Name: War of the Cards (Queen of Hearts, Book 3)
ISBN: 9780008175467

Colleen Oakes

Dorothy Must Die meets Alice in Wonderland. This is not a story of happily ever after – it’s the heart-stopping conclusion in the twisted YA origin story of the infamous villain, the Queen of Hearts.

War of the Cards (Queen of Hearts, Book 3)

Colleen Oakes’s twisted reimagining of the Queen of Hearts origin story comes to a thrilling conclusion in War of the Cards. Dinah has lost everyone she ever loved. Her brother was brutally murdered. The wicked man she believed was her father betrayed her. Her loyal subjects have been devastated by war. And the boy she gave her heart to broke it completely. Now a dark queen has risen out of the ashes of her former life. Fury is blooming inside Dinah, poisoning her soul and twisting her mind. All she has left is Wonderland and her crown, and her obsession to fight for both. But the war rages on and Dinah could inherit a blood-stained throne. Can a leader filled with love and rage ever be the ruler her kingdom needs? Or will her all-consuming wrath bring Wonderland to its knees? This is not a story of happily ever after. This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

War of the Cards

Gisela Ayala 

angry and yet so strong."

I love Dinah in all her rage, in all her brokenness, in all her pain. I love complex characters that have a goodness in them but also a darkness that is simmering beneath the surface- always threatening to flood over. 

Side Note: I despise Wardly. He reminds me of those guy friends that always want to keep you in their grasp because they "care" about you or love you but can never give you more than that BUT STILL WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE. No just no. You manipulated Dinah's feelings. I despise you.

Kaley Catron

So…I think I’m satisfied with that ending? Not entirely though. I feel like it could’ve been way better. Tbh I was so sick of Wardley and his whining. I was rooting to Sir Gorrann the whole time but I understand his reasoning. Tbh he was just my favorite character of the whole series. Idk. I’m not sure how I feel about this

Imie Kent-Muller

I was surfing NetGalley, as one does, when I came across War of the Cards and I was intrigued by the synopsis – I love a good villain origin story. I requested and received the book and was all excited until I realised it was the third book in a series! Silly old me then had to binge read Queen of Hearts and Blood of Wonderland to then read War of the Cards. I’m actually really glad that I did this though, because I would not have been able to deal with the wait between books! This series is awesome and keeps you on your toes. Its an incredible reimagining of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and I loved it.

To summarise: this series, and this book in particular, is a unique retelling/origin story of Alice in Wonderland’s villain the Queen of Hearts. Oakes creates characters who are complex, empowering and interesting to read; whilst playing with the stereotypes of fairy tales and creates an interesting ambiguous cast who go against their stereotype of ‘hero’ or ‘villain’. This creates moral dilemna’s and depth that usually lacks in these styles of stories, which can be seen through her portrayal of the protagonist, Dinah. Dinah is a perfect lead to the story, she is a realistic role model who never quite manages to be the stereotypical hero, but strives to be the best version of herself. Dinah may have fought a war, but the battle continues inside her every day, something that many can relate to. The world is beautifully crafted to hint of the Wonderland we know, but also an entity in itself of a thought out wonderful world which you are transported to through Oakes magical descriptions. Oakes has achieved something marvellous and War of the Cards is an epic unexpected conclusion to this brilliant series.


Full review: https://mythicreader.wordpress.com/20...

Bec Drayton

This book was action packed, fast paced and written really well. I loved the character development and all of the crazy twists and turns, although I felt like the ending was anticlimactic and incomplete. It was a lovely ending but still left a few things unanswered, it couldn have definitely used another few pages to wrap everything up nicely. 

everlinet

3.5* 
I Really love this series! I must admit the first two books were better. But the writing style was beautiful nonetheless and this series is worth reading!
I read everything Alice in wonderland related and this retelling is truly amazing, although I was not happy with some stuff happening in this particular book.

War of the Cards (Queen of Hearts, Book 3)

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