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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
Somehow, Sweet Nightmare is my first Tracy Wolff novel, and I have clearly been missing out due to how much I loved it! I heard this series is a spinoff of her Crave series but from what I can tell, it reads just fine having not read those books. I wasn't confused about anything going on in the story, and it was fun getting lost in a world of monsters and paranormals. This is a YA novel that many ages should be able to enjoy, and the quick pacing throughout kept me engaged and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I did think some parts slowed down a bit, but then they would pick back up and we were off to the races again.
Suzy Jackson & Andrew B. Wehrlen narrate the audiobook which is how I read this, and I loved every moment of listening to them. Jackson made a fantastic Clementine, and her narration is the bulk of this book, so I was really happy. The banter between the characters (especially Jude and Clementine) was top-notch, and Wolff was not afraid to kill people off that's for sure. I loved the darkness of the storyline and Sweet Nightmare was 100% edge-of-your-seat addictive. I'm dying over the cliffhanger at the end, and I wish I could have the next book RIGHT NOW. 😠The found family and friendship group made my heart happy as well, and if you like YA fantasy I would recommend this one!
Suzy Jackson & Andrew B. Wehrlen narrate the audiobook which is how I read this, and I loved every moment of listening to them. Jackson made a fantastic Clementine, and her narration is the bulk of this book, so I was really happy. The banter between the characters (especially Jude and Clementine) was top-notch, and Wolff was not afraid to kill people off that's for sure. I loved the darkness of the storyline and Sweet Nightmare was 100% edge-of-your-seat addictive. I'm dying over the cliffhanger at the end, and I wish I could have the next book RIGHT NOW. 😠The found family and friendship group made my heart happy as well, and if you like YA fantasy I would recommend this one!
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Sweet Nightmare is the first book in The Calder Academy series and I did enjoy it quite a bit. However, there were pacing issues galore and the character development was almost non-existent. The premise of this book sounded quite interesting and I was looking forward to the journey and the reveals, but a lot of it felt rushed, included a lot of random stuff that may or may not be explained at a later time, and I just couldn't get into the romance as the backstory for their lust just wasn't explained all that well.
To be fair, I did enjoy the characters but that's because I was fascinated by the monster aspect of their personalities and how quickly they could switch from being nice people to these terrifying monsters, especially since they couldn't control their powers when they switched or when their power came back to them. But aside from this, the characters are not that developed at all. You have your typical FMC who does not get a break and needs to be rescued by the big, hulking, muscly, powerful MMC. Too many tropes there for me to unpack and not ones that I necessarily like either. The relationship between Clementine and Jude is rushed and because the author doesn't give us a lot of backstory to explain their chemistry other than they were best friends for ten years, it's hard to really get the feels for their relationship. Yes, there are some flashbacks and some explanations, but they are rushed and you don't really have a chance to absorb them because the action is non-stop and you are whirled into another problem. I rolled my eyes quite a few times. I think I enjoyed the secondary characters more than the main characters.
If you like plot-driven books, then this one should definitely be on your radar. The characters are thrown into one situation after another, with little time to breathe, and this gives little time for character development and leaves a lot of room for plot holes that are easily glossed over. Personally, it didn't really flow all that well and felt quite chaotic. There were some aspects to the story I really enjoyed however, and I love secrets and mysteries of which there were plenty.
What I did really love though, was the setting. The mysterious island, the academy, the secrets, the monsters, and the atmosphere are always things that I enjoy in novels and this one had it all.
Verdict
Sweet Nightmare had quite a bit of potential, but too much focus on the plot didn't allow much room for character development, and I need to feel something when I am reading. Characters die, there's a lot of fighting that happens, so I should have felt more than just...disappointment. The author did manage to pick up some looser threads towards the last quarter of the book and weave them back into the story, and there were a few twists and turns I wasn't expecting, but there was still a lot of stuff that was glossed over and didn't make sense. Overall, I did think the story was promising and I will be reading the next book when it releases next year.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced