Review: Splintered by A. G. Howard

I have wanted this book for some months now. Ever since I saw that gorgeous cover. It is one of my favorite covers of all time. Isn't it just perfect? <3 Plus, the summary was amazing :) I must admit that I have never read Alice in Wonderland. Must do that sometime. But I have watched the Disney movie, and the newest "real" movie adaption. And I did love those. Splintered is a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. Many, many years after Alice had been in Wonderland. It is amazing.

I was so pleased when I found out that this book was up on NetGalley. Requested it right away. And I even got accepted! So happy about that :) You see, the book isn't out until January. So I won't spoil anything in this review. Well, I'll try my best not to spoil anything ;) I need to talk about some things. And they aren't really a spoiler, since you kind of get it while just reading the summary. Plus, I do believe it is something you must know before reading this book. You should also know that I did love it :)

I'm a bit unsure about Splintered, though. I loved the writing. The writing is amazing. And I did mostly love the characters. Well, some of them. And I loved the plot. The fantasy world is amazing. But there is a love triangle. Or, more, there is love and attraction. And I did not approve one bit. You should all know by now that I hate love triangles more than anything. Would have given this book a five star if there hadn't been a triangle. But there is one. And it is kind of awful. But not that bad.

Anyway. I'm going to start by talking about the plot of this book. Won't recap the summary, so if you want to know what it's about, you should really read the summary first. This is the story about Alyssa, ancestor to Alice Liddell, the star of Alice in Wonderland. Her mother is crazy because of it, and Alyssa fears she's becoming just like her. Because Alyssa can hear bugs talking. Just like her mom. And, well, I found it to be totally awesome. Except for the fact that she kills them. Kind of gross ;p

But I did like Alyssa. Well, at least at first. She is an amazing character. Kind, sweet and mostly loving. Her father is a bit stupid, but I did like her mother. Despite her being crazy. There is an explanation, but I will not tell you what it is ;) I also felt so sorry for her mom. It really sucked. Another character I loved was Jeb, the love interest. He and Alyssa is best friends, and I did like their friendship. Even though we didn't see much of it. He was such an amazing character. Kind, sweet, protective.

But he had a girlfriend. And I hated that. But I also didn't blame him for it. He didn't know about Alyssa having a crush on him since forever. She never did give a clue about it. So I'm not mad at him for it :) Am mad at Alyssa for something else, though :p Anyway. You should all also know by now that I have this bad habit of ALWAYS peeking at an ending of a book before starting it. I just need to know how it ends; if it is worth reading. And I though this book ended so good. But then..

Well, then I got to almost 100 pages, and I realized how much I had spoiled the book for myself. And that kind of kept me from loving some parts. And I hated myself for doing that :p So beware. DO NOT PEEK at ending. Okay? But. Once I actually got to the ending after having read the whole book, I got even madder at myself. For it didn't happen like I had read at first :p So I could have enjoyed all of the book, even though I did know about some things that happened. Ugh. I kind of suck. Sorry :)

I really loved the story in this book. It is so perfect. I will not spoil any more. Except a small thing about the love triangle thingy. Splintered is an amazing Fantasy book. It is thrilling, heart-pounding, and you will never want to stop reading. I didn't. There were a few things I disliked, but just something about the characters. I loved the writing and the story world. Anita's version of Wonderland is so stunning and seemingly real that I couldn't help falling in love with it. And I want more. Much more.

It is so different from the original Alice in Wonderland. The creatures in this book is nothing like the movies. They are so much more hideous and cruel. And I loved them all. I won't describe any of the creatures, because I do think you will love reading about them yourself. I did. This world is done so well, and I loved being a part of it for a while. Hoping for a sequel someday. With no triangle. I loved reading about all the characters, the different Queens and such. And all the others. Sigh. So perfect :)

But there was one character I did not like one bit. Morpheus. Alyssa is so trusting of him, because he kind of was a childhood friend of hers. That part did confuse me a bit. But I did sort of understand it at the end :) But I did not like Morpheus. He lied all the time, and he was so manipulative. And he was always seducing her. And turning her against Jeb. I did not like him at all. Ugh. And thing is, Alyssa fell for his act. She was very attracted to him. And that is why I didn't fully love this book. 

Because there is nothing I dislike more than love triangles :p It isn't all that awful, though. I mean, she doesn't love him. I hope. But she wants him. And there is kissing. And to me, that is awful and I will never like or approve of it. Good part, though: The romance between Alyssa and Jeb is pure and sweet. It is one of my favorite things in this book. It is also kind of hot. I did love it a whole lot :) I did want a whole lot more though. Hih. So, yeah. Really hoping for a sequel :) With lots of Jeb. 

Splintered is also an amazing mystery book. There is a lot of things to figure out. And I loved figuring out all those things. It was awesome. And kind of fun. Won't spoil it ;) Just trust me that it is awesome. Not sure what else to say. Glad I read this book. And I really did love it. And you must all read it once it comes out in January; if you do not request it via NetGalley ;) Which you totally should. Also, Anita is adorable. And very kind. Just so you know :)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and ABRAMS for the chance to read and review this book early. <3

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