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A review by ladyazulina
Upon a Waking Dream by J.S. Bailey
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I was lucky, I won a giveaway on StoryGraph and received this book in my inbox and, well, I said to myself that I had to read it before its release date, but you’re reading this review because I wanted to write it.
You should know by now that this is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories, and this is what I have to say about each one of them:
The first was unbelievable… The nerve of the people- or maybe is the hypocrisy? It’s just… You still find this kind of person anywhere. And I liked how the mind can expand due to knowledge, but… Agh, I say that it was karma. I can’t say anything more without spoiling.
The second was… infuriating. Yeah. The protagonist had the thing that wanted most and was unhappy! Does it surprise me? No! People never are happy when they have what they want and seeing this happening when they were having a pretty beautiful outcome brought out the worst in me. I don’t remember feeling that annoyed 😂 I find funny how mad I felt with this. If it hadn’t had a happy ending, I wouldn’t find it that funny…
The third was… a fresh breeze. While reading, I had the same conclusion the author shares in her notes at the end and I had the “AHA! I knew it!” moment. Though what happens in the story is a bit very much intense. I think that has the most action of all the stories. But I loved it. What if…?
I still feel bad for the luck of the dudes on the fourth one, I wanted them –or at least one of them– to go on with their lives and do all the things they wanted to, but… I think this was the story that grounded me the most because… no matter how dumbfounded you are with the occurrences, that’s life… And I will not deepen more on this because I will sadden myself and no thank you.
The fifth one was… the poor guy. What would your life be like if you were living like that? For no good reason on top of that. I don’t know, it seems unlikely (to be able to live) for me, but he’s doing a great job. Goddess bless his reflex sometimes.
In the sixth, I saw so much stubbornness and boldness that I almost wasn’t able to believe it! It was ridiculous! Well, at least to me. This story helped me to remember the length the human being goes to when we’re mentally set on things… There’s nothing that can change our minds, uh?
I share the author’s opinion (on her notes) about the seventh one. I don’t understand, it doesn’t make sense. But what is worse is that… well, this story moved things inside me and wasn’t really positive. I was repulsed by how things were there and I will be happy if I’m able to forget it someday.
Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? I did! His name was Leo, short of I-no-longer-remember-what-was-his-name. But this eighth story is about them and what could happen if they [Redacted] and [Redacted]… Yeah, right, no spoiler 😂
I don’t want to know what could happen if each and every one of us were right about what gives luck and what does not, even- no, especially if we contradict each other. I think something very close to the ninth story. I understand the lady's thought, but I wanted to know!
The tenth story goes around an object I didn’t know I needed until I found it there! And I LOVED its use. It was like… it can bring two people that are very far away, pretty close… And I really liked it.
The eleventh one was bittersweet. If you don’t think TOO much about it, you probably will like it. I liked it… until I get too drawn to the depths of it and I start feeling bad. But it’s a great story, just be a bit cautious, your mental health will appreciate it.
I’m finishing now, I swear. I found the last one sad in a nostalgic way, but it was a beautiful story nonetheless. I can say a lot of things about that one, but then you probably wouldn’t find the beauty of it on your own way, so let’s leave it til here ^^
It was a journey I loved, upon a waking dream.
You should know by now that this is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories, and this is what I have to say about each one of them:
The first was unbelievable… The nerve of the people- or maybe is the hypocrisy? It’s just… You still find this kind of person anywhere. And I liked how the mind can expand due to knowledge, but… Agh, I say that it was karma. I can’t say anything more without spoiling.
The second was… infuriating. Yeah. The protagonist had the thing that wanted most and was unhappy! Does it surprise me? No! People never are happy when they have what they want and seeing this happening when they were having a pretty beautiful outcome brought out the worst in me. I don’t remember feeling that annoyed 😂 I find funny how mad I felt with this. If it hadn’t had a happy ending, I wouldn’t find it that funny…
The third was… a fresh breeze. While reading, I had the same conclusion the author shares in her notes at the end and I had the “AHA! I knew it!” moment. Though what happens in the story is a bit very much intense. I think that has the most action of all the stories. But I loved it. What if…?
I still feel bad for the luck of the dudes on the fourth one, I wanted them –or at least one of them– to go on with their lives and do all the things they wanted to, but… I think this was the story that grounded me the most because… no matter how dumbfounded you are with the occurrences, that’s life… And I will not deepen more on this because I will sadden myself and no thank you.
The fifth one was… the poor guy. What would your life be like if you were living like that? For no good reason on top of that. I don’t know, it seems unlikely (to be able to live) for me, but he’s doing a great job. Goddess bless his reflex sometimes.
In the sixth, I saw so much stubbornness and boldness that I almost wasn’t able to believe it! It was ridiculous! Well, at least to me. This story helped me to remember the length the human being goes to when we’re mentally set on things… There’s nothing that can change our minds, uh?
I share the author’s opinion (on her notes) about the seventh one. I don’t understand, it doesn’t make sense. But what is worse is that… well, this story moved things inside me and wasn’t really positive. I was repulsed by how things were there and I will be happy if I’m able to forget it someday.
Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? I did! His name was Leo, short of I-no-longer-remember-what-was-his-name. But this eighth story is about them and what could happen if they [Redacted] and [Redacted]… Yeah, right, no spoiler 😂
I don’t want to know what could happen if each and every one of us were right about what gives luck and what does not, even- no, especially if we contradict each other. I think something very close to the ninth story. I understand the lady's thought, but I wanted to know!
The tenth story goes around an object I didn’t know I needed until I found it there! And I LOVED its use. It was like… it can bring two people that are very far away, pretty close… And I really liked it.
The eleventh one was bittersweet. If you don’t think TOO much about it, you probably will like it. I liked it… until I get too drawn to the depths of it and I start feeling bad. But it’s a great story, just be a bit cautious, your mental health will appreciate it.
I’m finishing now, I swear. I found the last one sad in a nostalgic way, but it was a beautiful story nonetheless. I can say a lot of things about that one, but then you probably wouldn’t find the beauty of it on your own way, so let’s leave it til here ^^
It was a journey I loved, upon a waking dream.