaimed work. At once this is a beguiling story that is both dark and twisted whilst having eccentricity, oddities and even a touch of romance. Told primarily from two points of view we have the adventure that Alice goes on set amidst the downward spiral that Rosamund the Queen of Hearts is going through. Initially all the readers sympathy lies firmly with Alice as Rosamund clearly has stopped battling to hold on to sanity and her actions are truly heinous. However as the story drew to a close it appeared to this reader that Rosamund became much more self aware but alas I can say no more about the plot as it would ruin the surprises.
The characters most famous from the original story appear with one or two new additions to add extra interest. I enjoyed the poetic license used as the plot unraveled and the most obvious question of what actually was real and what imagined was handled in superb style that made this very believable although perhaps a little distressing for some readers. Bottom line this expanded the original story and should appeal to fans of Alice .

Thank you to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review and feedback.
This was my first time reading a retelling of a classic fairytale and I was some what apprehensive. There was absolutely no need. this retelling was fun, quirky and engaging.

Dnf at 23%. When I received this arc I was really excited to finally dive into yet another Alice in Wonderland retelling. But as I progressed through this novel, all I could think about was finishing it.
We follow Alice,in her teen years, after she has visited Wonderland, during her stay in a facility for the mentally ill, and Rosemund,the Queen of Hearts.

Both POV’s attracted my interest and I was really excited to dive into this novel. As I started reading this,I found myself getting more and more annoyed with Alice and her parents and with Rosemund and her obsession about beheadings.

Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mental state when reading this, but I couldn’t lose myself in the story and was constantly surprised by the use of certain words and expressions.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this!

This is another book that drops us down the preverbial rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland is a favourite of mine, so I do not mind being shoved down head first again.

This is my first H.J Ramsey book and will not be the last, particulary if they are all as easy to read as this one.

In the authors note,she states that this book sat in a drawer for many years after being rejected; but in the end felt that it could no longer languish in the dark, I am glad she made the decision, because more Wonderland madness needs to be set free!

Alice is a fifteen year old girl, who sees a white rabbit, but she is thought to be delusional and subsequently place in a asylum - as you can imagine, not a fun place to be.
the white Rabit appears to her and gives her the opportunity to eacapse, but takes it eventually, after being sent to Switzerland for 'new' treatment.

Ramsey gives us snippets of Wonderland in between following Alice in the 'real world', I mean how do we not know that our world is the fantasy one and Wonderland is the 'real' world and we have yet to discover said rabbit hole??

Ramsley places her own stamp on this much loved and well know world, keeping the originality but tweaking it to suit her brain child.

I found it an easy and enjoyable read, so thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley for giving me the the chance to read this proir to publication.

I hope this comes out in audio format, as I would love to listen to how a narrator reads it.

I will snag myself an actual print copy, so I can add this book to my evergrowing Wonderland collection.

[Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Rating: 2,5 stars.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a thousand peanuts in my eye."

Ever Alice is a sort of sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland. We follow 15 year old Alice who got thrown in an asylum for all her talk about Wonderland and talking rabbits. Through a turn of events, Alice finds herself back in Wonderland once more, but this time things are different. She is there on a mission to kill the reigning Queen of Hearts. The premise of this had me intrigued, and I usually love reading retellings of all sorts, but this fell flat for me.

The biggest issue with this novel is that I don't think the author managed to capture the essence of the madness and nonsense that is Wonderland. Every time there were instances that were supposed to show this, it felt like a cheap shot. I've read several other retellings of Alice in Wonderland, and they managed to capture the atmosphere and the feel of Wonderland in a way this novel simply didn't. The other issue is that none of the characters felt properly fleshed out, they were all quite boring to follow. We follow the povs of Alice and the Queen of Hearts and neither managed to capture my interest. Alice as a character is whiny, jealous and not very smart, she just follows the stream where ever it goes. The Queen is selfish, delusional and a general hot-head. I think I had too high expectations of the scheming and plotting behind trying to assassinate a queen, that I got very disappointed when neither ever happened.

The ending did give the story a little twist, but it arrived far too late. I wish we had seen some more interesting details leading up to this twist, it lacked the punch I was hoping for. Most of the ending also just left me confused, and it seemed to hint at a sequel, which felt out of place. All in all, the book wasn't awful but it sadly wasn't good either.

Ever Alice is a fun take on the world of Wonderland with a pretty dark twist, if you know the universe you feel like you already know these characters regardless of their new personalities. 

The book takes us through a journey of Alice who is now 15 as she is labelled insane and shipped off to an asylum. Her parents seem to care more about her adored sister who is soon to be married over Alice, you get the impression they'd love Alice at the wedding but also don't want her to 'spoil' the day. 

On the day of Alice's major surgery at the asylum to 'fix' her and forget about the magical Wonderland Alice is approached by the White Rabbit, she remembers him from her first visit and he convinces her to leave with him and come back to Wonderland. However this comes with a price and he tasks her with killing the Queen of Hearts. 

The way the book is laid out is intermittent chapters between Alice and Rosamund (Queen of Hearts) which I loved, although you're supposed to hate the Queen of Hearts there were some moments within her chapters where I kind of warmed to her?! I'm not sure if anyone else felt the same - but then again I am a fan of the villains. 

I loved being back in the world of Wonderland, it felt different, mature and was clearly handled with care when writing about beloved characters. It's always a risk writing a book based in a world which was fairly whimsical and enjoyed by primarily children - then flipping it on it's head and making a version for adults. I could not put the book down, the pacing and tone was done very well - twists and turns were added when you least expected it and left you wanting to just finish one more chapter.  

Overall I really enjoyed this book, loved the plot idea and absolutely adored being back in the world of Wonderland. It has a mix of humorous moments, horrifying deaths and shocks that would make you put the book down and take a second to recover.  

The end left me wanting more and I'd love a sequel (hint, hint) - I think that was my only complaint is that I actually wanted it to be longer, but I guess that is not a bad thing. I will be recommending this to many of my friends who are into YA Fantasy with a twist!

3 for neutral. Couldn’t get into this book, tried on a few occasions. Will update my review in future if something changes.
Will let the members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s release!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

I adore the original Alice in Wonderland so I was rather intrigued when I saw he blurb for Ever Alice.

Alice is now fifteen years old, all grown up and although no longer in Wonderland, she cannot forget about that magical place and the delightful characters she met all those years ago.

The trouble now is that others consider her mad. And because of this, we find Alice in an asylum.

What transpires after this is another typically crazy adventure.

We meet familiar characters but not as we have previously known them and all sorts of madness takes over.

Now I loved the premise and the story was well written, plenty of humour mixed in.

However for me there was something lacking that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars. I can't put my finger on it, all I can tell you is that for me, it seemed to drag in places yet at the end I was almost disappointed that it was over.

Over all a lovely take on an already classic character and I hope to see another instalment in the future.

Oh how I do love an Alice in Wonderland story. Yet when I requested Ever Alice, I was expecting either a YA retelling of the original or something more gritty/horrific, ala Alice: Madness Returns. What it is is a story of Alice returning to Wonderland after the years have passed and no one in the land of Eng believes Alice and her tales of Wonder and Alice soon finds herself placed into an asylum. Everything, however, may not be what it seems. Or maybe it's exactly what it seems. Both probable and improbable, Alice finds herself back in Wonderland after following the White Rabbit—Ralph's—instructions.

Alice's task? Kill the Queen of Hearts. And oh how that task gets complicated as Alice soon develops feelings for the Prince of Hearts and finds herself almost adjusting to the Queen's bizarre ways after being hired as her new ladies-maid. We meet familiar characters and see them in new lights, such as Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. Overall, it's a fun read. I did find myself skimming the Queen of Hearts sections up until Alice and the Queen began to interact. It seemed to be a bit slow in getting to that point but once it did I thoroughly enjoyed it a lot more. The ending could have packed more of a punch than it did but I was satisfied with it, as it ended how I suspected it would. I was torn between a 3 star and 4 star rating and I think, especially reading the latter half of the book, I'm very comfortable putting it at a 4-star. I enjoyed delving into Wonderland and H.J Ramsay captured the style beautifully.


