I am HUGE classic Alice in Wonderland fan. The Wonderland aspect lived up to it's true nature, but not much else. It wasn't a bad read, but was far from what I am most familiar with. I probably wouldn't read it again. There are a few characters in here that I could've done without.

I’m going to start with Ever Alice as the disappointment of the summer for me. I started this back at the beginning of April, and I was excited to get going on it. I’m a huge Alice in Wonderland fan and I love the idea of an Alice re-telling that is supposed to be modern but also old school at the same time. The language used was supposed to be very ‘Lewis Carroll’ and Olde English which, in a modern-day setting intrigued me.
I got about 60% of the way through this and DNF’d. The language didn’t work and the character development was shallow and lacked any kind of depth. It was as though by using the language and writing the same plot line that was enough to make it an Alice re-telling. There were some character names changed and some genders changed, but that was about it. I really struggled with it. Two of the updates I posted to GoodReads sums up my thoughts really… ‘It doesn't feel like a new take on an old story - changing the gender of a character doesn't make it a re-telling if everything else is exactly the same’ and ‘This was blurbed as an Alice in Wonderland re-telling but actually seems to be a Through The Looking Glass re-telling, although I'm not wholly convinced it actually knows what it's trying to be at this point...’

As I DNF’d but got past 50% (just) I’m giving this a 1* out of 5.

Just wow! Ever Alice was an interesting take on a well known story. Almost like a sequel, the story is about Alice, now 15, who has been put into an asylum for her stories about Wonderland. When she decides to undergo an experimental procedure just to be able to go home, she has doubts at the last minute and leaves with the White Rabbit to head back to Wonderland. There we see the Queen of Hearts is indeed still mad, and the characters personalities have changed somewhat from the original story.

What I loved most about this book was that H.J. Ramsay was very talented in keeping the "madness" of Wonderland throughout the story, examples being putting butter in their tea, or preferring that beds are lumpy and blankets scratchy. Hands down one of my favorite takes on a story that is near and dear to me.

I loved seeing in the mind of a villain and this book have you a great look into that. very well done by the author. The story was very well written.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book was an interesting concept. Alice, a few years older than when we last saw her in Lewis Caroll's book, is having trouble adjusting to normal society. Desperate, her parents put her in an asylum, hoping for a "cure" to her embarassing imaginations. Meanwhile, the Queen of Hearts continues her reign of terror in Wonderland, striking off the head of any and all who offend. When Alice is transported away from the tortures of the asylum back to Wonderland, will she become the Queen's next victim?

Although the concept was interesting, I struggled to maintain interest in this title. The irrationality of the Queen of Hearts sections seemed to be missing the original whimsical nature of the Carroll original. I tried to get through it four separate times and ended up having to give it a DNF at about the halfway mark.

This was not for me. I expected a dark continuation of Alice in Wonderland, and while it seemed to start off like that, the whole middle part of the story was quite a slog to get through, with repetitive scenes of crazy Red Queen and almost shoe-horned sillyness, while our familiar Wonderland denizens are barely recognizable to me. The ending is quite dark and was an interesting twist, but for me didn't make up for the effort it took me to get to it.

I think the idea of EVER ALICE is really clever. It seems completely plausible to me that if the Alice from the original story came back from Wonderland and tried to explain her adventures to her family and friends, they would send her to an asylum.

That premise also gives EVER ALICE a darker, creepier feel. This Wonderland feels much more like something created by Tim Burton rather than Lewis Carroll. Several scenes show victims of the Red Queen’s conspiracy theories getting beheaded. She chooses food and drinks that become increasingly gross.

Something felt missing for me in reading the book, though. I wanted more from Alice. She’s a passive character, constantly getting caught up in other people’s plans. Even when she finally (about 60% of the way through the story) commits to a course of action, she still relies on others to lead her to the solution to her problem.

I liked that the story isn’t as simple as a girl falling through a rabbit hole into another world. (Though I guess that doesn’t sound all that simple.) I liked that it left me with questions about what Alice really experienced. All in all, I’d say EVER ALICE wasn’t the best fit for me as a reader, but it was an interesting leap from the original story.

If you’re looking for a reimagining of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, I recommend Umberland, the second book in the series by Wendy Spinale.

Ever Alice is a strange and interesting take on Alice in Wonderland taking place in an asylum. It takes place after the original story which is why people think Alice is mad. In trying to escape, she finds herself back where she began...Wonderland. But now she has a mission, to eliminate the Queen of Hearts. Will she go through with it?

