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Tuesday 2 June 2020

A BLADE SO BLACK by LL McKinney

A Blade So Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While going through my Kindle books the other night, this one caught my eye. So I decided to give it a go and was instantly dragged into the story.

The night Alice suffers a great loss and runs blindly into the night, she encounters a monster in a back alley. When a mysterious guy saves her, he also introduces her into a world full of Nightmares and frequent trips into Wonderland...

Wow. This book really took the original Alice in Wonderland tale, injected it with a huge dose of Buffy, dealt with real-life issues, and turned everything into a fast-paced adventure with a lot of heart.

Not to mention amazing characters who are very familiar (from the classic) but so very different, and a bunch of exciting new ones.

I enjoyed the hell out of this book because I loved Alice. She was clever, strong and brave, but didn't shy away from admitting when she was also scared. And she was so stubborn and determined to protect the people she cared about. Never gave up on them. She was great!

I also really liked the many different portrayals of friendship. Not only does Alice have two friends she loves, but there's also the group she spends so much time with when dealing with the Nightmares of Wonderland. Sometimes it was a bit of a juggling act, but definitely added to the tension.

There's also her unstable relationship with her mother. No matter how hard she tries, saving the world always ensures she disappoints her. I totally got why she couldn't tell her the truth, but I just kept hoping she would because her mother was awesome. And that heartbreaking scene in the garage was so moving.

Although there's a fair share of incredible fantasy, seriously, the worldbuilding is awesome, there's also some heavy real life issues dealt with throughout the story. There's a police shooting that happens off the page, but has a huge effect on Alice. And also hits so close to what's unfortunately still going on in this volatile world of ours.

I love urban fantasy, and this was an excellent kick-ass addition to the genre.


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