OK, so right now I am flailing at the thought of this not having another instalment until heavens know when. Flailing so hard that the flapping of my arms and gums could probably cool bystanders in this disgusting summer heat. I have already posted my appreciation to Instagram, Twitter, 3 different private messages and I'm pretty sure all neighbouring houses within a 1km radius from my residence know how much I love this novel by now.

It starts out with Nora meeting the Sandman in a dream at age 12. She is hellbent that he is real and protecting her from the things that go bump in the night. Her family on the other hand thinks she is a little cuckoo and have sent her to all the best doctors for psychoanalysis. Eventually she stopped speaking about him but every night she still meets him on his tranquil beach, ready to talk away the days woes.

It's sweet and innocent and a little saddening until a few chapters later when someones neck gets snapped and Ben appears! Ben is the resident hotty of the piece and is so cool and calm and covering in sparkly moon dust tattoos. Oh and did I mention Nora starts hearing creepy taunts from some shadowy weirdo when he show up? She's a 'Dreamer', a term has never heard and is fairly sure is part of her psychosis. Because like there could ever be a disembodied voice telling her how the man with the snapped neck died before anyone else ever knew right?

Anyway, the main character Ben and Nora are so very couple goals and smoosh and in any other life they would be all kissy faces and stolen moments. In this novel however, they kind of don't have time on account of all the people being murdered and some crazy guy named 'The Weaver' (sinister right?) trying to chase them down and steal a dream that was given to someone else because that's what you do when things need safekeeping.

Now The Weaver is basically this novel's equivalent of the Big Bad Witch. He's nasty, has a vendetta against The Sandman and is basically out for total world domination because he got locked away from the 'Day World' and banned from tormenting people for five years. He's such a happy chappy and more or less the King of Nightmares (if you want to cause people terror, why not be the best in your field). Honestly though, I imagined him like a younger, more svelte Hades from that Hercules movie. He is perfection when it comes to angered celestial beings.

Along the timeline of the story, Nora jumps between the Day World (waking world) and the Night World (the world of dreams). Duell provides a close to seamless transition between each and has just the right mix of both to incite a gradually increasing, slow burning fear for Sandman and Nora's lives.

Earlier I mentioned that this was not your usual tale of two teens. Going in I expected love and rainbows and forbidden romance. What I got was a sprinkling of this with a ton of gore and terror and death. I cringed at the graphic depiction of a girl KILLING HERSELF WITH A BALLPOINT PEN. It incited visions of that oh so kitschy scene with the pencil in the ankle from the Evil Dead and it was thoroughly enjoyable. There's eye gouging and tearing off of skin and I was completely in my own little gore filled paradise throughout.

Let me also say, that ending, while a little predictable, made me feel both sorry for Nora but also like she deserved it just a smidge because why would you ignore a celestial being? Like, really, are you that stupid! Her outfit became kick arse while her plight kind of sucked.

Here is where I should be discussing plot points and story pace and all those things that 'real reviewers' talk about. What you need to know is, I haven't been able to just sit and read a book cover to cover in a good six months. But it only took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to read this almost 300 page piece of amazing. Enough said.

All I can say is that this is an absolutely positively amazing novel that earns my first 5 star rating of the year. I'm picky and writing this straight after finishing and yelling at random people Shia LeBeouf style to just read it.

Overall this book was pretty good. I really loved the concept of the dreamworld/ nightmare realm. It was a really interesting take on the topic. I was pretty shocked at the twist and I definitely think I will be continuing on just to see what comes out of it.

I thought that the world created here was interesting and the nightmare realm especially fantastic and descriptive. Unfortunately, it simply lacked something to truly hook me.

My absolute favorite character here was Kail. We got very little of him, and all towards the end, but I just loved him. He's part of the Weaver's blood army, though his motives are questionable. Aside from him, the Sandman was probably the next best character. Especially when he was serious about something and when he was fighting the nightmares. An angry Sandman is awesome. My problem was something that has been getting to me more and more lately with these YA books. I'm starting to get really annoyed when these characters that are thousands of years old act like friggin teenagers. At this point in their existence that should simply be impossible, but every goddamn time they're around the girl they love they act like an awkward teen. I get it, the girl is a teenager and that's who the books are directed to. Still. It's getting really old because it makes no sense.

