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A review by amysbooknook
Dream Country by Ashaye Brown
3.0
Blog Post: https://amysbooknook.co.uk/2021/04/19/dream-country-by-ashaye-brown-my-review/
“I guess what we’re afraid of doesn’t have to make sense.”
– Ashaye Brown, Dream Country
Dream Country follows the story of the triplet Gods of Dreams (Fanta), Sleep (Theo), and Nightmares (Torres). In their celestial home, far above the mortal realm of Pangaea, the land of these major gods have been split and divided into three contrasting regions, separated by a huge wall of Bone and Ivory. This divide was triggered by the untimely and suspicious death of their mother, the God of Night. With the siblings separated and under suspicion by the minor gods that inhabit their lands, trust is scarce between the trio, and when a young mortal is thrown into the celestial world, causing the paths of the three major gods to interweave once again, the gates of Bone and Ivory separating their lands no longer seem to be as strong as the siblings once thought…
First off, I want to talk about how intricate and beautiful the world building is in this book. Ashaye Brown has created such a wonderfully rich and diverse world, that I truly wish I could visit the lands of Dreams, Sleep, and maybe Nightmares (depending on how brave I am feeling!). Elements of religion and mythology were wonderfully entwined throughout this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of the characters.
The narration follows the perspectives of both Theo and Torres, and the description of their abilities were descriptive and imaginative. While I enjoyed the perspectives and intricacies of the rivalry between the siblings, I did have some difficult connecting with the trio. Fanta was quite cruel and unforgiving, Torres was funny, but seemed too driven and unstable, and Theo relied too heavily on those around him, considering he is one of the three major gods. I found it difficult to really enjoy the characters and their development unfortunately, but that is more of a personal opinion. Just because I didn’t connect with any of the characters, doesn’t mean other readers won’t! I also found the story somewhat lacking in any form a romanticism, and would have thoroughly enjoyed a romantic relationships to be involved.
I truly loved the world building and imagery of Ashaye Brown’s writing, however I did find that the story focused too heavily on world building at times, which caused the plot to feel somewhat slow. The pace did pick up towards the end of the book though and it had a fantastic ending. I had previously thought this book was a standalone novel, but since the story was left on a massive cliffhanger, I am assuming that this will be part of a series, that I am truly looking forward to reading!
Conclusion: Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and world building of this book. The intricate details and back story was wonderfully written, and the language was beautiful in parts! I did find, however, that because I struggled to connect to any of the characters, I wasn’t empathetic or emotionally attached to their individual journeys. The plot was also a bit slowly paced during the middle of this book, but certainly picked up at the end! I would definitely recommend this for readers who are fans of other mythological fantasy reads such as Circe by Madelline Miller.
4/5
“I guess what we’re afraid of doesn’t have to make sense.”
– Ashaye Brown, Dream Country
Dream Country follows the story of the triplet Gods of Dreams (Fanta), Sleep (Theo), and Nightmares (Torres). In their celestial home, far above the mortal realm of Pangaea, the land of these major gods have been split and divided into three contrasting regions, separated by a huge wall of Bone and Ivory. This divide was triggered by the untimely and suspicious death of their mother, the God of Night. With the siblings separated and under suspicion by the minor gods that inhabit their lands, trust is scarce between the trio, and when a young mortal is thrown into the celestial world, causing the paths of the three major gods to interweave once again, the gates of Bone and Ivory separating their lands no longer seem to be as strong as the siblings once thought…
First off, I want to talk about how intricate and beautiful the world building is in this book. Ashaye Brown has created such a wonderfully rich and diverse world, that I truly wish I could visit the lands of Dreams, Sleep, and maybe Nightmares (depending on how brave I am feeling!). Elements of religion and mythology were wonderfully entwined throughout this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of the characters.
The narration follows the perspectives of both Theo and Torres, and the description of their abilities were descriptive and imaginative. While I enjoyed the perspectives and intricacies of the rivalry between the siblings, I did have some difficult connecting with the trio. Fanta was quite cruel and unforgiving, Torres was funny, but seemed too driven and unstable, and Theo relied too heavily on those around him, considering he is one of the three major gods. I found it difficult to really enjoy the characters and their development unfortunately, but that is more of a personal opinion. Just because I didn’t connect with any of the characters, doesn’t mean other readers won’t! I also found the story somewhat lacking in any form a romanticism, and would have thoroughly enjoyed a romantic relationships to be involved.
I truly loved the world building and imagery of Ashaye Brown’s writing, however I did find that the story focused too heavily on world building at times, which caused the plot to feel somewhat slow. The pace did pick up towards the end of the book though and it had a fantastic ending. I had previously thought this book was a standalone novel, but since the story was left on a massive cliffhanger, I am assuming that this will be part of a series, that I am truly looking forward to reading!
Conclusion: Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and world building of this book. The intricate details and back story was wonderfully written, and the language was beautiful in parts! I did find, however, that because I struggled to connect to any of the characters, I wasn’t empathetic or emotionally attached to their individual journeys. The plot was also a bit slowly paced during the middle of this book, but certainly picked up at the end! I would definitely recommend this for readers who are fans of other mythological fantasy reads such as Circe by Madelline Miller.
4/5