NOTE: Review will be posted to Goodreads & my blog closer to release Would be happy to post prior if preferred.. :)

Ever Alice is this authors thoughts on what possibly could have happened after the story we all know and love. Essentially we have Alice still enamoured by Wonderland and her belief and borderline obsession worries her family so much they are constantly seeking help and medical attention which leads them to place Alice temporarily in an asylum. All is not well though and Alice faces medical intervention that she realises too late will alter her permanently. Is it possible that Ralph the White Rabbit will reappear and once again whisk her off to Wonderland ?
The author takes the reader on an adventure that seemed to fit quite well within the original framework of Lewis Carrol’s acclaimed work. At once this is a beguiling story that is both dark and twisted whilst having eccentricity, oddities and even a touch of romance. Told primarily from two points of view we have the adventure that Alice goes on set amidst the downward spiral that Rosamund the Queen of Hearts is going through. Initially all the readers sympathy lies firmly with Alice as Rosamund clearly has stopped battling to hold on to sanity and her actions are truly heinous. However as the story drew to a close it appeared to this reader that Rosamund became much more self aware but alas I can say no more about the plot as it would ruin the surprises.
The characters most famous from the original story appear with one or two new additions to add extra interest. I enjoyed the poetic license used as the plot unraveled and the most obvious question of what actually was real and what imagined was handled in superb style that made this very believable although perhaps a little distressing for some readers. Bottom line this expanded the original story and should appeal to fans of Alice .
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair.

Ever Alice is fantastic! It tells a story of what happened to Alice after her adventures in Wonderland in the original classic by Lewis Caroll. Ever Alice follows a teenage Alice trapped in a mental institution after her parents have had her diagnosed as mentally insane or "mad". All Alice wants is her freedom, to return home to her family, and to prove to her family once and for all that she is not as "mad" as they believe and that Wonderland truly exists. Instead she is given a difficult choice: return to Wonderland for another dangerous adventure or be lost to the magical world, and possibly her family forever. The writing style was nice and easy to read and flowed nicely. I love that we get to see "the other side of the story" with the chapters focused on the Queen of Hearts. Its comforting to see so many familiar and lovable characters from the original tale.

Alice in wonderland is one of my favorite stories, this book continues from where the original left off. It has original characters (though renamed), new characters, and has some unexpected twists. The pace for most of the story was good, though there were parts where the story dragged (not enough to deter reading) and true to current alice in wonderland images, is both lighthearted and dark. Overall, it was a fun read.

Well, well, well. You’re quite the little beauty, ain’tcha? You take one of my favourite stories in the whole world and keep it going without it feeling forced. That, friendos, is quite impressive because I am picky AF. Let me tell you why Ever Alice should be on your TBR pile.

1. It’s the re-imagined sequel to Alice in Wonderland.
I mean that should honestly be enough right there. Alice has grown up to the ripe ol’ age of 15 and, much to her parent’s annoyance, she still talks of this magical place called Wonderland.
Before long, she’s forced to stay within an asylum for ‘treatment’ whilst her mother and father play happy families thanks to her sister’s engagement announcement. Her incarceration soon escalates and results in her being shipped off to a different medical centre for more, how shall we say it… radical treatment to banish her delusions.

Who should save her from her life-altering treatment? None other than the White Rabbit aka Ralph. He’s here to give her a mission: kill the Queen of Hearts.

2. The Queen of Hearts is hilarious.
This isn’t a book that takes itself seriously. Characters are bat-shit insane (albeit that’s normal behaviour in Wonderland) and you’ll find yourself chuckling away in public. The Queen of Hearts (Rosamund) is no different. She’s ready to chop off a head at a moments notice, but you know what? I think she’s just a little misunderstood.

3. It’s the same cast but evolved.
Those people you loved in the old book are still very much there along with a few new ones for good measure.
Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall, but you’ve got his cousin, Marco Polo, to take his place.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum died in the Great War of Turnips and the Queen promises to look after their daughters, Mary Anne Tweedledee and Mary Lou Tweedledum.
It’s things like that that keep me interested in the book. It’s an evolution of the story that feels very natural rather than wedged in for the sake of it.

Whilst this book kept me hooked, I was a bit blah about the romance element. Like did he like her? Why was he even there? Who even ARE YOOOOU?!

This book is refreshing. With nods to original and a truly bizarre world, it’s pretty hard not to fall down the rabbit hole with this one.
Has a sequel already been told? Yes
Will more appear over the years? Probably
Should you give this one a damn good chance? Absolutely.

Fairytale retellings or books based on popular fairytales are one of my favorite things to read, I was so excited to see that this was about "Alice in Wonderland" (which happens to be one of my absolute favorites) The author did a wonderful job in keeping many of the same "elements" of the original book. It had light and dark moments and many of the characters from the original (with just different names). I really enjoyed this fresh take on a classic.

Alice in Wonderland will always have a special place in my heart. I also adore retellings, so this book is beyond perfect for me.

This book is a fun “sequel” to the original Alice books and I definitely fell down the rabbit hole with this book, I’m just not ready to get out yet.

Ever Alice is a retelling of one of my favorite classics that I've never actually read, because...Disney. Alice in Wonderland is iconic and I've read a few different reimaginings that were crazy good and even if you never read the original or even saw the fluffy Disney version you could understand it. Wonderland, that whimsical mixed up world, is someplace I like to revisit time and again and it is always entertaining.

Ever Alice is a dark revisit to the land of wonder that takes place after Alice's original fall soon the rabbit hole, I'm guessing Into the Looking Glass timeframe for those diehard Alice fans. And as much as I love Wonderland and it's chaos, this book was maybe too chaotic. I found After Alice hard to follow and even more confusing than any visit to Wonderland ever before. It took me a while to get into the groove of the story and intrigue.
To be expected as any Wonderland set book the inhabitants have a funny way of speaking and odds mannerisms. But I think that H. J. Ramsay went a bit too far with it and it took over important parts of the story. I was left befuddled more than bemused.
Alice, a very curious young lady now age 15, has been placed in an asylum for her beliefs in the fantastical world of Wonderland. Separated from family and her beloved car Dinah she desperately wants to go home and she'll do and say anything to do so, even risky experimental procedures.
But the experiment seems too scary and the doctors refuse to let her go so her only escape is, you guessed it, back to Wonderland. She follows the White Rabbit back to Wonderland and into a world of treason and intregue as the Red Queens newest lady in waiting.

Does Alice make it out of Wonderland with her head fully intact, did she escape the experimental treatment or is everything just in her head? You'll have to read it when it's released in August to find out my little bookings.
I can't say I give this rendition of Alice's adventures a glowing recommendation but it was fairly entertaining once you weeded through the overly Wonderlandishness of it all. I'm sure any diehard Alice fan would enjoy it for sure. In my ranking I give it a 2 out of 5 stars.
I recommended a copy of Ever Alice from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

This story definitely gives you an explanation as to what might've happened to Alice after leaving Wonderland. It isn't just a retelling, it's like a sequel to the original Alice's adventures in Wonderland. The character from the original go get a 'makeover' which was hard to keep track of at the beginning. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to fully submerge yourself into the madness (as a figure of speech). Even though it does start with the cliche Alice is admitted to an asylum, it still took a slightly surprising spin. It isn't as dark (or violent - no triggers here) as Alice by Christina Henry, but it is still enjoyable.

This book was an amazing surprise, and I wish I had never read it so I could read it again and enjoy it as much as I did the first time.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Netgalley.com and Red Rogue Press. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review.

Ever Alice is an imaginative continuation of the Wonderland tales. Funny, clever and well written, this book will delight readers of all ages. Younger readers might want to avoid since there are some creepier parts that might frighten them, but perfect for the 13-18 age groups.

4 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.