As for Nora, I started out liking her a lot more than I ended up. I thought that she was mature for her age and tried hard to be normal. Considering her past and her questioning her own sanity, it's not always easy. But she made a good go of it. It wasn't until later that she started to irk me with her decisions and I began wanting to smack some sense into her.

So basically what happens here is that five years ago the Sandman bound the Weaver because he was releasing his nightmares into the day world and that was unacceptable. To protect everybody, the Sandman then hid how he did it in Nora's mind as a dream. Making her the Dream Keeper. Unfortunately the Weaver's binds are weakening and he's determined to get that dream from Nora and free himself. He has no issue with killing those she is closest to in order to get her to submit. The Sandman does what he can to protect her, but his power too is weakened and limited.

After so many years of questioning her own sanity, Nora is relieved to find out that the Sandman is real. But along with that truth comes other truths harder to accept. When her sister is taken captive by the Weaver, she vows to save her and to kill the Weaver for all he's done. But to do that she must enter his nightmare realm. Things go from bad, to good, to worse rather quickly and now Nora is faced with deciding if her vengeance is worth losing the trust and love of the Sandman. In the end she makes her choice, and nothing will be the same again. Not even her relationship with the Sandman that she loves so much.

I have to say, the ending was rather predictable. And honestly, I have no idea if I want to see what happens next.

Dream Keeper is the first installment in author Amber R. Duell's The Dark Dreamer Trilogy. A fair warning, this story is dark. There are grotesque death scenes that may not be suitable for those who are triggered by blood and more blood. Personally, none of this affected me in the way I rated this book overall or my desire to read the sequel. This story alternates between 17-year old Nora Gallagher, and the Sandman who is the only one who has kept her sane since her parents divorce.

Nora has had an ongoing relationship with the Sandman every night for the past 5 years. The same Sandman who is supposed to keep the nightmares away while you are sleeping. Nora learned that talking about the Sandman to her friends and family was a no no as it would only land her into treatment yet again. 5 years ago, the Sandman placed a dream inside of Nora's mind thus making her a Dream Keeper.

The Dream is the key to unlocking an invisible barrier keeping the Nightmare Realm from spilling into the Dream Realm, or even the Day Realm. But, the Weaver is pushing harder and harder for Nora to release the Dream to him. The pushing ends up with several people that Nora knows being murdered in a brutal manner and her older sister, Katie, being kidnap and held in a world where nightmares are actually alive. As Nora weighs in on this new reality she thought was a safe harbor, and ends up in a battle between the Dream Realm and the Nightmare Realm, the Sandman will need to use every trick in the book in order to save her. But, will it be enough, or will the Weaver get what he wants?

The Nightmare Lord is one of the creepiest and disturbing villains you will meet. He keeps the creep factor constant throughout the story. The real terror unfolds with the vivid death scenes, each more brutal than the last. The tension remains high and there's definitely tons of unexpected twists and turns. In other words, there's a lot to make this a read which is hard to put down.

Book # 2 - Dark Consort
Book # 3 - Night Warden

Je ressors donc de cette lecture très mitigée car j’ai adoré l’intrigue et l’action. C’était plein de suspense et c’est un bon récit d’horreur. Cependant, le bât blesse sur l’héroïne car ses qualités ne suffisent pas à contrebalancer ses défauts.
Elle n’a pas ma sympathie mais la fin de ce tome attise tout de même ma curiosité car je sens qu’il va y avoir énormément d’action. Le potentiel de l’intrigue est certain alors il est probable que je passerai outre ma non-sympathie pour Nora pour lire la suite.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my thoughts in any way.

Dreams have always given me a certain kind of fascination. I don't think I've read much books about dreams except for Dreamology which is a contemporary. But this... This is exactly what I've wanted! When I first heard of Dream Keeper, I was—to put it midly— interested. And when I saw this available for request on NetGalley, I was very excited. So I guess you can imagine my (joyous) outburst when I got approved for it!

