Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Dream Thieves

this book is so special to me. i love the way YA novels/series do found family it makes me feel so warm and complete every time. this book series also has such full and rich characters that feel so Real (idk if this differs from the realness of any other characters in books i have read, y'all will just have to trust me on this one).

even though these characters are trying to solve this Looming Mystery with the Leyline (idk either) they have their own personal qualms they are going through that doesn't fill like filler. it feels like how when you're a teenager and there is big things happening but your own interpersonal drama with your friends still feels like it is equally as big. (does that make sense???)

i also love how Complex these characters are but how they're still so deeply loveable to me. i have always loved these types of characters more than any other, and would go to bat for them in every debate on who they are. and my dearly beloved ronan lynch has just been added to the list. he is so troubled and sad but also angry i love him so so so much.

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ccsmith23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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nina_elin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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vic_to_ria's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

A good sequel to the first one. Full of development, tension, mystery and some fun times.

I love how Blue and Richard are having a completely different time than Ronan and Adam. Like blue and Richard are having a slice of life teenage movie over here while Ronan and Adam are fighting for their sanity with monsters and the occult magical Forrest like it’s hilarious.

Character wise so much development from Adam and Ronan compared to the first one and I’m so glad cause they are so interesting. I will say Adam did get on my nerves for the first like 40% of this book but he was going through IT so it’s fine I’ll allow it. So much growth on his part coming out of this book he a changed boy fr.
Ronan was such an amazing POV to follow and I want more from him and that magic system they discovered.

There were some really nice parallels with Ronan and another character- where they live with the same problems and see how Ronan could very well have turned out just like them if he didn’t have his friends. I thought it was really great how they bounced off of each other and created tension we knew was going to pop one way or another.

While the first one had objectives and was striving to find the lost king this one was stagnant in that it was more character focused and I think it was the right choice to slow things down and develop the characters that are going to play a big role going forward.

Overall great sequel and can’t wait to see what happens next.

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