Review: Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on December 23, 2013 | 12 Comments


Review: Unhinged by A.G. HowardUnhinged by A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #2
Published by Amulet Books (1.7.2014)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: From Publisher
Buy on Amazon


5 Stars

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.

My thoughts

Let me just say this: I love Anita. LOVE. She’s one of the most awesome authors I’ve ever talked to! I enjoyed Splintered, but Unhinged was even better! And no, I’m not biased just because I like the author. The world is a deliciously macabre version of the original, and I was thrilled to dive back in!

I love Anita’s writing. She can paint the scenes in my head vividly and beautifully! The world building is one of my favorite parts of this series. The other is Morpheus.

so-hot

Oh dear lord, how I love that moth man! I don’t care if he’s part bug (and *ahem* fictional), he can feel free to snatch me away on his wings any day!! Forget Alyssa, Morph, I’m right here! I loved him even more than I did in the first book. His intentions were still questionable at times, but everything he did, he did for her. And it really pissed me off that she couldn’t see that! I know that she just looooves lil ole vanilla Jeb, but c’mon. Morpheus wasn’t afraid to let her stand on her own because he knew she had the strength to. Sure, Jeb may have been her knight in shining armor, but Morph didn’t come to her rescue in tough situations because he believed in her and had faith that she could handle herself. 

I’m finding it difficult to hold a grudge when he was only trying to show me how strong I really am. When it’s in fact what he always does.

And that made me love him even more! He came to her rescue only when she truly needed it.

Jeb annoyed me more than ever. He was so focused on his job that he repeatedly put it before Alyssa. I understand it’s a great opportunity, but don’t you see what it’s doing to the person you’re supposed to love? That was not okay. I didn’t care about Jeb in Splintered, but in this one I downright disliked him. Morpheus stole the spotlight for me!

“Fair warning, I intend to make good use of that time. I will be gentle, but I will not be a gentleman. You will be the center of my world. I’ll show you the wonders of Wonderland, and when you’re drunk on the beauty and chaos that your heart so yearns to know, I will take you under my wings and make you forget the human realm ever existed. You’ll never want to leave Wonderland or me again.”

swooning*shoves Alyssa aside* TAKE ME INSTEAD!!! 

There were SO many amazing and swoon-worthy Morpheus moments that I thought my heart would explode. Team Morpheus FOREVERRRR. 

I loved the development between Alyssa and her mom, too! <333

“It’s kind of like a fairy tale.”
“Maybe. And you’re our happy ending.” Her gaze returns to mine, filled with love.

And the ending! GAH! Anita, how could you do that?! Morpheuuuussss. I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book! I just wish it wasn’t so far away. :(

teammorph

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4.5/5 
Premise: 5/5 
Writing style: 4.5/5 
Originality: 4/5 
Characters: 4.5/5 
World-building: 5/5 
Pace: 5/5 
Feels: 4.5/5 
Cover: 5/5 

Overall rating: 5/5

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Jessi (Geo)

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12 responses to “Review: Unhinged by A.G. Howard

  1. Tears. IN MY EYES, Jessi! How could you do this to me? Those quotes! GAH! I NEED this book. *weeps* Down with Jeb! Morpheus can take me to Wonderland with him too. I’ll go if Alyssa doesn’t want to. Pick me, pick me!

  2. Hardy Har Har. I will admit this book messed with my mind quite a bit. I don’t even want to attempt to explain what I think. Jeb…Morpheous…The whole shebang. I just wanted Ensnared to straighten it all out for me.

    Hermph. Review to probably come soon.
    Love yours…mostly. *cough*Morpheous*cough*
    XOXO, Inky

  3. I feel like SUCH a black sheep because I’m like the only person who didn’t like this book. I don’t know why but I was Team Jeb before so I absolutely hated him after Unhinged like you did! What kind of jerk blows off his girlfriend for a job? And then I had issues with Morpheus too because I thought he was just downright creepy at times with the things he said X_X But anyway, I’m glad that you really loved this book!

    Fantastic review and have a great holiday! <33

  4. I’ve been dying to start this series, especially because Morpheus seems like just my kind of guy. I can’t wait to see what everyone’s been raving about!
    (Btw this review was hilarious, which is rather unfortunate because I was drinking hot tea while reading. Let’s just say it didn’t end well, LOL.)

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