A Dream So Dark

The Nightmare-Verse, Book 2

By: L.L. McKinney

Narrated by: Jacob York, Jeanette Illidge, Matthew Barnes

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

"With memorable characters and page-turning thrills, A Blade So Black is the fantasy book I've been waiting for my whole life. Alice is Black Girl Magic personified." (Angie Thomas, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Hate U Give)

In L. L. McKinney's A Dream So Dark, the thrilling sequel to A Blade So Black, Alice goes deeper into a dark version of Wonderland.

Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes - Wonderland is trying to save her.

There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power - and Alice's budding abilities - as their own. 

Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.

An Imprint Book  

"Mixing elements of Alice in Wonderland and Buffy the Vampire Slayer... a delectable urban twist on beloved fairy tales." (Entertainment Weekly)

"A dark, thrilling fantasy-meets-contemporary story with a kickass heroine." (Bustle)

©2019 L.L. McKinney (P)2019 Macmillan Young Listeners

Amazing sequel

All the things that made book 1 so amazing are still here and I'm very excited for book 3! The "caterpillar" cracked me up and I loved the couple new faces as well as all the old.

My *only* criticism is I wish they had kept it as only Jeanette as the narrator. She was amazing, of course, and she does most of the book, thankfully! But the other two... oi. I really struggled to like the male narrators, they eventually grew on me but every time it was their chapter I found myself missing Jeanette.
Jeanette's performance is an easy 5 but the others were, at best, a 3. So I averaged it at 4.

Yep. I still like this series.

I continue to enjoy fantasy/sci-fy with different cultural identities within the narrative.

Alice's mom seems exactly like my mom. That was a hoot!

More, please!

Multiple narrators?

I liked this sequel better than the first book. The main narrator is great. However why two new narrators for the male characters POV? Just go full cast for consistency in dialogue. I find it really jumping between narrators extremely disruptive.

love

loved it only wish the female narrator read the whole book. the males were a little harder to get into.

Could not listen to second narrator

If the story is not told in the first person, there’s no need for a second, much less third narrator. I tried listening when the second narrator began, but his voices were all so different from the original narrator that the whole tone of the story changed and I found that too off putting to continue.

Worth the Wait

Just finished this book and loved the performance on audible, but even better the ending. Mckinney gives us books that give a satisfying ending while still easing into the next part of the story. It KILLS me a little to wait a while year for the next book, but the story so far and the last chapter make it less painful to wait and more of a treat to eagerly wait for.

A Dream So Dark

This part 2 was really good and kept my attention. The only negative I have is the changing of the narrators. Maybe only 2 was enough. I could not tell when the men switched. I would even be happy if the lady read the entire book like she did the first one. Good story line.

Great story can’t wait for the next book

The story was great and so many more interesting mysteries were set into place. My only negative is the male narrator really took away from the story it was hard to hear him and he didn’t change his voice for each character like the woman does. He was awful i wanted to just stop but it goes back and forth and you’re welcomed by her lively voice each time. He wasn’t animated at all. He read like a hostage. At any rate the story got even better! Try to focus on that and you’ll make it through. Next book isn’t until 2023 so enjoy it don’t rush

Another Hit!

I can't wait for book 3! Is Alice the red queen? How did the pardon work with only one royal unless she is royal? So many questions!

love love love

if a movie was made i would definitely love to see how it goes.... would probably be one of my favorites