Review: King of Hearts

King of Hearts:
A Wonderland Story

Twisted Fairytales #4

by KuroKoneko Kamen

A genderbent retelling of the Queen of Heart’s story in Wonderland…

Crimson, the bloodthirsty, sadistic King of Hearts, is a villain. Or at least he’s supposed to be. That’s just how things work in Wonderland: a strange, fanciful place filled with heroes and villains that always seem to be at odds.

Crim is in a very dark place after the hero, Alister Kingsley, wins the Wonderland Joust and marries Madeline Hatter. He should have known better than to hope for true love since villains don’t get ‘happy endings’.

But there’s something fishy afoot. Even though Crim loves Madeline he can’t stop thinking about his Cheshire Cat slave, Katrina, who remains trapped in an enchanted sleep. Only true love’s kiss can break a sleeping curse, and Crim has tried that already. Don’t get him wrong. He doesn’t love Katrina. He just misses her delicious raspberry tarts terribly, and will stop at nothing until she can bake them for him again.

Like sharks smelling blood in the water, Crim’s enemies make their move when the King of Hearts shows a moment of weakness caused by his recent defeat at Alister’s hands, and his inability to break Katrina’s curse. The Queen of Hearts and Crim’s birthmother, Cordelia, has two powerful allies in her arsenal: the Other Artist, Alice, and the Sorcerer Maleficent.

Crim later discovers that the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ is true when the Cheshire Cat People decide to join Crim in retaking the Red Kingdom from the clutches of Alice’s army, which is made up of vicious Dark Fairies and human-sized insects.

Can a villain become the hero Wonderland needs before it’s too late, or will Wonderland be plunged into an eternal darkness forever?

REVIEW

5 out of 5

We first visited wonderland with Alister, in an earlier gender bend book, and I was delighted to return. This time, the focus is on the King of Hearts, and his struggles to keep control of his kingdom. There are so many twists in this, and I love the idea of Alice becoming the antagonist, and the previous villain becoming the protagonist of the story. It was easy to dive right back into Kamen’s version of Wonderland, and while this is a sequel of sorts, this does work well as a standalone. The characters have so much depth, and are so different from each other. The story moves along smoothly, and there’s rarely a lull. If you enjoy Alice in Wonderland, and always wondered what the Red Queen’s story was, you’re going to love this Red King reimagining!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KuroKoneko Kamen is the bestselling author of the scintillating Demons and Judges paranormal romance series – Wicked Bartender, Incubus Chocolatier, Hollywood Merman, Druid Vampire, Highlander Hellcat, Vampire Punk and Galactic Goth – where the true love of a Judge has the power to redeem a Demon or Vampire of their sins. With a degree in English literature and experiences gained through worldwide travel under her belt, she excels in world building and creating unforgettable characters. Due to her Japanese heritage she’s always possessed an interest in Japanese culture from ancient folktales about yokai, demons, to modern fantasy anime and manga. Even when in the midst of a swashbuckling pirate novel expect a samurai warrior to be thrown into the mix. Keeping her company as she writes are her several dogs and cats, some of which are rescues.

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Twisted Fairytales Collection