Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. I had loved Mikuta's debut sci-fi duology, but this just did not work for me. The writing style was confusing, and I didn't like any of the characters. However, I am also not a big fan of the original Alice in Wonderland Story, so take my review with a grain of salt! I still enjoy Mikuta's stories and am looking forward to her next book.

"**Off with Their Heads**" by Zoe Hana Mikuta is a darkly enchanting and imaginative novel that offers a fresh take on fairy tale conventions. Mikuta's inventive world-building and compelling characters create a gripping narrative filled with intrigue and suspense. The book's blend of magical elements and sharp storytelling makes it a standout read in the fantasy genre.

A wickedly delightful retelling of Alice in Wonderland with lots of violence. The main characters, trapped by their own savagery and betrayed of everyone including one another, are more villains than protagonists yet deeply enchanting in their malice and flaws. It’s unique and twisted but swell worth the journey where everyone is mad here.

Honestly, this is my own fault for not actually reading the blurb, and instead making an assumption that this was part of one of the lines of Disney retellings, but I'm DNFing it. I generally try to give books that aren't my usual choice of genre at least 100 pages to draw me in, but this one...I couldn't even get to 30 pages. I don't know what about it wasn't quite meshing with me, but it was too much of a struggle to try to power through; there are too many other things to read to spend so much time on one that just isn't clicking. It could very well be an excellent book for folks who are looking for monsters and folklore and everything else this is; it just isn't an excellent book for me.

A Korean inspired retelling of Alice in wonderland. I really liked the premise here but the reader is thrown into such a different world without much context. The characters’ names also are not clear at first (in the sense of who represents who from Alice). Maybe a character guide at the beginning would’ve been helpful!

This was unhinged in the best possible way. It felt like I was living in a weird, surrealist dream and the only reason I'm giving it a star off is because I truly don't think I was smart enough for it. I had to go back and read a few passages several times to understand what was happening, but I think that was the point!

I think this could be my first Alice and Wonderland retelling? It's been a while since I've read the material, but as I was reading Off With Their Heads it began to come back. At the core of this story is friendship and love, how it can sour and the ways it can change in an instant. There are subtle references at the beginning to allow us to orient ourselves. But then Off With Their Heads takes off. The time jump between when they were in love, to the present, allows us to see the milk soured, the line between love and hate.

And while I appreciated the reimagining and the character dynamics, in the middle Off With Their Heads lulled a bit. There's this sort of build up to revealing what happened between them and what Caro doesn't seem to know about the Queen, but for a while until it drops, there's a feeling of being in a holding pattern.

I have never been so confused when reading a book in my life and I've read the locked tomb series. But no seriously huh????

I somewhat enjoyed this book! I always love a good re-telling, and I always love some LGBTQ+ representation. But this did get a bit gory for my taste, especially for an Alice-In-Wonderland retell. The first 100 pages were a bit confusing, and it was hard to discern where the story was going, but after that point I felt like I understood things a little better. I do wish that there was a bit more elaboration on the backstories of some of the characters. I had to re-read a few parts to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The ending was great, with an action-packed fight scene to boot. Overall very unique, but as a teacher looking for books to recommend to my students, I can only give this 3/5 stars.

A mesmerizing read from start to finish! This book captivated me with its well-developed characters, intricate plot, and beautifully crafted prose. Each chapter kept me eagerly turning the pages, and the unexpected twists left me in awe. A truly unforgettable story that I highly recommend to anyone looking for an engaging and enriching experience. Five stars without a doubt!

Okay, I see you Zoe Hana Mikuta. I see you.

'Off With Their Heads' is a marketed as a Korean inspired twist on Alice and Wonderland, which in the most basic of terms is true! I mean it as the highest of compliments when I say this was weird, bizarre and unhinged. It was creepy! I can honestly say I haven't read anything quite like this before and that's worth a five star every time. The writing is good and really lends to the out of your mind feeling, it's incredibly well done. I also love toxic lesbians so this was exactly for me.

Absolutely excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed that this book had the same whimsical feeling as the original Alice in Wonderland story, and I loved the fact that this was a queer retelling of the classic.

I like the way Korean culture is woven through the wonderland-inspired world with unhinged girls and creepy monsters. It is definitely unique! The author handles pacing and time well. Important events are able to be well-written and lingered upon because time skips are utilized to maintain the overall pacing. While time skips and flashbacks are listed not only by year, but also by a countdown, which makes the flow of time much easier to follow.

Overall, it's a twisty thing that is difficult to pin down, but I feel as though I have gained something ineffable by reading it. It's horror, it's fantasy, it's not really a romance but there also isn't a better word for what it is. Read and decide for yourself.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this opportunity.

Off with their heads was a masterpiece and ambitious. Our main character was really badass. Really loved it

If the intention of this was to make me feel like I was also losing my mind in Wonderland, then congrats, you succeeded. I'm certainly mad now. Mad I didn't DNF this at any point because I did not know what was going on AT any point. Nothing made sense, and if that was also the intent ... well, no thanks ever again.

This is such a wonderful retelling with a new spin. I really enjoyed the characterizations and all of the references.

the first 80 or so pages were brutal. I truly thought I was going to dnf. but i pushed through and witnessed toxic lesbianism at its finest :)

Listen, I'm actually an Alice in Wonderland hater. I highly dislike the original book BUT I do tend to like retellings or inspired works so here we are BUT (again) I unfortunately couldn't get myself to enjoy this one. We have our 2 main characters who are orphans and magic users in a world where magic is looked down upon. They are banished into the woods to hunt and kill Saints. The story sounded really interesting, and it was definitely weird and quirky as an Alice in Wonderland book should be right? The writing itself I didn't vibe with and it overall read in a clunky way in my opinion.

Zoe Hana Mikuta is already a great writer, but this unique and epic take on Alice in Wonderland? Naturally, I was enraptured by it.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Korean inspired retelling of Alice in Wonderland, I needed this book like yesterday.

Off with their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta is a YA fantasy novel that takes the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland and flips it on it's head. In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom. Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her vengeance: On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself. But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…

This book is DARK. Which I LOVE in Alice retellings. It's nothing short of weird and bizarre, and I am all here for it. Give me more!

I enjoyed that this was a Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling. The characters were an interesting choice. I was surprised that our Alice wasn't just named "Alice", and the characterizations for many of the characters made it hard to root for them--they were supposed to be morally ambiguous, grey, characters, but they ended up just really having no redeeming qualities that I could latch onto and root for.
Generally, I like the pacing that a novel has when we are moving quickly through time, but there was a lot that I feel we glossed over with all of the time-skipping. We never got a solid sense of the world or what was going on--even the character descriptions were often relegated to a line here and there about hair color.
I wasn't a huge fan of the fourth-wall breaking, especially in non-comedy fantasy/sci-fi stories. It's definitely a plot device that can work well in contemporary fiction or stories that are supposed to be casual and funny, but the "Dear reader" felt out of place here.

I don't know. I can see the bones of a really solid story in here, but the execution was just lacking a very needed depth and focus.
I absolutely adore the cover, though, and I would check out more from this author or in this world!