“We’re all mad here.”

These cryptic, confusing words from the iconic Cheshire Cat have been part of our vocabulary since Alice in Wonderland first came out. As Alice travels through Wonderland, we see that everyone in Wonderland is indeed mad, and Alice is the only one who’s sane… or is she?

Ever Alice opens with Alice, now fifteen, locked in an insane asylum by her own parents, who don’t believe her wild stories. Betrayed and hurt, Alice clings to her belief in Wonderland, drawing pictures of the White Rabbit and hiding them from the doctors. Then one day, the White Rabbit returns and Alice follows him back to Wonderland without a second thought. However, this trip doesn’t promise to be a lighthearted adventure. Anything but - in fact, the White Rabbit has come to ask her to kill the Queen of Hearts.

This novel is told from two points of view, switching back and forth between Alice and the Queen of Hearts herself. Called Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts is an intimidating personality. Like in the original, the Queen comes across more as a petulant child than as a true terrifying villain, but her unpredictability does bring a level of fear. Rosamund is extremely paranoid, suspecting everyone of being out to get her, ready to sentence anyone to death at any moment. In her first chapter, we watch her behead her own husband after accusing him of being a traitor. Only a few chapters later, she learns he wasn’t really a traitor, and yet she feels no regret.

When Alice arrives at court, she is given a position as a lady’s maid to the Queen. Being with the queen at all times gives her more opportunities to kill her - but also more chances for the Queen to order her execution. Can Alice carry out the plot and save Wonderland, or will the Queen win, as she always has before?

Throughout the book, as Alice spends more and more time in Wonderland, she starts to wonder if Wonderland is really where she belongs. Is she really mad? Can she return to England, or is it a place that will never truly accept her for who she is? Is she really mad enough to belong in Wonderland?

I was really excited for this book. I thought it had a lot of potential: I’ve always loved Alice in Wonderland, and retellings, and I thought it would be interesting to see a deep, psychological take on the story, especially one involving an insane asylum. And the book definitely did explore it in some interesting ways. I really liked the worldbuilding of Wonderland - everything was completely topsy turvy. People say the opposite of what they really mean, the bedding is lumpy and scratchy, and the tea tastes like fish. Talking animals coexist with humans. The author really had fun with making Wonderland as wild and wacky as possible, and while it is confusing at first, it really does add to the feeling of madness that I think the author is going for. The Queen was an interesting character with a fascinating and terrible backstory that I really wanted to explore. Even after finishing the book, my mind crawls with questions about her… why is she so suspicious of everyone? What made her this way? Why does she get so much joy from beheading people? The novel only scratched the surface, however. I think my one biggest critique of the book is that I wish the book had dug deeper into the psychological aspect and explored Alice and the Queen’s psyches and the Queen’s backstory in particular a bit more. So I don’t think it fully lived up to its potential. However, I still found it to be an interesting and enjoyable read, and after getting only a few chapters in, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. For fans of classic retellings, Alice in Wonderland, or just a good psychological fantasy story, this story is for you.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Red Rogue Press for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Alice and Wonderland is one of my very favorite classics. I remember reading Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass over an over as a kid. Now that I am an adult I often seek out retellings because I find it fascinating to see what people kind of interesting takes authors will do with the story.

I found this to be a fun, quirky tale of what happened to Alice after she returned from her adventures in Wonderland. Alice is fifteen and never stopped believing in Wonderland even though everyone thinks she has lost her mind. Her family is so worried that they continue to try and find treatments for Alice. Hoping against hope that she will forget her obsession with Wonderland. When Alice gets a chance to go back to Wonderland to help stop the Red Queen she agrees. Though she doesn't want to kill anyone she really wants to help and is willing to do whatever she can.

I really enjoyed this. There was an almost off kilter feel to the book where everything thing feels slightly askew. If there was one complaint to be had it would be that though the story is about Alice she often feels like a supporting character to the story instead of the main character. That being said this was a fun read.

I love Alice in Wonderland retellings and this was no exception. I loved the world, the characters, the story. I had so much fun reading it and I definitely will be rereading this in the future!

Sorry not for me at all. It started off ok but then I got bored. Shame, I really wanted to like this one butbut felt a bit forced.

This was such a fun book to read! Truly delightful retelling. I loved the spin of Alice being in an asylum, I found that it made things more interesting and drew me in right away. I loved how familiar everything was, and all the nonsense. The nonsense words, the weird tea, the culture. It is just fun to let your imagination go wild while keeping up with the story. I loved the little nods to things here and there, like Marilyn Montague singing “Happy unbirthday to you”. If you’re a fan of retellings, you should give this a try!

***I received a ARC from the publisher and Net Galley for an honest review***

This story is told from two points of view: Alice's and Rosamund a.k.a. The Queen of Hearts. It also starts off in two different settings an Asylum and Wonderland. What I really loved about this story is the author took a beloved classic and put a new, dark twist to it. There are also so many different twists and turns that you won't know how the story is going to end until the author wants you too. With this story being told from two points of view, you get a different story and you honestly get a deeper glimpse into the Queen of Hearts. In the classic Alice and Wonderland, all you really know about the Queen of Hearts is that she beheads people that cross her or make her mad, which is the same case in this story, however you get to see that there is more to her than what you originally thought. All of the beloved characters make an appearance and let's say a lot has changed since we first visited Wonderland. I loved reading about how my favorite characters lives have changed since the classic in this retelling. H.J. Ramsey gives you a whole new tale of Alice in Wonderland, but still keeps the spirit of the classic story alive. This is a story for a new generation, and I believe it could be as big as the classic if given the chance. If you love Alice in Wonderland, than you need to pick up a copy of this book, which will be released on August 1, 2019. Don't miss this new, dark, adventurous trip down Wonderland!

Thank you NetGalley for opening up a whole new way of looking at a classic read.
In this, Alice is thought to be mad and suffering with delusions that have helped her create another world. She’s taken for experimental treatment, and the way this is set-up suggests strongly that all the adventures in Wonderland are the product of a diseased mind.
Whatever your view of the Alice stories, this interpretation offers us some insight into the character of The Queen of Hearts and introduces us to very different ways of viewing the events in Wonderland.

Ever Alice by H. J. Ramsay takes us back to Wonderland. Alice is now fifteen, and her family believe her to be insane and have placed her in an asylum for treatment. When a radical and experimental procedure is recommended , her only escape is to follow the White Rabbit once again. She finds herself back in Wonderland where the Queen of Hearts has lost whatever shred of self control she ever had, and is ordering beheadings on a daily basis. Alice soon finds herself unwillingly caught up in a plot to assassinate the Queen.
I have been a fan of Alice and Wonderland since I was a very little girl and I was eager to see what this author could bring to the story. While the plot itself is fine I soon found the attempts to recreate the whimsy of the original books to be laboured and grating. It is a shame because there were moments of brilliance such as a game of bowling involving armadillos and penguins, but there were just too many times where it all seemed forced. It was good to see the old familiar favourite characters, and I also liked some of the new ones but others felt really out of place like Marilyn Montague who is very clearly modeled on Marilyn Monroe. I will say that I did like the ending, though I am sure it will prove divisive among readers
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Very interesting take on Alice in Wonderland and what happens next. Would recommend to any fans of the original Alice.

First of, I like the cover of this book no pastels here for this book as not all is as it seems.

Ever Alice is a reinvention of that Lewis Carrol classic we all love. Alice is much older now and in a dark and sad twist to the story, is unfortunately in a difficult and really different situation than what I’d imagine her life to be after the whole white rabbit thing.

Dare I share it? No, no I won’t. But... and especially in the end, it was sad. I almost wanted her out of Wonderland. Almost.

Thank you NetGalley and Red Rogue Press for a copy of the book!

A lovely spin on Alice in Wonderland. I really enjoyed this story, it was very refreshing.

All these amazing retellings of great fairytales are really impressing me.

I’m not actually sure whether I enjoyed this book or not. It was a bit all over the place for me. I love the rewritten disney books and this one also but it went a bit too far fetched for me.

When I first saw Ever Alice and read the description I was really excited to check it out. I love Alice in Wonderland and thought a continuation from someone else's view would be interesting. I was right but only at first. The writing itself is very Lewis Carroll and the story starts out perfectly for an Alice in Wonderland theme. However, halfway through I found the story start to drag and filler was added. This novel could have easily been closer to 250 pages while keeping all the good parts of the story.

While there were parts I didn't like, there are others I did. I loved how the author was able to bring the world to life in their own way and kept with the strange theme. The author added characters which helped make this a unique story. I also liked how there were back stories to original characters.

Over all I'm mixed with this novel. I loved parts and others I could have done without. It took me longer to finish the story because I felt like I was being pulled out when it came to the slower parts. If you want a new Alice in Wonderland story and can focus through slower parts of a story then I recommend giving Ever Alice a try.

Ever Alice is poignant, though often-times whimsical, look at another journey that Alice must make. Now 15, Alice Liddell finds herself once again in Wonderland where things are just as nonsensical as they always were and the Queen just as volatile. Will Alice keep her head, or is this the final journey?

What I liked:

The novel stayed true to all the whimsey contained in the original by Lewis Carroll. The original story was full of charming nonsense in what characters said and ate in Wonderland, and Ever Alice maintains that same tone while accommodating an older Alice and a corresponding theme. A world full of opposites and buttered tea, disappearing cats, and talking animals somehow manage to explain her journey to young adulthood and self-awareness as well as the original illustrated a journey through childhood and self-identity.

The journey Alice takes is the journey appropriate for a 15-year-old. In this retelling, Alice’s journey includes finding love, exploring the uncertain world of grays, and making adult decisions. Much the same journey that teens of all ages have gone through. Whereas Alice’s real-life has not provided her with a chance to experience these milestones, Wonderland is there to fill the void.

The parallels between Alice and the Queen of Hearts is unexpected but is hinted about through much of the novel. The “off with their heads” queen of hearts and the ever-innocent Alice could not be more opposite but as the story progresses this changes in very subtle ways, at first, and more substantially by the end. I liked this about the book because it most accurately explains the theme and sets the novel apart from the original.

The ending is conclusive. The novel is written as an actual conclusion to the Alice story. In a world full of series, it is refreshing to have a tale truly conclude.


What I wish

The character of Marilyn Montague had not been so obviously a Wonderland version of Marilyn Monroe. Since the book is set in Victorian England, as the original was, this reference to an American actress from the 1950s and ’60s stood out and bothered me. Though I loved what the character added to the story, I had a hard time getting past the fact that there was a discrepancy from the setting.

The ending was so haunting, and I would have loved it to turn out differently. This story isn’t the original children’s book, and nothing helps that stand out as clearly as the haunting conclusion to the story. Though it fit for the theme and the story in general, I will be thinking about this story in a much different light and for a long time to come.


To Read or Not to Read
If you like a dark retelling of children's classics, you will love this book. It has all the essential elements of the original but is a journey more fitting of Alice’s current life stage.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read! Part fairy tale and part psychological thriller, the story got 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟 and 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟 as it went on. The whole idea of this story is so fun and unique - Alice, back in Wonderland conspires with an aboveground group to kill the Queen of Hearts. But the Queen is paranoid and senses that someone is plotting to kill her. All of our favorite Wonderland characters are here in this book, with many of them serving a different role than they did in the original story. Some of Alice’s old friends are now her enemies. I loved the way Ramsay developed the characters. I had a love-hat relationship with the Queen the whole time I was reading. This book had everything - humor, suspense, satire, romance, and of course... beheadings. And without giving away any spoilers, the ending was so perfectly dark and answered a lot of questions I had. I absolutely loved everything about this book! I’ll be picking up a print copy for sure.

This book was okay. Not my favorite but it was okay. Guess I didn't really connect with it as much as I was anticipating. Overall, it just wasn't for me, but you might enjoy it. Thought it was an interesting twist on the fairytale story.

Alice is 15 years old and her stories of Wonderland have landed her in an asylum. Desperate to leave she agrees to an experimental procedure but changes her mind at the last minute. She finds herself back in Wonderland and with orders to kill the Queen, but will she be able to complete the mission she has been given?

Ever Alice should have been my kind of book because I love retellings but less than three chapters in I had become bored.

I found Alice's beginning bit interesting but I disliked the bits about Rosamund and the traitor almost immediately. I found them dull and slightly predictable.

There was nothing special about it for me unfortunately.

I absolutely love Alice and Wonderland and found myself loving Ever Alice right from the beginning. Loved revisiting Alice and all that Wonderland has to offer in this book. I would definitely recommend checking it out., you won't be disappointed!

Well, that was certainly a read!

When I went into this, I was fully expecting more grounded-in-the-real-world Alice, as opposed to changing perspectives between Alice and Rosamund, the Queen of Hearts. I think I was expecting something along the line of the The Looking Glass Wars, which were a bit more intense, if I remember right. But that's not at all what this is (which is fine)!

Alice is now a patient at an asylum, considered insane because she still stands by her statement of going to Wonderland as a child. Her sister thinks she's a liar, her parents think nearly drowning addled her. But Alice knows she's right. Her insistence leads her to Switzerland, with a nice long ice pick waiting for her.

I'll admit, I had a hard time keeping up with the characters. Ralph (the White Rabbit), Chester (the Cheshire Cat), Bill (a lizard) all seemed to bleed together, while Alice and Rosmund were just never truly fleshed out. I also had a hard time figuring out what age group this was supposed to be targeting. Yes, lots of references to beheadings, and a nice lobotomy. But the main part of the story reads more like a younger YA/older middle grade book.

Overall, it's not my favorite "update" to a classic tale, but if you're super into Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, you might enjoy it? Maybe? I give it 3 out of 5 roses. Thanks to NetGalley and Red Rogue Press for a copy in exchange for review.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with Alice in Wonderland syndrome. A mental illness I’d been suffering from for as long as I can remember, but which only got a name in my late teens. Therefore, I have a very strong personal connection to the story of Alice in Wonderland, and I was excited to dive into Ever Alice. However, as I started reading, I realised I didn’t like this book at all. I was even a little offended that this author, H.J. Ramsay, carried on with a legacy that was so precious to me with the original author’s consent. It almost felt like a betrayal to become a novelist based on someone else’s ideas. This feeling wouldn’t let me go throughout the book.

The story is a sequel to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Alive is now fifteen years old and stuck in a mental institution because she can’t stop talking about a made-up place called Wonderland and its inhabitants. At an important point in her life, the White Rabbit, now Lord Ralph, comes in a whisks her away to save the day in Wonderland once more.

There were so many roads I had wished that the author had gone down. Especially the mental breakdown and the asylum were very interesting parts in my opinion. In the end, though, the author went with what was the rather predictable option and the story fell flat for me. Combine that with my aforementioned feeling of hesitancy toward using someone else’s work as a step up for your won writing career, and my enthusiasm was gone.

I finished the book mostly because I wanted to see whether my feelings would change and because I thought it would help me write a more complete review. Though, I do think that I enjoyed it more towards the end – fewer bad word plays and some more interesting plot points – I can’t bring myself to score this novel more than 2.5 stars. Additionally, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is as big as a fan of the original Alice in Wonderland as I am.