Review: The Wonder by Colleen Oakes

The Wonder

by Colleen Oakes

Publisher: SparkPress

Pages: 238

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  An Exiled Princess.
An Ancient Tribe.
A Dangerous Stranger with Unknown Loyalties. 

Dinah, the former Princess of Wonderland Palace, has been chased into the wilds of Wonderland after the brutal murder of her brother and the ruin of her impending crown. Now, as her half-sister Vittiore sits on the throne beside her Father, the brutal King of Hearts, Dinah finds herself alone in the forbidding Twisted Wood with only Morte, a homicidal beast, for company. 

Hunted by the King and his army of Cards, Dinah struggles to evade those who long for her head, including Cheshire, the King’s clever advisor, who is slowly tightening his grasp around her. Spurred on by her rising terror, the former Princess finds herself at the center of a web of conspiracy reaching far beyond the Palace and deep into the mysterious Yurkei mountain tribes. 
Even with the balance of an entire Kingdom at stake, Dinah knows something that her allies and enemies do not: that the most dangerous conflict of all has already begun as she battles the enticing rage that beckons her ever closer as love slips further from her grasp.


Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series that is the fairy tale for an older crowd who grew up listening to fairy tales at bedtime.  Before you read on, if you haven't read book one in this series, stop now and read the first one!

Now for the second book, Dinah is definitely in a darker place, outside of the palace and deep in the woods.  She is on the run from her father and trying to decide what she wants to do next.  I loved the dark tone and the character arch for her, if you didn't quite love her in the first book, stick with her because she definitely gained some credit from me in this book.

The darker tone, the new characters and the maturing of Dinah really made me fall more in love with this series and I can't wait for the next installment.  If you are a fan of Once Upon a Time, this series was written for you!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 56 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.