Review – Curiouser and Curiouser (Steampunk Fairy Tales, Book 1) by Melanie Karsak (4.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 231 pages
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Release Date: January 11, 2018
ASIN : B078YT13DS
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Steampunk Fairy Tales
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“Alice thought she’d turned over a new leaf. No more working for Jabberwocky. No more making deals with the ruthless Queen of Hearts. No more hanging around The Mushroom with tinkers, tarts, scoundrels, and thieves in London’s criminal underbelly. But she’d been bonkers to dream.
Hatter’s reckless behavior leads Alice back to the one person she never wanted to see again, Caterpillar. Pulled into Caterpillar’s mad schemes, Alice must steal a very big diamond from a very royal lady. The heist is no problem for this Bandersnatch. But protecting her heart from the man she once loved? Impossible.
Sometimes love is mad.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Steampunk Fairy Tales. There are five books in this series. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.
Story (5/5): This is a steampunk retelling of Alice in Wonderland. It mainly follows Alice (aka Bandersnatch) who has decided to leave her life of crime and make an honest living as a maid. Unfortunately, her childhood friend, Caterpillar (aka William), is in trouble with the Queen of Hearts. Alice gets drawn back into nefarious activities that only she has the skills to defuse in order to save those she loves.
There is a lot of action, mystery, and some romance in here. I loved the steampunk elements and all the clever references to the original Alice in Wonderland story. This was incredibly fun and I just found the story very endearing. It was great to go back and read this, it filled in a bit of what I was missing when I read the first Steampunk Red Riding Hood book.
Characters (5/5): I loved the characters here. Alice tries so far to do her best to live an honest living but her skills are much more suited to other pursuits. She is loyal to those she cares for and smart and capable. She was fun to read about and very engaging. I really enjoyed William/Caterpillar as well; he comes across as a trouble-maker at first, but as the story unfolds you find out he has very particular reasons for what he does. The clockwork cat, Chess, is delightful…as are a number of the side characters. The Queen of Hearts is incredibly well done, vicious and creepy with strange biomechanical steampunk tendencies. I just really enjoyed every single character here.
Setting (4/5): This whole world is well done, it’s a steampunk London and the story stays in the city. The particulars about how this steampunk London is run with the airships and layout are very well done. This was a creative and fun setting that was easy to picture.
Writing Style (4/5): This was well written and easy to read. We hear from Alice’s perspective mainly. The story moves along at a good pace, I loved the characters and the action. This was a quick read and was entertaining and engaging, no complaints!
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. I would recommend to those who enjoy Alice in Wonderland retellings. I enjoyed the setting and the action and loved the story and the characters. I definitely plan on continuing this series. I am eager to see if the other steampunk fairy retellings are as much fun as this one was!
