Queen B’s Decree: I was so into Descending Into Madness at first. An Alice in Wonderland retelling with a Christmas spin. Alice was a bit impulsive and had some cutesy wintery curses—holy tinsel!—but the storyline hooked me.
I loved the storyline of the evil Queen and the “rebel alliance” on the run, and the variety of characters was so interesting. What I was really missing was the romance. Alice just seemed so physically attracted to both Rudy and Scrooge, but where was the true emotional connection? Nearly every interaction was her inner thoughts about how hot they were and wanting to jump Scrooge’s bones (even after talking to him about his dead family???). And yet, despite all her horniness, there was actually minimal steam in this story, it was definitely a slow burn.
But regardless of all of that, I still was so invested the world building and the plot. I wanted to see the Queen get her comeuppances and see Hare and the elves survive and thrive. Alas, Descending Into Madness ends in a wild cliffhanger and I am so shocked by that last chapter.
Overall, a very interesting premise but had some flaws.
Book: Descending Into Madness by Stacey Marie Brown
Series: Winterland Tale #1
Genre: Paranormal
Plot Devices/Tropes: fairy tale retelling