Reviews

Dreamer by Amy Campbell

applejuice2401's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.0

jksteach's review

5.0

Dreamer is an excellent conclusion to the Tales of the Outlaw Mages trilogy. The gang continues to get involved with kidnapping, rescues, escapes, slavery, and shadowy cabals. In this volume the main characters are separated and embark on two different adventures that come together at the end. This may be one of my favorite fantasy worlds - a Wild West setting with a variety of creative magic, magical creatures and races. Mages are hunted and enslaved, but the outlaw mages are trying to change that.
I liked how normalized the gay relationship was. It was never commented on - clearly in this world anyone could choose anyone else as a romantic partner. And I loved the focus on being able to create your own identity- be truly who you are.
This was a great ending, but I really hope there will be more books set in this fascinating world.

madkat78's review

adventurous emotional slow-paced

4.0

starfish2216's review

adventurous

5.0

This is the 3rd book in The Tales of the Outlaw Mages series, so be sure you read the other 2 first! If you like characters that you can root for, give these a read. Blaise and Jefferson have developed such a great relationship. And we get to read more about Jack and his family, though this focuses more on his time with his daughter. There’s heartbreak, adventure, intrigue and a wild world of magic in this book.

a_night_bird's review

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

I received a free ARC of Dreamer. This has not affected my review or rating. 

There’s a lot that happens in Dreamer, but really the book feels like a story about people and their lives, even their ordinary lives. Of course, before it’s over plot definitely picks up and they have all sorts of crazy adventures, but something I really enjoyed about Dreamer is how much the characters are shown as people who have their day-to-day lives and their relationships. Blaise owns a bakery, and he has to get up early to run his bakery, and there’s his relationship with Jefferson. We get to see them small-chat, have a conversation about how Present Jefferson doesn’t like Past Jefferson for asking Blaise they get up in the morning, but Future Jefferson will be happy about having delicious cinnamon rolls to eat. There’s nothing in particular going on (well, actually there is, since Jefferson is planning to leave for the delegation to Ganland to argue for recognizing the Gutter as a nation), but we get to see Jefferson and Blaise chatting, the differences between the out-going physically affectionate entrepreneur/politician and the reserved baker, the style war that’s become something of a game between them, as Jefferson is very style conscious and Blaise is anything but, and what might be one of the best signs of healing in Blaise, as he actually flaunts his carelessness of style in a sort of style wars with his lover. It’s really relateable and makes Blaise and Jefferson really relateable, seeing them live life. 

I also felt like we got more of the pegasi in this book than any of the previous ones, which I really liked. Emrys is everywhere, as he should be, comforting Blaise, playing with and teasing Blaise, taking part in Blaise and Jefferson’s game, asking oh so sweetly and innocent for more delicious treats. Emrys is really cute and courageous and affectionate, and he has brains. (Sometimes, I think he’s the smart one. I have a feeling he would response to that comment by asking if that means he can have pie of every flavor please? He doesn’t seem to care about vanity or pride; only being Blaise’s loyal, constant friend and his sugar goodies.) 

Blaise is, as ever, Blaise: compassionate, caring, seeking to understand, at once scarred and frightened and possessed of new confidence. He is so courageous, and it is so sweet to see him, from his banter with Jefferson, to his friendship with Emrys and the stallion’s loyalty, to his friendship with Emmaline and his comradeship to Jack, whether he’s baking for ghosts in a haunted house or impulsively saving Knossans from grasscats. 

Jack has Kittie again, and he shows a bit of the kindness he (usually) tries to keep hidden beneath his ornery exterior. Personally, I don’t think it would hurt if Jack could just be a little kinder in general, but he really tries to be nice to Blaise when Blaise needs it, and he tries to patch things up with his daughter, Emmaline. I think he does start to act a little kinder, which will really help with his relationships, and he shows the caring side he has. Poor Jack is so afraid of being seen as soft and taken advantage of, and of having himself and the people he cares about hurt on account of that, he sometimes does a very poor job not hurting the people he cares about himself. And he’s been through a lot, himself. 

Jefferson has a lot of challenges ahead of himself, too, in a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. I love the courage he finds at the end, with Blaise, to choose his own path, unrestrained by the darkness and what others try to impose and manipulate.

This review appeared first and in full on Enthralled By Love (Paths of Fantasy)