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burnsys_books_811's review against another edition
3.5
I think I like this one better than book 1 despite the setting, but I still hate Jeb and am starting to hate Morpheus. And I find the portrayal of mental illness and the treatment of it to be problematic in this series.
sarahp85's review against another edition
3.0
In conclusion: if Jeb could just go away and never come back I'd be happy. Also, I love Morpheus and I just want to read more and more about him and his story
magikspells's review
3.0
IDK! I just don't know. Warning, crazy rant to follow.
I have a lot of issues with this book. I had made a shelf, it would be 'love-hate' because I don't know what to feel. I didn't hate this book, because honestly I didn't hate the last one. I didn't love it either. I just sort of liked and hated it at the same time.
Lets have a talk here about this. Unhinged takes us back to the world a year after the events of [b:Splintered|12558285|Splintered (Splintered, #1)|A.G. Howard|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1340134213s/12558285.jpg|17562095]. Great, so we've got Alyssa and Jeb who are living out their silly gothic art dreams together. She's getting ready to finish high school, they're going to move to London and leave this whole madness of wonderland behind them.
As is always the case with these matters, things never go as planned. Things steadily start to spiral out of control until finally Alyssa can't stop fighting the pull that wonderland has on her. Blah blah.
Like I said before, I have issues with this book. My main one is the lying. It is one stupid lie that makes up a bulk of the content in this book. One lie perpetuated over an entire year. Alyssa could have told Jeb what happened in wonderland, instead she was being stupid and selfish. If she thought she had any semblance of a stable relationship with that as one of the cornerstones, she's so full of shit. And yet the entire course of the book, she fails to take credit for her role in all of this. She continues to put Jeb into harms way even after she's warned about it. It's so infuriating to see her claim that she loves this boy, this boy who said he was willing to die for her, and yet keep lying to his face. I want to rip her fucking red streak out of her hair! Ugh.
My second issue, is this whole shady parent situation. Honestly, this didn't bother me as much as the previous because it was painfully clear that her father was involved in this mess somehow. That just wasn't very good build up. But the whole story with her mother is such a broken record. A parent locks herself up in an asylum to keep her child safe. In a shocking twist, that doesn't work!
Lastly, I'm growing increasingly tired of love triangles. And the problem is, I don't even feel like this story is a love triangle. I feel like it's two guys pining after one girl who doesn't seem to give a shit about either of them. This goes back to my previous issue with Alyssa and her lying. For some ungodly reason both Morpheus and Jeb are willing to worship at the alter of Alyssa despite how shitty she treats them. She continually argues with and and berates Morpheus, despite the fact that he's been trying to help her. She's always mad at him even though she knows the tricks he pulls. She lets herself fall for them. I don't even like Morpheus and I'm angry for him. Then theres Jeb, who continually gets lied to, left behind, and half ass saved just so that her conscious doesn't have to feel the weight of her own lies. And I don't even get me started on that prophecy shit. I mean are you kidding me??? WHAT! You cannot be serious. I'm having [b:Clockwork Princess|18335634|Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)|Cassandra Clare|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1376663659s/18335634.jpg|6309710] flashbacks.
UGH.
So fine, thats what I don't like. So why would I even bother. Because I do enjoy this world. I think it's fresh and imaginative. I'm not even a fan of Alice in Wonderland, but I liked the uniqueness of the story. I love all the characters because they are so tremendously real and flawed. I just really hate the way that they interact with one another. It's enough to drive me insane. HA! That's almost a funny pun given the end of this book.
Oh well, I hope there's only one more book, only because I need to make sure a certain few characters who's names aren't Alyssa, make it out alright. Maybe she can die off and they can find someone who doesn't treat them like shit.
I have a lot of issues with this book. I had made a shelf, it would be 'love-hate' because I don't know what to feel. I didn't hate this book, because honestly I didn't hate the last one. I didn't love it either. I just sort of liked and hated it at the same time.
Lets have a talk here about this. Unhinged takes us back to the world a year after the events of [b:Splintered|12558285|Splintered (Splintered, #1)|A.G. Howard|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1340134213s/12558285.jpg|17562095]. Great, so we've got Alyssa and Jeb who are living out their silly gothic art dreams together. She's getting ready to finish high school, they're going to move to London and leave this whole madness of wonderland behind them.
As is always the case with these matters, things never go as planned. Things steadily start to spiral out of control until finally Alyssa can't stop fighting the pull that wonderland has on her. Blah blah.
Like I said before, I have issues with this book. My main one is the lying. It is one stupid lie that makes up a bulk of the content in this book. One lie perpetuated over an entire year. Alyssa could have told Jeb what happened in wonderland, instead she was being stupid and selfish. If she thought she had any semblance of a stable relationship with that as one of the cornerstones, she's so full of shit. And yet the entire course of the book, she fails to take credit for her role in all of this. She continues to put Jeb into harms way even after she's warned about it. It's so infuriating to see her claim that she loves this boy, this boy who said he was willing to die for her, and yet keep lying to his face. I want to rip her fucking red streak out of her hair! Ugh.
My second issue, is this whole shady parent situation. Honestly, this didn't bother me as much as the previous because it was painfully clear that her father was involved in this mess somehow. That just wasn't very good build up. But the whole story with her mother is such a broken record. A parent locks herself up in an asylum to keep her child safe. In a shocking twist, that doesn't work!
Lastly, I'm growing increasingly tired of love triangles. And the problem is, I don't even feel like this story is a love triangle. I feel like it's two guys pining after one girl who doesn't seem to give a shit about either of them. This goes back to my previous issue with Alyssa and her lying. For some ungodly reason both Morpheus and Jeb are willing to worship at the alter of Alyssa despite how shitty she treats them. She continually argues with and and berates Morpheus, despite the fact that he's been trying to help her. She's always mad at him even though she knows the tricks he pulls. She lets herself fall for them. I don't even like Morpheus and I'm angry for him. Then theres Jeb, who continually gets lied to, left behind, and half ass saved just so that her conscious doesn't have to feel the weight of her own lies. And I don't even get me started on that prophecy shit. I mean are you kidding me???
Spoiler
She could get to live out her human life with Jeb and then die, go to wonderland and be the queen there with Morpheus as her king????UGH.
So fine, thats what I don't like. So why would I even bother. Because I do enjoy this world. I think it's fresh and imaginative. I'm not even a fan of Alice in Wonderland, but I liked the uniqueness of the story. I love all the characters because they are so tremendously real and flawed. I just really hate the way that they interact with one another. It's enough to drive me insane. HA! That's almost a funny pun given the end of this book.
Oh well, I hope there's only one more book, only because I need to make sure a certain few characters who's names aren't Alyssa, make it out alright. Maybe she can die off and they can find someone who doesn't treat them like shit.
hansonkali's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
5.0
You know that a book really made an impression if the plot all comes back, including all its details, while reading the first chapters of its sequel months and months later. Splintered was one of the first English books I read after I decided I wanted to read more English and it proved quite challenging at the time, but worth it. It was nice to discover, while starting and reading this book, that my English has really improved over time.
It's still not the easiest book I've ever read. Howard has a flowery writing style and really takes her time to build her world, craft the details and deepen her characters and their relationships. But the flowery style is beautiful to read and it's easy to get lost in the world that comes to life, just like I feel like I've lost a little part of my heart to our main three characters.
Even though this book is clearly the middle book in a trilogy and written to get the characters ready for their final adventure in Wonderland, it did keep me on the edge of my toes. I loved the little glimpse we got into Al's childhood and her adventures in Wonderland and I loved how Howard incorporated and twisted elements of the original story. But, I loved it even more when elements of Wonderland were brought into our world to mess a lot of things up completely.
I also think that the love triangle in this book is really well done. Al's love for Jeb is really feeleble and he's the safe and good and normal choice. He sacrificed his own life for hers and he is all she needs. But there is this dark side in Al that just longs for Morpheus and he clearly longs for her too, which leads to a perfect tension. I kinda feel that in the end Al will end up with Morpheus (the good and normal guy never gets the girl), but for now I'm really enjoying the two guys loving her that much that they're truly willing to fight for her.
And I also like Al in general. She's smart and brave, but she's not that smart and brave that it becomes too much. She does make mistakes, she does mess up, she is naive at times and doesn't always see the games people are playing with her. But she's also resourceful and willing to do everything for her friends AND the world of Wonderland. (In that order)
I can't wait to read the next book and I promise this time it won't be that long before I read it!
It's still not the easiest book I've ever read. Howard has a flowery writing style and really takes her time to build her world, craft the details and deepen her characters and their relationships. But the flowery style is beautiful to read and it's easy to get lost in the world that comes to life, just like I feel like I've lost a little part of my heart to our main three characters.
Even though this book is clearly the middle book in a trilogy and written to get the characters ready for their final adventure in Wonderland, it did keep me on the edge of my toes. I loved the little glimpse we got into Al's childhood and her adventures in Wonderland and I loved how Howard incorporated and twisted elements of the original story. But, I loved it even more when elements of Wonderland were brought into our world to mess a lot of things up completely.
I also think that the love triangle in this book is really well done. Al's love for Jeb is really feeleble and he's the safe and good and normal choice. He sacrificed his own life for hers and he is all she needs. But there is this dark side in Al that just longs for Morpheus and he clearly longs for her too, which leads to a perfect tension. I kinda feel that in the end Al will end up with Morpheus (the good and normal guy never gets the girl), but for now I'm really enjoying the two guys loving her that much that they're truly willing to fight for her.
And I also like Al in general. She's smart and brave, but she's not that smart and brave that it becomes too much. She does make mistakes, she does mess up, she is naive at times and doesn't always see the games people are playing with her. But she's also resourceful and willing to do everything for her friends AND the world of Wonderland. (In that order)
I can't wait to read the next book and I promise this time it won't be that long before I read it!
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Where to start with this book...
I should mention that I read Splintered, The Moth in the Mirror and Unhinged back to back. Immidiately, this became one of my favorite series.
I loved this sequel!
One of my favorite things about this book was getting to learn about Alyssa's parents' past. It was interesting to find out how deep the family's connection really does run through Wonderland. It's not just their connection to Red, it's so much more than that.
I was slightly annoyed with the love triangle mostly because I am Team Jeb, but I understood the triangle better now with the sequel. All the new revelations from this book make me very nervous. I have no idea how the romance will play out after everything. Especially with the way things ended. Which brings me to....
THAT CLIFFHANGER!
What am I going to do with myself until January?? I tend to marathon read to avoid these waits between books!
I feel blessed to have been able to connect with the author through Twitter while reading her books, and she is one of the nicest people I've ever had the chance to speak to. She helped me along through my reading and it definitely made it a better experience for me, though her presence has no bearing on my love for these books
I am anxiously waiting for the final books release!
I should mention that I read Splintered, The Moth in the Mirror and Unhinged back to back. Immidiately, this became one of my favorite series.
I loved this sequel!
One of my favorite things about this book was getting to learn about Alyssa's parents' past. It was interesting to find out how deep the family's connection really does run through Wonderland. It's not just their connection to Red, it's so much more than that.
I was slightly annoyed with the love triangle mostly because I am Team Jeb, but I understood the triangle better now with the sequel. All the new revelations from this book make me very nervous. I have no idea how the romance will play out after everything. Especially with the way things ended. Which brings me to....
THAT CLIFFHANGER!
What am I going to do with myself until January?? I tend to marathon read to avoid these waits between books!
I feel blessed to have been able to connect with the author through Twitter while reading her books, and she is one of the nicest people I've ever had the chance to speak to. She helped me along through my reading and it definitely made it a better experience for me, though her presence has no bearing on my love for these books
I am anxiously waiting for the final books release!
kaeliwolf's review against another edition
5.0
I am very not okay. It is nearly 1 am and I want to but also am afraid to read the next book. I actually cried. I am not okay. I am definitely not okay. My heart is broken and I don't know how to feel anymore. This hurt my heart more than words. I'm not letting the next one out of my hands ever it shall forever be a part of me and I am not being dramatic.
rebelkiss's review against another edition
3.0
Might contain spoilers.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as the first one. The back and forth between Ally and Jeb and Morpheus was tiresome. There's a twist concerning her parents and I figured that out rather quickly when the dad mentioned something.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as the first one. The back and forth between Ally and Jeb and Morpheus was tiresome. There's a twist concerning her parents and I figured that out rather quickly when the dad mentioned something.
curlyc90's review against another edition
4.0
**Spoiler ALERT***
Whew...What a whirlwind of emotions and new adventures in Book 2 of the Splintered series. Definitely not a bad sophomore installment. A.G. Howard's writing style makes me want to read more of her work. I love how, Unhinged, falls nothing short of descriptive and creative.
The mains:
Alyssa: Throughout Unhinged she's constantly going between her netherling self and her human self. She has been to Wonderland, had a huge adventure, and returned a Queen of another realm (which she leaves in another's hands). Now with all of this comes certain complications. I can't lie Alyssa's character, at times, annoys me. She always asks a bunch of questions...in her head. She doesn't demand the information she needs or wants and she hold back a lot. But towards the end this starts to change. I guess this is all a way for us to see her grow into the Queen she is suppose to be.
Jeb: Hmmm...I guess I've grown to like him a little more in this novel. I was a little pissed with him at first because he just kept letting work take over. But I know he tries. In most of this book he has no idea about his past experiences in Wonderland because of what Alyssa did in Splintered. But eventually all is revealed. You can definitely tell he has an unwavering love for Alyssa and he's just so damn forgiving. But he remains honorable.
Morpheus: AHHHH Fangirl moment! Lol I think during reading Unhinged I fell for him and I've been rooting for him all the way. In Splintered I couldn't really decide on who I favored more because they both have good and bad qualities. I enjoy his character. His quirky, playful, and at times serious self makes for an interesting story line. I also see his endless love for Alyssa always finding it's way to shine through.
So the love triangle continues...we find out something new that I guess allows Alyssa to win with both guys but I hate it all the same. I don't know...I've just never been the "let's share the love" relationship type of person. But I do understood this is how A.G. Howard wanted it to be written and she does it well. This is a fairy tale after all. *wink wink*
But I can't help but think of a certain love triangle I used to be obsessed with:
I enjoyed the fact that Wonderland has come to the mortal realm, gives this story even more of a twist. But I did sit on my seat anxiously awaiting the trip back to that unique and out of place world...so I guess I'll just have to move on to the next one. I adore all the characters we get to see from Wonderland. I was pleasantly surprised to find that her father is involved as well and now even more than ever. Alyssa at the end is brilliant and I can't wait to delve right into Ensnared. I give 4.5 stars truly, only because Alyssa just exhausts me sometimes and the love triangle pulls too hard on my emotions lol. I'm glad I waited to read these novels kind of late so I can just go right into the next book without having to wait too long. I can't wait to find out what has happened to mom and our two knights.
Whew...What a whirlwind of emotions and new adventures in Book 2 of the Splintered series. Definitely not a bad sophomore installment. A.G. Howard's writing style makes me want to read more of her work. I love how, Unhinged, falls nothing short of descriptive and creative.
The mains:
Alyssa: Throughout Unhinged she's constantly going between her netherling self and her human self. She has been to Wonderland, had a huge adventure, and returned a Queen of another realm (which she leaves in another's hands). Now with all of this comes certain complications. I can't lie Alyssa's character, at times, annoys me. She always asks a bunch of questions...in her head. She doesn't demand the information she needs or wants and she hold back a lot. But towards the end this starts to change. I guess this is all a way for us to see her grow into the Queen she is suppose to be.
Jeb: Hmmm...I guess I've grown to like him a little more in this novel. I was a little pissed with him at first because he just kept letting work take over. But I know he tries. In most of this book he has no idea about his past experiences in Wonderland because of what Alyssa did in Splintered. But eventually all is revealed. You can definitely tell he has an unwavering love for Alyssa and he's just so damn forgiving. But he remains honorable.
Morpheus: AHHHH Fangirl moment! Lol I think during reading Unhinged I fell for him and I've been rooting for him all the way. In Splintered I couldn't really decide on who I favored more because they both have good and bad qualities. I enjoy his character. His quirky, playful, and at times serious self makes for an interesting story line. I also see his endless love for Alyssa always finding it's way to shine through.
So the love triangle continues...we find out something new that I guess allows Alyssa to win with both guys but I hate it all the same. I don't know...I've just never been the "let's share the love" relationship type of person. But I do understood this is how A.G. Howard wanted it to be written and she does it well. This is a fairy tale after all. *wink wink*
But I can't help but think of a certain love triangle I used to be obsessed with:
I enjoyed the fact that Wonderland has come to the mortal realm, gives this story even more of a twist. But I did sit on my seat anxiously awaiting the trip back to that unique and out of place world...so I guess I'll just have to move on to the next one. I adore all the characters we get to see from Wonderland. I was pleasantly surprised to find that her father is involved as well and now even more than ever. Alyssa at the end is brilliant and I can't wait to delve right into Ensnared. I give 4.5 stars truly, only because Alyssa just exhausts me sometimes and the love triangle pulls too hard on my emotions lol. I'm glad I waited to read these novels kind of late so I can just go right into the next book without having to wait too long. I can't wait to find out what has happened to mom and our two knights.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing! 10 stars! more, a skyful of stars! thank you for this beautifully twisted wonderland that I want to return to as soon as possible. I'm going now to read The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll, thanks to you!