Allison’s Adventures in Underland – C. M. Stunich

This is one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read in the best way possible. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I’ve been hearing about this story for a while (considering it’s been out since last year) and just didn’t get to reading it until recently. Honestly, I wish I had read it earlier just so I could’ve gotten in on the hype sooner, but then again, would I have blogged about it at that point? Possibly not. And this is definitely a good one to blog about.

I’ve always been a big Alice in Wonderland fan, and that includes several of its many adaptations. I’m also a huuuge fan of C.M. Stunich. In fact, her Rock Hard Beautiful series was my first ever reverse harem read, and in my opinion, she pretty much sets the bar for a good reverse harem story. So, with that said, here’re my thoughts on Allison’s Adventures in Underland …

First off, Allison is a snarky, sarcastic, somewhat tomboyish young adult who I immediately related to. I may not be quite as outspoken, but I definitely found a bit of a kindred spirit in Allison, lol. Part of what I loved about her is that she questions things that normal heroines readily accept in most romance novels. She’s not a pushover and just because she’s told something is acceptable doesn’t mean she’s on board with it, and no one is making her do something she doesn’t want to do. Also, she’s constantly wondering what Dee is talking about, which are some of the funniest interactions in this story. Case in point:

“That’s the problem with assumptions,” Dee says, whistling as he starts off down the path. “They make an ass out of you and shins—two of which we all have.” He pauses for a second before turning around to look at me. “Unless of course you’re an amputee which then you could have one shin or none shin and then the only person that’s an ass is you.” I just stare at him because, like, what the fuck is he saying?

Allison discovers she’s the Alice–something pertaining to a prophecy that you either believe or you don’t, though considering she actually makes it to Underland (formally Wonderland), then you better start believing. In short, the Alice is supposed to save Underland and restore it to its former glory. Where Wonderland was bright and beautiful, Underland is dark and full of drugs, sex, backstabbing, and murder. This certainly isn’t a book for the faint of heart, and the characters are definitely not the ones we all grew up with.

There are assassins, a shapeshifting jabbberwock, a shapeshifting bandersnatch, a perpetually high butterfly, and many other odd characters that take the originals and twist them into some very intriguing concepts.

I don’t want to say too much about this book because I essentially went in blind and I feel like that’s probably the best way to read it. There were so many clever twists added to this story, as well as some great sexual tension and chemistry. So far, Tee and Dee are my favorites, but I’m excited to get to know the other characters more in the next book (due out this year! Yay!).

Just like most of her other novels, I adored this book. It’s different and it’s raw and gritty and definitely won’t be liked by everyone, but if you have a bit of an open mind and aren’t afraid to try something new, give this strange story a shot. You just might enjoy it!

Happy reading!

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