Review: The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on November 29, 2013 | 7 Comments


Review: The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. HowardThe Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #1.5
Published by Amulet Books (10.22.2013)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eBook, 40 pages
Source: I own it
Buy on Amazon


5 Stars

An original ebook-only novella in the Splintered series, told from the points of view of both Jeb and Morpheus. Morpheus wants to know more about his rival for Alyssa's affections, so he digs into Jeb's memories of his time in Wonderland. But he may be surprised by what he finds. 

This brand-new story and perspective from A.G. Howard's dark, magical world stands alone, but also provides a tantalizing glimpse of what's to come in Unhinged, the sequel to Splintered.

My thoughts

Each time he saw his reflection as of late, he no longer recognized the moth in the mirror. He was incomplete, broken; and he despised it.

First of all, I love Morpheus. It’s no secret that he’s one of my favorite book boyfriends (only second to Warner of course). So of course I was going to love this one. I’m surprised by how much I did love it, though, because I’m not usually a fan of novellas. I loved being inside his head! Something I adore about Morph is how high he holds Alyssa, how much he cares for her. Sure, his agenda is usually shady, but his intentions are pure. He may be a little twisted sometimes, but he does those bad things for a good reason: Love. Everything he does, he does for her. All he wants is Alyssa, and it consumes him. (Which kind of pisses me off, because she doesn’t deserve him.) I felt that bitterness and longing right along with him.

She’d left again, by her own choice. The resulting pain and loneliness were excruciating. Debilitating.

I HATE YOU, ALYSSA. Hey Morph, I’m right here ;)
I really do kind of hate her for stringing him along. She needs to make up her mind! He mentions how she ‘makes him work so bloody hard to woo her, while she gives her affections freely to a worthless mortal.’ This really bothers me! I know her feelings for Morpheus are complicated, but it’s annoying that she tries to have both worlds, resulting in hurting Morpheus. Poor Morph!

It was interesting to be inside Jeb’s head. I didn’t like him much in either book, but I have to admit that he loves Alyssa and would do anything for her. He was willing to give up his life for her, after all. But still, it didn’t sway me a bit from Team Morpheus!

While I’m not a big fan of Jeb, I love how Morpheus came to an understanding with him at the end, because he realized that they want the same thing. Alyssa connected them.

He would never be himself again without Alyssa by his side – the flame to his moth.

 teammorph

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assessment

Writing style: 4.5/5 
Characters: 5/5 
World-building: 5/5 
Pace: 5/5 
Feels: 5/5
Cover: 5/5 
Overall rating: 5/5

Jessi (Geo)

Posted in: Book Reviews | Tags: , , , ,

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7 responses to “Review: The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard

  1. Gosh! I still need to read Splintered…
    It’s been sitting on my shelf calling my name while I drown in homework. :(
    I hope to get to it before the end of this year.
    This review just makes me want to read it that much more and find out what’s so good about this Morpheus character. lol

  2. First of all, this cover is GORGEOUS. Secondly, this novella sounds like one of the better ones out there. I own Splintered but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. But it sounds like you had a lot of fun fangirling over this one. Haha.

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