A Blade So Black

L.L. McKinney

Sep 2018 · A Blade So Black Book 1 · Sold by Imprint

About this ebook

"A Blade So Black is the fantasy book I've been waiting for my whole life."
—Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give

For fans of Marissa Meyer, L.L. McKinney's A Blade So Black delivers an irresistible urban fantasy retelling of Alice in Wonderland... but it's not the Wonderland you remember.

The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.

Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head... literally.

Debut author L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue.

And don't miss the thrilling sequel, A Dream So Dark!

An Imprint Book

"Mixing elements of Alice in Wonderland and Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Delectable." —Entertainment Weekly

Ratings and reviews

This was quite an interesting retelling of Alice in Wonderland, in that it shared the setting and a bit of the backstory with the original, but gives a whole new role to the character of Alice. In A Blade so Black, Alice is a teen who was recruited to be a protector to the gates of Wonderland. After the death of her father, being a warrior gave her a sense of purpose, and in a short while she is good at it. Now, a year into her job, a new threat has arisen in Wonderland, which reeks of its past. Having a dual life as a black girl living with a protective mother and a warrior in another world is not the easiest thing for her, and especially not when she has so much emotions, including her grief and fear, swirling in her. As I mentioned before, this book reworks the magic of Wonderland and gives it a more darker cast, and a bloody history involving attempted necromancy. The characters of Wonderland, while not all present, have new roles - one of which is Addison Hatta, who is her mentor/crush, and Maddie, who is the Wonderland edition of a witch. Along with them and other such warriors. The book presents her real life concerns very well - how she struggles with being a warrior given that it is a dangerous job, and her mother would be devastated if something happened to her. Her own fears about the people she loves is set against her duty repeatedly, and so is her cover in the real world. The parts about Wonderland are also done well enough, but I felt the world-building a bit lacking in that regard. Overall, a nice start to an Alice in Wonderland-inspired retelling, with a complex protagonist and high stakes.

I honestly loved this book. so easy to read and all the magic and monsters were playing in my head like a movie I didn't want it to stop. can't wait to read book two. it's not over.

this author bullies other writers

About the author

Named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African-Americans of 2020, L.L. McKinney is a writer, a poet, and an active member of the kidlit community. She’s an advocate for equality and inclusion in publishing, the co-founder of Juneteenth Book Fest, and the creator of the hashtags #PublishingPaidMe and #WhatWOCWritersHear. She’s also a gamer girl and an adamant Hei Hei stan. She is the author of A Blade So Black, A Dream So Dark, and A Crown So Cursed.