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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Ensnared (Splintered, #3) in Books

Jun 24, 2019

I read the first novel of the Splintered series and immediately fell in love with it - purchasing the entire series as paperbacks. This is book #3 in the series by A.G. Howard.

If you haven't read the first two novels then I don't want to spoil anything for you. But I will say what I can about the plot and character development (of which there is plenty).

Alyssa takes us on another crazy journey, from the human realm through AnyElsewhere and, of course, Wonderland. Again, she finds herself stuck between her two halves - and between her two loves.

Along with her parents, Morpheus and Jeb, Alyssa must banish Red's spirit forever, return Wonderland to its former glory, and find a way to balance the two halves of her heart. But the travel to this magical realm has changed Jeb, and he's found something he's not willing to leave behind anymore.

There's a lot of madness and magic in this, which is my favourite part. The pure craziness and mystery of Carroll's Wonderland is captured beautifully by Howard. There are weird and terrifying creatures - my favourite being the strange butterflies native to AnyElsewhere, even if they do endanger the life of one of our beloved characters - as well as beautiful landscapes and clever backstories. The whole origin of Carroll's story is put into question, Alyssa slowly uncovering how he discovered the magical land all those years ago.

The main part of this is about Alyssa trying to placate the two halves of her heart. After her previous run-in with Queen Red, there's something strange going on inside her heart - something that hurts when her human side and netherling side are fighting. What's wrong with her? How can she live like this?

And Morpheus and Jeb still aren't the best of friends, either. They're almost constantly competing for her affections - despite being stuck alone together for who knows how long. I'm always routeing for Morpheus, even if he is a bit of a troublemaker.

The ending is quite a nice compromise, a clever and clean way to stitch everything together. And the epilogue is really good, in my opinion. I won't tell you what happens. But it's short and brief, leaving so many questions and opportunities at the end that makes me reeeally want to read the next book.

It is sometimes a little too perfect, if you know what I mean, but it's not sickeningly good or sweet. I think the solutions they conjure are really creative and clever, and when they're in trouble I'm always wondering what they'll come up with this time.

As for development, Jeb and Morpheus have a clear "epiphany" sort of moment toward the end. But I found that Alyssa also developed a lot, slowly - little realisations that shape her being over time, shape her as a queen.

I do love a good Wonderland story. This isn't, in my personal opinion, quite as the first novels, but I still really enjoyed it. 4 stars for Ensnared.

Kudos

Debbiereadsbook (1689 KP) rated Kiss Me Again in Books

Jun 28, 2019

Kiss Me Again

Garrett Leigh | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

difficult, but enjoyable

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Aiden fell from the tree he was working on, and ended up in hospital. The only person who seemed to be ale to get through to Aiden was Ludo. Ludo is fighting his own demons again, and Aiden seems to make him all . . well . . he doesn;t know the word but Aiden makes him feel good. And GOOD is not a thing Ludo has had for some time. When Aiden is released and Ludo not, things for oth of them spiral downhill. A chance meeting puts bth men back on track, but can they really be HAPPY? Either of them?

I found this a difficult read. But a very good one!

Ludo is bi-polar, and tries to keep up with his meds, but they keep changing his doses, and the type of meds he is taking, and he knows when he is going down, he can feel it. He can equally feel his highs. And these are the bits I struggled with the most. I have someone close to me who is bi-polar, and they are never able to voice how things make them feel. Getting into Ludo's head, difficult as it was, gave me a bit more insight into my friend's head. Scared me a bit, to be honest, but I really did not fully get what my friend was trying to tell me before. I do a bit better now. So hopefully I can be a better friend.

Aiden is GRUMPY! Oh he made me laugh, he really is a grumpy git, and he knows it! Ludo though, Ludo makes him want to NOT be and he tries, he really does. It just takes him time, since he's been so grumpy for so long.

The relationship between Ludo and Aiden moves at an even pace, steady and solid along the book. Its not overly sexy, but their is heat and steam aplenty. But its not about the sex between these two, it's about learning to love another, and what that menas for them.

Both Ludo and Aiden have their say. While both men are difficult to read, I did love them to pieces. I wanted to wrap them both up and be mum to them, I really did!

I loved the way Ms Leigh tells her tales. It takes time for Ludo's full medical history to come clear, and you get hints and snippets to put together your own version, not always correctly, mind!

I've not read anything else by Ms Leigh before, and this is what love most about reviewing for the blog. NEW to me authors pop up all the time. These authors have published many books, but not crossed my path before. So I'd love to read more by this author.

A thoroughly difficult but very enjoyable

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**