Follow the White Rabbit by Kellie Sheridan

Title: Follow the White Rabbit (Beautiful Madness #1)
Editor: Kellie Sheridan
Format: egalley edition
Pub. Date: May 21st 2013
Source: Netgalley & Patchwork Press

★★★

Three potential-filled stars.

For decades, Wonderland has cried out, desperate to follow the pattern that it had followed until Alice threw everything for a loop. But change is approaching, according to the constant studies of Gwen. Everything is in position for the pattern to continue once more... And Alice is coming. The people of Wonderland- namely Gwen, Lucky, Rose, and Marc, must play the roles that they were born to, and for the good of Wonderland, Alice must return and be the catalyst that the once beautiful Wonderland needs to return itself to its former glory.

----

I have a love/hate relationship with novellas. Sometimes, a novella is just enough. A quick read with a short tale. This is not one of those times.

But first, let's point out the good:

+Wonderland is detailed beautifully. Kellie Sheridan does a good job luring the reader into, well, the wonders of the land. Whether she is describing the rural white kingdom and the dangerous forest, or the urbanized, high glam streets of the red's rule, it's very easy to imagine oneself within the story.

+I rather like the characters. Rose is the new white queen, growing into her position despite previous naivety. Lucky is a hunter of sorts, who must retrieve Alice. Gwen is my personal favorite, a quirky girl who gets lost in her studies and dresses all mix matched. All must work together if Wonderland is to change.

+I really like the cover of this work. It's simple, but cute.

But, of course, there were some not so nice bits:

-This is a great start to a series. But I can't help but to feel like I'm a beta reader. I don't feel like this is an already published work, just an idea that's being tested and presented. I'd much rather see this as the first half of a great book instead of an incomplete, mediocre novella, which is how this title comes across. This is a setup for drama-to-come, but unfortunately, that drama doesn't happen at all in this story.

-Though this wasn't enough to hinder my reading, I do feel that it's worth mentioning that this plot is a little environmentally preachy. Cities and expansion are killing Wonderland, depleting the forests, and Wonderland is mourning and crying for the loss. Meh. That is all.

As my regular readers/followers know, I am a huge fan of not only Alice in Wonderland, but fairy tale retellings as a whole. I would love to read the next book of this series. I think it has great potential. But as a stand alone short story, I cannot give it more than a very average three stars. I wouldn't run out to grab it any time soon.

Thanks to Netgalley and Patchwork Press for my copy.