The Collectors' Society

The Collectors' Society, Book 1

By: Heather Lyons

Narrated by: Gemma Dawson

From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet.

After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence. Soon, she's whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors' Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It's there she discovers villains are afoot - ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors' Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction...but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

©2014 Heather Lyons (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Fantastic take on beloved characters and stories

Would you listen to The Collectors' Society again? Why?

Definitely! The narrator was fantastic and the story was gripping, imaginative, heartfelt, and packed full of action and intrigue.

What other book might you compare The Collectors' Society to and why?

This book and series are past comparison. Truly a league of their own. I have read them back to back repeatedly. So amazing to have the audiobooks for listening on the go now!

What about Gemma Dawson’s performance did you like?

Great narration. Soothing voice. Exactly as I pictured Alice to sound in my head.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Too many to count! This book is filled with feels!

Any additional comments?

One of the best series I've read or listened to in years. It has all the makings of an epic adventure, a heartfelt romance, and a page turning mystery. Heather Lyons is amazing!! 💗

Intriguing Premise!

I love the concept of this book! It's different and makes for a very interesting listen. The characters are endearing and I enjoyed every moment of getting to know them. There's enough action and bits of romance in there to keep everyone happy.

The narrator is excellent! Her American accents feel a little forced, but I quickly got used to them and enjoyed her portrayal immensely.

surprisingly understated

plz sir can I have some moar??? this os a unique wa6 to think on literature!

Unique Story

The narrator did a great job. I enjoyed this unique storyline and the characters. This a continuous story arc so I plan to start book 2 right away.

Good Narration --Okay Story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This was a tolerable story for commuting. I wasn't riveted.

Would you be willing to try another book from Heather Lyons? Why or why not?

Sure. Her premise was really good. The execution was just so/so.

Which character – as performed by Gemma Dawson – was your favorite?

Alice was spunky, but not super believable.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Better dialogue.

It was so much more riveting in audiobook format!

My original quick review from 2015:

Putting this one on my “need to finish in next 12 mos.” GoodReads shelf at 44%. I really need this one to be in audiobook format, but it’s not currently available in that format. I’m not sure I can ever finish it in e-book format.

•*¨*•
4/24/19- Update: the audiobook is available, so here goes reading attempt #2

5/1/19 - Update #2: Quick 5-star overall review (to be expanded maybe later)...I finished listening to this one last night. It was so much better having a talented voice actress like Gemma Dawson animate the story for me. Her pacing was superb and I jumped right into listening to book 2, The Hidden Library (The Collectors' Society, #2). I also convinced a couple of book buddies to read this series with me. For me, buddy reading makes my reading experience even more enjoyable regardless of how much my book buddies and I like or dislike the story telling.

5/5/19 update: I've already started book 3, The Forgotten Mountain in audiobook format as well.

A true adventure full of the classics!

This book was truly a fabulous adventure, it completely took me to all my classic favorite places. If you have not read many of the great classics, this book will totally make you want to go back and read them all!
This book is filled with adventure, romance, and mysterious plots. I can't wait to dive into the rest of the books. Once you start this book you won't be able to stop, enjoy!

even better than the first time

If you could sum up The Collectors' Society in three words, what would they be?

exciting, enigmatic, and energetic

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alice, always Alice. Alice in Wonderland is my all time favorite book, which is how I stumbled upon this series in the first place. To imagine a grown up Alice, living a life as a Queen should makes me happy that the author did her justice and didn't turn her into some lovesick fool.

Which character – as performed by Gemma Dawson – was your favorite?

I had a voice in my head of what Alice sounded like. She wasn't too feminine or too butch, somewhere in the middle. A strong woman. Gemma hit the mark for me, pretty close to what I envisioned.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The beginning where Alice is in a mental institute. What if all the adventures we had were but trappings in our minds. Wouldn't we all end up here?

Any additional comments?

BUY THIS, LISTEN, READ IT, and then Listen again!

It put me to sleep.

too many summaries and flashbacks, and too many rants on things no one is interested in. also feels like the author is trying to detail every second of Alice's life, it makes me fall asleep.
the premise of saving worlds that were created from writing books was interesting, but the story fell far short.
at the beginning the narrator's accents are hard to understand and are fairly fake, but get more real and easier on the ears as the story goes on.

Creative extension of Alice in Wonderland

This is the first book in The Collector’s Society series, there are four books total in this series. I borrowed this as an audiobook from Audible Escapes. I enjoyed this book, it starts out a bit slow, but the second half of the book really picks up pace.

Alice has returned to Wonderland and, upon finally being able to reclaim her sanity, she is offered a job. The job is with The Collector’s Society in modern New York City. There she will work with a group of fellow literary individuals to prevent timelines (books) and hence worlds from being obliterated. Unfortunately, this time the timeline to be deleted is Wonderland. Can Alice help to stop this deletion before Wonderland is gone forever?

In general I liked this book and it was a fun read. The first part is a bit slow with a lot of time spent with Alice trying to figure out how to navigate the modern world and with the reader learning about The Collector’s Society. The second half is a lot more fast-paced and fun, as we finally venture into Wonderland.

The story, world, and characters are all very well done. I do have some complaints about the plot, one of the reasons I have stopped reading a lot of time travel books is that they are just too hard for the author to keep straight and get confusing.

My main point of confusion here was the following: if Alice was brought from the 1800’s in England to modern New York and she had been out of Wonderland for 6 months prior to her trip to New York, then when did she return to Wonderland? The characters in Wonderland act like she returns there 6 months after she leaves, but in reality she was moved over 100 years forward in the future...at that point wouldn’t she be returning to Wonderland at least 100 years after she left? Or does time not run the same way in these worlds? I was very confused by the timing and in the end decided to just stop thinking about it and go with the flow.

I did enjoy how Lyons blended in original elements into from the Alice in Wonderland books into this story.

Overall this was a well done book and was very creative and engaging. I plan on continuing the series and would recommend to those who love Alice in Wonderland in particular. The original story is very well blended with this new extension to the tale. I also like the dark overtones to this story.