Review » Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered

By A.G. Howard
Release Date: 1/1/13
Published by Amulet Books
Genre(s): Magic, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance
Format: Hardcover
Page: 371

Buy on Amazon | Buy on B&N | Add to Goodreads 

MY RATING: 5 Stars 

DESCRIPTION IN 6 WORDS
Wonderland, Queens, Cursed, Betrayal, Magic, Truth

Goodreads Description
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.



      I'm not gonna hide the truth. This book was amazing, and when I bought it from my used book store I was not expecting this book to be so fantastically wonderful. I had heard about this book and I hadn't really bothered to see what it was about and when I finally did read Splintered, I was wonderstruck. This book was SO SO SO GOOD. It's really strange, because I had just read Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol and I hated it, I had to read it for school and really was done with the whole nonsense factor. But Splintered made me love all things Alice! The magic A.G. Howard captured in Splintered throughout the book, throughout the entirety of the series was amazing. It wasn't a typical pixie dust kind of magic, it was a unique and creative magic that seriously broadened my very own imagination. Splintered made me see Wonderland as a dark magical place that made me want to go down the rabbit hole. From the details A.G. Howard integrated into the story, all the way to the magic - Splintered has a setting that makes the reader feel as if they were in Wonderland themselves whilst reading the story. 
      One trend I've noticed in the book community is people's shared dislike for love triangles. In my personal opinion, I love a good triangle, I always found they add a spark of romantic drama and were just fun as a whole. There is a love triangle in Splintered, and it is prominent, but it isn't just about the love triangle. There are definitely some serious twists in it though, so I caution you there. But I honestly think these twists are what makes this triangle not a typical triangle. Alyssa is such a strong and fantastic character, it makes a big part of the story. She will go to great lengths to save her mother, and herself in a way. Now...onto the boys. I love every single character in Splintered, even Jeb - though he was too much of a knight for me. Jeb, in my opinion was "good" if you know what I mean. Everything about him was light, which I found interesting considering most authors go for the dark sexy fae or of the sort (i.e Rowan Whitethorn), but Jeb was the good boy, I liked him and felt A.G. did a good job showing that. Now, Morpheus - what a luver boy was he. Morpheus was my favorite, he was dark, mysterious and wild. Morpheus was such a well rounded character, he had a good side, a bad side, and a romantic side. Sometimes, I wanted to rip his head off and other times he is the sweetest to Alyssa and I wanted to pat his head or something. I personally am a big Morpheus and Alyssa shipper. A.G. Howard did a wonderful job creating her characters. 
      On a final note, I would really love to spotlight the plot. Splintered is so well balanced, the beginning has you for sure wanting to continue reading, and there wasn't a single moment that I was bored. That's how amazing the plot was, and the action was like - flawless. It was nonsense and A.G. did a crazy amazing job at making it as crazy as I would imagine it would be.