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illusie's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a good book, but better not touch it if you hate love triangles. It was hard to look past it. What I do like are the characters and the world.
msrcreation's review against another edition
4.5
Finally finished the series! This series was a fun ride and I'm really glad I picked it up. This is probably my least favorite in the trilogy though that isn't a really saying much because it is still amazing. Alyssa frustrated me in this some but I really loved the growth that Morpheus and Jeb had in this book. Their friendship was cute and I would have loved to see more of it. It was mostly the ending/epilogue that I had a problem with. I've seen some other reviews say this as well but it was just rushed. I think if her time with Jeb had a few chapters and then some for her time with Morpheus to really show her life and those relationships more it would've been so much better. But with all of that I still loved this book and the trilogy as a whole was so much fun.
sarahp85's review against another edition
2.0
well... that was a weak ending wasn't it?
Pfff. I don't even know how to review this because I really liked the other books. And yes, I still have Untamed to go, but I believe that was an extra book right??
Maybe that will leave me a bit more satisfied. I was mostly annoyed throughout all of this.
I felt like they were trying to make me like Jeb (but I don't so it is a pointless effort) and all I wanted was for Alyssa to just MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND MAKE A CHOICE
that said, I do love this wonderland. The characters and the world itself I really like. Fingers crossed Untamed will make this all right again
Pfff. I don't even know how to review this because I really liked the other books. And yes, I still have Untamed to go, but I believe that was an extra book right??
Maybe that will leave me a bit more satisfied. I was mostly annoyed throughout all of this.
I felt like they were trying to make me like Jeb (but I don't so it is a pointless effort) and all I wanted was for Alyssa to just MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND MAKE A CHOICE
that said, I do love this wonderland. The characters and the world itself I really like. Fingers crossed Untamed will make this all right again
sherbear182's review against another edition
5.0
Compared to the other two there are so many twists in this one. The cover is just as amazing as the first two as well. Really there's nothing not to love. Except....well except that it ends. I was so engrossed in this book i honestly didn't want it too.
I think there's something about Ensnared that brings you in and wraps you up in it to the point that you can't even register that it's not reality. You feel like you're standing side by side with the characters or at other times as if you are the characters. Usually i feel the first book in the series is the best, but with this series i can't say that. All i can say is picking up any of these books will not be a let down. The twist on Alice in Wonderland is absolutely amazing. Mind you i don't like the original. Definitely three books i will be rereading in the future. Possibly in the near future.
I think there's something about Ensnared that brings you in and wraps you up in it to the point that you can't even register that it's not reality. You feel like you're standing side by side with the characters or at other times as if you are the characters. Usually i feel the first book in the series is the best, but with this series i can't say that. All i can say is picking up any of these books will not be a let down. The twist on Alice in Wonderland is absolutely amazing. Mind you i don't like the original. Definitely three books i will be rereading in the future. Possibly in the near future.
shelivesinthepages's review against another edition
5.0
I have to say I like this series it is different from other Alice stories but I like the first two books more then this one. I still like this book but It just felt to short and missing something but it was a great ending to the series. I would reread again just to live in the imagination and detail of wonderland put in my mind. If this became a movie I would definitely see it.
vicky30312's review against another edition
4.0
Man...Where do I even begin. I love this series so much that, even though I bought Ensared 1 week after it was released, I put off reading it for so long because I just had so many high expectations and I was afraid I would be let down. I finally pushed myself to just do it; I could live with whatever was written in the pages. So, going into the book I still could not decide who I wanted her to really end up with. I love Morpheus for his silly, manipulative self but Jeb is basically the guy I've always wanted. As the story progressed I was pleased with how the plot was coming out but Jeb was being a butt. After things were sorted I was happy. Everything was back the way it should be BUT... I feel like A.G. Howard used a but of a cop out. If I was Jeb, I would have never been able to live with the fact that once I was dead, Alyssa would just go off to Morpheus. I know that the author wanted everyone to have a happy ending, hey even I couldn't decide who I wanted her to be with till the very end, but I just wasn't too pleased with the end. That is the only reason I gave it 4 stars. As a whole this series is amazing and gave me one of the biggest book hangovers I've ever had. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from A.G. Howard.
maddie_orart's review against another edition
3.0
Review also posted on Of Reading and Random Things
I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m pretty sure I like it a lot, but then I’ll remember some things that made me so annoyed and I don’t know if I like it that much.
In Ensnared, Alyssa, together with her dad and Chessie, traveled to AnyElsewhere, where all the Wonderland rejects live, to save Jeb and Morpheus before going to Wonderland to get her mom. There’s another evil queen in town and surprise surprise, Queen Red is there too. So now Alyssa must fight her way through the evil bird minions, an acid pool that somehow melts the entire body except the heart, and also settle the whole issue with Jeb. Sigh.
AnyElsewhere is totally different from Wonderland. The residents are unable to use their magic because of the iron dome surrounding AnyElsewhere. I thought the setting was very well done, as usual. I’ve said this before in my review of the previous books, A.G. Howard’s writing style is very descriptive and the words flow beautifully without excessive fluff. I really like the vivid imagery of AnyElsewhere and also Wonderland. It’s so much more fun than the ‘real world’ in Unhinged. Like I said, staying in Wonderland vs high school? Wonderland wins.
I love Alice in Wonderland. So every time I see an Alice retelling, I would probably read it. With this series, I really like the idea of Alice’s descendants going back to Wonderland and facing off with the evil Queen Red. But I find that it focuses waaay too much on the romance. Don’t get me wrong, I like reading about romance in YA, but in this book, I feel like the romance is taking over the plot. While I was reading, I was just thinking “okay, okay, get on with the action already”. Alyssa is more focused on why Jeb is being a jerk (as usual) than the whole ‘defeating Queen Red and saving everyone’ thing. The way I see it, just like in the previous books, Alyssa doesn’t really do anything except being present. It was always Morpheus doing all the plotting and the planning and the carrying out of the plan and Alyssa won’t know what’s going on until it’s over and she’ll blame Morpheus for something awful she thought he did. *run on sentence*. I mean, come on. You were too busy trying to talk to Jeb! I cannot.
I do like how Alyssa’s dad is included on her adventure instead of being absent like in most YA books. His background is actually very interesting. His brother, Bernard, is introduced in this book and readers get to learn more about Alyssa’s family history. It turns out, her mom’s side of the family is not the only magical one. Morpheus is awesome, as usual. I don’t think I would’ve continued reading this series if he wasn’t in it. I think I pretty much like all the characters in this series except Jeb and Alyssa, which is sad because Alyssa is the main character and the entire series is from her POV. In the beginning of Ensnared, I actually liked her more than in the previous books. She seemed so different to me, much better, but then they arrived in AnyElsewhere, she saw Jeb and she went back to being the girl she was before. The one I don’t like.
The ending is very confusing for me. I don’t understand why it had to end the way it did. It could’ve ended a different way (preferably my way :D ) and it would’ve been so much better. I’m trying so hard not to include a spoiler here but it’s difficult to explain what I mean without spoiling the book. I’ve read a few reviews mentioning similarities to The Infernal Devices and I get it, but I don’t think that it works for this book. I wish I could say more about why I don’t like the ending, but I know that I will spoil the book if I say anything more, so I’m going to stop.
If I wrote this review immediately after reading the book, I probably would’ve given it 4 stars. But alas, I wrote this review more than a week after reading and so I’ve had more time to think about it, and I decided to give it 3 stars instead. I know it seems like I have a lot of issues with this book, but aside from the ending, I actually do like it (3 stars on Goodreads = ‘I like it’). I thought the story is great whenever the actual plot managed to emerge from the sea of romance, I liked the world building a lot and if Alyssa could actually focus more on the important issues, I would definitely like her a lot more. I would recommend this series to people who love Alice in Wonderland stories like I do. If you don’t mind all the romance I think you would really enjoy this book. I hear that A.G. Howard will be releasing another book in 2017 which is a Phantom of the Opera spin-off, so I will definitely be reading that because it's Phantom :D.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m pretty sure I like it a lot, but then I’ll remember some things that made me so annoyed and I don’t know if I like it that much.
In Ensnared, Alyssa, together with her dad and Chessie, traveled to AnyElsewhere, where all the Wonderland rejects live, to save Jeb and Morpheus before going to Wonderland to get her mom. There’s another evil queen in town and surprise surprise, Queen Red is there too. So now Alyssa must fight her way through the evil bird minions, an acid pool that somehow melts the entire body except the heart, and also settle the whole issue with Jeb. Sigh.
AnyElsewhere is totally different from Wonderland. The residents are unable to use their magic because of the iron dome surrounding AnyElsewhere. I thought the setting was very well done, as usual. I’ve said this before in my review of the previous books, A.G. Howard’s writing style is very descriptive and the words flow beautifully without excessive fluff. I really like the vivid imagery of AnyElsewhere and also Wonderland. It’s so much more fun than the ‘real world’ in Unhinged. Like I said, staying in Wonderland vs high school? Wonderland wins.
