Unhinged (Splintered #2) -- Chapter Sample

Title: Unhinged 
Author: A.G. Howard 
Date Published: 2013
Publisher: Amulet

 

 ★★★★★
Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole. She was crowned Queen of the Red Court and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the boy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly appealing Morpheus. Now all she has to do is graduate high school.
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.
Could she leave Jeb and her parents behind again, for the sake of a man she knows has manipulated her before? Will her mother and Jeb trust her to do what’s right? Readers will swoon over the satisfying return to Howard’s bold, sensual reimagining of Carroll’s classic.

Wow. I don't even ... I just ... wow. I have just realized that I'm a complete idiot. There really isn't any other word for it. Why on EARTH have I not heard of this series before?!? Or the author?!? I am obviously not in the circle of trust in the book world. If I had been, someone, ANYONE would have told me about this little gem of a series. 

Okay, now that THAT awkwardness is over ... stop what you are doing. Right. Now. Wait, don't stop NOW ... wait till you're done reading this and THEN stop what you're doing. You have to get on your Nook/Kindle/iPad/internet/whatever and order the first book in this series ... it's called Splintered. You can thank me later ... I like chocolates.

I received an advanced sample of Unhinged in exchange for a review. Picking Unhinged up was an easy decision and a hard one at the same time. It was easy because the blurb made it sound fantastic and it was hard because I usually don't read things this deep in a fantasy world. That, and I really didn't enjoy reading Alice in Wonderland ... too weird for me. But when I saw this book, I thought I would give it a try ... it's just a book and I can put it down if it's really too much. 

Well ... I didn't have to put it down. It took me about 0.0285 seconds to get invested in this plot and I haven't even read the first book!! (That will be remedied soon, mind you). Basically, it's about a darker side of Alice in Wonderland ... a girl goes down the rabbit hole and after that, you'll have to buy the book because in no way will anything I describe or tell you in any way compare to how the author has written this book.

A.G. Howard wrote this chapter (and I'm assuming the rest of the book) in such a way that you could hear the mud they were stepping in squishing under their shoes, see the spidery clouds drifting by in the sky and feel the tension in the air ... 

I have read hundreds of books and this is one of the few that has had me hooked so quickly and I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've gotten attached to a book from the middle of a series when I haven't read the first one. 

All of that being said ... go buy Splintered. Immediately. Unfortunately, Unhinged won't be available until January 7th, 2014. That is a really long time to wait for a new installment in a series, I know. But it is really worth the wait and you won't be disappointed!