Title/Author: Splintered by A.G. Howard
Rating: 1.5 stars
From Goodreads:
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 had to bring back half stars for this one – it wasn’t the hate read I give 1 stars, but neither did it deserve 2 stars. It was just…not good.
I mean…I guess the story is okay in parts. The magic and Wonderland stuff is fine, but anything regarding the characters, dialogue, and/or love triangle did not work for me AT ALL.
The writing leaves so much to be desired. I would have guessed Splintered was self published, honestly, based on the quality of writing. Sometimes it’s the fault of the audiobook narrator, but I really don’t think that was the case here. Sure, Rebecca Gibel’s cockney accent for Morpheus is not great, but he’s also saying ridiculous things so is it really her fault?
The characters are ridiculous. Alyssa is a “skater girl” who can’t do an ollie AND a white girl with dreadlocks. Jeb is basically a walking labret piercing – with bangs AND a ponytail. He’s also super controlling of Alyssa and if for some reason I was friends with a white girl with dreads, the first thing I would tell her (after “change your hair”) is to run away from Jeb as fast as possible. Morpheus has a fedora collection. This is basically a collection of the worst “people” ever and they all deserve each other.
I obviously will not be continuing the series.
Paperback Heart 