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reading_historical_romance's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
5.0
This YA Dystopian/Fantasy was fabulous, and perfect for fans of The Maze Runner!
“Their choices were almost comically horrific: don’t eat, or be eaten.”
I’ve been hunting for awhile for a great new YA dystopian novel that doesn’t feel like a recycle or mish mash of the plots from the 2000-2010 renaissance of this genre, and I’m so happy to have finally found one in A Multitude of Dreams. This book had a similar feel to The Maze Runner in terms of its elements of violent horror, but it takes place in a medieval fantasy setting and has more fairytale and romance elements. The main characters are also older than a typical YA (the youngest is 17 ½ who presents herself as part of the plot as being 20, and most are grown adults 20 yrs+), so it was refreshing that there weren't the same "coming of age" plotlines that typically thread through a YA narrative.
I loved the premise of the novel, as it is so relatable after living through the COVID pandemic and all of the lockdowns, masking, social isolationism, and depression, fears and anxieties that came with it. Everyone reacted to and experienced the pandemic differently, and this is also true for the characters in the novel who faced and survived a deadly plague. Setting is one of the essential elements of a great novel for me, and the atmosphere developed by the author in this book was so vivid that I could practically hear and smell the environment from the descriptions on the page.
I loved Seraphina (and her name!) and Nico, and I loved how Henry was developed to be a well-rounded character instead of serving as a one-dimensional jealous alpha-male in Seraphina’s climactic last stand to choose life and freedom. I thought that the themes of forgiveness, redemption, and love were poignant, tender, true to the plot and characters, and didn’t feel preachy. The anti-Semitism aspect of the story is timely and circumspect given the sorry state of real-world current affairs.
I loved the characters so much, I would love a sequel. I would love to find out how Seraphina, Nico, and the other survivors rebuild their kingdom and their lives, and how their relationships deepen. I want Nico to find the “cure” so that all of the reborns are able to regain their mortality and resume aging normally. I want to read about how Henry, Dalia, and Colin find HEAs too!
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
“Their choices were almost comically horrific: don’t eat, or be eaten.”
I’ve been hunting for awhile for a great new YA dystopian novel that doesn’t feel like a recycle or mish mash of the plots from the 2000-2010 renaissance of this genre, and I’m so happy to have finally found one in A Multitude of Dreams. This book had a similar feel to The Maze Runner in terms of its elements of violent horror, but it takes place in a medieval fantasy setting and has more fairytale and romance elements. The main characters are also older than a typical YA (the youngest is 17 ½ who presents herself as part of the plot as being 20, and most are grown adults 20 yrs+), so it was refreshing that there weren't the same "coming of age" plotlines that typically thread through a YA narrative.
I loved the premise of the novel, as it is so relatable after living through the COVID pandemic and all of the lockdowns, masking, social isolationism, and depression, fears and anxieties that came with it. Everyone reacted to and experienced the pandemic differently, and this is also true for the characters in the novel who faced and survived a deadly plague. Setting is one of the essential elements of a great novel for me, and the atmosphere developed by the author in this book was so vivid that I could practically hear and smell the environment from the descriptions on the page.
I loved Seraphina (and her name!) and Nico, and I loved how Henry was developed to be a well-rounded character instead of serving as a one-dimensional jealous alpha-male in Seraphina’s climactic last stand to choose life and freedom. I thought that the themes of forgiveness, redemption, and love were poignant, tender, true to the plot and characters, and didn’t feel preachy. The anti-Semitism aspect of the story is timely and circumspect given the sorry state of real-world current affairs.
I loved the characters so much, I would love a sequel. I would love to find out how Seraphina, Nico, and the other survivors rebuild their kingdom and their lives, and how their relationships deepen. I want Nico to find the “cure” so that all of the reborns are able to regain their mortality and resume aging normally. I want to read about how Henry, Dalia, and Colin find HEAs too!
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Death, Antisemitism, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Minor: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Murder, Genocide, and Grief
jessicaludden's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
“Hundreds of men and women, hundreds of different opinions and expectations, a multitude of dreams and nightmares... All waiting for her.”
I really liked the concept of this book. The idea of a country in the aftermath of a plague and a castle of noblemen being forced to stay by the king was intriguing. It had more horror elements than I thought it was going to have but I enjoyed the suspense and having to piece together the supernatural elements. But it didn’t feel very high stakes to me and while I enjoyed the characters none of them really stood out to me.
I really liked the concept of this book. The idea of a country in the aftermath of a plague and a castle of noblemen being forced to stay by the king was intriguing. It had more horror elements than I thought it was going to have but I enjoyed the suspense and having to piece together the supernatural elements. But it didn’t feel very high stakes to me and while I enjoyed the characters none of them really stood out to me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism, Violence, Blood, Death, Child death, Murder, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
catreads247's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Wanted to really like this one, but the beginning was very slow. It didn’t really pick up until about 250 pages in and then it got interesting. I did enjoy the last half of the book, it had some tense moments and some gore. Overall though I found it difficult to get through sometimes and there were a few times I wanted to DNF but powerwd through. I also found it a little predictable and the romance aspect felt a little forced and quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Antisemitism
loreofthebooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Eldridge Hall was a castle built on lies.
Last year I had the absolute pleasure of reading The Poison Season! First off, thank you to Inkyard Press and Mara for a copy of this arc!
This book is for you if you like:
🌹 gothic
🌹 edgar allen poe
🌹 fantasy
🌹 low-romance books
🌹 mysteries
🌹 dark atmosphere
🌹 things that go bump in the night
First off, I loved the incorporation of Jews, and Jewish history into this book. When we talk about history and Jewish people we often think of the Holocaust, however, that wasn't the only time Jews were persecuted; it was as common in the Roman Period as it was in the Middle Ages even as it is (unfortunately) today. As Mara notes in her "A Letter from the Author",
I also discovered how Jews were historically blamed for many of them, and how they were slaughtered in pogroms as scapegoats.
While this book is a gothic fantasy, there are darker themes at play here, such as the pogroms mentioned in the book. There isn't gore in this book, but it is dark in the sense of what is happening.
Mara pulls from gothic traditions - manors and halls where not everything is as it seems. And yet, there is also the incorporation of the fantasy elements as well. There are monsters in this book
More gothic traditions are the omens -- the little songs the characters sing. The lack of birdsong, the dark woods etc. You can see how Poe and previous gothic writers have inspired her, because these elements were incorporated smoothly.
There was also the mystery aspects in this book, kind of like a locked room mystery, which I love. The way the characters are laid out, you don't know who to trust, except for our two main characters Nico and Seraphina and their helpers -- sidekicks? -- who are the ones the book focuses on.
There is quite a bit of action in this book, and not a whole lot of downtime. We swing from one arc to the next very smoothly, everything tied together.
The theme of lies and beauty is a theme in this book, which I loved. It helped add to the feel of the book for me. Mara's aesthetic and atmosphere is on point in this book. I literally had chills while I was reading some of it. It made me shiver. This book was everything gothic that I love.
It is going to be a perfect spooky, fall read. Imagine yourself curled up in a chair with a book, a cup of tea and some rain falling and you will not want to stop reading this book.
One last thing, there are some amazing lines in this book, and I've picked a few here for my review that aren't too spoiler-y, but you will be highlighting and marking so many on your read. (At least until you get so into the book you forget what you're doing, like me.)
And that was the most beautiful lie of all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Death, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Grief, and Antisemitism
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