Author: A.G. Howard
Publication Date: January 1st, 2012
Genre: YA - Fantasy/ Retellings
"This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own." ~See it on Goodreads
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It's clearly no secret that I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan. It's hands down one of my all time favorite stories, I drove my family crazy watching the Disney version constantly while I was growing up lol. And I absolutely loved the newer version that Tim Burton did (but then I adore all things Tim Burton). So I was completely sold on this when I read the blurb and couldn't wait to get my hands on it!
I love retellings in general, and I've read several retellings of Alice in Wonderland but this one was completely unique and different than any of the other ones I've read. It was a bit dark, but that fit perfectly in my opinion because when you think about it Wonderland isn't really a "happy-go-lucky" place full of rainbows and unicorns all the time. I think the author went above and beyond with this book and crafted a wonderfully exciting, and modern tale based around the original story.
There are so many interesting and unique characters in Splintered, and they really added so much to the story. I loved Alyssa, she was spunky and had her quirks which made her relatable. I liked the fact that she had a good relationship with her dad, and even though there was a struggle/strain in the relationship with her mom you could still tell how much she cared about her. It was nice seeing a good parent/child relationship, and that her dad was actually involved. You don't see that much in books nowadays.
Then there's Jeb. Where, oh where do I start? I adored him from the start and he's easily the right match for Alyssa. I liked the fact that there was no "insta-love", they'd been best friends for years and knew each other better than anyone. He was a loyal friend and was always there to protect her. I loved his personality and sarcasm, he made me laugh so hard at several parts in the book. I actually really liked Morpheus a lot too, there's a little hint of a love triangle but honestly I think the relationship between Alyssa and Morpheus wasn't really all that much of a romantic one. There were hints of it here and there but nothing like the relationship between her and Jeb, but I did still like his character. He's a bit darker than Jeb and can kind of be a jerk sometimes but there's something about him that just makes me like him in spite of that lol.
I have to admit I had a hard time writing this review without putting spoilers in, and I had to keep rethinking my wording, what elements to mention, ect. Lol. But that just goes to show how awesome the story was! The world building was just amazing, as was the writing itself. The attention to detail in this book was absolutely fantastic and the visualizations were spot on! I was totally enthralled by every sentence I read and could get to the next page fast enough.
Needless to say, the fact that this is a stand alone kinda bummed me out just because I loved it so much and now I want more! Everything was pretty well resolved at the end but there was a bit of an opening left that could possibly go forward into a sequel perhaps?? *hint hint* so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that, as well as any other work by Ms. Howard! Also the cover is flipping gorgeous, and I've been in "cover love" since I first saw it!
Splintered was a thrilling, dark, magical, and gorgeous adventure, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn't have loved it more if I wanted to!
5 Stars! (but I think it deserves more!)
There are so many interesting and unique characters in Splintered, and they really added so much to the story. I loved Alyssa, she was spunky and had her quirks which made her relatable. I liked the fact that she had a good relationship with her dad, and even though there was a struggle/strain in the relationship with her mom you could still tell how much she cared about her. It was nice seeing a good parent/child relationship, and that her dad was actually involved. You don't see that much in books nowadays.
Then there's Jeb. Where, oh where do I start? I adored him from the start and he's easily the right match for Alyssa. I liked the fact that there was no "insta-love", they'd been best friends for years and knew each other better than anyone. He was a loyal friend and was always there to protect her. I loved his personality and sarcasm, he made me laugh so hard at several parts in the book. I actually really liked Morpheus a lot too, there's a little hint of a love triangle but honestly I think the relationship between Alyssa and Morpheus wasn't really all that much of a romantic one. There were hints of it here and there but nothing like the relationship between her and Jeb, but I did still like his character. He's a bit darker than Jeb and can kind of be a jerk sometimes but there's something about him that just makes me like him in spite of that lol.
I have to admit I had a hard time writing this review without putting spoilers in, and I had to keep rethinking my wording, what elements to mention, ect. Lol. But that just goes to show how awesome the story was! The world building was just amazing, as was the writing itself. The attention to detail in this book was absolutely fantastic and the visualizations were spot on! I was totally enthralled by every sentence I read and could get to the next page fast enough.
Needless to say, the fact that this is a stand alone kinda bummed me out just because I loved it so much and now I want more! Everything was pretty well resolved at the end but there was a bit of an opening left that could possibly go forward into a sequel perhaps?? *hint hint* so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that, as well as any other work by Ms. Howard! Also the cover is flipping gorgeous, and I've been in "cover love" since I first saw it!
Splintered was a thrilling, dark, magical, and gorgeous adventure, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn't have loved it more if I wanted to!
5 Stars! (but I think it deserves more!)
Did you like this book it is hard to tell? :)
ReplyDeleteOh, maybe just a little bit :) Thanks for dropping by :)
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