A Crown So Cursed (The Nightmare-Verse Series #3)

by L. L. McKinney

Overview

"The fantasy series I've been waiting for my whole life."
—Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give

Alice must save Wonderland from itself in A Crown So Cursed, the long-awaited third book in L.L. McKinney's Nightmare-Verse series.

Alice and her crew are doing their best to recover from the last boss battle, but some of them keep having these. . . dreams: visions of a dark past—and an even darker future. Sadly, the evil in Wonderland may not be as defeated as they’d hoped.

Attacked by Nightmares unlike any they’ve ever seen, Alice will have to step between the coming darkness and the mortal world once more. But this time is different. This time, the monsters aren’t waiting for her on the other side of the Veil.

They're in her own back yard.


"A breakout author." —Entertainment Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250754554
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Series:	Nightmare-Verse Series , #3
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	947,341
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African-Americans of 2020, L.L. McKinney is a writer, a poet, and an active member of the kidlit community. She’s an advocate for equality and inclusion in publishing, the co-founder of Juneteenth Book Fest, and the creator of the hashtags #PublishingPaidMe and #WhatWOCWritersHear. She’s also a gamer girl and an adamant Hei Hei stan. Her works include the Nightmare-Verse books, Nubia: Real One through DC, Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood, and more.
Named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African-Americans of 2020, L.L. McKinney is a writer, a poet, and an active member of the kidlit community. She’s an advocate for equality and inclusion in publishing, the co-founder of Juneteenth Book Fest, and the creator of the hashtags #PublishingPaidMe and #WhatWOCWritersHear. She’s also a gamer girl and an adamant Hei Hei stan. She is the author of A Blade So Black, A Dream So Dark, and A Crown So Cursed.

Editorial Reviews

"The story is packed full of action from the very first chapter... A fitting finale for a soulful and satisfying series." —Kirkus

"A breakout author." —Entertainment Weekly

"With memorable characters and page-turning thrills, the Nightmare-Verse is the fantasy series I've been waiting for my whole life. Alice is Black Girl Magic personified."
—Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give


Praise for A Dream So Dark

"The Alice I never knew I needed. The Alice I was missing. McKinney conjures a Wonderland for those of us who weren’t given the looking glass. It is a feat of black girl magic!"
—Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times-bestselling author of The Belles

"McKinney’s follow-up to A Blade So Black proves she is a master of urban fantasy... Explosive from start to finish and guaranteed to send readers gleefully down a rabbit hole from which they’ll emerge begging for a third installment." —Booklist, starred review

"Complex intrigue... Rousing, nonstop twists help make this sophomore entry a success." —Kirkus Reviews


Praise for A Blade So Black

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

"This really is Lewis Carroll by way of Buffy, and it makes for a fun, gritty urban fantasy." —NPR

"I loved the 'our world' framing and the 'other world' adventure so deeply. They were at such odds, but the overall effect was just chefkiss.gif perfect."
—E.K. Johnston, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka and A Thousand Nights

"Wholly original and absolutely thrilling—A Blade So Black kicks so much (looking gl)ass."
—Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl From Everywhere

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

"Retold fairy tales have been a popular trend... but you’ve never read one quite like A Blade So Black." —Nerdist

"A brash, refreshing, vitally diverse retelling of a classic... You need this book." —Tor.com

"A Blade So Black is a novel that roars mightily in the face of all those Wonderland tales that have come before. L.L. McKinney is on her way to someplace special with this debut; get onboard now." —Locus magazine

"This isn't a retelling, this is Alice in Wonderland 2.0." —BlackSci-Fi.com

"An epic about Black Girl Magic." —We Need Diverse Books blog

"An explosive, kickass debut... The Alice in Wonderland retelling the world has always needed." —Booklist, starred review

"Relentless action, spiraling stakes, and a fierce heroine... A heartbreaking cliffhanger will leave fans clamoring for a sequel." —Publishers Weekly

"A thrilling, timely novel that ensures readers will be curious for a sequel." —Kirkus Reviews

"With a modern flair, a rich backstory, and just enough emotional heft, this particular looking glass will have readers eagerly falling through it." —The Bulletin

"Teens will root for Alice as a strong, multidimensional black girl usually unseen in YA fiction... A must-purchase." —School Library Journal

"A Blade So Black is a modernized version of a well-known story that retains enough of the original to be lauded by both fans of the classic and readers wholly new to Wonderland." —Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

2023-07-26
Alice Kingston is back and ready for the ultimate showdown in the shadows of a war-torn Wonderland.

When new types of Nightmares start to rise up on Earth, Alice and her friends and family find themselves in increasing danger. Nothing can purge these Fiends—and they can take on different forms, which means Alice can’t trust anyone. After she’s forced to return to Wonderland in order to save her mother and Nana K, Alice’s world is turned topsy-turvy when she’s reunited with other Dreamwalkers and directed to the White Queen’s stronghold in Legracia. There, she learns more about her heritage and connection to Wonderland, while also confronting her feelings for a potential boo and facing the internal fears that keep her from breaking through the Looking Glass and embracing all of who she is. It’s a lot for a human teenager, on top of trying to save multiple worlds. The story is packed full of action from the very first chapter, and there are subtle, well-done nods to Lewis Carroll’s tales. With such a fast pace, however, some of the threads of the story get lost and are not picked back up again. Still, the excitement of new antagonists and a new beginning for Alice creates a longing for more adventures. Hopefully this won’t end as a curious dream: The author’s acknowledgments tease a possible return to McKinney’s Wonderland.

A fitting finale for a soulful and satisfying series. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews