Hello there!
Friday is once again here, and I'm having a weekend of zombieness, because I'm working today and Sunday night shift, which means I'm hoping for quiet shifts for some reading time! And then I'll spend Saturday and Monday like a zombie!
Today I have one of my most awaited books of the year up for review for this week's Saturday Page! And it also counts towards my 105 Challenge for my 2015 release category!
Ensnared by A.G. Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ensnared was one of my most awaited books of this year, the conclusion to one of my fave trilogies as of late, the Splintered series! A creepy and visual reimagining of the Alice in Wonderland story with Burtonian touches!
After that cruel cliffhanger of an ending that Unhinged left us with, I was dying to get my hands on Ensnared and although it was shipped early, I had to wait over a week and a half till it finally arrived!
The book starts pretty much where Unhinged left us. With Alyssa dragging her dad into an adventure that he doesn't even know he's part of, with magic shrinking mushrooms and a toy train where to recover his lost memories.
Everything got bigger and creepier and the plot twists got even twistier! Alyssa's dad past was something I wouldn't have expected but so very fitting! And then going to AnyElsewhere was like Wonderland with an extra dose of darkness and creepiness, and meeting the Queen of Hearts was even creepier than the Red Queen, except for when you realize that the Red Queen has plots within plots and you're not sure how Alyssa and the rest will manage to stay afloat!
The character development, the plot, the descriptions, the brilliant and visual writing would guarantee a 5 stars from me for this book, but emotionally this book was very tough for me to read... not by any fault of the book, but my own emotional state. I was too anguished and I ended up having to distance myself from the romance and the story a bit, so when the ending came I was left with a very odd feeling. Uneasy I think it's how I'd describe it, so I'm gonna end up giving the book 4 stars. Not because I don't think the ending is not appropriate or the book isn't amazing, but the romance gave me such a bittersweet feeling...
So 4 stars it is for this one, a wonderful conclusion to this amazing series and I cannot wait to see what Anita has coming next!
View all my reviews
Friday is once again here, and I'm having a weekend of zombieness, because I'm working today and Sunday night shift, which means I'm hoping for quiet shifts for some reading time! And then I'll spend Saturday and Monday like a zombie!
Today I have one of my most awaited books of the year up for review for this week's Saturday Page! And it also counts towards my 105 Challenge for my 2015 release category!
Ensnared by A.G. HowardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ensnared was one of my most awaited books of this year, the conclusion to one of my fave trilogies as of late, the Splintered series! A creepy and visual reimagining of the Alice in Wonderland story with Burtonian touches!
After that cruel cliffhanger of an ending that Unhinged left us with, I was dying to get my hands on Ensnared and although it was shipped early, I had to wait over a week and a half till it finally arrived!
The book starts pretty much where Unhinged left us. With Alyssa dragging her dad into an adventure that he doesn't even know he's part of, with magic shrinking mushrooms and a toy train where to recover his lost memories.
Everything got bigger and creepier and the plot twists got even twistier! Alyssa's dad past was something I wouldn't have expected but so very fitting! And then going to AnyElsewhere was like Wonderland with an extra dose of darkness and creepiness, and meeting the Queen of Hearts was even creepier than the Red Queen, except for when you realize that the Red Queen has plots within plots and you're not sure how Alyssa and the rest will manage to stay afloat!
The character development, the plot, the descriptions, the brilliant and visual writing would guarantee a 5 stars from me for this book, but emotionally this book was very tough for me to read... not by any fault of the book, but my own emotional state. I was too anguished and I ended up having to distance myself from the romance and the story a bit, so when the ending came I was left with a very odd feeling. Uneasy I think it's how I'd describe it, so I'm gonna end up giving the book 4 stars. Not because I don't think the ending is not appropriate or the book isn't amazing, but the romance gave me such a bittersweet feeling...
So 4 stars it is for this one, a wonderful conclusion to this amazing series and I cannot wait to see what Anita has coming next!
View all my reviews
I have heard a lot about this trilogy but for some reason really didn't want to start it because it didn't look interesting enough to me. I really don't like the covers of any of them - but I have been convinced to try them because it is an interesting retelling/spin off of the Alice in Wonderland theme!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my review and giveaway: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/02/the-glass-arrow-review-giveaway.html
It is an amazing reimagining of the whole Alice mythos in itself, and I think you should give them a try Octavia!
DeleteThank you!
I've read the first book in the series last year and loved it. I never got around to reading the second one. I have to soon, especially since this is the last book so I can binge them. Great review!! <33
ReplyDeleteBinge reading book 2 and 3 is a very sound life decision Amber, because book 2 has a killer cliffhanger! I hope you'll love both books as much as you loved Splintered!
DeleteThe first two books are still sitting on my shelf. As soon as I get my hands on this last book, I'm going to be bingeing them :D
ReplyDeleteBinge reading a series is always awesome, even more when there might be a bad cliffhanger somewhere there... Cannot wait to hear what you think of them, Eileen!
Deleteoh no Pili! I'm so sorry you had issues with this and your personal life. I'm sure that was so difficult :-( I'm glad that you could enjoy it and maybe you could reread it later on. I thought Anita's creativity really shown in this one too.
ReplyDeleteAnyElsewhere was such a fantastic world! Anita has the most amazing and visual writing! I do hope I can re-read it when some more time has passed and appreciate it in a different way! Thank you, Kristen!
DeleteThis ended up being my favorite of the three. Unhinged was disappointing for me because it spent so much time in the real world and there was a tad bit too much talk about fashion, cars and phones for me. I felt all of that Contemporary Romance content took away pages that could have been spent in her fabulous Wonderland setting. Ensnared was the darkest of the books and had the least romance, so that is why it was a hit with me. I am glad you made your way through the book and could enjoy other aspects of it. I agree with Kristen W., maybe in a couple of years you can reread the entire trilogy. Hell, I 'll do it with you. :)
ReplyDeleteA re-read of the whole series sounds perfect and I'll hold you to it, Linda! Thank you!
DeleteHaha. Hahahahaha. I like how you didn't mention the romance. Probably so as not to scare off any readers. Usually, when I start reading a book, subconsciously it starts with 5 stars and I go down from there. This one? This one is starting with 1 star, and we'll see if it gets anything above that. Because that is one f***ed up story, from what I've heard. It's really too bad, because the first two were decent!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
At any other point in my life I think I wouldn't have had an issue with the romance, because it was truthful to the story, but I am having issues with romance in book as of late... and you know why!
DeleteGreat review Pili. <3 I'm happy you enjoyed this book a lot :) But aw, I'm sorry you had issues with the romance. But heh, not really :p The romance is the reason for why I won't ever read this book :\ Not for me, sad face. Wishing it had been different. Sigh. But I do love the covers so much :D Thank you for sharing your thoughts sweetie. <3 Best of luck at work tonight :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Carina sweetie! I agree that the romance in these books wouldn't be right for you at all.
Delete