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booksabrewin's review
3.0
I received an e-copy of this book from the author herself in exchange for an honest review.
I have started receiving a lot of review requests in recent dates and, the book addict and eager to please reviewer that I am, normally end up accepting any that are asked of me. Who am I to say "thanks, but no thanks" to someone who has worked hard at their craft and put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work just to entertain book enthusiasts such as me? So when Nicole asked if I wanted to read her work and gave me an idea what the book was about, I hastily agreed. I was interesting in the dream aspect of the book. I have yet to really read anything that incorporated that idea. I was anxious to see what sort of world the author created. Dream-like story or a literary nightmare?
Anna's story begins with yet another foster family taking her in after the tragic loss of her parents years ago. Anna believes her dreams killed her parents. Anna also believes that she is cursed to endanger all those that come in contact with her, which is why she limits those she lets into her heart and even into her general area. She is counting the days until she turns 18 and she can disappear and hope to end the suffering of those she loves. However, Anna didn't count on the boy who stared at her and obviously crushed on her fairly severely being a hindrance to her overall plan.
Liam knows what Anna is. A dreamer like himself, except her dreams actually make an impact. Her dreams become reality. What started out as a way to study an active dreamer turns into genuine attraction and, dare he dream it, love. He cares about Anna and wants to help her to understand what is causing her dreams and stop them if at all possible. He knows from experience with his active dreamer mother that if Anna doesn't find answers, she will most likely disappear just like his mother did many years ago.
Anna and Liam are on a collision course with something big. Something that could change their understanding of the world they live in. Something that could make or break them and the existence of humans as an entirety.
When I got into the book I was interested in what could cause Anna to have quite literal killer dreams. What I found to be the cause of them was a little unnerving. I didn't expect it and since it is a pinnacle part of the story I won't divulge what that revelation was. I found the book to be exceptional up until a certain point. At about the half way mark, things got a little odd. I understand that with dreams, things are bound to be very Alice in Wonderland-esk, but this was almost a bit too hard to swallow. When the climax came about I found there was a lot of explaining from the antagonist. I would have maybe liked Liam and Anna to find out some answers for themselves about the grand evil plot instead of it just being explained out by the big baddie. I was almost expecting there to be some sort of moral to the story where it really wouldn't fit in the grand scheme of things.
I would say this book was about middle of the road for me. I really enjoyed some aspects and saw room for improvement in others. It's the author's debut novel, there are bound to be a few kinks along the way.
Dreamer is a dreamland of the paranormal genre that will cause you to wonder just how real ones dreams could actually be.
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emilyanne3000's review
4.0
Dreamer was a delightful read! Not only was I easily immersed into Anna and Liam's story, I also was rooting for both characters the entire time. This book is perfect for readers looking for a quick and creative novel with a easy-to-read writing style and a real cool ending!
The book starts off with introducing us to to the dark world of Anna who lives in fear that she will hurt those closest to her. Liam has never known such a fear, but he does know that his mother vanished because of the dreams. How can the start not intrigue you?
Anna and Liam, as stated above, were both amazing characters. In my interview with Nicole, she stated that Anna was originally written in third person. I am very glad that Nicole changed the viewpoint to first person as I loved, loved, loved reading through Anna's perspective. I felt like she a relatable yet dark character. Who can blame her with her past? I am ever so glad that I am not a dreamer!
Then, we had Liam. Personally, I felt like Liam was a pretty awesome character. His chapters were distinctly different than Anna's, which I felt compelled to point out after all the controversy about a certain book's (Allegiant's) changing POVs that were confusing and blended together. The voice of Liam was considerably brighter than Anna's and I always knew who was narrating.
I feel like the quote below sums up Liam perfectly and I also must add that he has some pretty humorous lines. Here is Liam in Nicole's words:
"Liam is a very unique individual... He compliments Anna's darker scenes with ones that give readers a chance to digest what's just happened. I also adore his personality."
Now, I must compliment the utter brilliance of the ideas presented in Dreamer. The author's creativity is astounding and the idea of Dreamers intrigued me from the very beginning. Also, the action and revelations just keep on coming, so the reader is never bored. I especially liked the ending. I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
If Dreamer sounds up your alley, you should most definitely pick it up today. October 28th is indeed the release date!
4/5 Stars
The book starts off with introducing us to to the dark world of Anna who lives in fear that she will hurt those closest to her. Liam has never known such a fear, but he does know that his mother vanished because of the dreams. How can the start not intrigue you?
Anna and Liam, as stated above, were both amazing characters. In my interview with Nicole, she stated that Anna was originally written in third person. I am very glad that Nicole changed the viewpoint to first person as I loved, loved, loved reading through Anna's perspective. I felt like she a relatable yet dark character. Who can blame her with her past? I am ever so glad that I am not a dreamer!
Then, we had Liam. Personally, I felt like Liam was a pretty awesome character. His chapters were distinctly different than Anna's, which I felt compelled to point out after all the controversy about a certain book's (Allegiant's) changing POVs that were confusing and blended together. The voice of Liam was considerably brighter than Anna's and I always knew who was narrating.
I feel like the quote below sums up Liam perfectly and I also must add that he has some pretty humorous lines. Here is Liam in Nicole's words:
"Liam is a very unique individual... He compliments Anna's darker scenes with ones that give readers a chance to digest what's just happened. I also adore his personality."
Now, I must compliment the utter brilliance of the ideas presented in Dreamer. The author's creativity is astounding and the idea of Dreamers intrigued me from the very beginning. Also, the action and revelations just keep on coming, so the reader is never bored. I especially liked the ending. I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
If Dreamer sounds up your alley, you should most definitely pick it up today. October 28th is indeed the release date!
4/5 Stars
melodicfate's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
*I'd like to thank the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
It's always intriguing when you see a book with a premise that is original. I have never read a book before where a protagonist dreams of something, and it happens. I don't mean this as in the main character was psychic. I mean that she dreamed horrible things happened to people she cared about, and they really did happen in real life. I thought that this was a unique idea for a story, so I was definitely happy to review it.
Although this book was told in two points of view, Anna was really the main character. This story was all about how guilty she felt for dreaming about people's deaths, and then the people would actually die in similar circumstances. Therefore, Anna lived life with very few attachments. I felt very sorry for Anna and really hoped that things would change for her by the end of the story. When she wasn't being guilt-ridden and detached from life, Anna was an interesting character. I loved how she had such a wonderful relationship with her foster sister, and she also did some very brave things.
Liam was the other main character. I liked him, he was very down-to-earth. As he was Anna's love interest, I thought he was very good for her. He wanted to help her as much as he could, and he wanted to convince Anna to live. I found this very refreshing, and was glad to see such a healthy, strong relationship between teenagers.
The side characters in this story weren't fleshed out, as this was a fairly short book. I felt bad for Liam's dad, because of the things that happened to him. It was obvious that he used work as a distraction from life, and I felt very bad for him. I thought Ana's foster sister Mim was a great little girl, though. She was creative, and I loved how she and Anna worked together to write a story. I'm oping to learn more about these two characters in the next books of the series.
The plot of Dreamer was interesting. It followed Anna and Liam's getting to know one another. Anna found out what she was, and why her dreams caused deaths. This story had some interesting elements of friendship, romance, and some fantasy/sci-fi(I'm not quite sure which it is yet). Nevertheless, I found it an entertaining and quick read.
This story was different from any other young adult book I've read in some time. There was no love triangle, which I appreciated. I found the idea of dreams being the cause of death an interesting, though terrifying premise. I really liked how Anna's character change over the course of the novel, too. With the way this book ended, I'm sure everything is not all that it seems, and I'm definitely intrigued as to what will happen next.
*I'd like to thank the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
It's always intriguing when you see a book with a premise that is original. I have never read a book before where a protagonist dreams of something, and it happens. I don't mean this as in the main character was psychic. I mean that she dreamed horrible things happened to people she cared about, and they really did happen in real life. I thought that this was a unique idea for a story, so I was definitely happy to review it.
Although this book was told in two points of view, Anna was really the main character. This story was all about how guilty she felt for dreaming about people's deaths, and then the people would actually die in similar circumstances. Therefore, Anna lived life with very few attachments. I felt very sorry for Anna and really hoped that things would change for her by the end of the story. When she wasn't being guilt-ridden and detached from life, Anna was an interesting character. I loved how she had such a wonderful relationship with her foster sister, and she also did some very brave things.
Liam was the other main character. I liked him, he was very down-to-earth. As he was Anna's love interest, I thought he was very good for her. He wanted to help her as much as he could, and he wanted to convince Anna to live. I found this very refreshing, and was glad to see such a healthy, strong relationship between teenagers.
The side characters in this story weren't fleshed out, as this was a fairly short book. I felt bad for Liam's dad, because of the things that happened to him. It was obvious that he used work as a distraction from life, and I felt very bad for him. I thought Ana's foster sister Mim was a great little girl, though. She was creative, and I loved how she and Anna worked together to write a story. I'm oping to learn more about these two characters in the next books of the series.
The plot of Dreamer was interesting. It followed Anna and Liam's getting to know one another. Anna found out what she was, and why her dreams caused deaths. This story had some interesting elements of friendship, romance, and some fantasy/sci-fi(I'm not quite sure which it is yet). Nevertheless, I found it an entertaining and quick read.
This story was different from any other young adult book I've read in some time. There was no love triangle, which I appreciated. I found the idea of dreams being the cause of death an interesting, though terrifying premise. I really liked how Anna's character change over the course of the novel, too. With the way this book ended, I'm sure everything is not all that it seems, and I'm definitely intrigued as to what will happen next.
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