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Down the Rabbit Hole: Liminal Spaces - Book One
She foresaw a friend's death years ago, and now it's happening again.
Alice thought she was an ordinary woman in her 30s, living and working in coastal Connecticut, paying rent and student loans. That illusion is shattered when her best friend Sarah dies suddenly and reaches out to Alice from beyond the grave.
Things get “curiouser and curiouser” when her new colleague, Jay, turns out to be a faerie himself. He shows Alice that she’s descended from the fae and not only that, but a rare banshee! Now she must navigate through liminal spaces, places where reality is altered and those in the know can access the fantastical Faerie otherworld.
Alice soon discovers that not all mythical creatures are as warm and fuzzy as the old stories would have you believe, and she must be careful with her secret. Banshee are hunted for their oracular abilities, and her own identity becomes a threat. Fortunately, those abilities may help her solve the mystery of what actually happened to Sarah.
Was Sarah's boyfriend Michael responsible for her death? Can Jay be trusted, or is he hiding more than the rabbit ears under his cap? Follow Alice down the rabbit hole as she explores the strange old world of faeries, magic, and the spooky gateways between worlds.
Alice thought she was an ordinary woman in her 30s, living and working in coastal Connecticut, paying rent and student loans. That illusion is shattered when her best friend Sarah dies suddenly and reaches out to Alice from beyond the grave.
Things get “curiouser and curiouser” when her new colleague, Jay, turns out to be a faerie himself. He shows Alice that she’s descended from the fae and not only that, but a rare banshee! Now she must navigate through liminal spaces, places where reality is altered and those in the know can access the fantastical Faerie otherworld.
Alice soon discovers that not all mythical creatures are as warm and fuzzy as the old stories would have you believe, and she must be careful with her secret. Banshee are hunted for their oracular abilities, and her own identity becomes a threat. Fortunately, those abilities may help her solve the mystery of what actually happened to Sarah.
Was Sarah's boyfriend Michael responsible for her death? Can Jay be trusted, or is he hiding more than the rabbit ears under his cap? Follow Alice down the rabbit hole as she explores the strange old world of faeries, magic, and the spooky gateways between worlds.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2025
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 27, 2025
When I see anything, no matter how loosely, based on Alice in Wonderland I get curious. When I stumbled upon this book on BookSirens I therefore downloaded a digital review copy right away.
This book has a lot in common with the original Wonderland tale. It's all about the journey. It's about the places we visit, the people we meet and the magic we encounter. There is a plot, but there is not some epic conclusion forcing you to hold your breath. Just like there is character growth, but it's not the kind of character growth that will blow you away. This book is mainly about exploring. We're meeting loads of different characters, some easier to connect to their Wonderland counterparts than others. We visit loads of amazing locations. We learn all about the magic. And with the heroine we're thrown into this entirely new world. The combination of the fair folk and Wonderland works amazing, by the way. A bigger plot is also started in this book, but we mostly get glimpses of it. That does make me even curiouser about what's waiting for us in the next installment!
This book has a lot in common with the original Wonderland tale. It's all about the journey. It's about the places we visit, the people we meet and the magic we encounter. There is a plot, but there is not some epic conclusion forcing you to hold your breath. Just like there is character growth, but it's not the kind of character growth that will blow you away. This book is mainly about exploring. We're meeting loads of different characters, some easier to connect to their Wonderland counterparts than others. We visit loads of amazing locations. We learn all about the magic. And with the heroine we're thrown into this entirely new world. The combination of the fair folk and Wonderland works amazing, by the way. A bigger plot is also started in this book, but we mostly get glimpses of it. That does make me even curiouser about what's waiting for us in the next installment!
October 29, 2025
This is a fantastic twist on the tale of Alice in Wonderland. On night Alice dreams that her best friend Sarah has called her to say that she’s gone and that she’s very happy where she is. That morning, Alice finds out that Sarah has died from a brain aneurysm-at the same time that she called Alice in the dream. Alice is incensed because she’s certain that Michael, Sarah’s abusive boyfriend, had a hand in Sarah’s death.
Alice is a professional photographer who has partnered with her successful real estate friends Madisynn. Alice is introduced to Jay, a professional staging expert, while all three work together to prepare a mansion for sale. Through this friendship with Jay, Sarah learns that’s she’s more than human-she’s a banshee. This means she knows when people she’s close to have died. However, mystical creatures aren’t supposed to have children with humans. The fact that she shouldn’t exist and that she’s an extremely rare powerful being, puts herself at risk.
The story is layered and complex but also a satisfying read. This is the first book in the series and I can’t wait to learn more about Alice and the world of fantastical beings!
I received an ARC and this review is my personal opinion.
Alice is a professional photographer who has partnered with her successful real estate friends Madisynn. Alice is introduced to Jay, a professional staging expert, while all three work together to prepare a mansion for sale. Through this friendship with Jay, Sarah learns that’s she’s more than human-she’s a banshee. This means she knows when people she’s close to have died. However, mystical creatures aren’t supposed to have children with humans. The fact that she shouldn’t exist and that she’s an extremely rare powerful being, puts herself at risk.
The story is layered and complex but also a satisfying read. This is the first book in the series and I can’t wait to learn more about Alice and the world of fantastical beings!
I received an ARC and this review is my personal opinion.
October 23, 2025
Down the Rabbit Hole is the first book in the Liminal Spaces series by Laurie Neilson. The book is about Alice, a seemingly ordinary woman in her 30s, that finds out she has Fae blood running through her veins. Now her strange dreams about her dead family members and her recently deceased best friend make sense: she's a banshee. With her new found abilities she tries to find out if her best friends sudden death was a coincidence or if she was murdered by her abusive boyfriend. Will Alice solve the case while still staying safe herself?
Down the Rabbit Hole is a cute, easy to read, urban fantasy novel. The characters are well written and the story is interesting and well paced. I liked the portrayal of grief and emotions in general, they just felt so realistic. What I also really liked was that Alice is asexual and it is written as the most normal thing - I love the representation! All in all this book is an interesting fast read and I can only recommend it to every crime and urban fantasy fan!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Down the Rabbit Hole is a cute, easy to read, urban fantasy novel. The characters are well written and the story is interesting and well paced. I liked the portrayal of grief and emotions in general, they just felt so realistic. What I also really liked was that Alice is asexual and it is written as the most normal thing - I love the representation! All in all this book is an interesting fast read and I can only recommend it to every crime and urban fantasy fan!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 3, 2025
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for the ARC.
This was a decently fun read! Though the murder mystery aspect was the least solid section of the writing, the fae aspect was well-researched and explained. Jay is apparently Cockney with a strong accent which did take me out of the story somewhat as he would not be easily understood by Americans because of that, which didn’t happen in the story.
I do have my own theory about him which I’m fairly certain I’m right about as due to the variety of fae introduced, we’ve only met one of each type. But I’ll have to wait for confirmation about that. There’s no romance in this story, just supportive friendships with an asexual main character. Alice is slightly too competent for something she’s brand new at, and didn’t misstep once with the new cultures she’s being introduced to.
There isn’t an overt connection to Alice in Wonderland apart from a couple of wink wink nudge nudge references, the character’s name, and the fact that Jay has rabbit ears. It was still a fun time overall.
I would continue this series, curious to see if I’m right.
This was a decently fun read! Though the murder mystery aspect was the least solid section of the writing, the fae aspect was well-researched and explained. Jay is apparently Cockney with a strong accent which did take me out of the story somewhat as he would not be easily understood by Americans because of that, which didn’t happen in the story.
I do have my own theory about him which I’m fairly certain I’m right about as due to the variety of fae introduced, we’ve only met one of each type. But I’ll have to wait for confirmation about that. There’s no romance in this story, just supportive friendships with an asexual main character. Alice is slightly too competent for something she’s brand new at, and didn’t misstep once with the new cultures she’s being introduced to.
There isn’t an overt connection to Alice in Wonderland apart from a couple of wink wink nudge nudge references, the character’s name, and the fact that Jay has rabbit ears. It was still a fun time overall.
I would continue this series, curious to see if I’m right.
September 22, 2025
Laurie Neilsen's debut is a fast paced, relatable, downhill run through a journey of self discovery.
Some quick things I loved about this book:
-FMC in her thirties
-Sarcastic humor
-Not your standard fae story
-There's a cat
-Great chapter titles
The story itself follows the journey of Alice, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. There's a rabbit and everything. We follow her investigation into the death of her best friend (not a spoiler), and ultimately how what she learns along the way changes her entire life.
The characters are witty and relatable, the story is fast paced enough to keep your attention throughout, and the magic system is loose but well defined enough that you can just go along for the ride.
Overall I'd say the prose is very well done, the dialogue never feels forced, and having grown up in Connecticut the places are all brought into this urban fantasy very lovingly. Five stars, especially for a debut, I look forward to the rest of the series.
Some quick things I loved about this book:
-FMC in her thirties
-Sarcastic humor
-Not your standard fae story
-There's a cat
-Great chapter titles
The story itself follows the journey of Alice, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. There's a rabbit and everything. We follow her investigation into the death of her best friend (not a spoiler), and ultimately how what she learns along the way changes her entire life.
The characters are witty and relatable, the story is fast paced enough to keep your attention throughout, and the magic system is loose but well defined enough that you can just go along for the ride.
Overall I'd say the prose is very well done, the dialogue never feels forced, and having grown up in Connecticut the places are all brought into this urban fantasy very lovingly. Five stars, especially for a debut, I look forward to the rest of the series.
November 3, 2025
alice in wonderland story? sign me uppppp. i think it's unhealthy atp for me to continue reading every wonderland story i can find. anyways. the murder mystery subplot was fun but wasn't very interesting. like it doesn't feel like it was really resolved yk? technically we know what killed her but do we really? i think not. i enjoyed not having any romantic subplot here, i don't think it would have worked well with any of these characters and i liked just the friendship vibes going on. the mystery subplot was also a cool way to show off alice's banshee powers, even though we don't know anything still about banshee. and speaking of banshee kudos for using real folklore and language instead of stealing it and "making" your own magic system? crazy that the bare minimum is something to be happy about but i'm so tired of authors stealing and ignoring history/mythology like it doesn't exist already. i wanted so badly for this to be 5 stars but alas the plot dragged really slowly (like 3 weeks passed during the entire book??) and often felt disconnected or jumpy between scenes/chapters/topics.
thank u booksirens for arc
thank u booksirens for arc
October 15, 2025
I was really drawn in by the whole Alice in Wonderland retelling concept and it definitely has those elements. It just didn’t quite hit for me, especially with all the characters being portrayed as fae. The story starts off strong, but it doesn’t really keep that same momentum. A lot of it ends up focusing on very detailed day-to-day moments rather than driving the plot forward. Things didn’t start happening until about 60% in, and it just didn’t hit right for me. That said, I do appreciate the imaginative world building and unique twist on a classic!
October 30, 2025
This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the nods to Alice in Wonderland. I enjoyed the fae twist, but I think this is the first book in a series as it felt like nothing was really happening other than the main character discovering what she is and what her powers are. I did enjoy meeting some of the creatures and she does leave little tidbits here and there that have made me interested in knowing what the next book will be about and seeing if we’ll get deeper into some kind of plot line but for a first book, it definitely felt like a builder book and not a lot of plot. If you’re looking for a nice easy read with a few cute mods to Alice in Wonderland. This is the book for you.
November 9, 2025
Take the story of Alice in Wonderland flip it upside down, add the world of fae, have Alice lose her best friend and investigate if the boyfriend did it, make her a banshee and you get this fun read. This is the first book in the series so it is far from over. I love the way the other created a unique story based off of Alice which has to be one of my favorite stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews