Untamed: A Splintered Companion (Splintered, #3.5)

by A. G. Howard

Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart. In this collection of three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their favourite memories of Wonderland. In Untamed, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her human life with Jeb and her immortal life with Morpheus. Alyssa’s mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and how she gave up the crown to rescue the man who would become her husband in The Boy in the Web. And Morpheus delves into Jeb’s memories of the events of Splintered in The Moth in the Mirror, available in print for the first time.

• ISBN13: 9781419718694
• Publish Date: 15 December 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Abrams
• Imprint: Amulet Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://abramsandchronicle.co.uk/book/9781419718694-untamed/

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

[After my re-read (12/18/2020): I'm bumping this up from 4 stars to 5! Reading this a second time, I fell even harder for this, and I was so happy to find that the sharp, nagging pain I felt the first time around, like something was MISSING, had completely faded, and that I was left with just... contentment! I, of course, still need me some mo' of A.G. Howard's vivid, incredible envisioning of Wonderland, but I think after 5 years, the painful, ravenous NEED for more turned into hope, acceptance, & a quiet curiosity as to whether Howard WILL still someday pen more stories set in her brilliant version of Wonderland. I really hope she does!
Please excuse me so that I now may ponder this whilst casually (not pretentiously, obvs) taking drags from my (nonexistent) hookah pipe (on the basis of clarity, duh...

[Kelly]

I absolutely adored A. G. Howard's Splintered series, an Alice in Wonderland retelling where Alyssa finds herself in the role of a new and edgier version of Alice Liddell, who is also incidentally her grandmother. Imagine a Wonderland where the White Rabbit is rabid skin and bones, where Queens reign and battle for supremacy while children are taken, and only Alyssa can regenerate the dying landscape and take her rightful place as Queen.

Untamed is a companion novel featuring three stories to transport readers back into A. G. Howard's reimagined world. The Boy in the Web is Alyssa's mothers story, sharing how she met her husband and Alyssa's father, her mental health and being placed within an asylum and protecting her only daughter. She's now enjoying life again, but fears for Alyssa's well being and the wicked that Wonderland can create. The Moth in the Mirror follows the rivalry of Jeb and Morpheus, as each battle for Alyssa's affections. Told in alternating points of view, the two alpha males bond over past memories and Jeb's muse to resurrect Morpheus' dying Wonderland.

But by far the most engaging story is Six Impossible Things, the story readers have been waiting for. It tells the story of Alyssa's eternity and it was nothing short of lovely to revisit the dark and magical landscape... And Morpheus. It's the finale I wish had been explored for Ensnared, the Queen taking her rightful place beside Morpheus and together, ruling over Wonderland. The two still share a familiarity, with Morpheus having prepared Alyssa for her rightful reign within her dreams while her waking hours were devoted to Jeb and the life they had shared with one another. As Alyssa recalls a long life of love and contentment, we learn more about what happened after the final page of Ensnared was turned, her family, her life and the moments that defined her as a devoted daughter, friend, wife and as a mother herself. It was poignant and emotional, but I loved each moment she shared with readers.

MORPHEUS. Like previous installments, yet again the world building is vivid and delicious and although I couldn't connect to Alyssa's mother and her story, I appreciated how each character within the series felt complete. There are a few unexpected surprises woven throughout, which only added to my anticipation of what I was waiting for... Morpheus and his own happy ending.

[cornerfolds]

The Splintered series has been one of my absolute FAVORITE series since I picked up book one way back in the day... Okay, so it wasn't that long ago. Still, if you ask me what my favorite series is, chances are I'll probably say "SPLINTERED AND OHMYGOD YOU NEED TO READ IT!"

When I saw that A.G. Howard was releasing a companion to the series, I didn't think I could possibly contain my excitement. The day the book was released I checked the mail no less than three times and ran home to open the box when it finally came! I blew through it in near-record time and was... underwhelmed.

Untamed is a collection of three novellas, two of which have been previously published. The Boy in the Web is essentially the story of Alyssa's parents. While it was entertaining, it wasn't my favorite. Let's be honest, you're either reading this for Jeb or Morpheus. Still, it was a nice look into the family of the fairy queen we've come to know and love.

The second story, The Moth in the Mirror, told Jeb's side of the story through some key Splintered events. Although Jeb is not my favorite person for a few reasons, I actually really enjoyed this story a lot. I felt like I was able to get to know Jeb a little better and could even sympathize with him a little bit more.

Six Impossible Things was the part of this collection I was most looking forward to! It begins with Alyssa as a very old woman getting ready to make her journey back to Wonderland and it was just a little bit odd for me. For one, Alyssa did not seem very much different from her much (much) younger self. I did get a little of the sense that she'd matured, but it felt like I was hearing from a 16 year old telling me about how old she was. It felt a little strange for her to suddenly be back in her "pure" 16 year old body again.

The memories that Alyssa recounted were nice, but they just weren't exactly what I'd hoped for. So much of Six Impossible Things was focused on the delivery of their child that I felt like the memories were almost overwhelmed by it. The memory I most enjoyed, surprisingly, was reading about Alyssa and Jeb's wedding. I thought it was cute and made me like Jeb even more! This book had a really strange effect on my #TeamMorpheus status...

Overall I thought this was a fun companion to the Splintered series! The cover is absolutely the MOST gorgeous of the entire series, which is saying a lot because have you even seen Unhinged??Untamed did have some issues that I didn't expect to encounter, a little too much focus (for me, personally) on the children/grandchildren/etc. when I really just wanted to read about Alyssa and Jeb/Morpheus as couples. Still, this was an enjoyable collection of stories that I'd recommend to any fan of the Splintered series!

Actual rating: 3.5 stars