I love Alice in Wonderland. So every time I see an Alice retelling, I would probably read it. With this series, I really like the idea of Alice’s descendants going back to Wonderland and facing off with the evil Queen Red. But I find that it focuses waaay too much on the romance. Don’t get me wrong, I like reading about romance in YA, but in this book, I feel like the romance is taking over the plot. While I was reading, I was just thinking “okay, okay, get on with the action already”. Alyssa is more focused on why Jeb is being a jerk (as usual) than the whole ‘defeating Queen Red and saving everyone’ thing. The way I see it, just like in the previous books, Alyssa doesn’t really do anything except being present. It was always Morpheus doing all the plotting and the planning and the carrying out of the plan and Alyssa won’t know what’s going on until it’s over and she’ll blame Morpheus for something awful she thought he did. *run on sentence*. I mean, come on. You were too busy trying to talk to Jeb! I cannot.
I do like how Alyssa’s dad is included on her adventure instead of being absent like in most YA books. His background is actually very interesting. His brother, Bernard, is introduced in this book and readers get to learn more about Alyssa’s family history. It turns out, her mom’s side of the family is not the only magical one. Morpheus is awesome, as usual. I don’t think I would’ve continued reading this series if he wasn’t in it. I think I pretty much like all the characters in this series except Jeb and Alyssa, which is sad because Alyssa is the main character and the entire series is from her POV. In the beginning of Ensnared, I actually liked her more than in the previous books. She seemed so different to me, much better, but then they arrived in AnyElsewhere, she saw Jeb and she went back to being the girl she was before. The one I don’t like.
The ending is very confusing for me. I don’t understand why it had to end the way it did. It could’ve ended a different way (preferably my way :D ) and it would’ve been so much better. I’m trying so hard not to include a spoiler here but it’s difficult to explain what I mean without spoiling the book. I’ve read a few reviews mentioning similarities to The Infernal Devices and I get it, but I don’t think that it works for this book. I wish I could say more about why I don’t like the ending, but I know that I will spoil the book if I say anything more, so I’m going to stop.
If I wrote this review immediately after reading the book, I probably would’ve given it 4 stars. But alas, I wrote this review more than a week after reading and so I’ve had more time to think about it, and I decided to give it 3 stars instead. I know it seems like I have a lot of issues with this book, but aside from the ending, I actually do like it (3 stars on Goodreads = ‘I like it’). I thought the story is great whenever the actual plot managed to emerge from the sea of romance, I liked the world building a lot and if Alyssa could actually focus more on the important issues, I would definitely like her a lot more. I would recommend this series to people who love Alice in Wonderland stories like I do. If you don’t mind all the romance I think you would really enjoy this book. I hear that A.G. Howard will be releasing another book in 2017 which is a Phantom of the Opera spin-off, so I will definitely be reading that because it's Phantom :D.
“The lack of magic is what leads humans to fantasize in the first place. And Alyssa, what a wonderfully powerful force an imagination can be.”
― A.G. Howard, Ensnared
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
3.0
Spoiler-free for the whole series!
The good:
* The Splintered trilogy is a tangled, pretty mess; just like Wonderland.
Howard excels at imagery and vivid descriptions (not to mention the fabulous outfits). She paints a crystal clear picture of the chaotic and fascinating Wonderland, and later on AnyElseWhere.
You thought Wonderland was crazy? Wait until you see The looking-glass world.
The world-building feels well-rounded and complete, but loses none of its charm and mystery.
* We have a villain with a solid backstory which is developed and fleshed out in a very surprising way. Their motive is convincing and fits in well with the story, even though we didn't find out much about them until now.
* We see many new creatures and even more twists on the characters from the original fairytale. My favorite was The queen of hearts, whose name you should take literally. *shivers*
* Despite the slower pacing, the story remains addictive and fresh. I always wanted to know what would happen.
* A great deal of swooning and fun, seductive dialogue. There's a lot of tension and teasing, and I love it.
I'd let Morpheus take me to Wonderland any day, if you know what I mean.
The bad:
ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN. There’s a large focus on the romance, and the plot is pushed aside.
This love triangle may not be the worst one I’ve read, but it’s annoying enough.
However, the drama wasn’t necessary to the story and I wish it didn’t exist. It would make the books three times better.
I really liked the family dynamics that we see in book 2, and was disappointed when those promising backstories and relationships took a backseat in this installment.
I hate when the story only stretches to a little bubble around the main character and her love interests. What happened to our secondary characters? Alyssa's dad, and.. what's-her-face... Jenara, right? Sorry guys, you better take a time-out so the angst can get the spotlight. *eyeroll*
* Alyssa; the girl who is incapable of making decisions.Try flipping a fucking coin? She keeps going back and forth between the love interests while paying no attention to the consequences.
It was dumb, it took up way too much of the plot and annoyed me.
Alyssa is passive, which is something I loathe in my main characters. She could’ve been writer stronger and more relatable overall, someone you could root for and love.
* Three whole books, and only one real friendship (not counting Jeb because he's primarily a love interest). I didn't realize until now that we have a strong lack of non-romantic relationships in the series. Ensnared is above all a love story and struggle between two sides, so there's no need for friends, or what?
Plus, every woman except the MC in this book are either evil or disposable - only there for a short time and then completely ignored.
* The very end is pitch-perfect and predictable, and it bugged me.
The more I think about it, the more pissed I get with how the love triangle wrapped up. It's something I've seen many times before, and it didn't feel well-deserved in this book. That's all I can say without spoiling it, but it was a disappointment.
Final verdict:
Ensnared succeeds as a conclusion, and is slightly disappointing as a novel. The pacing is slower than in previous books; the plot messier and the romance/angst turned up a notch. Howard makes up for it by introducing us to a new exciting world and adding more twists and turns.
This series was a hurricane of madness and beauty. There were parts I loved and parts I hated, but it is overall a fun, memorable and unique story.
The good:
* The Splintered trilogy is a tangled, pretty mess; just like Wonderland.
Howard excels at imagery and vivid descriptions (not to mention the fabulous outfits). She paints a crystal clear picture of the chaotic and fascinating Wonderland, and later on AnyElseWhere.
You thought Wonderland was crazy? Wait until you see The looking-glass world.
The world-building feels well-rounded and complete, but loses none of its charm and mystery.
* We have a villain with a solid backstory which is developed and fleshed out in a very surprising way. Their motive is convincing and fits in well with the story, even though we didn't find out much about them until now.
* We see many new creatures and even more twists on the characters from the original fairytale. My favorite was The queen of hearts, whose name you should take literally. *shivers*
* Despite the slower pacing, the story remains addictive and fresh. I always wanted to know what would happen.
* A great deal of swooning and fun, seductive dialogue. There's a lot of tension and teasing, and I love it.
Spoiler
THE LINGERIE SCENE. *fans self*I'd let Morpheus take me to Wonderland any day, if you know what I mean.
The bad:
ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN. There’s a large focus on the romance, and the plot is pushed aside.
This love triangle may not be the worst one I’ve read, but it’s annoying enough.
However, the drama wasn’t necessary to the story and I wish it didn’t exist. It would make the books three times better.
I really liked the family dynamics that we see in book 2, and was disappointed when those promising backstories and relationships took a backseat in this installment.
I hate when the story only stretches to a little bubble around the main character and her love interests. What happened to our secondary characters? Alyssa's dad, and.. what's-her-face... Jenara, right? Sorry guys, you better take a time-out so the angst can get the spotlight. *eyeroll*
* Alyssa; the girl who is incapable of making decisions.
It was dumb, it took up way too much of the plot and annoyed me.
Alyssa is passive, which is something I loathe in my main characters. She could’ve been writer stronger and more relatable overall, someone you could root for and love.
* Three whole books, and only one real friendship (not counting Jeb because he's primarily a love interest). I didn't realize until now that we have a strong lack of non-romantic relationships in the series. Ensnared is above all a love story and struggle between two sides, so there's no need for friends, or what?
Plus, every woman except the MC in this book are either evil or disposable - only there for a short time and then completely ignored.
* The very end is pitch-perfect and predictable, and it bugged me.
The more I think about it, the more pissed I get with how the love triangle wrapped up. It's something I've seen many times before, and it didn't feel well-deserved in this book. That's all I can say without spoiling it, but it was a disappointment.
Spoiler
You can’t have the cake and eat it too! It’s so typical and cowardly to get both guys. I was hoping Alyssa would leave Jeb to rot in a hole...Final verdict:
Ensnared succeeds as a conclusion, and is slightly disappointing as a novel. The pacing is slower than in previous books; the plot messier and the romance/angst turned up a notch. Howard makes up for it by introducing us to a new exciting world and adding more twists and turns.
This series was a hurricane of madness and beauty. There were parts I loved and parts I hated, but it is overall a fun, memorable and unique story.
rosatulipan's review against another edition
4.0
Personal Raiting: 8.2/10
General Raiting: 7.8/10
review may or may not come
General Raiting: 7.8/10
review may or may not come