Book Review: Dreamfall by Amy Plum

Release Date: May 2nd, 2017
Read: April 5-7th, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Dreamfall, #1
Format: Signed ARC, 288 pages
Source: Author in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

   Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

Review:

   One of you is a psychopath.
   I've been in love with Amy Plum's writing since one faithful day in my local library when I picked up her debut, Die For Me, and finished it in one sitting. Her story, along with her writing made the series such a compelling read. Bounce forward to this previous fall, I learned about Plum's latest and greatest, Dreamfall. When I heard that it was a thriller that was combined with nightmares and monsters, I just knew that I was going to be hooked.

   Dreamfall was a short and quick read, for most of the book I read thinking that it was supposed to be a standalone novel. Imagine my surprise and frustration when the novel ended on a cliffhanger, alongside a bunch of loose ends. Shortly after I realized that it was in fact a duelogy, that was when I was able to appreciate the book more.

   Plum managed to take everyones worst nightmare and include it in Dreamfall, in one way or another. Yes, she even included clowns. She even managed to include one of my worst nightmares as well. Using compelling and suspenseful writing, Plum pulls off one of the most creepy and incredible novels of the year.

   One of my favourite aspects of the novel was the different variety of characters that we met. With the novel taking place during an experimental procedure, each character had their own kinds of mental illnesses and PTSD that in the end made them the prefect subjects for the experiment, it also made them the perfect characters when it came to the story. Not only did these characters did these characters have to deal with the nightmares that were forced upon them, but they also had to be able to overcome and manage their illnesses and PTSD.

   Dreamfall has been one of my favourite reads of 2017 so far, with battling monsters and nightmares of the realistic and not so realistic variety, one can not help but need to know which characters makes it through their own personal hell. Neverwake, its Dreamfall's sequel releases May 2018, and it couldn't come any faster.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"The traitor spread honey atop pretty lies.
Only the love of his victims he asked.
For deceiving the lamb is the wolf's cherished prize.
And only in death is the true beast unmasked."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Monsters, Nightmares