Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a sweet and spunky new romance from Harper Kincaid. THE WONDER OF YOU is a contemporary retelling of Alice in Wonderland…as a romance. I’ve enjoyed other books that reimagined classic works, including THE HIDDEN LIBRARY which also featured an Alice character.

About the book:
What if Alice didn’t fall down the rabbit hole, but instead, traveled through Lincoln Tunnel into another kind of Wonderland: New York City.
The best day of twenty-five year old Alice Leighton’s life was the day she got to put her nothing special, li’l Southern town in her rear-view mirror. Good-bye to phony ‘bless your hearts’ and ‘I’ll pray for you’ crap, all while talking trash behind her back. She’s New York City’s latest addition and she’s going to work her ass off proving she earned her spot in the country’s top grad program.

Never again will she let some jerk derail her future and break her heart. Oh, and no more players. She’s D.O.N.E with the ‘cool guys’.

Getting caught up in Dare Grangeworth, the art world’s resident bad boy, was not part of her Alice 2.0 plan, even if he is just her type, with his beard, tats sleeves and intense green eyes. When he’s not dodging the press or his cultish fan base, Dare’s making art that makes a statement. Women seem to lose their heads around him – all the more reason why he finds Alice’s candor refreshing. He’s used to women giving in – not giving attitude.

He has to get to know this girl, even if it means allowing himself to be the subject of her research. Before too long, he becomes more than a simple outlier she can explain away. And for him everything starts to feel larger than life and upside down, like a heady rush, all while desperately trying not to lose his heart.

Become lost and found in this re-imagined story of Alice and her cast of characters, in a world where Wonderland meets Sex-and-the-City.

My Review:
Alice Leighton is moving into her sister’s 2.5 bedroom apartment in New York City when she runs across Dare Grangeworthy in a taxi battle. Her sharp tongue intrigues him but so does the contents of the purse she left in the cab. An infamous avante-garde artist, Dare wants to get to know Miss Alice in more personal ways, but Alice has big plans.

She’s been with rich, powerful men before and she’ll not be swayed from her graduate school courses: she’s in training to become a clinical sex therapist. And, her first assignment is to find a sexual partner and document their sex life via journaling. Dare, having had a terrible break with his last lady-love, wants no more publicity of his love life. Yet, he still wants Alice. And his pursuit might could put Alice’s big plans in jeopardy.

This was a little wacky and a bit juvenile. Some of the banter between Dare and Alice seemed right out of high school. I got that this was a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, though, so I was willing to entertain a bit of wackiness. Having read the original work, not just relying on movies, I could see peaks of Carroll in areas. Each chapter beings with a brief Carroll excerpt, to focus that bit of the story, so readers could easily see the parallels. Having been inspired by the random, chaotic narrative of the masterwork, well, this book echoes that spasticity in its storytelling. It was a quick breezy read, but left me wanting a bit more substance to round out the mayhem.

Interested? You can find THE WONDER OF YOU on Goodreads and Amazon (US, UK, CA and AU).

About the Author:
Born in California and raised in South Florida, Harper Kincaid has moved around like a gypsy with a bounty on her head ever since. For years, she was a jill of all trades and a master of none, but is now tickled hot pink to pen stories that break and mend people’s hearts for a living. Kincaid believes seduction occurs from the neck up, which is why her characters are smart, sexy, and slightly quirky – and definitely worthy to be your next hard-core book crush.

When not writing, she adores listening to indie, lo-fi, complaint rock played on vinyl, the theater, well-informed optimism, happy endings (both kinds), and making those close to her laugh ’til they snort. She is a self-admitted change junkie, loving new experiences and places, but has now happily settled in the cutest lil’ town, Vienna, Virginia.

Catch up with Harper on her website, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, sign up for her newsletter, Goodreads, Amazon, and Bookbub.