Title : Unhinged (Splintered #2)Author : A.G. Howard
Publisher : Abrams & Chronicle
Published : 1st January 2014
Star Rating : *****
Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.
Review
***Spoiler Alert***
I cannot review this book without adding spoilers from the previous book so if you haven't, don't read beyond this point! Look for 'Splintered' the first book in the series. First of all just to note that I have yet to read the first book ‘Splintered’ so I cannot compare unhinged to the previous novel in the series. So my opinion accounts for Unhinged only but may include a few spoilers from ‘Splintered’ that are mentioned in this book!
I want to start by just spending a few minutes on the cover!
What an amazingly attractive one it is as well! I read the blurb and I knew it
was Morpheus right away! I’ve seen the cover for the first book as well and
that’s equally beautiful and they totally go together as a series! This one’s a
bit more gloomy and dark which fits with the storyline. Can’t wait to see the
next one!
Unhinged is a part of a retelling of Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland. Although I haven’t read the original book (I know…shock horror!
:O), I have seen the film to it and to be quite honest I played a big part in a
play as well of it a while back. Although the original didn’t have me
captivated, this version certainly did. I love the tint of darkness to it and
then the romance gives it that last oomph to make it really quite amusing and
enjoyable. The storyline follows smoothly and sorry I’m not giving much detail
of what happens as it wouldn’t be a review then! An exciting turn takes place
though where now instead of Alyssa entering wonderland from the real world,
wonderland now follows her back to her world. And I found it really amusing
because of the setting of a high school because I can totally relate to that!
Alyssa, well I don’t know how much she has changed from the
last book but I instantly related to her and felt like I’d known her for ages!
A loveable character with a kind-heart and torn between two worlds she deals
with it a lot better than I would have! A few of the scenes I didn’t want to read
on…they’re the kind of scenes when for example in a movie when you cover your
eyes…really captivating and made me feel like I was there with her. Morpheus,
as you’ve all probably already met him is back! This was however my first
impression and although I did feel like killing him at first well that feeling
died down as I went through the story…doesn’t mean I like him…but he certainly
was a un character to read about! Okay…I probably liked him a little but he has
a lot to make up for is all I can say so I hope I can see that in the next
book! Other recurring characters were Jeb! Yes our handsome Jeb is back and he
did totally sweep me off the floor at some moments too! Though I can say for me
I’m no either team yet…so they both have to still battle it out and ten
hopefully I can then choose if which team I’m on…you never know!
The storyline was very interesting and altered in an
imaginative way. The characters seemed very realistic and the protagonist led
the story well. There wasn’t a dull moment and the book was rounded off very
well as I was able to read this book perfectly without having read the first
book in the series. I was very enamoured by the characters first of all and then
the creativity in the writing and also the hidden aspects to it which made it
unpredictable and shocking at times!
*Special Feature* In one sentence…
All in all it was a beautiful re-telling, set in the modern
world that shifted cleverly between the fictional and real world and also combined
them to make a fun, enjoyable and humorous story full of action, romance, adventure
and surprises!
*Special Feature* Buy/Borrow
Definitely need to buy this one! You’ll want to treasure it
and not just because of the covers!…I think it’s heading on the way to being
added to the list of ‘one of my favourite series’! J
Thank you Tina from Abrams and Chronicle for kindly sending me a review copy! J
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