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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book! Absolutely fantastic!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
Let me start out by saying that I generally don’t like amnesia plot lines, and I probably should have taken that into account before starting this book, but the premise sounded interesting enough that I decided to take a chance. That being said, this book wasn’t bad, per se, it just wasn’t my cup of tea from the start.
Marketed as Inception meets The Magicians, Reverie starts out with Kane Montgomery trying to solve the mystery that is his own mind. Along the way, he meets several people who say they are trying to help them, including a drag queen sorceress who poses as a psychoanalyst. They set off to find the catalyst of Kane’s accident and the reason why he’s suffering from memory loss before irreversible damage to reality can be done, facing dangerous obstacles and conflict within the group along the way.
Read my full review here: https://loveyoshelf.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/review-reverie-by-ryan-la-sala/
Let me start out by saying that I generally don’t like amnesia plot lines, and I probably should have taken that into account before starting this book, but the premise sounded interesting enough that I decided to take a chance. That being said, this book wasn’t bad, per se, it just wasn’t my cup of tea from the start.
Marketed as Inception meets The Magicians, Reverie starts out with Kane Montgomery trying to solve the mystery that is his own mind. Along the way, he meets several people who say they are trying to help them, including a drag queen sorceress who poses as a psychoanalyst. They set off to find the catalyst of Kane’s accident and the reason why he’s suffering from memory loss before irreversible damage to reality can be done, facing dangerous obstacles and conflict within the group along the way.
Read my full review here: https://loveyoshelf.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/review-reverie-by-ryan-la-sala/
Man. This is yet another book that I've finished and I'm over here not knowing how to put all the feelings into words. It's not a perfect book, but I LOVED it.
First, in a shocking move for my reading habits sure to surprise you (or not), this book is wonderfully queer. Kane is gay and there are gay jokes everywhere and there may be a drag queen and it's just delightful. La Salla said in the author's note that he never expected this book to get published or anyone else to want to read it, so he just wrote what he wanted to write and I'm sure there's a lesson there for all of us writers because it was just such a joy to read.
I won't lie....it was really difficult to start the book in such a place of confusion (because Kane is so confused and he doesn't remember anything). But after I adjusted a bit, it was fine. I think it helps because you're experiencing Kane's confusion right along with him as opposed to something like being confused when you're dropped into the beginning of a fantasy or sci fi novel where there's no world building and you have no points of reference when all the characters are so sure of everything. And then when the story takes off, it's off. I did occasionally find myself wondering what this book would've been like if we had the book that would've come before this one....like, the story that led up to the events that caused Kane to lose his memory.
The reveries are such an interesting concept, and there were a lot of thought-provoking moments and comments. I want MORE. I hope there's a sequel, but even if there's not, I'm excited to see what La Salla writes next because his mind his clearly a fascinating place.
First, in a shocking move for my reading habits sure to surprise you (or not), this book is wonderfully queer. Kane is gay and there are gay jokes everywhere and there may be a drag queen and it's just delightful. La Salla said in the author's note that he never expected this book to get published or anyone else to want to read it, so he just wrote what he wanted to write and I'm sure there's a lesson there for all of us writers because it was just such a joy to read.
I won't lie....it was really difficult to start the book in such a place of confusion (because Kane is so confused and he doesn't remember anything). But after I adjusted a bit, it was fine. I think it helps because you're experiencing Kane's confusion right along with him as opposed to something like being confused when you're dropped into the beginning of a fantasy or sci fi novel where there's no world building and you have no points of reference when all the characters are so sure of everything. And then when the story takes off, it's off. I did occasionally find myself wondering what this book would've been like if we had the book that would've come before this one....like, the story that led up to the events that caused Kane to lose his memory.
The reveries are such an interesting concept, and there were a lot of thought-provoking moments and comments. I want MORE. I hope there's a sequel, but even if there's not, I'm excited to see what La Salla writes next because his mind his clearly a fascinating place.
No set up to characters. Didn’t draw me in.
I believe this to be Ryan La Sala's debut novel and it was an honestly refreshing, enjoyable, and relevant work. A clear amount of effort was put into considering the narrative, characters, and messages of the book and building up continuity between them. They all balanced each other out quite well and worked to build each other up and make meaningful messages for the reader to pick up on in a way that wasn't ever a hit across the head.
I would give this a 5 star, but I think it is a 4.5 as there were just too many parts that felt a bit stilted and I think La Sala can do better next time. Some of the dialogue, introductions for characters, and world-building items felt a little awkwardly paced or presented. Also some of the world-building just really lost me a bit. Which was fine, but when it came to certain actions sequences I felt a little lost in the sauce instead of being caught up in the thrill of the action. I honestly really enjoyed a lot of the prose though and thought it a very solid book overall, so I am going to keep my eye out for more of La Sala's work.
I would give this a 5 star, but I think it is a 4.5 as there were just too many parts that felt a bit stilted and I think La Sala can do better next time. Some of the dialogue, introductions for characters, and world-building items felt a little awkwardly paced or presented. Also some of the world-building just really lost me a bit. Which was fine, but when it came to certain actions sequences I felt a little lost in the sauce instead of being caught up in the thrill of the action. I honestly really enjoyed a lot of the prose though and thought it a very solid book overall, so I am going to keep my eye out for more of La Sala's work.
For the most part I really like this story. I mean, there’s a drag queen sorceress and your day dreams come to life!! How can you not like it already?!?! I found Kane to be rather taxing; between his naive child like mentality and all the wtf choices in the book, it made me really uninterested in his internal monologue moments. This could be why I was never super invested in what happened to his character and a big reason I sat through most of the book wondering when it would be over.
Refreshingly New
I went into this reading completely blind, just having caught the title on a list from a bookstagrammer I trusted and ran with it because it had a beautiful cover. I was not disappointed.
First, the diversity of characters was so appealing and authentic. I never once felt as if the characters were caricatures in any way, which can sometimes be hard to do when you’re in the YA realm. Dean, our lead, was flawed and moody. You wanted to feel for him and everything he was going through, while also screaming at him when he would turn away from certain things. I felt that his friend group was dynamic and filled in a lot of what could have been gaps of characters. Posey was one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever read.
I felt that the LGBTQIA+ representation was also well balanced. We’re able to see those who feel the real world has shunned them and want to burn down anyone who spoke poorly of the community. Then you have those who cannot see others happy because they weren’t granted the same happiness. You also have those who are struggling with their identity and accepting the love they’re feeling and receiving. I think a lot of young queer readers will see their fluctuating feelings in this story.
My favorite part however was how easily it appeared that La Sala was able to build worlds. Being that this story takes place in various people’s dreamscapes, I never once felt as if I didn’t understand the land or where I was. The fluidity which he found in placing the characters in and out of these situations never left me confused, more than was expected by the characters themselves.
Overall, this is one of the first books I’ve read in months that I felt really attached to and enjoyed thoroughly. It will definitely be recommended moving forward.
I went into this reading completely blind, just having caught the title on a list from a bookstagrammer I trusted and ran with it because it had a beautiful cover. I was not disappointed.
First, the diversity of characters was so appealing and authentic. I never once felt as if the characters were caricatures in any way, which can sometimes be hard to do when you’re in the YA realm. Dean, our lead, was flawed and moody. You wanted to feel for him and everything he was going through, while also screaming at him when he would turn away from certain things. I felt that his friend group was dynamic and filled in a lot of what could have been gaps of characters. Posey was one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever read.
I felt that the LGBTQIA+ representation was also well balanced. We’re able to see those who feel the real world has shunned them and want to burn down anyone who spoke poorly of the community. Then you have those who cannot see others happy because they weren’t granted the same happiness. You also have those who are struggling with their identity and accepting the love they’re feeling and receiving. I think a lot of young queer readers will see their fluctuating feelings in this story.
My favorite part however was how easily it appeared that La Sala was able to build worlds. Being that this story takes place in various people’s dreamscapes, I never once felt as if I didn’t understand the land or where I was. The fluidity which he found in placing the characters in and out of these situations never left me confused, more than was expected by the characters themselves.
Overall, this is one of the first books I’ve read in months that I felt really attached to and enjoyed thoroughly. It will definitely be recommended moving forward.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Reveries are just fanfic of real life and the instead of a queercoded villian the villian is just queer and I love that for this book I have to stan. The comedy here is exquisite as well as the stupidity of our protag sometimes but I understand, sometimes having a smart thought is hard. Anyways my friend made me read this and I dont regret it at all the characters are all so interesting and I'm so glad most of the mystery aspect is resolved halfway through because I am impatient and not knowing anything while the protag also knows nothing is literal torture lol. Anyway solid book 3.5/5 maybe 4/5 idk