Unhinged by A. G. Howard

Unhinged by A. G. Howard
Series: Splintered #2
Publisher: Amulet
Publication Date: January 7th 2014
Source: Bought

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.

Ever since I read Splintered last year, I've been dying to get my hands on the sequel! After all the twists and surprises at the end of the book, I was excited to see what Unhinged had in store for me. I actually ended up loving Unhinged more than Splinitered. Maybe it was because there was more Morpheus, or maybe it was just because the story line of this one was so much more interesting and shocking (but I definitely think Morpheus played a part in me enjoying this one more). 

Unhinged had me on my toes from the moment I started reading it. It's been a year since Alyssa took her trip to Wonderland and she's doing her best to forget it and move on with Jeb. But Morpheus refuses to let Alyssa forget since Wonderland has gone into chaos because Queen Red has escaped. Morpheus does everything in his power to convince Alyssa to come back to Wonderland and Alyssa starts to realise that Morpheus might actually be telling the truth. Alyssa realises that if she stays in the human realm, she'll be endangering the people she loves but if she goes to Wonderland, she might lose a lot more.

Alyssa is such a strange and weird character, but I love her. She's feisty, stubborn and extremely determined. I loved seeing her fight for herself in this book because she's just got this power about her that I love seeing. I also really loved when Alyssa was true to herself and just let herself go. Those were the times when Alyssa was truly herself and were the times that I just completely loved her.

I know you guys will probably be wondering whether I'm Team Jeb or Team Morpheus, well, I'm definitely Team Morpheus. I know, I know! He's a deceitful, cunning, untrustworthy character... but I can't help but love him. A lot about Morpheus' character is revealed in this book and it helps you understand why he is the way he is, which just made me love him more. Morpheus can be sweet and caring when he wants to be and I just adore seeing that side of him. But I do like his bad side too.
Jeb is a sweetheart and I do really like him. He's protective and a really nice guy, but he's just missing something for me. I do like him and Alyssa together, but I'm rooting for Morpheus and Alyssa.

The story line of this book was craaaazy! And that's no exaggeration. Every time there was a twist dropped, it wasn't long before another one came along and messed everything up again. Alyssa was having an inner battle with herself because she didn't know who she wanted to be for most of the book. She was trying to ignore her true feelings. Jeb was off trying really hard to make sure he and Alyssa would be comfortable in London, and some really weird and crazy stuff happens to him. Morpheus was being his usual lying and cunning self, trying to deceive Alyssa and get her to come back to Wonderland with him. Alyssa was trying to build a relationship with her mother now that she understands why her mother did what she did, but her mother is hiding things from her. Red has escaped into the human realm and is determined to get Alyssa. Sister Two has also made into the human realm and is out for revenge. So yeah, there was a hell of a lot going on in this book and I loved every single second of it.

The ending was jaw dropping. The action and the fighting at the end had me on my toes because I just knew something bad was going to happen (I'd been warned to have tissues near so I was prepared for the worst). It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, but it was still very shocking and unbelievable and I kind of just sat and stared at the book for a while trying to wrap my head around what had happened. It was just insane! The last chapter was really intriguing because now I just can't stop thinking about what's going to happen next!

Overall, Unhinged was a fantastic follow up to Splintered. Definitely my favourite of the trilogy so far. I can't believe I've got to wait until 2015 for Ensnared, but I'm just super excited for it so I'm kind of hoping this year goes by pretty fast!