Easy read with predictable plot, doesn't take itself too seriously.
This book was disappointing, but mostly because there were such good world-building elements and characters to develop and tons of missed opportunities to dig in and really make them shine. I did like this book, it took Alice in Wonderland and gave it a new twist and being from Louisiana I really enjoyed the setting. It was familiar but translated in a new fun way. There were a LOT of story elements that were thrown into the narrative that I think this could have benefited from either lengthening the story and creating a full plot arc or not introducing quite so many plot threads in such a short novel. It felt like a lot of things were started and we had absolutely no resolutions by the end which was dissatisfying.
Also, I was disappointed by the lack of editing specifically at the line/copy and proofreading level. The book suffered from an over abundance of filler words, grammatical errors, redundancy, and even misspelled a characters name I can't remember if it was once or more than once. There were several times the MC assumed other people's emotions or intentions even though she had no way of knowing them (not even explained magically) when we were in her perspective. She would often think something and then repeat it a few sentences later in dialogue with other characters. And on more than one occasion would have to repeat the actions that happened just previously in the book to get all the other characters 'up to speed' which really dragged the action down.
I don't want it to seem like I'm picking on this book, mostly I'm giving this review to be honest about what readers should expect and to let them know that if they can overlook these things there are some really great moments and characters that I think they would enjoy as long as they don't take the book too seriously.
The MC and love interest both have dual 1st person perspectives in this novel and what I really like the most is the love interests character. There are times when the author is heavy handed with him and a little trope-y but he starts the book with FLAWS, major flaws, and starts to see the error of his ways and begin to actively work towards fixing those flaws. There's some depth to his narrative that I want to see the author lean into more. The MC is a bit of a mary-sue, and WAY TOO ACCEPTING of all the things that are happening TO her. Which steals a lot of her agency throughout the novel. But she too has flaws, mainly her temper and her stubbornness and pride. I haven't seen quite the development of her character in acknowledging her flaws and trying to fix them but as this is the first book in a series I do have hope that her arc will be the longest and she will grow with time.
All in all, I like this book a lot. It's imaginative, chock full of potential, and a light read. There were sloppy parts but no one is perfect and I'm sure the author is growing in her journey. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.