GoodRead - Unhinged

After Emma from Book Angel Booktopia introduced to the first book in this series, Splintered (review here, by the way!), I have been very much excited for this, the second book in the series. I got so excited over this book, I applied for this on NetGalley and Tina from the UK publisher, Abrams and Chronicle, sent me a proof. Thank you Tina and NetGalley (though Tina more as I read the proof version rather than the eProof).

A year after Splintered and Alyssa is torn between the two worlds she belongs to: the human world and Wonderland. She's trying to balance them and trying to keep secrets from her father and her boyfriend. But when her untrustworthy guide of Wonderland and childhood friend, Morpheus, suddenly appears in the real world, both worlds are colliding and Alyssa has to figure out what to do now...

I tried to read this over the Christmas and the New Year weeks - and failed to get halfway through. So, one day, I blitz through the book and went through a mix of "Ooooh!" and "what's gonna happen now?" and "Are you kidding me?!"

I really enjoy AG Howard's writing. It's one of the main reasons I wanted to read Unhinged. Her writing just sucked me in and I actually enjoyed taking my time to read the first part of the book. And I enjoyed the story of Alyssa trying to come to terms with the events of last year and her seeing her two worlds crashing into each other.

And AG manages to keep Unhinged as dark and punky as did Splintered. That's always a bonus. Don't you hate it when you read a sequel to a book you enjoyed reading and it just doesn't feel like the same author wrote it? Or that it doesn't feel like the right sequel? (I doubt this is making sense, but some of you might understand what I mean, I hope)

While I did enjoy reading this twisted tale, I have two tiny faults.

My first is Morpheus. In Splintered, I found Morpheus a character I most enjoyed reading as I never trusted him. And while in Unhinged, I still didn't trust Morpheus but there were little things that made me go "Are you not seeing this, Alyssa? How are you not seeing this?!". I wonder if it's because I read The Moth In The Mirror (which is one interesting novella as it hints a scene that becomes very useful and important at the end of the book) or if I had become so aware that Morpheus is a character to watch that everything he does, I was always analyzing it for double meaning...

My second fault is... well, I have to admit this but this is a me issue. It's nothing to do with the book, but this is an issue I always have when I read books, watch films and things if this happens. But here it is. When I got to the end, I suddenly thought "This is a set-up for book 3". Some readers will be ok with that. Some won't. I found it annoying, but the more I think about it, the more I thought "Ok, maybe this was the only way to go..."

Barring that, I did like the book (maybe not as much as Splintered) and I am a little curious on how AG Howard is going to write Ensnared after ending Unhinged the way she did...

GoodRead - The Moth In The Mirror

With the second book in the Splintered, Unhinged, coming out in a few weeks times, A G Howard has released a short novella to get us ready and to hint at what's to come... 

Morpheus has a rival for Alyssa's affections: Jeb. So, to figure him out, Morpheus decides to know his enemy better and uses Jeb's memories of his time in Wonderland. What he finds might surprise Morpheus...

Now, when I was reading Splintered, I never trusted Morpheus and, with this, I fear that I won't trust him in Unhinged, because by the end of the story, you get his gameplan of what he might do in book two. But it was interesting to see both the "bad boy" and the "good guy" (Morpheus and Jeb respectively) and it was interesting to see scenes and interactions that was hinted at in Splintered that wasn't shown as Alyssa wasn't there to see them, but on her quest to save Wonderland...

My only regret with this novella is that I wished it was a little longer. It felt like we only skimmed the scenes rather than go in depth. 

Now I have read this, I can not wait to read Unhinged. 

GoodRead - Splintered

I blame Emma from Book Angel Booktopia about this. She has been going on about this book to me via Twitter for quite some time. And seeing as she and I have very similar taste in books (and Emma has a good taste in books) and seeing as I love fairy tales retellings/reimaginings (as you all might know, I adore Once Upon A Time and Disney), I bought it and read it after my mad one-day read of The Selection by Kiera Cass.

Alyssa have been hearing flowers and insects talk for the past few years. She hides it as she doesn't want to become her mother: locked up in a mental institution. Madness runs through her family, and seeing as she's a descendant of Alice Liddell, the Alice that inspired Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it looks like Alyssa is slowly going down that road. 

But what if Wonderland is real? What if Alyssa isn't going mad? What if...?

To break the curse of her family's insanity, Alyssa must find the rabbit hole and right all the wrongs that happened due to the originally Alice. But Wonderland isn't like the Wonderland we all know and everyone isn't who they seem to be. Not even Alyssa herself. 

I really liked this book. I have a thing for retellings/re-imaginings and I like them when the story goes dark and twisted. And Splintered is very much a dark and twisted retelling. There was a gothic, punky edge to it and I loved that side of it.

One of the things I liked about this book is that all the characters in here are broken and don't fit your stereotypical YA charcter. Even the main characters of Alyssa and her real-world crush, Jeb. Both of these characters have dark backstories - Alyssa with her mother and Jeb with his father. Even a small character like Taelor isn't perfect with the tiny hints of her backstory. You can't really pigeon-holed these characters into YA stereotypes and that was refreshing. 

And as for Morpheus - a character who we don't really met till chapter 9 and who really picks up the story (the first few chapters have a good pace but when he came it, it went up a gear) - he isn't the typical ... well, I'm not sure what to call him, exactly. He's a third point in the "possible" love triangle, but he didn't fit that label. He was one of those characters that I never trusted, but I adored reading him. Throughout the whole book, I could never figure him out. And every time I thought I did, he would surprise me by doing or saying something that would always put me on the back foot. But he's a character I am the most intrigued over and am so glad we are going to get a sequel to as I want to know more about him and understand him. 

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is that this book, not matter how warped and mad it got, still had a plot and had reasons. In one of the later chapters when the "endgame" (if you want to call it that) was revealed and explain, it made perfect sense. There was no "Wait! What?" over it. The clues were in the story and it made sense, no matter how weird the story got several chapters back. How A G Howard kept up, I have no idea. 

And now, faults. I will always find faults in book so SORRY BOOKS OF THE WORLD. The only real fault I have is how convenient certain things were explained. Like how Aylssa accepted that she has been friends with Morpheus for years through her dreams so quickly or the fact both she and Jeb knew what a confirmateur was (it's a device used by hat makers to help customize hats to fit specific head shapes). Sometimes, it worked but other times, it never sat well with me.

But saying that, I really liked this messed-up book. I would love to see someone try and turn this into a movie or a TV show. I could very easily imagined it (if it' a movie, I demand Tim Burton to be the director!). And now I have to sit and wait for the sequel, Unhinged, to come out early next year. And it better have loads of Morpheus scenes in it. Just saying. But, until then, I'm not sure I will look at plants and bugs in the same way again... Again, Emma, I blame you.