Currently Reading #8

Unhinged (Splintered #2)

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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I haven't posted my book review for Splintered yet. I'm torn in loving and hating it so I'll think it over for now. Anyway, I love the cover of this one. There's the freakish moth Morpheus on the cover and it is exactly what I assumed he look like. Pretty and creepy. I really wanted to like this at least. I have few issues with Splintered so I'm quite skeptical, but I'm still hoping that this would be a lot better.

Here's some good reviews:

This book. Oh my gosh this book! It was so so so good and such a worthy follow up to the awesome that was Splintered. I love love love this Alice in Wonderland retelling. From the world to the action to the characters, everything about it is just fantastic. There are so many twists and turns and I never see anything coming. I loved every single second of this book. I started reading it before bed one night and ended up staying up all night to finish it because I was addicted. --Teresa Mary Rose

What can I say, after a few chapters to re-integrate my imagination into the world of Wonderland, Unhinged blew my mind. Surparsing the initial expectations and taking it into the stratosphere. Put aside all your disney visions and sugary sweetness, what you get inside the pages of Unhinged is deliciously dark and twisted. It’s like reading a Tim Burton movie that’s been on crack ;) -- Book Angel Emma

This book was utterly AMAZING! Howard has knocked my socks off for the second time. and once again who know Alice in Wonderland could be so freaking twisted. Howard did a his thing twisting Alice in wonderland into something awesome. This book had more action than a action pack movie. The writing was just superb, Howard is a writing GOD a GENIUS. It's a fairy tale; romance, Goth, fantasy and poetic mix all into one. The whole story have such clarity, it makes you feel as though you are right there with the characters -- Krystal

and the not so good ones:

There is a tragic absence of Wonderland, and this book contains way too much love triangle fuckery than I would have liked. This book is one of the rare, rare instances when I think it is actually acceptable to have a love triangle..., I understand the need for the love triangle, since it's not imposed superficially, we're dealing with one mystical being with whom Alyssa has grown up with in her dreams, and one real, living boy with whom Alyssa has grown up with in real life. But really, is there such a need to draw out the love triangle to the extent that it eclipses the---again, very nonexistent and not impending---plot? -- Khan

To me, Unhinged was a disappointment. I wanted so much more from it, but I didn't get it. That was disappointing to me. Sure, the book isn't all awful. There were a few things that I liked. But they weren't enough. I wish that they had been, but they weren't. Now to try to put my thoughts into words. -- Carina Olsen

I have read enough good reviews to convince myself to continue reading this series. Though at the back of my mind, honestly, I'm pretty worried since I can feel that the not-so-good reviews have valid arguments as per my reading experience with Splintered. Nevertheless, knowing it for myself will definitely count. Book review to follow. Happy reading to me!