*REVIEW* Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title: Splintered
Author: A.G.Howard
Series: Splintered
Book: 1
Rating: ★


Blurb from Goodreads:
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. 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.

My Rating/Thoughts:
Now let's begin with why this got such a low rating. I gave it only one star simply because I didn't finish the book. Disappointing I know. What started as a great and intriguing plot turned out to just be unappealing to me. I didn't like the darker retelling to Wonderland. I didn't like the creatures. I didn't like the characters, save for our main trio, but everyone else just seem unimportant and uninteresting to me. I didn't care about them. 

I enjoyed reading about Jeb with Alyssa. I enjoyed reading about Morpheus. I loved the fact that Alyssa was desperate to save her mom from the mental hospital and to break the curse, but I just don't know...I couldn't totally get into it. I was bored and found myself just going through the motions. So even though I hate doing this, I decided to just set it down and give up. I will most likely not continue the series even though I have heard great things.But I think this is the right choice for me because it just does not feel like my type of book. Maybe because I wasn't a big Alice in Wonderland fan to begin with? I don't know, but at least I gave it a try. (: