Reviews

Dreambound by Dan Frey

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infiniteshite's review against another edition

Main character was insufferable.

Read Completed 3/21/24 | 3.75 - 4 stars
DREAMBOUND was a random Goodreads find when I was trying to find some new sci-fi reads. This actually turned out to be much more portal fantasy and not at all sci-fi, really, but thankfully, that's also something I enjoy and I had fun reading this!

The story was kind of THE MAGICIANS meets RABBITS. A father goes searching for his daughter after her disappearance six months ago, befriends some believers along the way, and finds out that fairy tale stories may actually cross over into the real world. I really liked the story and the perspective, and the full cast audio also really added to the reading experience!

While I enjoyed the book, I wanted just a bit more connection to the fantasy world. We get all of the info from Byron's perspective (he's the dad) and he's quite the skeptic to begin with, which who could blame him. I'm not sure what made the difference here but I just didn't quite click with the fictional faerie series like I had wanted to, or like I seemed to instantly connect with other fictitious series like in The Magicians Trilogy, for example. I think it was because it was actually a little bit more mystery and going down the rabbit hole than it was about the fantasy itself for a while. Then the scales tipped and we started to really dive into the fantasy world instead of just seeing bits and pieces of magical markers. It was really fun seeing Byron go from a facts-only non-fiction writer to believing in magic in order to save his daughter.

It was definitely a solid read and I'm happy I read it! I could have fallen into the story a little more than I did, but it was a good read for me. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it because I'm not sure who would enjoy it as much, but it was definitely interesting and gave me some good feels that reminded me of books I've loved in the past as well!

mcphersongypsy's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The ending daved the book in a lot of ways.

ashira12356's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad 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

4.75

Book is about a daughter that runs away to a fictional world from her books and her dad seeks her. He uses clues from the books, fanfic site and interviews from the author and website creator to learn the story of the Green Man, a spirit who feeds off belief and lures children. He learns to give up logic to get to the hidden world and fights the green man and saves all the captured children.
Loved the story, format and characters. Should be a movie. Made me shed a tear.

theamyleblanc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story was so easy to fall in love with. First, the cover and title had me desperate to know what was inside. Seriously, MAJOR KUDOS to the cover designer!

I've read one of Dan's books before so I had an idea of the narrative style I'd see here. It's mostly epistolary, with transcribed bits of interviews and more traditional narrative sprinkled in. And I can't imagine this story being told any other way. I was immediately sucked in. Sure, this is weirder and a bit more gruesome than The Future is Yours but it's captivating all the same.

I don't know if it was my nostalgia or if I identified real hard with Liza but suspending my disbelief and buying into the magical realism at play here was easy. Byron frustrated me a lot in the beginning. I admired his dedication and commitment to finding Liza but his stubborn refusal to believe in the impossible kept pissing me off. I warmed to him eventually and I think that's okay. It's all part of his journey.

This book is for dreamers. It's for readers who remember what it's like to believe fully in the stories you loved as a kid. It's for those who can believe in something while knowing it isn't real. This book is a love letter to the power of stories and I'm so happy I read it.