I Kissed Alice

by Anna Birch

Victoria Ying (Illustrator)

Rhodes and Iliana couldn't be more different, but that's not why they hate each other. Hyper-gifted painter Rhodes has always excelled at the Alabama Fine Arts Academy despite a secret bout of creator's block, while transfer student Iliana tries to outshine everyone with her intense work ethic. But since only one of them can get the coveted Capstone scholarship, and the competition between them grows fierce.
They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a webcomic. Their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire begin to fall in love, despite being worst enemies in real life. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other's future?

• ISBN10: 125021985X
• ISBN13: 9781250219855
• Publish Date: 1 September 2020 (first published 28 July 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Imprint
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Curious-in-Cheshire and I-Kissed-Alice were best friends and maybe more online, but their real life alter egos were mortal enemies. Will either woman be able to see past their history, and give this relationship a chance?

I first need to say, that this was not what I expected. I read the word "rom-com", and I thought I would be reading something on the fun side of things. I kept waiting for those moments, but they never really materialized. That doesn't mean the story was bad, per se, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

This was an enemies-to-lovers story, where that enemies part was front and center. There was an "incident", which had a terrible outcome for all involved. Iliana lost something tangible, while Rhodes lost a part of herself. Regardless of who thought they lost more, it became the beginning of a war between the two. Their interactions were always intense, fiery, and full of angst. Yet, online, a friendship was growing. There was collaboration on a Alice in Wonderland fanfic, and even some flirting. They even planned to meet in person, and that is where things got really interesting for me.

I don't want to speak about the actual in real life events, but I found some of the precipitating ideas quite interesting. Iliana and Rhodes had some history. This history caused them to view each other through filters and let certain pre-conceived ideas inform their feelings about each other. Meeting anonymously online was like meeting each other in their most pure form, and I absolutely adored the exploration of this.

My issue with this book was what sometimes happens, when I read enemies-to-lovers stories. What can I say, I like to spend more time in the lovers part of the story, and this one definitely spent more time in the enemies side. Though, I enjoyed seeing both women experience their personal growth separately, I was really glad, when they finally got together. I liked them together very much, and I wish I got to see more of that side of their relationship.

Though this was a little light on the romance, I still enjoyed the ideas explored in this novel, and appreciated both women's journey of self discovery.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS