Review: Unhinged by A.G Howard

Book: Unhinged, A.G Howard

Series: Splintered #2

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release Date: January 7^th, 2014

 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.

I really enjoyed Howard’s unique spin of Alice in Wonderland, and Unhinged explores all the characters and develops them in a way we would never have discovered without this sequel. Alyssa’s parents’ back stories are completely fleshed out, and it makes them completely likable than they were in the first book.

Alyssa is becoming a lot more assertive and while she still attempts to live her human life and forget her netherling side, we see her realise that she can’t always hide that part of herself and that being the Red Queen is a part of her destiny and who she is. The end of this book especially sees her solidify this fact and it makes me excited to see the final book and see her netherling side truly make an appearance.

We still have the completely clichéd love triangle with the good guy and the bad guy where the girl thinks she’s meant to be with the good guy but she’s constantly drawn to the bad guy. Read it before? I know I have, countless times. And I've read loads of reviews with people gushing about Morpheus and how they’d read this series for him alone – and yes, I totally agree with them all.

 

Let’s be real. I think everyone who has ever read this book is a Morpheus girl. It’s just impossible not to love him. He’s the epitome of anti-heroes – constantly lying, manipulating the situation to make it go in his favour, crossing anyone who gets in his way. But he does all this with the best intentions. Despite being infuriating 90% of the time, it’s impossible not to love him.

Jeb is your stereotypical good guy – and in this book he always needed to be rescued by either Alyssa or Morpheus. I think the actions at the end mean he’ll have a bigger role in the final book. He seems very good for Alyssa and he always knows what to say to inspire confidence in her and, knowing each other since they were kids, they know everything about each other. But Morpheus inspires something in Alyssa too, and while she appears to know what she wants here, I’m certain both boys will pull her in different directions in the last book.

Overall, this is a great book if you enjoyed the first book and Morpheus’ character especially!