A Blade So Black by L L McKinney

A Blade So Black (Nightmare-Verse, #1)

by L L McKinney

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 school. 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.

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

5 of 5 stars

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I had such a hard time reviewing this one! I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the sequel, but damn, I just cannot get the words together. I think the description of "Buffy falling down the rabbit hole" is a bit misleading. It's more like if Buffy got attacked by nightmares from Wonderland than vampires. We do spend days in Wonderland, and I'm sure we'll spend far more in the next books, but it's more about damage control with the nightmares, the new baddie on the block jamming them up and setting up the epic quest.

I can't believe I've inflicted such torture upon myself with waiting for the next book. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

>>OMFG cliffhanger twist ending!
>>Love Alice's mom. Having her be in the dark but an involved parent is an awesome addition that amps up the tension. Reminds me of the @_jakeezus tweet: "Rugrats is a prime example that white people don't watch their kids. You barely saw Susie cause her mama had that black ass on lock."
>>Love love LOVE the Sailor Moon inspired aesthetics & shit.
>>This feels way more like Urban Paranormal books than other paranormal YA titles. Lots of action and danger but romance is a PG 13 back burner affair.
>>Love all the side characters. Totally memorable and unique.
>>There is a confirmed w/w romance on the side toooo!!!!
>>Even with all the magic and nonsense, still brings the social justice realness like The Hate U Give. I did not think that mash up was possible but DAMN. #blackgirlmagic.

Confession time: I hated Buffy the character. She was fucking annoying. I haven't watched all of Buffy because of her. I loved Faith. She was a BADASS who didn't have it all cushy and while she fucked up, she owned it. Her redemption arc in Angel is a-ma-zing. I was heartbroken there was no spin off for her.

I think Blade So Black is more for people who preferred Faith over Buffy and loved Angel but wanted to flirt with Spike. Or maybe I just really hated Buffy so much that it pains me that I have to keep using her as a comparison instead of Faith -__-

(Of course, it must be said, Whedon is an asshat and the fake woke feminist shit he writes doesn't cut it now that I'm not an ignorant tween/teen.)

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  • 15 October, 2018: Reviewed