Lost in Shangri-La [Review]

Stats:
384 Pages [Hardcover]
Published 26 April 2011
ISBN: 0061988340
Find on Goodreads

Entangled [Review]

*4.5 stars out of 5*

Stats:
#1 in Spellbound series
303 Pages [Kindle]
Published 25 February 2012
ASIN: B007BCORJK
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Shadows [Review]

*3.5 out of 5 stars*

Stats:
#2 in Ashes Trilogy
528 Pages [ebook]
Published 25 September 2012
ISBN: 1606843788
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Splintered [Review]

Stats:
384 pages [Kindle]
Expected to be Published: 1 Jan 2013
ASIN: B008JHQ56Y
Goodreads


Synopsis:
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 Thoughts:
Splintered is a perfectly creepy take on Carroll's Alice. In fact, the main character Alyssa Gardner is the great, great, great, great granddaughter of Lewis Carroll's inspiration for Alice, Alice Liddell. Alyssa has grown up being mostly raised by her father and scared of ending up like her mother, who resides at Souls' Asylum. She hears flowers and insects talking to her already, it's only a matter of time before she goes full-blown crazy like her mother. Events unfold until Alyssa finds herself seeking out the rabbit hole to fix all of Alice's mistakes to get rid of the curse on her family that has left her mom in her current state.

I found Howard's take on Alice incredible. She did a beautiful job of world building, as well as, building the backgrounds of many characters. The weaving of the traditional characters into these new, kind of demented, twisted characters was brilliant. I really enjoyed how everything turned out in the end. Alyssa was a very interesting heroine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Publishing for a chance to read this galley.


Previous Review:
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick {here}


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December TBR List

Books leftover from September:

• The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer [We Heart YA BOTM]

Books leftover from October:

• Rising by Stephanie Judice [We Heart YA - General BOTM]
• Gone by Michael Grant [We Heart YA - Series Read Along] 

Books leftover from November:

• 13 to Life by Shannon Delany ~ currently reading
• Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
• Poison Princess by Kresley Cole [We Heart YA - General BOTM]
• Hunger by Michael Grant [We Heart YA - Series Read Along]

Books for December:

• The Awakening by LJ Smith
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana Rosnay
• A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
• A Feast of Crows by George R.R. Martin
• A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer [We Heart YA - General BOTM]
• Lies by Michael Grant [We Heart YA - Series Read Along]

I'm also joining in for I'm Loving Books' Random Reads again :)

Because of the holidays, I'm choosing just one (again) random book off of my massive list on Goodreads. And that book is...You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay.