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looseleafellie's review
5.0
Hey friends, wanna take a sibling rivalry and dial it up to 11? And frame it all with some intricate mythology and a dash of murder mystery? WELL let me tell you all about the wild ride that Dream Country by Ashaye Brown just took me on!
The book centers around three Major gods -- Theo the god of sleep, Fanta the goddess of dreams, and Tores the god of nightmares. I loved all three of these characters for their complex and deeply flawed natures. Theo is a soft bean who needs to believe in himself. Fanta is generally distrustful of everyone, which manifests in her being delightfully mean sometimes.
And Tores. Oh, my misunderstood, misguided Tores. I can't say too much about him cause of spoilers, but suffice to say he was my favorite character by sheer virtue of being A Complete Disaster. If you like complex morally gray characters, this is definitely a book you should pick up!
Gotta be honest, I usually have a hard time getting into high fantasy because of the intense worldbuilding. But not only did Ashaye Brown do a GREAT job of weaving the information in as needed, the writing was super smooth and kept me whizzing through the pages.
If anything, I might have liked a little *more* description of the different realms, but honestly I'm here for the story and not the pretty word pictures so it wasn't a big deal to me.
The ending of this book pretty clearly sets it up for a sequel, and honestly I can't even be mad at the cliffhanger because it was done REALLY well. There's a twist at the end that had been hinted at throughout the story, so when it came I was both mind-blown and felt very clever for having kind of seen it coming. Basically, I NEED the second book NOW!
The book centers around three Major gods -- Theo the god of sleep, Fanta the goddess of dreams, and Tores the god of nightmares. I loved all three of these characters for their complex and deeply flawed natures. Theo is a soft bean who needs to believe in himself. Fanta is generally distrustful of everyone, which manifests in her being delightfully mean sometimes.
And Tores. Oh, my misunderstood, misguided Tores. I can't say too much about him cause of spoilers, but suffice to say he was my favorite character by sheer virtue of being A Complete Disaster. If you like complex morally gray characters, this is definitely a book you should pick up!
Gotta be honest, I usually have a hard time getting into high fantasy because of the intense worldbuilding. But not only did Ashaye Brown do a GREAT job of weaving the information in as needed, the writing was super smooth and kept me whizzing through the pages.
If anything, I might have liked a little *more* description of the different realms, but honestly I'm here for the story and not the pretty word pictures so it wasn't a big deal to me.
The ending of this book pretty clearly sets it up for a sequel, and honestly I can't even be mad at the cliffhanger because it was done REALLY well. There's a twist at the end that had been hinted at throughout the story, so when it came I was both mind-blown and felt very clever for having kind of seen it coming. Basically, I NEED the second book NOW!
harper_reads's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
An interesting take on Kenyan, Brazilian, Caribbean, and Grecian mythologies that is very different from the norm. The triplet gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares have lived in their separated realms since the mysterious death (murder?) of their mother, Night. When a human child seems to have the power to disrupt their realms, the three must decide whether to work together or against one another to protect the realm of the gods. Reads a little bit like a less-epic Laini Taylor, with an interesting philosophical bent and an imagine-your-own-ending that I thought was fascinating but teen readers might not.
tirill's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hannaws's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Dream Country is most definitely something different to read inside the fantasy genre! It is all about these three sibling Gods, all with their own realms (?), no, more like own areas? Well they are divided by the Gates and they all reign their own domains. They are the Gods of Sleep, Dream and Nightmare. Mother being the Night.
But their mother dies which sticks a huge wedge in between the siblings. Will they be able to recover from that or will the world end?
I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this book! But this wasn't exactly what I was expecting from it. Sibling rivalry is brought up many times and I really expected there to be such rivalry. Though it ends up being more of ignorance towards each others rather than rivalry. And from that ignorance it escalates straight into "I'm going to kill you", pretty much. They've been living their own lives for many years (can't really remember the exact amount), two of them seeing quickly once a year, other times all of them minding their own business. That can hardly be called rivalry?
The plot was way too slow for my liking. It was dragging along way too long at some parts and to be honest, I did skip read quite along. But I just couldn't keep my attention at the book when it started to take too long for anything to happen. Though there are some quick paced parts that were really good!
I really loved how all the realms where so different from one another. Every sibling have their own followers living in their realms, all of them being different from each others as well. That was really nice to read. Though I would have loved to have a little more time at Zion than what we get out of this book. It gets kind of brushed under the map.
The characters were well made but still not that memorable for me. If I'd have to choose one, I'd take Torres. I really felt bad for him. All he wanted was to be noticed by the others, for them to notice that he is more than the God of Nightmare. Fanta, don't really care about. Theo was pretty much most heard of during this book, yet he was kind of whatever for me too.
There are also many different Minor gods and goddesses in the story which was really fun! They all have their own abilities, areas, to do. For example there is a goddess of Chaos. And those were really fascinating addition for the book. Then there are all kinds of different creatures, animals and kind of people too. So much information packed into 300+ pages that there is a lot to keep up with.
All in all it was a nice little read but it was just too slow paced and dragging for my liking. But I really like the fact of how different this is. How much world building it has and imagination. Amazing.
When I think about this book, first thing that pops in my mind is how one of the characters kept kissing their teeth. And I'm just here trying to figure out how you kiss your own teeth?
But their mother dies which sticks a huge wedge in between the siblings. Will they be able to recover from that or will the world end?
I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this book! But this wasn't exactly what I was expecting from it. Sibling rivalry is brought up many times and I really expected there to be such rivalry. Though it ends up being more of ignorance towards each others rather than rivalry. And from that ignorance it escalates straight into "I'm going to kill you", pretty much. They've been living their own lives for many years (can't really remember the exact amount), two of them seeing quickly once a year, other times all of them minding their own business. That can hardly be called rivalry?
The plot was way too slow for my liking. It was dragging along way too long at some parts and to be honest, I did skip read quite along. But I just couldn't keep my attention at the book when it started to take too long for anything to happen. Though there are some quick paced parts that were really good!
I really loved how all the realms where so different from one another. Every sibling have their own followers living in their realms, all of them being different from each others as well. That was really nice to read. Though I would have loved to have a little more time at Zion than what we get out of this book. It gets kind of brushed under the map.
The characters were well made but still not that memorable for me. If I'd have to choose one, I'd take Torres. I really felt bad for him. All he wanted was to be noticed by the others, for them to notice that he is more than the God of Nightmare. Fanta, don't really care about. Theo was pretty much most heard of during this book, yet he was kind of whatever for me too.
There are also many different Minor gods and goddesses in the story which was really fun! They all have their own abilities, areas, to do. For example there is a goddess of Chaos. And those were really fascinating addition for the book. Then there are all kinds of different creatures, animals and kind of people too. So much information packed into 300+ pages that there is a lot to keep up with.
All in all it was a nice little read but it was just too slow paced and dragging for my liking. But I really like the fact of how different this is. How much world building it has and imagination. Amazing.
When I think about this book, first thing that pops in my mind is how one of the characters kept kissing their teeth. And I'm just here trying to figure out how you kiss your own teeth?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
hannahstromauthor's review
1.0
Sadly, this was a DNF (did not finish) for me after only 35 pages. There was just too much worldbuilding without explanation. I felt like I opened to the middle of book 2 in a trilogy. I had a vague idea of what was going on, but only because I read the blurb. If someone was to go in blind, there would be no chance of understanding.
aok's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readsbyem_'s review
4.0
3.5 stars
This was so much fun to read! I absolutely adored the mythology and lore, I would easily read an entire book from Brown about specific legends and stories. I also enjoyed the characters too, the writing and atmosphere came together to make a enjoyable read.
I did find myself a little confused at certain points, and it seemed as if the story took a little while to gain traction and get exciting. But that’s more of a personal preference, not necessarily a reflection on the quality of the book itself.
Overall, for fans of mythology but who want something other than the same Greek myths, I would recommend this one! The writing was refreshing, as is a story that follows new characters and lore.
Thank you to the publishers for kindly sending me an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was so much fun to read! I absolutely adored the mythology and lore, I would easily read an entire book from Brown about specific legends and stories. I also enjoyed the characters too, the writing and atmosphere came together to make a enjoyable read.
I did find myself a little confused at certain points, and it seemed as if the story took a little while to gain traction and get exciting. But that’s more of a personal preference, not necessarily a reflection on the quality of the book itself.
Overall, for fans of mythology but who want something other than the same Greek myths, I would recommend this one! The writing was refreshing, as is a story that follows new characters and lore.
Thank you to the publishers for kindly sending me an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
whatbritreads's review
4.0
*Thank you so much to Onwe for sending me a copy in exchange for review!*
Ok where is my sequel??? You absolutely CANNOT leave me in suspense like that. Please, I have a million questions and I need some answers.
This is a sibling rivalry, morally grey character paradise. I really enjoyed this book and was so pleasantly surprised how easily it was to immerse yourself in the world. It’s fantasy for those who feel intimidated by fantasy - it gently coaxes you in and doesn’t info dump. There's also an amazing element on mystery and interesting lore. The characters are really well written and intriguing, it was one of those books I really looked forward to picking up.
It was really well written and the description throughout was beautiful. I loved the world building and the elements of religion and mythology peppered throughout. Though it’s 400 pages I ended up flying through it. It was just so wonderfully done. If this premise intrigues you - pick it up. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Ok where is my sequel??? You absolutely CANNOT leave me in suspense like that. Please, I have a million questions and I need some answers.
This is a sibling rivalry, morally grey character paradise. I really enjoyed this book and was so pleasantly surprised how easily it was to immerse yourself in the world. It’s fantasy for those who feel intimidated by fantasy - it gently coaxes you in and doesn’t info dump. There's also an amazing element on mystery and interesting lore. The characters are really well written and intriguing, it was one of those books I really looked forward to picking up.
It was really well written and the description throughout was beautiful. I loved the world building and the elements of religion and mythology peppered throughout. Though it’s 400 pages I ended up flying through it. It was just so wonderfully done. If this premise intrigues you - pick it up. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
wanderingbookish's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
noellerose's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0