Reverie by Ryan La Sala is a fantastical, mind-bending journey where dreams and reality collide. Kane, who suffers from memory loss, discovers he can navigate surreal worlds known as "reveries." As he unravels mysteries and faces dangers in these dreamscapes, the story explores identity and resilience. Perfect for fans of imaginative, twisty YA fantasy with rich symbolism and adventure.

3.75⭐️Interesting concept of magic and powers given by magic. Queer rep in this. Found family vibes.

Rated 4.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

WORKS LIKE A DREAM

I went into Reverie expecting a wild ride through alternate realities (which I have to admit was my first hook - OK, I'm trash 😂), a bunch of teen heroes saving the day (maybe even at a high cost, because we all know there's nothing like sacrifice to make a book more grand) and, well, a drag queen sorceress of course (because early reviewers couldn't stop screaming about her). And I did get all of that. But somehow, the book surpassed my expectations. The dreams made real were even more detailed and outrageous than I anticipated, the stakes higher, and the drag queen sorceress more flamboyant (AND terrifying)...while she was also able to surprise me with her metamorphosis - or more precisely, with the way she revealed her true nature. Plus, for a story so steeped into opulent, crazy dream-logic, the world-building was surprisingly well-thought. Under the reveries' flashy/deadly facade, under the protagonists' powers, under the villain's motives, there was a lot of rhyme and reason, and even some psychological ground - not to mention a spot-on take on the power of dreams.

QUEER AS FOLKS

I never mention other reviews in mine, especially when I don't agree with them, and I don't like sub-texting, but I need to make a point here. One of the early reviews of Reverie I read on Goodreads stated that - while the reviewer in question "loved equality and diversity" - the #OwnVoices rep in this book was "too aggressive", because Kane is "so much more than just gay" and basically, La Sala wasn't doing him a favour by pushing the label (the reviewer even advocated for more "modesty" from the author!!!). I know better than to keep fights with random people on the internet, but this time I was SO CLOSE to. Apart from the damage this fakely progressive way of thinking causes to our society, this story is boldly gay (and other things in the spectrum), and it has all the rights to be. Of course Kane is "so much more than gay", but "gay" is his core identity, not to mention, the reason for a lot of things that happen in the book, and the root of Kane's relationship with the antagonist herself. I also plaud La Sala for creating a fantabulous villain who's the queerest thing I've ever seen in a YA novel, because this isn't meant to pass a judgement on drag queens, other than they're "power personified", as he himself states in the Acknowledgement section. This book is shamelessly queer, people. Deal with it.

FRIENDSHIP (T)ANGLE

The supporting characters in Reverie are quite solid, even if they didn't steal my heart (which is mainly the reason for my 4.5 star rating) - though I have to admit that loyal, non-confrontational, yet surprisingly powerful Ursula got pretty close. There's a realistic sibling angle and a complex friendship one (you could pitch this book as "unlikely band of friends enters worlds and saves the world", except it's much more than that), both tainted with trust issues. There's even a sweet M/M romance, which isn't the focus of the story but is integral to it. And you might feel like I've already told you too much about this book, except there's so much more to uncover yet. Reverie is one of the richest, most fascinating book world I've ever entered, and while I got the chance to read this one for free, I most definitely plan on grabbing a physical copy for my personal library, because I can see myself returning to it again and again and never getting tired of it.

(Note: I know I'm not supposed to talk about this, but I can't help myself - I was able to spot a dozen of typos/errors in my ARC, and though I'm pretty sure the book will undergo another round or more of copy editing before getting published, some of them were pretty jarring - "your" instead of "you're", "who's" instead of "whose", "site" instead of "sight". Which is a pity, because the prose in itself was quite lovely. This didn't influence my rating though).

This was fine. It was pretty entertaining (for the most part) but I felt like the characters weren't very developed so everything was a little vague. A drag queen villain is super fun and unique though! I just felt like everything kind of glossed over the surface though and I wanted a little more from the book overall

I gave this book a few tries. Once before it came out, once again after the audiobook was released, and one last time this year as I'm going through my NetGalley titles to catch up. I just don't think this book if for me. Too slow of a start with characters I can't get invested in. DNFed at 20%

I don't like the characters and I don't really care about the plot. So this one simply isn't for me unfortunately.

wasn't keen on this one. i'm not really a horror/thriller girly, and the story felt a bit long and convoluted for my taste. not sure i'll pick up more of this author's books (unless someone convinces me otherwise).

This was quite an interesting novel. I enjoyed getting to know the characters.

Reverie - All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can’t remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it’s not just Kane who’s different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different.

As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what’s going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere—the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery—Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know.

This has been on my “Currently reading” shelf for almost four years now, so I think it’s time to accept that I’m never going to finish it. It has a cool premise, but the prose is clunky (e.g. “the boy’s youngness” instead of “youth”), and I just couldn’t get into it. DNF at 62%.

My notes from 2019 say that it “feels kind of like if a video game were a book,” so if you like video games, or books that feel like video games, you might like this.

I regret that I was not able to get to this within two years — two years! — of the publication date. The premise is still unique and tantalizing, and I hope to revisit it someday when the mood is right.

Ryan La Sala blows me away every time. This was such a special read the premise unique but not too out there, I thoroughly enjoyed this!!

I gave this a three out of five stars. I really enjoyed this story and the characters as well. I liked learning about the characters and what happened. I wish there was a sequel to this.

This book held a really interesting premise... but I had a hard time following at different points. Overall it was enjoyable.

Not a book I’m usually interested in, but the description sounded amazing so I had to give it a try! I found out about this book through the author’s online presence and I’m so glad I found it! This book was incredible! I loved each of the characters and really felt like I connected to them. I’m blown away!

I found the storyline of this book a bit difficult to follow, which often happens for me with dystopian/fantasy type plots. However, I loved the characters! They were so well written!

I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I could only make it 30% through before I had to stop reading it. The characters did not make sense. The reverie were dreams that ended up being reality. However, the plot was so disjointed that it ruined the story. .

very good gay books with gay people. what else could we ask for??? I read this book months ago and I still think about it

I really tried to like this book. What began with an interesting concept became a failed intrigue. The characters fell a bit flat to me, and the story was too slow for my taste. I made the decision to DNF around 27% when I grew bored.

I did enjoy this book, but found the writing to be slightly lack lustre. The main character was enjoyable and overall the plot was really interesting, but I, unfortunately, didn't end up loving this one.

This is an LGBT story with superhero powers. It was great fun and so exciting to read about the main character Kane coming to terms with his new found abilities.