"Maya's Unbirthday" by Eyal Rosen was a lighthearted story, of a group of young adults with many quirks, insecurities, and tangled relationships coming together for an event, with the stressor of the main guest missing in action.

Though many others found this book humorous, I only found the parallels to Alice in Wonderland's Unbirthday party, situations, and characters funny, but the author is very creative and skillful in their writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this ARC for an honest review.

Maya's Unbirthday takes you on a darkly comedic journey alongside Mess, whose efforts to celebrate her girlfriend Maya's special day turn into a night of pure mayhem. Prepare to be entertained and moved by this wild ride into the heart of unconventional love and chaos.

Mess is fiery-tempered, passionate and determined to host the perfect unbirthday party (what a fun concept!) for her girlfriend Maya. Maya is MIA, however. Fortunately, several guests attend the party, which prompts Mess to insult the guests, investigate their intentions and instigate chaos.
I like the premise of the book. It sounds comedic and fun. But from page one, the content is not what I expected. There's tons of profanity and violence. The sexual content is also quite non-traditional.
I do like that each character is unique and relatable. Most readers can see themselves in at least one of the characters.
Of course, some readers will love this book! But it's not for me.

"Maya's Unbirthday" by Eyal Rosen was a lighthearted story, of a group of young adults with many quirks, insecurities, and tangled relationships coming together for an event, with the stressor of the main guest missing in action. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

It was a book were halt of the time i didn’t understand what was happening, and because of that was such wild,fast and strange ride that made me love it ! It had all the chaos of Wonderland’s world and characters, so if you are a fan of the strange, funny and psychological books, i definitely recommend it!

This has to be the strangest book I've ever read. That being said, I enjoyed it, mostly because I had no idea where it was going most of the time. I am a sucker for anything Alice in Wonderland, and the Mad Hatter is my favorite character. Mess, as a version of that character, is intriguing and complex. There are some explicit scenes that might be difficult for some readers, but skim those at will. If you are in the mood for something completely DIFFERENT...and perhaps to still be a bit (delightfully) confused at the end...this book should be in your TBR!

I have a love of Alice in Wonderland and related things because it was my first full novel. I should have loved this but it was awful. It took me forever to read because it was just repetitive nonsense. Nobody was likeable and I persisted to the end only to be even more disappointed.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I gave it a try. I really did. Made it all the way to page 34 and was exhausted from the static movement. I get it that it was a tribute tour of Alice's Wonderland, but....no amount of tea would redeem the overwhelming stupidity of the character's dialogue. Thanks for the ARC NetGalley.

I hate to say it but I did not like this book at all. I kept reading it hoping it would get better but for me, it did not. The writing style and fantastical nature was not something I could get into and I found myself wishing the book would just end if it wasn't going to get better.

Maya's Unbirthday by Eyal Rosen is a modern nod to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the Mad Hatters Tea Party.
Mess, who is aptly named, is hosting a party for her girlfriend Maya. Yet Maya remains absent and Mess is trying to hold it all together. the only problem is, Mess is not all together together herself.. As the night lingers on, events spiral out of control
Although there's enough to this assuredly quirky book to make me think that I will reach for it again at some point in the future, I can't say that it really grabbed me at first read. There is a lot going on, and some of it feels gratuitous. As happens when writers try to use Carroll as a template, the book falls short of the original controlled chaos and enticing nonsense, not the say that Rosen doesn't capture some of that appeal with Maya's Unbirthday, just not enough to make me really embrace it at first read. And yet, there is something about it that lets me know that the story will stick in the darker recesses of my mind until I am forced to dig it out again and give it another read.
This book is best for those who enjoy mainstream fiction, dark comedy, quirky characters, self-exploration, and edgy comedy.

A queer story about madness that's supposed to be inspired by Alice in Wonderland, this felt like nothing but some weird convoluted mess that really made no sense from the start. Mess is a psychotic mess, forcing everyone to stay at this unbirthday party while waiting for the guest of honor, Mess's MIA girlfriend Maya, who doesn't show up until right at the end. The entire thing felt like I was on a drug trip without the drugs, but not a fun kind. More of a "what is happening, nothing makes sense, am I going crazy" kind of way. There were LOTS OF CAPS throughout and random awkward almost sex scenes except they weren't erotic in any kind of way.

