The Wonderland Trials & The Looking Glass Illusion by Sara Ella
Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t even have words. THIS WAS THE BEST DUOLOGY THAT I HAVE EVER READ!!!! (not that I’ve read many duologies, but these books take the cake!)
💕MY HEART RATING💕:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
(five outa five guys, guess that means y’all have to go read them 👀)
My Summary of The Wonderland Trials, AKA Book one: Alice is a Normal girl whose life is turned upside down and sideways when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene. Then, in the midst of trying to locate her sister, Alice is whisked away to wonderland to compete in this years Wonderland Trials as team Hearts Ace. Through the Trials, she must survive, otherwise she may lose her sister forever.
Publisher’s Summary of The Wonderland Trials, AKA Book one: All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality.
Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible… or what it seems.
The stakes are raised when she discovers players go missing during the Trials each year. Will she and her team solve the clues and find the missing players? Or will betrayal and distrust win, leaving Alice alone in a world of her own? Follow the White Rabbit into this topsy-turvy fantasy where players become prey, a sip of the wrong tea might as well be poison, and a queen’s ways do not always lead one where they ought to go.
Summary of The Looking Glass Illusion, AKA Book two: Alice and her friends must overcome the fourth and final Trial, or they may lose each other and the Wonderland which they have come to believe in.
Publisher’s Summary of The Looking Glass Illusion, AKA Book two: Alice is not prepared to face what awaits beyond the Tulgey Wood. When she and the rest of Team Heart enter the fourth and final Wonderland Trial, it’s up to her to lead them to victory. But this Trial is more than a game. If Alice and the others fail to defeat the Jabberwock and reveal the truth about Wonderland, more than points and fame will be lost.
Chess Shire never believed he’d make it this far. Now he’s stuck navigating a Trial he’s seen but doesn’t remember, all while searching for the brother he left behind. Not everything is as black and white as the game that shares his name. And if Alice discovers his deepest regret? Chess might just lose her too.
Apart, Chess and Alice scour the eight squares of the Heart Trial in search of memories, truth, and an Ivory King who seems more illusion than reality. Will they learn to lead together to face their greatest fears? Or will they remain pawns in a queen’s game, never truly seeing the Wonderland they’ve come to believe in?
So, now for my (little) interpretation of these two amazing books!
Content warnings/stuff to be aware of: Nothing, really! They are really clean books, thanks to Sara being a Christian author and mother! There are a couple scenes where two characters are kissing/flirting, but they’re very clean and delightful.
Why I enjoyed this series: They have a little bit of mystery and trials (Huh, wonder where Sara got the title from? 😉), and there is a cute little romance subplot. Alice is just such an enjoyable character to follow around through each of the Trials, and the Author did a really good job keeping me hooked and want more! (even now, I still think she should have written at least three, but, alas, not all good things are going to come.)
The Characters get along so well, and with the dual reality, the concept of the whole story is really cool. These books, if you couldn’t tell already, are based of of Lewis Carroll’s books, Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and what Alice Found There.
End notes/Thoughts:
Sara Ella is an Author and Speaker who has Written several books. You can find her and her books at saraella(dot)com
Have you read either book in the Curious Realities Duology? If you haven’t, would you now?
Thanks so much for reading, Guys!
❤️❤️❤️-Jane Elise
Photo credit to Unsplash