This book was super creative. I love Alice in Wonderland and this story kept the magic happening. The twists and dark turns made me keep guessing until the end. If you like Lewis Carroll, you will love this.

I received this book in exchange for review.

Thank you to Netgalley and H.J. Ramsay for allowing me to read and review Ever Alice. I loved this book! It was such a fun spin on Alice!

Ever Alice is told in alternating points of view – from Alice and the Queen of Hearts. H.J. Ramsay made this narrative style work so well for the story. Heightened anticipation, rapid page turning, indulgent angst; everything a reader could hope for in a story told this way was delivered. The author excelled at making the Queen of Hearts character consistently paranoid and worrisome; she is a stand out figure in this novel, as she should be. In comparison, Alice’s character was set up well in the beginning, but in the middle and even towards the end of the book her personality faltered. Is it because falling in love with the Prince became her personality? Sort of, but that wasn’t the only reason.

Many of the classic figures from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are present in this continuation, although a couple of them (the Mad Hatter, in particular, and one mischievous disappearing cat) have either taken on new personas as they are in service to the Queen of Hearts, or they play roles not exactly expected of their Lewis Carroll forms. While the inclusion of these familiar characters was exciting, the new characters of H.J. Ramsay’s creation really took center stage. The Prince of Hearts, royalty from the other three kingdoms, maidservants and advisers; these new figures gave this story its own legs to stand on, and pleasantly expanded the world of Wonderland. However, this did have an effect on how I saw Alice’s character, particularly when she became a permanent fixture in Wonderland. This version of Alice is technically “new”, but it feels like the author relied on an assumed familiarity of the reader to Alice’s character, rather than developing her persona for this new stage in Alice’s life. By no means was Alice written horribly, she was just more mediocre than expected.

One character who is not mediocre in Ever Alice is Marilyn Montague. Unfortunately, this was not for the better – this character is the biggest downfall of the book. Her only clear role is to provide conflict between Alice and the Prince, which is not necessary because there are plenty of conflicts keeping them apart already. Plus, Marilyn Montague is simply a Wonderland version of Marilyn Monroe – right down to the sultry rendition of the happy birthday song. The story would have been just fine without her.

Whereas almost all of the characters in Ever Alice are dimensional, interesting, and full of secrets, H.J. Ramsay took a more straightforward and smooth approach to the plot – which absolutely works. At the beginning, the reader is quite involved in Alice’s experience in the insane asylum to which her parents admitted her, and then her brief return to Wonderland sparks a whimsical magic akin to Lewis Carroll’s story. Her return to life in the asylum, and then her subsequent relocation to one in Switzerland is hair raising. The new facility practices either neurosurgery or shock therapy or both (it’s not exactly specified, but can be presumed), and Alice is the newest patient. Just as she’s about to undergo her first treatment, who comes to her rescue but Ralph, the White Rabbit, who whisks her back to Wonderland for the rest of the book. From there, the story focuses on the Queen of Hearts’ desire to control of all of Wonderland, while the three other royal houses want her completely stripped of power because of her record of beheading people (including her husband) on the fly and without evidence to any wrongdoing. This plot is superb, and moves along at just the right pace considering the antics, betrayal, and murder that take place along the way.

So although Alice’s character should have been given more vibrancy, there is still plenty of intrigue in H.J. Ramsay’s Ever Alice to make this a fun read for anyone wishing to dive back into the rabbit hole.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

An adaptation of Alice in Wonderland you say? Count me in! Ever since my introduction to Lewis Carrolls' excellent world building, I have loved Alice and her Wonderland. Giving her stories a dark twist makes it all the better. Ever Alice promised a twisted, sinister tale, an evil Red Queen, and a host of obscure minor characters reimagined. While the story delivered all that, it also fell flat in connecting the pieces.

Ramsay switches viewpoints between Alice and the Red Queen. This should've worked but Alice was so boring and the Red Queen had only one defining characteristic - being paranoid. The ending while being a logical twist to Carroll's world, was utterly predictable, taking away the page-turning suspense. Coupled with the fact that the characters didn't carry the story, the book was a bit of a dredge to get through.

To make this book a 5 star read, Ramsay should've made the queen as evil as can be with a hint of chaotic and Alice a strong-willed, stubborn, and flawed girl (not a doormat!). In fact, this novel could've been entirely reliant on complex characters while maintaining the weird and strange Wonderland aspects Carroll already created. There isn't a need for a big plot development.

