Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository / IndieBound
Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.
Literally.
Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.
Then Eli’s dream comes true.
Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.
Review
I reread this book to prepare for book two. I did not enjoy this book as much the second time around. It gets a solid three stars, which means that I liked it, but I gave it four stars the first time. I liked the setting of the school. It is reminiscent of Hogwarts, but I found the small details charming, like how computers have their own personalities from the proximity to magic. I did get all of the teachers/adults mixed up throughout the book, though [highlight to view spoiler] Which made the reveal of Marrow as Merlin lackluster because I couldn't remember who he was [end of spoiler]. I liked that the book focused on a paranormal that we don't usually see. Our MC is a Nightmare, which means that she feeds on dreams. A mystery from the dreams takes up most of the book and I liked that this book had a mystery focus, but I think I just found the story not that memorable.
I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it
The second in a thrilling new fantastical mystery series
Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.
To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.
As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.
Review
Sigh. I reread book one to get ready for this book and you know what, it just wasn't worth it. This book wasn't terrible, but I felt like I was forcing myself to read it. I didn't care about the characters. The setting, which was kind of charming in the first book, felt more like a Harry Potter knock-off. The main thing that bothered me was that the mystery just wasn't there. Yes, there were some intriguing elements, like the dreams. The dreams were still interesting and I was curious why Dusty kept dreaming the same image. But, most of the book was just our Dream Team (as our cast calls themselves) running around, breaking into things to get "clues", and getting in trouble. On repeat. There was also an awful lot of info-dumping, especially for a sequel. We get more romance in this book but I really didn't care. In fact, I skipped the scenes with kissing because it just didn't move the plot at all. [highlight to view spoiler] Also, suddenly it's forbidden for Dusty and Eli to be together? Come on, I'm tired of this cliche.[end of spoiler] In fact, a lot of scenes did absolutely nothing for the plot.
I think if I read this book when it first came out I would have liked this book a lot more. When I first read The Nightmare Affair, I loved it. But when I reread it (seven years later) it was just a solid three stars. I think it just comes down to this book being forgettable to me. I just read this book and I had trouble thinking of the characters' names!
I don't plan on continuing the series.
I think if I read this book when it first came out I would have liked this book a lot more. When I first read The Nightmare Affair, I loved it. But when I reread it (seven years later) it was just a solid three stars. I think it just comes down to this book being forgettable to me. I just read this book and I had trouble thinking of the characters' names!
I don't plan on continuing the series.
I hereby give this book
2 Stars
Meaning: It was okay
No comments :
Post a Comment