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A review by amy_bc
Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Sweet Nightmare is set at Calder Academy, a school for magical students who lack control over their abilities or are out of control themselves. Vampires, werewolves, sirens, fae, manticores and every creature you can think of, and a few you might not, are all trapped within the island where Calder Academy sits. As the island is warded to dampen powers, the students find themselves at the mercy of a raging hurricane and literal walking nightmares.
Our story is told from the POV of Clementine (except the epilogue which is told by Jude). All Clementine knows is Calder Academy. Her family runs the school and her mother is the headmistress. Her entire life has been lived on the island and she has never felt the effects of her magic, except a strange ability to see ghosts. But the storm starts to interfere with the island’s wards and every student finds themselves falling into the powers that had been hidden from them, including Clementine.
With the storm raging around them the students must resolve the terrifying nightmares that seem to be running rampant on the island. While fighting bullies, magical beasts and surviving against the hurricane, they discover more than they had bargained for. No one more so than Clementine and her once best friend Jude. Jude, who had been her world at one point but then ghosted her for no reason, is thrusted back into her world amidst all the chaos. Expect the unexpected from the friends to enemies to lovers, or don’t, as it’s pretty obvious. The tension between the two is great but I honestly didn’t get that much chemistry from them as a couple. There were so many background characters that I think it overshadowed what could have been built.
I absolutely love the titles of the chapters! The world building was alright, I wish there had been a bit more. There’s not a lot of detail into the magical system and the plot is quite chaotic. Hopefully we get to develop the characters a bit more in subsequent books in the series. As I understand, this is part of the same world in another series by Tracy Wolff, so it’s possible there’s more development in those that I am missing. Overall, this was a great read and I will probably continue the series if I can remember to grab it when it comes out in 2026.
Our story is told from the POV of Clementine (except the epilogue which is told by Jude). All Clementine knows is Calder Academy. Her family runs the school and her mother is the headmistress. Her entire life has been lived on the island and she has never felt the effects of her magic, except a strange ability to see ghosts. But the storm starts to interfere with the island’s wards and every student finds themselves falling into the powers that had been hidden from them, including Clementine.
With the storm raging around them the students must resolve the terrifying nightmares that seem to be running rampant on the island. While fighting bullies, magical beasts and surviving against the hurricane, they discover more than they had bargained for. No one more so than Clementine and her once best friend Jude. Jude, who had been her world at one point but then ghosted her for no reason, is thrusted back into her world amidst all the chaos. Expect the unexpected from the friends to enemies to lovers, or don’t, as it’s pretty obvious. The tension between the two is great but I honestly didn’t get that much chemistry from them as a couple. There were so many background characters that I think it overshadowed what could have been built.
I absolutely love the titles of the chapters! The world building was alright, I wish there had been a bit more. There’s not a lot of detail into the magical system and the plot is quite chaotic. Hopefully we get to develop the characters a bit more in subsequent books in the series. As I understand, this is part of the same world in another series by Tracy Wolff, so it’s possible there’s more development in those that I am missing. Overall, this was a great read and I will probably continue the series if I can remember to grab it when it comes out in 2026.