This is nothing like I've read before. Dream Keeper is told in two perspectives, Nora and The Sandman, and it follows both their journey in saving the people they love (for Nora, her sister, and for The Sandman, well, Nora) and the whole world along with it.

The Dream Realm and the Nightmare Realm, a whole other world once everyone falls asleep, were really amusing to read about. Written very well, I especially loved the spooky vibe that the Nightmare Realm gave and the ghastly things inside it.

The death scenes mentioned in the synopsis really were horrid so fair warning if you're not comfortable with that, maybe skip those particular parts? But I'm not really bothered by that kind of thing so those scenes combined with the vivid description of each and every nightmare, added much more to the eerie reading experience.

Nora, our main character, can be a bit immature at times and although I don't agree with some of her decisions, I still very much like her strong personality. Despite her overwhelming fear, and even though there's nobody she can turn to except for The Sandman, she maintains headstrong to save her family and the whole world along with it. I mean, who wouldn't admire that? Her mother thinks she's crazy, people around her are dying and she's considered the main suspect. If I were in her shoes, I would have broken down in a heartbeat.

A very interesting and unique plot? Check. Amazing world building? Check. A strong female main character? Check. Fantastic writing? Check. I highly recommend you include this book in your TBR—or, much better, read it immediately!

First I would like to say thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book! I really really enjoyed this book. The second I saw it I was intrigued. The cover art is beautiful and I really enjoyed the summary. There is not a lot out there about the Sandman and I think Duell has an interesting interpretation of the myth. I really like we get both Nora and the Sandman's perspectives throughout the book, it makes for a more engaging tale. I . can't wait for more people to read this!

In exchange for an honest review, I got an e-arc of dream keeper via netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dream Keeper is an inventive and dark YA tale that is truly unlike anything I’ve read. That’s hard to come by nowadays, and I appreciated how new and fun this world felt. While the plot was intriguing, the main character became a bit tedious, making the same mistakes over, and wish there was more development on the secondary characters so the emotional impact could have resonated more. 3 Stars!

I had the pleasure of reading this and it blew my mind! I've read stories about the Sandman, dream realms, and fantasy before but this one is dark and deliciously twisted. I really liked this book. It's new and fresh. The writing style is definitely unique and the characters are evolved. I love the world building and the insight into her frame of mind when certain scenes happen. I'm actually really glad I requested this book and I can't wait to read more from this author. In most books about The Sandman, you expect an air of whimsy and sweetness, but definitely not the depth of emotion and terror the characters feel in this story. I absolutely loved it! 5 stars and definitely 2 thumbs way up!!

As soon as I read the synopsis for Dream Keeper I knew I had to read it. The story is very unique and, honestly, really interesting. I love that the story is set between two worlds and also in two different points of views. The entire time while reading I was incredibly engaged in the story. In fact, I had one heck of a time putting the book down. Thankfully while I was at work, I was upstairs answering calls and could read between calls.

The world building was very unique and I had an easy time painting a picture of the worlds and characters in my mind. I especially loved the Sandman and the Weaver as characters. Nora was great, too but she didn't stand out quite as much as the other two. I do really hope that we get a little more background on the Sandman in the next book. I have so many questions! All in all, Amber R. Duell is a great writer.

In regards to the story line, it was great. The book was hard to put down and I couldn't help but NEED to know what happened next. There was a bit of gruesome content, but I loved the realness of it. Not to mention, all of the nightmare creatures were very interesting and unique! Lastly, that ending had me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Fabulous, fast paced story that is not your childhood fairy tale of the sandman. It grabs you and takes you on a ride that’s horrifying yet kind of romantic.

I liked the premis of this story. I love the whole idea of the Sandman so I’ve been on the lookout for a story that does him justice. So far it’s not been a great success. Before this one, the only other book I’d that was similar was the Lullaby and that was just so awful but that’s another story, back to this one. In this book, the Sandman is friends with Nora a girl who he has been protecting for the last few years after hiding a secret inside of her. This is all complicated by the fact that he has fallen in love with her and his nemesis the Weaver is now trying to get to Nora in an attempt to steal back what the Sandman has hidden.

The characters were fairly well developed but I didn’t feel that much of a connection with them. I think this is mainly because of the angstiness of them, particularly Nora – I don’t know something about her just felt off, she came across as very childish.

The Sandman was a very interesting character, I would have liked to have known more about his past and his relationship with the weaver, there’s not a very in-depth back story to them and I really feel like it would have given then the story a more solid foundation, however this is a trilogy so perhaps this will be explored in further books.

I don’t really have much more to say, this was an ok read but nothing to shout about. I think I’ll probably read the next book just because I’m curious about where it’s going to next.

I Recommend This Book










Strongly
This is another fun fantasy read and I would recommend it. The story is unique and interesting. It is well written in a style that is easy to read and keeps you interested. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

The concept of this book really intrigued me, we don't see a lot about the Sandman in fiction and I think it was really well executed but in the end I didn't enjoy it that much because of some things. For one thing, the deaths around Nora are an important part but she didn't seemed affected that much. I could understand when it was people she didn't know well but when it was her (best?) friends she just seemed to accepted it like "oh ok" after the initial shock which was really weird for me. All the rest was predictable -- like the romance, I had to sigh at some points -- especially the end which didn't surprised me at all.

I'm so sad to say that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I was expecting too. I was so excited to read about this world of dreams and nightmares, but as the story went by my excitement decreased until it vanished. The darkness in the plot was involving, but as the story went by the story became overly dramatic - something worse would happen chapter after chapter - and predictable. Also, I feel the characters should have been more developed (I could not feel sympathy by them, even for Nora who goes through so much loss) as well as the relationship between the Sandman and Nora.

Well now, I have to admit that the first thing drawing me into Dream Keeper would have to be that beautiful cover. But once I took a glance at what the book would be about I couldn’t help but be curious. As a long time fan of horror the line “start mysteriously dying gruesome deaths in their sleep” stood out like a sore thumb and made the think of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, sign me up please. While Dream Keeper isn’t exactly horror it is a darker young adult fantasy with some gruesome deaths involved so it may not be for everyone.

Seventeen year old Nora has had an ongoing relationship with a figure in her dreams known as The Sandman every night for years. Nora learned a while ago that talking of The Sandman to her friends and family was a no no as it would only land her into treatment yet again. However, now another entity of the dream world has found Nora and this one is not her friend. The Nightmare Lord tracked down Nora after The Sandman hid the key to his escape within Nora making her the Dream Keeper and when others around her begin to die violent deaths Nora knows she needs to face The Nightmare Lord in his territory.

The Dream Keeper by Amber R. Duell is the first book of the young adult fantasy The Dark Dreamer Trilogy. One thing I can say is it’s certainly different and didn’t take long to grab my attention. While it has the darker almost horror vibe to some of it the story also has a bit of romance making it one of those that crosses genres and I do love a good mix to a story. Obviously being part of a trilogy there was an ending that left the door open for more in the series which will certainly be interesting to see what the author comes up with next.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is incredible, and I could not put it down. In fact, it is so good that you should not even be reading this and be figuring out a way to get this book now. I need more Sandman and Nora...

To read my full review check out my blog at https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot.com

5/5 stars (if I could give more I would.)

Such an incredible read. So honored to have been able to review such an amazing book. Will post a full review at release time so as to avoid spoilers but really looking forward to more

I had a great deal of things that I liked about this book. It is very well written and the plot is defiantly new. I liked the idea of a young woman and Sandman having a romance, but once the relationship peels back a little there are some strange feelings. He is in spirit way older and should be much more mature than Nora, but he seems stuck at 17. The death doesn't seem to be taken very seriously in parts of the book. I had a weird feeling from this because of today's society.

This book is vividly full of nightmares that will make your skin crawl. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up, but descriptions that made me truly shudder was not one of them. This book propels readers into a world of dreams, somewhat reminiscent of Freddy Krueger, and just as chilling. While I enjoyed the premise and world building, I struggled to find a true connection with the characters. I was rooting for them for sure, but never truly felt as though I got to know them, which made plot points plod on at times and also built confused feelings surrounding some character choices. However, these slow paced moments coupled well with moments of exciting action. Overall, this was a very well written, young adult adventure that I am sure the targeted demographic will love.

*** A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***