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.

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If you have read my review for Splintered, you probably knew the reason that I continued reading this series. Don't get me wrong, I like the series. I just couldn't bring myself to actually love it. As in really love it. I'm not pretty sure why. I absorbed this a bit better than the first book though. Perhaps because I already had an idea of what was going on unlike when I first read it.

The book cover is beautiful, it's Morpheus and it kinda freak me out because it is exactly how I imagined him to look like. I still hate him. Ha ha! The world building on this one didn't disappoint. It's still magical, graphic and wonderful. Yet, I'm not sure about the plot. The book got me hooked on the first five or six chapters, a chapter on the middle part and some parts from the last couple of chapters I believe, the rest is Alyssa being so confused and it got me annoyed. I really think that most of the plot included Alyssa being torn. Not so certain if she was really torn in staying in the human realm and being queen in wonderland or torn between Jeb and Morpheus. Honestly, I hate the love triangle. I also hate that it feels like the story revolved around it. Mostly. Like it overshadowed the real deal. It overshadowed the fact that they need to defeat Red for the sake of both worlds. Now I fully grasped why reviews indicated that it has "No Plot" at all. It's because of this. This love triangle. Sigh.

Alyssa's mom is annoying too. The revelations from her side of the story is quite interesting and it made me dislike her more. How can you actually hide things from your daughter and let her be clueless on what was happening? All this time, Alyssa thought that her mother is so frail and that she needed her when it's the other way around. Sure, Alyssa won't have this adventure without her mother being looney and cagey, but come on. I hate the idea. Her father is annoying in some parts too. Especially when he assumed that Alyssa is being a lunatic like her mother. Can we just skip the part where almost everyone in the family deserves a straitjacket? Okay. Moving on. I love Jeb on this book and I hate Alyssa for keeping everything from him. The thought of him fighting for Alyssa is so sweet. Indeed. And, the most annoying of them all, Morpheus. I still don't understand why and how Alyssa has this feelings for him. No. I really don't.

The fact that she's not herself whenever she's around the Moth feels foolish and then her guts to be shattered when ignored by Jeb when the last time I checked, she was smooching with Morpheus. Can Alyssa make up her mind and grow up? She definitely needs to grow up. Is she somehow drugged by Morpheus? Sigh. Morpheus has made up another scheme and of course Alyssa did fall for it. Again. So it's some kind of deja vu. Back to square one. I really hate him and his schemes. He's like the devil in the flesh. Doing good things because he is fully aware that in the end, the bigger prize is guaranteed for him. Can we just let him marry Ivory and get this over with?

I also noticed that the fight against Red is not really focused on -It was focused on the maddening love triangle- so I was left wanting for more. The book lacks the adventure and magic I was expecting. Yeah, given that the setting was on the human realm, but still. The only motivation for me to read the third and last book is the cover. It is Jeb and he looks different. Not so human anymore. It truly excites me so that's the cue. I'll definitely wait for the third book to be published. I won't expect too much from it this time though. So much for being disappointed and saddened that I am.

3 STAR