Title: Ensnared
Author: A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #3
SYNOPSIS:
After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She's determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world--a parallel dimension filled with mutated and violent netherling outcasts. In the final installment of the wildly popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that's gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?
MY REVIEW:
Mad. Wild. Wonderful. Violent. Unexpected. Heartbreaking. Sensual. Beautiful. Tempting.
What a great finale to a different kind of series. Yes, the story is based on Alice in Wonderland, but it's almost unrecognizable in this insane retelling. One of the things I loved was that the love triangle in this story was so well done, I could feel my heart splintering just as much as Alyssa's. How to choose between two men who are so different, yet so perfect for her? When she was with Morpheus...I was Team Morpheus. When she was with Jeb...I wondered how I could ever not be Team Jeb. It was perfect. If there is one thing I would have liked, it would have been more of Jeb in the epilogue, but I will just have to imagine the details myself.
SUM IT UP:
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Title: Unhinged
Author: A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #2
SYNOPSIS:
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 REVIEW:
I liked the first book more because everything was so new and weird, but Unhinged was also a great, dark, twisted read. A.G. Howard has taken the Wonderland story and turned everything on its head to make it even more whacky than the original. Because the story is so dark and there are so many "rules" to Wonderland, I often found myself putting the book down in the first half of the story and digesting all of the details for the rest of the day. But once I got to the last third of the book, I couldn't put it down. There was a huge cliffhanger at the end and I'm really excited to see what happens in the next book.
SUM IT UP:
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Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass book 2
Published: August 27, 2013
SYNOPSIS:
"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.
MY REVIEW:
This book is EVERYTHING you could want out of a fantasy novel. It has action, adventure, good, evil, battles, romance, magic, mystery....it's so perfect I wanted to hug it and then read it again right away. Throne of Glass was excellent, but this book just makes me swoon so hard. Loved it. Oh...and I sort of figured out Celeana's big secret (although I'm not sure Maas was trying to hide it from us very well, I think she wanted the reader to sort of know before it was revealed) but I have no idea what is going to happen with Caleana, Chaol, Dorian, and the evil king and I can't wait to find out.
SUM IT UP:
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Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Published: August 7, 2012
SYNOPSIS:
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
MY REVIEW:
An enjoyable read, lots of interesting characters, plenty of action and suspense. I would have enjoyed seeing more of the competitions, but since the book was already hefty (which is fine in my opinion), I'm glad Maas gave us more character depth and less action. I'll take that trade. I've always been a fan of Xena, so this was awesome for me to see a female warrior character who had a dark past.
SUM IT UP:
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