Review--Unhinged by A.G. Howard

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.

Unhinged is the second book in A.G. Howard's Splintered trilogy and it was just as enjoyable as the first one! Still a bit of madness in it, but it definitely gives you the Wonderland feeling, especially since in this one, Alyssa never goes to Wonderland!

It's been a year since Alyssa's first adventure to Wonderland with Jeb. A year since she's been back, gotten her mom out of the asylum and a year since she and Jeb have been dating. Things are nice, normal, good even. But Wonderland is still on her mind, if distantly. She still hears the chattering of bugs and butterflies, though she no longer uses them in her artwork. She's finishing up her senior year at school and plans to go to London for college and live with Jeb in a flat somewhere. 

But then the unexpected happens. It's like bits of Wonderland are finding their way into her world. Moreso than the usual oddness she dealt with on a daily basis. And Morpheus is soon to follow. I still can't get on the Morpheus bandwagon it seems, I'm still Team Jeb with this story and feel like I'll remain that way now with just one book left! But Morpheus comes bearing bad news, hidden in a dozen riddles or so. Red is on the loose and wreaking havoc, she wants Alyssa back in Wonderland so she can use her body to rule her kingdom. Alyssa must once again face the enemy, but how do you find your enemy when she doesn't have a body? It's madness I tell you, simply madness!

This was quite the enjoyable read! I liked seeing Alyssa's mother, Alison back in the picture. I got to tell you, it's refreshing to see parents in a YA novel! Especially ones playing such a pivotal role. We know that Alison has a connection to Wonderland and we finally get a bit more background info on that, but I was not expecting the intricate details of her story! Wow! Just wow!

Then there's the ever complicated love situation Alyssa finds herself in. She's dating Jeb, but his newest "employer" is apparently a young woman who wants Jeb to paint a series for her, featuring herself. I had some suspicions regarding this mystery woman, and yet when the reveal came by word of mouth, I couldn't quite follow it. There was a name drop, followed by another name and another name in the whole scheme of chaos! I found myself a bit confused about the reveal and still remain unsure which of the names belongs to said mystery woman. This job basically takes up a lot of Jeb's time, so we don't get to see him too much, which was sad, because I really liked Jeb!

Then there's Morpheus who returns to Alyssa's world in order to get her back into Wonderland. Morpheus is a character I still can't make heads or tails of! He's so...deceptive. And I don't like deceptive characters, yet I don't completely hate this guy. He always seems to have a plan in mind and will manipulate the situations to his liking, despite the grief it might cause for Alyssa and her life.

Choosing between Splintered and Unhinged as far as favorites go, I can't say for certain if I liked one over the other! They were both very good! I liked how Splintered gave us more of Wonderland, but I liked how Unhinged gives us more story fodder and adventure! It was quite the thrilling read! And now I see the reasons why we're all dying for Ensnared, there was quite the cliffhanger at the end of this one and I was just left in shock for a few minutes and then thinking...ugh...next week! And there are soooo many good books coming out that day too! This is where being an avid reader comes with such heartbreaking problems! lol!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars