Jasna

When I finished Splintered I was desperate for more of Howard’s Wonderland and its creepy residents. Her writing is immensely visual, she brings to life every scene in my head in a way very few books can. So I was absolutely thrilled to receive an advance copy of Unhinged.

What I Loved:

• Morpheus, of course, and what was revealed about the future. His character is everything that is weird, strange, dark and tempting about Wonderland. He really does make this book, for me. I loved him even more than I did in the first book. I don’t care if he’s part bug.
• The romance in Unhinged is beyond amazing and it's just what fans have been waiting for! There were SO many amazing and swoon-worthy Morpheus moments that I thought my heart would explode.

• All of Morpheus and Alyssa's interactions. Their relationship is always changing and evolving and I'm happy to follow it wherever it leads. 

• Another thing I loved about Unhinged, is that Alyssa’s parents play a much bigger part in the story. We learn more about her mother and the depth of her involvement in Wonderland and it comes with a surprising twist.

• This cover is just perfectly gorgeous and goes along so well with the first book of this series.

• There’s something about Howard’s writing that always succeeds in pulling me into the story and immersing me in this world that she has created. This really was deliciously dark. It had everything I fell in love with from Splintered and then went beyond my wildest expectations. 

• Despite having been introduced to all the characters and the world of Wonderland, Howard chooses to keep this story mostly in the human realm. Wonderland was still very much present as it begins to seep through into Alyssa’s “real world” in a fantastic twist of realities.

What I Didn't Love:

• I really liked Alyssa’s character in Splintered. But to be honest, Alyssa bothered me in Unhinged, mostly because of her unnecessary stubbornness towards Morpheus. She ignores clues, making lots of assumptions based on little logic and then changes her mind later on. She drives me nuts with her indecisiveness. Seriously? Make a decision already!

• Jeb unfortunately, was not able to win me over at all in Unhinged. In fact I like him even less now than I did after Splintered. I definitely feel the love they have for each other, but not the heat. There's just no spark between them in my opinion.

Unhinged has a nice blend of romance, mystery, intrigue and fantasy and is a great addition to the Splintered series. It managed to blow me away. I ate up all the chaos and wonder that is Unhinged, and can't wait to read the next installment. I just wish it wasn't so far away, the wait will be VERY painful.

 *Note: all the teasers we provide are from the Advanced Readers Copy of the book and may be subjected to changes upon publishing.

(Update: 01/06/'14) He leaned down, bracing his arms on either side of her, his lips soft as they kissed a trail from her mouth to her ear. “What I was trying to say,” he whispered, “is that I see you in everything. There isn’t a word for you that means enough, because you’re everything to me.”
“Perfect words,” she said, her smile wobbling with emotion. “Magical.”
He looked into her eyes, flashing a proud grin. “Yeah?...read the rest on the bog

Oh book, just like you to draw me in with that beautiful cover of yours. I love Alice in Wonderland, so I was immediately drawn to this story, plus the book has an incredible cover! I mean come on, a disturbing retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales ever? I knew I was going to fall head over heels in love with this book. To describe Howard’s version of Wonderland, take Lewis Carroll’s and flip it on its head while keeping the subtle details intact. All of your familiar characters are there like the red queen, the talking flowers, the caterpillar, the white rabbit just not in a way you have ever quite imagined. It is a darker, creepier, funkier and much more dangerous. Besides the creepy factor, the book also included the air of mystery - memories, riddles and lullabies that all piece together and unravel the story.

Alyssa is a girl with a lot of spunk and style, who A.G. Howard described it on her website as "Gothic Lolita" and I think it fits her well. At first, her character came off as kind of clichéd and I found myself rolling my eyes at some points. But after her transformation in Wonderland, I grew to like her and found she has the kind of personality that you root for, despite her flaws, for these flaws only make her a more realistic and authentic character. Through the book Alyssa develops as a person, finding her own strength instead of just relying on the help of others. She was a cool character, a true skater girl with an eye for morbid art. And any girl who can turn dead bugs into art is a friend of mine.

Jeb is a skater punk/artist with a little bit of a bad boy streak in him, but underneath all of that he really is a sweet guy. He is smart and protective, intriguing and charming always stands by Alyssa’s side as her studly knight in shining Armour. I understand why Aly loves him. He's a keeper, that Jeb.

Now it’s time to talk about my crush. Yes!!! It’s Morpheus. The name alone is a reference to the God of Dreams and it fit the character so perfectly. Morpheus is Splintered’s version of the Caterpillar and Alyssa’s childhood friend, full of chaos and fun. You don’t know his motives and are constantly trying to figure out what he’s up to. Even though I love Jeb, I ADORE Morpheus. I just can't help myself, I always fall for the bad boys. Morpheus was seductive, mysterious, dark, yet surprisingly gentle, and YES just a little creepy (plus he has accent). It's no wonder Alyssa had a hard time concentrating around him.

If you haven't read this book yet, you're missing out on a lot of awesomeness. Read it now! The unique take on Alice in Wonderland was awesomely insightful and creepy. A wondrous tale that will take readers on an adventure that feels both familiar and yet new and exciting. Brace yourself for the dark side of Wonderland. . .YOU WILL NEVER SEE ALICE IN WONDERLAND THE SAME WAY AGAIN!

As if spurred by my silence, he withdraws his magic and the moths flock together, reuniting to the hat. He puts it on and his gaze locks to mine. His jewels flicker between passion and defiance- an evocative and intimidating combination.
“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... read the rest HERE 

Christmas is over and we hope everyone got lovely bookish things over the holiday! It is our hope that this post may help you with last minute gifts for loved ones, friends, or even one for yourself. Although it was very hard to narrow it down since we read so many wonderful books this year, these are the ten we truly adored (in no particular order)...

For us, usually, the character come front and center when judging the goodness (or badness) of a book. That's why today's article was the most fun to write.
It's our favorite (and the longest) of the three.
Read, enjoy and comment!

A new booksite, new new new, Leafmarks. It looks a lot like Goodreads in its clean presentation. As it was started by two GR people, I have high hopes for it.  I've just uploaded my csv from GR to contribute some data.

I like BookLikes, I love being able to blog, but there really isn't any useful book data here for me. I don't even bother to look for books and reviews here because it is so hard to find anything and then you never find much. Until there are book pages that collect all reviews of a book together, rather than book pages categorised by seller, the book side of BookLikes isn't going to work for me and I will have to continue using Goodreads.

So I'm looking forward to this new site a lot. Monogamy of booksites is not required so it may end up that I use one, two or even three sites, probably with an overlap of friends on each site, which will make it more seamless than if it was always a set of new and different people, to fulfil my book reviewing, cataloging and blogging needs.

Anyway, Good Luck to Leafmarks and thanks to Jacqui and Emily May for founding it.

Snippet from the book:
* on Lish McBrid's blog

"I can be ready in five,” I said.
He wiped what was left of the suds I’d forgotten off my nose. “No, you’ll eat some breakfast, finish your coffee, and I’ll see you in an hour."
“Besides,” Duncan added, “evicting Ezra in under five minutes is hardly humane.”... read the rest HERE!