I kept reading thinking the entire thing was going to be some take on a person's decent into madness, but it wasn't. It was just chaos or chaos sake, but not like Batman/Joke chaos. It was just uncomfortable chaos. Spastic, frantic, awkward, uncomfortable, and just confusing.

I'm not even sure what kind of reader this would be good for, because I'm not even sure what the point was, if there was one.

Maya's Unbirthday by Eyal Rosen is truly a "real-life" Alice in Wonderland in that it delves into the madness of one girls mind. Labeled "a darkly comedic rollercoaster ride through a night filled with quirky chaos, heartfelt moments, and an ensemble of eccentric characters" is more.than accurate. This wild adventure is just that, Wild, chaotic and frankly a bit overwhelming if you expect the world of the Mad-Hatter, Alice and the Cheshire cat.

Mess is a girl determined to host the perfect unbirthday party for her beloved girlfriend, Maya. Maya is the bright and beautiful to Mess’s inferno. Maya remains conspicuously absent from her own birthday as the night turns to absolute chaos.

The topics addressed would likely all have trigger warnings in most novels -drug addiction, violence, eating disorders and more. Plus humor is found throughout- truly a mess in the mind of Mess. Insanity as the warning states, and it definitely fits that description.

That being said I mostly enjoyed the novel.

I really wanted to like this book; but, it just wasn't "my cup of tea", if you'll pardon the pun. I thought it was ingenious to have a new take on the Unbirthday Tea Party from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Unfortunately, I didn't like the constant profanity and all the yelling. I found the dialogue to be very disjointed and I found myself counting down the pages until it was all over. I realize this is supposed to be dark humor; but, I couldn't find anything humorous about it except at the conclusion. There isn't a single character the I liked or could relate to. I am so sorry. I know authors can pour their hearts and souls into a project; personally this wasn't one that I could like.

What a roller coaster of a book. I did enjoy it, but I felt like I should have buckled in more! I can see my patrons loving this one as well!

This book took me a bit of time to review, mainly because I needed to reread it again to fully grasp what I read. This is a very fast paced ride and slightly unhinged at times, but as someone who is a true Alice in Wonderland fan we are all a little Mad here right? This is definitely not a book you can get through fast and understand. It can be a bit hard to follow and I’m still not a 100% sure these people don’t all just live inside Mess’s head. However, overall I enjoyed it!

Just do yourself a favor and don't read this book. It's painful I wasted my time so that you don't have to.

Quick and fun read but not quite as expected.
There were many things occurring at once and was a bit difficult to follow at times. May not have been my cup of tea, however can see another audience loving this tale.

Maya’s Unbirthday by Eyal Rosen is a twisted tale similar to “Alice in Wonderland.” It is an adult book and definitely not for children. I really enjoyed taking the decent into madness that this book became. It truly made me sit back and really analyze what did I just read and what really happened. You know a book is good and interesting when it does that. There definitely steamy moments, laughter, times that made you go what and others that made you really try to understand the characters and who was who.
Mess is throwing an unbirthday party for her friend Maya. What ensues is absolute chaos that is similar to Wonderland. The whole thing leaves you in a state of chaos of who, what, when, how and where.
I enjoy psychological books that make you think and wonder. This one definitely does that. It also includes some steam, humor and chaos. I definitely am glad I read it and am interested to see what else the author writes in the future.

Wow! This story feels like I am peeking into the brain of a Schizophrenic having a party. I was beginning to doubt who was real. Or if this party was actually in a locked facility. What a whirlwind.

I.
Don't.
Know.

I feel like I've just fallen down a rabbit hole into Unwonderland.

This was a chaotic trip.

Following Mess's stream of consciousness is a bit like following Alice following the White Rabbit.

Strike that.

It's like following the Mad Hatter. And not for the faint of heart.

It's a mad journey, to be sure. 🎩