Overall, I am giving this book 3 stars because it has good bones but failed on the assembly.

Everybody loves Alice.. and Mad Hatter and the Chester Cat and all the wondrous madness! And I was ready to be immersed in this story where Alice escapes the asylum, has to kill the Queen and ends up in danger again because OFF WITH HER HEAD but instead I found myself enjoying the start of the story, the ending of the story and some bits and bobs from the middle. The elements of Wonderland are definitely there. Uncomfortable is comfortable, unimportant is important, disgusting sounding tea is delicious and so on… but with all of the adventure for Alice to have and the big, Mission-Impossible-like plot underlining the story, I still felt the pacing was a tad slow. I wasn’t glued to the book when I wished I was…
Of scandal and intrigue there is aplenty in the court! Oh, and how much scandal and intrigue. We have a Marilyn Montague (the Wonderland copy of Marilyn Monroe down to singing an ‘unbirthday’ song in the sultry, drawn out tones) who wants to get in to the Prince of Hearts pants. Literally. It seemed like. And, we have the unexpected pregnancies – like in a proper telenovela! And, we have the Queen of Hearts who is .. you know, Queen of Hearts. Off the rocker!
When it comes to love? The attempt to make something sizzle in between 2 characters did not feel realistic, it felt more like a tool to use in advancing the plot at convenient times. Then again, they’re all bloody mad at Wonderland and if unimportant is important then maybe love is unlove, you know?! I am questioning myself now.. and for that I take my hat off to the book
Alice herself is a solid character. The introduction of the asylum into this retelling is, in a sense, the logical thing to do to tie in with her first visit to Wonderland and how she ends up there again… But I have to say, with the twist of the asylum I also actually pity the character now. The Wonderland doesn’t seem all the wonderful and quirky no longer. The ending really left me reeling, and sad… Like, stunned silence sad. Hmm…
Ever Alice has a great, and I mean GREAT, fairy tale feeling. It has the vibe of the peculiarity that made us all love the original in the first place whilst also including the darker twists without which Wonderland wouldn’t be the same. No fairy tale would be the same without the darker undertones, come to think of it.
For me, the book was OK I am glad I read this- there was many a time it made me crack a smile, but ultimately, I found I wasn’t eager to return to the story. Maybe because it was too close to the original? Maybe. And maybe this is exactly what will appeal to the wider readership about this retelling!

I really wanted to love this book because I’m a sucker for Alice in Wonderland stories, but this didn’t do it for me. 2.5 stars.
It felt like Alice didn’t do anything; things happened to her but she had no autonomy. It’s hard to connect to a character that has no free will. Unless this was supposed to be a commentary on mental illness in the 1800s and how powerless the patients were. I spent most of the book wishing the main character wasn’t Alice. Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts was crazy but she had personality and agency.
The instalove between Alice and Thomas was annoying. As was Alice's jealousy of other girls looking at Thomas. Their relationship was nonexistent.
The ending made me vaguely angry. I say vaguely because I didn’t care enough to truly be invested in the story.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Alice came back from Wonderland, her tales of White Rabbits, Mad Hatters, and insane queens landed her in an asylum. She's 15 years old now and keeps trying to explain to her parents and anyone else who will listen that her stories are TRUE and that she is not insane. But nobody will listen. The doctors want to try an experimental treatment on her, but instead she escapes, returning to Wonderland. But, Wonderland isn't much better than the real world....the queen is still quite insane. Alice didn't expect to be asked to kill her.

This is an interesting sequel to Alice in Wonderland. I liked it for the most part, except for the very end. I love Lewis Carroll's original so I happily read this re-imagining. The story is well-written and very interesting. I couldn't put it down! In the end, I just found it a bit too dark and depressing. Alice being treated like she is mentally ill was just a bit much for me.

Interesting story. Awesome new vision for a sequel. But it does touch on some dark and disturbing themes. Public execution. Mental illness. Extreme medical procedures.

I would definitely read more by this author. Ever Alice is her first book.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Red Rogue Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I want to thank netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. It wasn't exactly up my alley, but I appreciated the whimsy, and I feel like it stayed pretty close to the spirit of Wonderland (especially the most recent movie).

This story takes place a few years after the original Alice in Wonderland. After returning home, Alice cannot stop talking about Wonderland and is institutionalized. With the help of the White Rabbit, she escapes back to Wonderland and into a plot to depose the Queen of Hearts.

The use of language is purposefully pretty strange. Lots of meanings are backwards, etc. And the setting is also strange, and from what I remember fits right in to the original story. The Queen of Hearts is as bloodthirsty and crazy as always, and we get to see a diverse cast of characters.

My favorite part of the book was the end - and not because it was finished, but because it went a direction I didn't see coming.

Alice’s parents have left her in an asylum after her stories of Wonderland have them quite sure she’s mad. She’ll do anything to go home, so when her doctor suggests taking Alice to another facility for an experimental treatment to help her, she agrees. Upon arriving at the ‘hospital’, Alice becomes suspicious and afraid of the procedure, and in her panic, escapes back to Wonderland with the White Rabbit. 🐇

There she discovers the rabbit is part of an ‘above-ground’ movement to get rid of the Queen of Hearts once and for all. With Alice tasked with killing her, before too many heads can roll, she needs to navigate the bizarre ways of Wonderland and decide who she can really trust, and that includes the handsome Prince of Hearts.

This is a book I’m finding a little hard to rate – it was interesting and it kept the same ‘completely mad’ feeling as the original Alice in Wonderland tale, but at the same time, it didn’t quite capture me as much as I thought it would. It was a fun read and I appreciated that it maintained the quirkiness we all know and love of Wonderland’s characters, but it felt like Ever Alice relied too heavily on our prior knowledge of the original Wonderland, and gave us very little world building. There also seemed to be so many characters, that we didn’t really get enough information about any of them. It felt a little like they mostly just flitted in and out of the story. I do have to say I absolutely loved the ending though!

I feel like, although I love the idea of Alice in Wonderland, and all its characters, maybe if I went back and read the original story today I’d not be quite as enamoured with the kookiness of it. That probably affected my views towards this particular book, so if you still adore the original Alice stories, you could fall in love with this one!

H.J. Ramsay’s <i>Ever Alice</i> follows as a sequel to Lewis Carol’s <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>. At the start of the book, we find Alice in an asylum, where she’s been locked away for being unable to let go of Wonderland by the age of 15. Meanwhile, Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts, is chasing traitors from her home and kingdom (chasing them directly to the executioners ax). When the chance to escape comes in the form of the White Rabbit, Alice takes it immediately, at the cost of having to help take out the Queen. I was provided <I>Ever Alice</I> in exchange for a fair and honest review by Red Rogue Press via NetGalley.
Ramsay’s Alice is both on the edge of womanhood and the edge of still being just a child. Overall, the story, aside from a bit of murder, is on the younger side of young adult accessible. With Alice thinking not even truly of a kiss, but of vaguely feeling warm when she thinks of her romantic interest. Alice herself is surprisingly simple as a character, her wants and needs and lack of growth are clear and direct. Instead it’s Rosamund who’s the real attention draw for readers. She’s strong, but fallible, and while she doesn’t grow, we see her bend and sway and the way things could have been if only.
<i>Ever Alice</i> is a complicated book. Ramsay took on the task of truly delving into Lewis Carol’s world and language styles to what is unfortunately difficult results. There’s a great deal of inconsistency in the uses of negatives and positives and while it slowly evens out by mid book, it’s still highly distracting and not quite so easy to muddle through as with Carol’s original. Ultimately, the language structure detracts from the story rather than adds to it.
Overall, ending inclusive – which I won’t spoil here – I have to say, <i>Ever Alice</I> was not one of my favorites this year. I could have done without this particular trip to wonderland. That said, I hope to see more from Ramsay and will give future books a read.

In a world of the "sequel"/remake genre Ever Alice is an interesting take on it. In Ever Alice, Alice is now 15 years old and living in an asylum as her family thinks that her friend the White Rabbit is a psychic hallucination. The White Rabbit comes one day to take Alice back to Wonderland in order to help save everything.

The premise is very interesting and enjoyable. There are two POV characters, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. While the story does not make you like the Queen having her as a point of view character does give you a more well rounded view. The end of the story comes with a twist (or not depending on the type of reader you are) that gives this "sequel" a little bit of something different.

If you like this genre of book definitely pick this one up.

I thought this was a very clever rendition of the classic tale, although I would have liked more of an 'explanation' in terms of her being in a mental asylum. 90% of the book was set in Wonderland, so it all felt real and the lack of diagnosis for Alice's mental health really made it hard to see this as anything other than a 'novella' of sorts for the original.

This was an interesting spin on a much beloved book of my childhood. The different points of view were particularly illuminating.