Looking Glass ~ Christina Henry
Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Christina Henry’s twisted fairytales. So, it’s no surprise that I had Looking Glass on pre-order, but I knew that August’s theme was fairytales so I waited until now to read it.
Looking Glass follows on from Alice and Red Queen and consists of four novellas on Alice and Hatcher’s way to finishing their journey. The novellas cover things from their past that affect their journey forward.
The first story in the book is called Lovely Creature and doesn’t feature Alice or Hatcher but a little girl named Elizabeth. Elizabeth is very similar to Alice before the Old City dug its claws into her. She seems to live the same life, and just like Alice, her wishes come true. Elizabeth ends up following a strange-looking man into the Old City. I think this was probably my least favourite story in the book, as it constantly hinted that Alice was more involved than she ended up being. I enjoyed it and would love to see Elizabeth as the star of her own story at some point; however, it could just end up being a replica of Alice’s story.
Novella two; Girl in Amber, takes place on Alice and Hatcher’s journey to find themselves a home. As the snow draws in, Hatcher leaves Alice to scout ahead. Alice finds herself drawn to a house by a laughing boy. It’s not as innocent as it seems. I loved the exploration of Alice’s relationship with her magic and what she was capable of. I loved that Alice seemed to realise that she had been relying on Hatcher to protect her and that she finds that whilst it’s nice that Hatcher protects, she can do it herself.
The third novella, When I First Came to Town, delves into Hatcher’s past, before the tragedy that turned him into Hatcher happened. This was my favourite of the four novellas; Hatcher is such a fascinating character and whilst the reason for his madness is half-explored, it wasn’t enough to satiate that curiosity. When I first Came to Town focuses on Hatcher before he even meets his wife, when he still goes by Nicholas. It’s interesting to see the character that becomes the murderous wolf.
The last, and shortest, story The Mercy Seat was Alice and Hatcher together trying to be inconspicuous as they cross a mountain where there is a town of magic-hating fanatics. This was a nice short one that completed Alice’s story. It felt like the perfect ending for the story of blood and magic and horror.
Like, every other Christina Henry twisted fairytale, I loved it. I loved the continuation of Alice’s story and how it has most likely come to an end in the most satisfying way possible. Overall, I give this a four and a half stars.
C🌙
