Unhinged

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Unhinged

Alyssa has chosen the human realm over Wonderland. But there is a certain netherling that refuses to let her go. Morpheus invades her dreams every night, showing her glimpses of Wonderland and tempting her to return. Morpheus claims Wonderland is falling apart without Alyssa, but he is a devious trickster and she refuses to believe him. But when traces of Wonderland begin to appear in the human realm, it becomes harder to ignore the signs. Soon Alyssa will find herself fighting for not only Wonderland but the human realm as well.

After reading Splintered, I was ready for another dark and beautiful tale. But to my surprise, Unhinged was slower to progress than the first novel. Alyssa is filled with internal conflict and does not want to tap into her netherling side. She is determined to leave the magic and chaos behind. Due to Alyssa's steadfast attempts to avoid Wonderland, much of Unhinged focuses on a more typical young adult story. Senior year uncertainties, finals, prom, peers gossiping, etc. Granted there is some chaos thrown into the mix of a magical sort, but nothing that I expected.

However, A.G. Howard did a wonderful job keeping the emotional intensity between Jeb and Alyssa alive. I loved their scenes together and the energy they brought to the pages. And while they do have mundane obstacles to overcome with their relationship, adding Morpheus into the mix ramped up the tension. And he is not afraid to stir up trouble. He will pull out all his tricks and riddles in an attempt to lead Alyssa down darker roads.

And despite the slower pace, some landslide twists came about from Unhinged. While I could guess a few, others caught me completely by surprise. I do wish there had been more of the dark chaos which initially drew me into this series, but I recognize Unhinged for what it is, a setup book. I know how intoxicatingly dark this series can be, so I am willing to give it another try and read book three.