Review: Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Title: Unhinged (Splintered #2)
Author: A.G. Howard
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Thames & Hudson. Thank you!

Goodreads rating: 4.39 out of 5.00 (800+ ratings)
Goodreads | The Reading Room

In Splintered, A. G. Howard's dark reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, Alyssa Gardner was crowned a Queen in Wonderland. Yet she chose to leave her subjects so she could live in the human realm. For a year she's been trying to be regular Alyssa again, with her boyfriend, Jeb, her newly returned mom, her friends, the prom and the promise of a future in London.

But Morpheus, the seductive, manipulative netherling who haunts her dreams, won't let her leave her legacy behind that easily. Neither will Wonderland, which appears to be suffering from her neglect.

Alyssa is torn between two worlds: Jeb and her human life...and the intoxicating wildness of Wonderland- and Morpheus. When those worlds collide and Wonderland starts to invade her "real" life, Alyssa must find a way to keep balance between the two realms or lose everything she loves.

Review by Nara


O__________O
...
.......
That. Ending.
That. Cliffhanger. Of. An. Ending.
WHYYYYYYY?! Why Anita, why?!
...
.......
Why do authors do this?! *rocks back and forth in corner*
I mean, okay, I get why they do it, but SERIOUSLY. If you don't like cliffhangers, you better wait until Ensnared comes out because this one is a shocker.

Okay, let's move on from the cliffhanger and start the actual review haha. Confession time: the first time I read Splintered, I was definitely Team Morpheus. Something about Jeb just seemed a bit...bland. Strangely enough though, when I reread Splintered just before starting Unhinged, I felt like I was almost on either Team. I didn't really mind whether she ended up with Morpheus or with Jeb. I mean, I distinctly recall Jeb being the only character I didn't like in Splintered when I read it the first time, but upon rereading, I now feel like I do actually like him. However, now having read Unhinged I can tell you right now that I am most firmly back on Team Morpheus.

There's a fair bit of character development with regards to Morpheus- and you definitely get more insight as to why he does the things he does and his personality in general. While still as evasive as in book one, he's not quite as mysterious, and I think on the whole, people will like him more in book two. Jeb, on the other hand....eh. He's okay. As I said before, I do like him overall, but he doesn't have the intriguing pull that Morpheus has.

And Alyssa herself. I'd say that the entire plot of Unhinged is really centred around Alyssa and her acceptance of her identity. I've seen a couple of reviews that criticise this, saying there's a distinct "lack of plot", but I personally wouldn't say so. It's all well and good to go around completing missions in Wonderland, but the journey to find yourself- I think it's just as interesting to read about.

Nothing to do with the content of the book itself, but I do have to admit that I don't like the cover of Unhinged as much as the Splintered one. Although, yeah, it would be pretty hard to top that pretty. And omg the spines look so nice together when you put them side by side. I LOVE the font they use for the title.

Well, overall, the quirky, Gothic twist on Alice in Wonderland that was evident in book one is also expressed in book two, and I'd say in general that anyone who enjoyed reading Splintered to some degree will also enjoy Unhinged.

Incredible

Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5