I really enjoyed this version of the famous and much loved Alice stories. The idea of Eliza being descended from the original Alice and having to somehow choose who should rule Wonderland was a cleverly conceived concept.

I thought the characters were well developed. Eliza, being strong, determined, makes decisions by thinking of all the ways that it could go wrong and right. She is also very caring and puts her faith in people who have earned her trust rather than just going in blindly. Finn is one handsome, charming male, well half male/half white rabbit. He also has a darker side to him but only when the ones that he cares for are in danger. His character growth through the book was done beautifully and I enjoyed watching him handle his feelings for Eliza and what it means for her to become the new Alice. The chemistry between those two is something else, I really liked the banter. I enjoyed that the characters had time to become friends that of course bloom into something more and with that you do get some spicy scenes.

The plot with the red court being fun and a little saucy, of course you will still see the royal pain in the butt red queen with all her “Off with their heads” and with the white court being all stuck up and no fun at all. I really enjoyed the curse of the Alice’s and seeing how that curse became and what the new “Alice” must do for it to be broken.

I really enjoyed this version of the famous and much loved Alice stories. The idea of Eliza being descended from the original Alice and having to somehow choose who should rule Wonderland was a cleverly conceived concept. Super original and full of fun turns

This book is by no means slow paced. It is fast paced with short chapters that absorb you into the story from page 1. I love the nod to the author of Alice in wonderland with the use of the Carroll name. I have also never seen anyone capture Wonderland's whimsy and Megan has done an outstanding job at that. I love Fin and Eliza's relationship and the sexual tension is just delicious. It's just pure perfection. But my favorite character has to be the white queen because that ending...... I love her. I'm all for biding your time. I'm so happy with the way this book ended. A beautiful retelling.

This was a great take on Alice in Wonderland.I loved that twist that the author took and put into this book as well as all the elements that went in. This story about Eliza and whose family is cursed and tied to wonderland and forced to make a choice between the courts was very intriguing and I found it to be a fun read.

I love Alice in Wonderland and retellings in general. I liked this story, but I wanted to love it. Eliza learns that she’s the next “Alice” during her grandmother’s funeral. It’s as quirky and fantastical as it sounds. Her parents are only interested in marrying her off to climb the social ladder, especially when they learn her grandmother left her everything. All Eliza wants is to keep her library job and get her parents to go back to ignoring her. As she flees the house after being introduced to her perspective husband, she runs into Finn. He has been tasked by her grandmother (the previous Alice) to bring her back to the Red Court to be anointed the new Alice and decide which court leads Wonderland. Finn (the white rabbit) becomes her fiercest protector as she tries to navigate the craziness of Wonderland and its inhabitants. This retelling does have some spice to it, so be forewarned. Overall, it was good, but I was a little deflated that there wasn’t a bit more to the mysterious curse.
**Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early edition of this story.**

Alice In Wonderland re-imaginings are absolutely my jam. It was my favourite story as a child and I feel like Megan has done it justice here with her version. Would definitely recommend.

Really enjoyed this one! Loved the characters and the world. Megan is a beautiful writer, and I can’t wait to see what she whips up next :)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fantastic! An incredible take on Alice in Wonderland.
The settings are vivid and capture you in and make you feel apart of the world and the characters are delightful yet realistically flawed. I desperately need more of these characters and this world.

A glorious twist on a tale that I know and love. Eliza and Finn have my whole heart. I devoured this story from page one, taking it all in without a prayer of getting anything else done until I reached the end. The author brings Wonderland to life with vivid settings and characters that are delightfully flawed and wholly wonderful. I need more. Any Alice in Wonderland fan will enjoy this unique spin as Eliza battles the Alice curse amid the Red and White courts where nothing is as it seems and all of Wonderland is at risk of turning topsy-turvy. Don't miss out on this one. Can Chesa get her own book? Her character is all that I've ever wanted from a humanish Cheshire Cat. Those knowing looks and vicious smiles were perfection.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Once again I absolutely loved this storybook retelling from MVD!

I absolutely loved the characters in this story. Eliza was such a dynamic character and I loved getting to really see her personality and what drove her. Megan Van Dyke always seems able to make her characters so honest and well rounded which really sucks you in to her stories. Plus I loved watching Finn’s character development from start to finish. Watching their relationship develop throughout the book was incredible and I loved every moment of it!

One of my favorite thing about this book is how it took the classic aspects of Alice in Wonderland and really developed it out from the edges. It’s less a retelling and more a redevelopment, giving some structure/reality to the fantasy. It makes it feel more real which is really what sold me on this read!

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice 🌶️🌶️

🎙️ “Wonderland must always have an Alice, and Eliza Carroll is the next.”

Tropes
• Chosen One
• Reluctant Hero
• Never Progressing World
• Enemies to Friends to Lovers
• Reimagined Fairytale

Thank you to Megan Van Dyke and City Owl Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW:

Alice in Wonderland lovers, listen up. This reimagined fairytale is something I didn’t know we needed. It has many of your recognizable characters as well as some new ones, a Wonderland that has a whole new spin, and is a fantasy lovers dream. Throw in a little bit of spice and I was sold.

Eliza is the reluctant hero who grows into her role as the chosen one. Her character arc is beautiful. Finn is the guy tasked with her protection and making sure Eliza makes the right decision for which kingdom is to rule next. It’s not as easy as it sounds, and Finn could lose his head for it.

I adored this book and it brought me right back to one of my stories. Since this is a reimagined tale, you do not need to have read or seen the movie of Alice in Wonderland. It would definitely make character associations a little easier but I can totally see someone loving this story either way. If you do choose to watch a movie first, I would say this is closer to the Disney live action Alice than the cartoon.

Once upon a time in wonderland there were many girls named Alice who decided the fate of the realm by deciding whether the red court or white court would reign. Eliza Carroll, grieving the death of her grandmother has just been dragged through a rabbit hole by a young man named Finn who tells her that he is bringing her to the red court so she can make her choice on who shall rule wonderland and save the realm from relentless war between the courts. Eliza remembers stories her grandmother, the last Alice, told her of a strange wonderland, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality that it was all true.

This is such a cute fun (and slightly smutty) reimagining of Alice in Wonderland. I’m sure Lewis Carroll would be rolling in his grave if he knew his daughter was being sexed up this way (for anyone who doesn’t know, the og Alice was based on the daughter of the actual author of Alice in wonderland). However, this is all age appropriate so I’ll let it slide. And bc I just really love Finn and the much more palatable take on the white rabbit being a love interest. I’ve read enough that this book was a bit predictable with the plot but it was still a very enjoyable (and low stakes) read. If you’re looking for comfort where nothing bad happens (at least on page) then look no further. This felt a little more mature than the other books in the series bc of the mention of SA/rape (pls do not read if that’s a trigger) but I think it was handled gracefully even if everyone probably needs therapy. 4.25/5

A semi retelling of the Alice in Wonderland series, this book follows Eliza Carrol, the last in a family line of women who must take the role of Alice to help keep the peace in Wonderland.

This book falls somewhere between YA and adult, and I think it struggled a little for that. I mostly enjoyed it, and the story was engaging. But the characterization was a shade thin, and there was a lot of repetition. The book wasn't too long and read easy, but I wanted more. I did like Chessa a lot, especially her backstory, and I'd read a book dedicated to her.

Received as an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Megan Van Dyke's retellings are always great but this one hit the mark perfectly. I loved the play on characters and the subtle hints and references made throughout.

*Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for providing me this arc, in exchange for an honest review.*

Although this not a first book, I really loved it. I love Alice in Wonderland and this retelling was no exception. The world building was really good, although some parts were a little strange. Overall it was a 5 star read for me.

i didn't know I needed an alice in wonderland retelling, but apparently I did. And this? Delivered. Minus the weird part with Finn as a rabbit, like chill my man.

While the first one will forever be my favorite, this one was really good too. I may or may not have devoured it in one sitting…
I loved the characters and the story was well written. Couldn’t put it down! Would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and City Owl Press for giving me this ARC, here I leave my honest review.

This is my third book from Megan Van Dyke and all of them followed her Reimagined Fairy Tales collection and I love all of them!

This time we follow Alice in Wonderland tale. Honestly, I didn't read the book but I watched the movie. I'm not really know the characters at the original story but I do remember Alice and the 2 Queens, Red and White. As usual, Megan did a marvelous job at creating this new story but still with the hint of the original story.

In this book, Alice is chosen in some time and she has to choose between the two courts, Red and White. After she choose one of the courts, peace will come to Wonderland and Alice can go home. But this time Eliza, without knowing anything have to go through all of this, she become Alice and must choose between the court, just like her grandmother did. And also per her grandmother wish, she should follow Finneas, the rabbit, to choose the Red Court.

I think it became signature of Megan's book that we will follow a journey of our characters and we will see the development of the relationship between the character. In this book of course it's for Eliza and Finn. They will form short of friendship in this journey. I really love to see Eliza and Finn development here, they start as stranger and short of enemy but in the long run they relied to each other. Eliza and Finn always try to help each other, without realizing their feeling they still care the other.

I think Eliza as character is also great. She is smart, brave and strong. I love how she didn't show her fear and always try to appear brave. She even try to use her position as Alice, make her appearance rather bold. Finn also as sweet as you can imagine especially toward Eliza. His life already miserable but he didn't abandon Eliza and still protect her despite the consequence of his action. Love both of them.

I love every thing that happen here, the backstory of Alice and how they break the curse, I love it. But one thing is still in my mind, sometimes Eliza heard a voice that tell her to use her power. I think that Eliza have this super or magic power but until I finished the book I didn't see any. I don't know who whisper it to Eliza and I kind of want to know that.

Well, I recommend this book if you love Alice in Wonderland and want to read about fantasy and romance!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going to be honest, I had no idea where this book was going when I started it. I couldn’t figure out a time period in my head…but then I remembered it’s a fantasy novel and literally anything goes. As the plot progressed I found myself being sucked into a kind of steampunk version of Lewis Carroll…and absolutely loving it. The familiar warring between Red and White, intriguing interpretations of the Mad Hatter and March Hare, and of course a romantic twist. The backstory is terrific, there are no plot holes, and the characters are all well built and multi dimensional. I personally think some of the spice could be dialled down just a bit…the book actually doesn’t need it! There is so much intrigue, magic and action that it keeps you engaged from page 1. Finn is a sweetheart, Eliza is a feisty legend, and there are surprises a-plenty in store for everyone!

I found this book to be quite exciting, and an interesting retelling of a fairytale I personally was never truly a fan of. I would definitely recommend this to others who enjoy different versions of familiar stories.

I wish the curse was talked about a little more due to it being the main premise of the book. But overall I enjoyed my time reading.