Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for honest opinion. This is available in stores now.

What drew me to the book was the comparison to Inception, a mind-bending movie that I really liked, though the gorgeous cover definitely helped. I’m a big fan of twisty plots, so I had high hopes.


This book just didn’t do it for me. It felt too big, and at times I worried that the plot had gotten away from the author. I’m not sure that makes much sense, but it’s the impression I had. It’s difficult to become immersed in a book when you are unsure if the author can deliver on what he set out to do. It was actually mildly stressful.

The characters didn’t really stand out all that much to me. One of them actually shot rainbows, and I couldn’t stop thinking of Aoyama from My Hero Academia: he has a laser that shoots from his naval and for some reason that image kept popping into my mind as I read this. Poesy, the drag queen sorceress was my favorite by far. The other characters just didn’t interest me.

The concept was interesting, but felt a bit shaky on delivery. The descriptions were fantastic, however, and I consider the prose itself the strong point of this book. La Sala definitely knows how to turn a phrase.

I think this is one of those books that many people will love; it just didn’t butter my biscuit.

I really wanted to like “ Reverie” but sadly, it fell flat. I found myself wanting to put the book down and move on to something else, but I pressed on, even though it took longer than what I would have liked. It lacked cohesiveness and things were not really explained/ developed enough for me to get a complete understanding. The characters themselves were also underdeveloped and I just did not connect with them.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.*

A surreal, deeply imaginative book – with a diverse cast and a strongly queer focus. Reverie explores inner and outer landscapes, as the tangible world is overtaken with dreams, daydreams, and nightmares.

The protagonist is a gay character, and it's incredibly refreshing to encounter a queer story in which a character's sexuality is not the primary focus of the plot. This is not a coming out story, or a romance, or a story of gay oppression (although all of these elements are woven into the tapestry) – it is a speculative paranormal fantasy with a gay hero.

I would have loved to see more whimsy in the reveries, before they devolved into the dark and dangerous.

The tone in the first half of this book is angry and confused as the protagonist feels lost and gaslit. For me this was a challenge to read, as it hits too close to home. I look for more escapism in my reading, and more bitter tones can leave a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't understand why the protagonist was as angry as he was at the people he was angry at; and I didn't understand why he chose to trust those he did.

There is a romantic C Plot, and I really loved this part of the story – and the love interest. I wish the first threads of it it had emerged earlier in the story.

In his author's note, La Sala says that his choice of a villain was a celebration of power and empowerment - I didn't make this connection in my reading, and I wish I had. Unfortunately, for me, the impact was almost the opposite.

This book is a slow starter, but by the end I was all in. It begins as something surreal, bitter, and confounding, and emerges in a beautiful, poetic place. For me as a reader, I would have loved to see more of the beauty, magic and poetry, especially early on.

I absolutely recommend this to folks looking for strange, speculative fiction, paranormal, or magical realism, and who want to see more queer rep in their genre fiction. For me, the starting tone wasn't what I hoped for, but it got there in the end <3

Reverie is a joyfully queer fantasy debut that includes: a teen protagonist with powers that shoot rainbow light from his hands, a drag queen enchantress villain, a complicated sibling relationship, a heartwarming love story between two elderly women, and a fantastic friend group with the ability to move in and out of magical dreamscapes. There is a lot to love here! The story is vivid, fresh, and inventive. For the most part I had a whole lot of fun with it, though readers should be prepared for some angsty/whiny teen boy, a la later Harry Potter. Which, to be fair, is probably an accurate portrayal of some teens who are still in the process of learning that the world doesn't revolve around them.

Kane Montgomery knows he was in an accident and probably blew up a building, but he can't remember what happened, and has gaps in his memories from the summer as well. But strange things start to happen and he encounters Reveries: dreams come to life, a fantasy spun from the heart and mind of a person. Except reveries can be dangerous, and most people aren't lucid while they are happening. There are lots of twists and turns, an arresting, richly described variety of reveries, humor, and a side of insightful social commentary.

The friend group in this book is wonderfully diverse and so smartly put together. It works to show how differences don't have to divide us and can instead be celebrated.

-Kane is white and very gay, in an obvious sort of way, but is the only out gay guy at his school.

-Adeline is a popular, pretty Black girl who does ballet and may turn out to be queer...

-Elliot is white, Jewish, straight, nerdy, and cares deeply about facts.

-Ursula is white, tall with a large body, straight, and has a Christian family.

I love how their differences in terms of faith, sexual orientation, gender and popularity are handled in such a positive way. It's also interesting to see how each of their powers come from their pain or trauma. The relationships are complicated and not always perfect, but there is a lot of love and willingness to sacrifice for each other. Like I said, Kane does get to be a bit winy and self-centered, with a growth arc I would have liked to start earlier.

The world is interesting and original, but difficult to explain in simple terms. Things sometimes felt a little chaotic, but my overall experience was a positive one and I look forward to seeing more from this author. I think with more polish and experience we are going to get some gems. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Happy (slightly belated) book birthday to Reverie!

I received an advanced copy of Reverie through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Kane Montgomery is in deep trouble, and he’s not sure why. After waking in a river with no memory of how he got there, he is interrogated by the police, who tell him that there has been either an accident or a crime, depending on Kane’s side of the story. Unfortunately even police pressure doesn’t seem to be able to help him remember, so Kane returns to the scene of his supposed crime. What he discovers there chases him straight back into the river again, as he encounters an unidentifiable monster concealed by shadow. Kane’s reality begins to slip further and further away from what could be considered normal, and soon a man claiming to be his new therapist informs him that there are greater powers at work, and they are not thrilled with Kane’s involvement. Kane will need to figure out what happened (along with who is chasing him and why) just to stay alive.

Ryan La Sala has written one of the most fantastical books of 2019 in Reverie! It has mystery, magic, and an ever shifting reality, that I found incredibly engaging! Kane is a narrator that I found myself rooting for from the start. Reverie also features a queer protagonist, which only increases my love for Kane and the story.

You can get your copy of Reverie now from Sourcebooks Fire!

My Recommendation-
I would recommend Reverie to folks looking for excellent LGBT representation in a fantasy novel. Reverie would be especially perfect for fans of Shaun David Hutchinson, because of its twisting of reality with realistic characters.

Overall, I was quite impressed with 'Reverie,' especially considering that this is Ryan La Sala's debut novel. I loved spending time with Kane and his friends, and I couldn't put this book down! 'Reverie' reminded me of the PS2 title 'Persona 4' with its blending of multiple genres, exploration of queer themes, and the parallels between reveries and the TV world, but I especially appreciated the clearer focus of queer subjectivity in 'Reverie.' The only things I would have liked to have seen more of are further exposition to help understand the rather complex world that La Sala has constructed and more development of the villain. Otherwise, I can't recommend this one enough and look forward to more from La Sala! Special thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was hoping that I was going to enjoy this a bit more, and feel that a second read through would help bump this up a star, but purely for the fact that I was mildly confused for most of the book, this is going to be a three for me. Now, don't get me wrong, I really liked a lot of things about this book. The characters were especially strong for me, from who they each were individually to how they were as they interacted with Reverie's cast. The story itself was imaginative and whimsical in really great ways, and the magic was quirky and fun. Again, I think a second read through will make this a four for me and I will be buying this for my collection!

I am sad to say that I did not vibe with this book at all. It was mainly the writing style that put me off, so I cannot give this book more than 3 stars, my personal enjoyment is even lower. I am also even less of a fan of an amnesia plotline than I originally thought. So do take this with a grain of salt.

There are many things that did not work for me, which sadly overpower the things I did like.
As I said earlier, I couldn't connect to the writing style. I had very little emotional connections to any of the characters, I struggled to keep everything straight. It just didn't work for me.

I also found Kane to be not a great protagonist. His amnesia was more bothersome in my opinion, he makes so many rash decisions, and somehow he is always correct. Furthermore, I did not believe he had any prior relationships to any of the Others because it read like there was nothing there. And since the relationship to his sisters also suffered, which does make sense, isolates him from everyone which makes it more difficult, especially since her role is not a minor one. Again, a personal opinion, but I was not invested in his romantic relationship.

Throughout all of this, I kept thinking "this would be a great TV show!" And I think you can see that both in the inspiration and in the writing. The descriptions of Kane's rainbow-coloured powers, all of Posey's fancy outfits, the differently themes reveries - I found it harder to imagine because I think it would have been easier if it was animated.

The concept and execution of the reveries was really good and I would have loved to see even more of them.

I know this is December, the year is almost at an end, but let me tell you, I think this may be one of the best books of 2020. Firstly, this is the LGBTQ rep in this was outstanding, it was a diverse and wonderful read and I would gift this to every single teen I know who likes to read, hands down, no matter their genre preference because this book defies genres. It is magical realism but it's also the story of teenagers trying to work together and all the while we have Kane trying to figure out who he is. There's intrigue, drama, love, diversity, magic, and the power of what the subconscious can do. I'm totally for this book, I loved it.

This book was fine. I found myself going up and down on whether I found it intriguing or just exhausting. The concept is cool, but ultimately I think the style it was written in wasn't to my taste. Certain times I couldn't put it down, while others I just raced through wanting to be done as quickly as possible - mainly near the end, because I just wanted to finish it. Which is a bit unfortunate, because the end should be exciting and draw you in and make you not want to look away. I found it to be the opposite. As far as characters go, I think the author did a good job at making them all different and not too similar to one another. That being said, I didn't find that we dove deeper than a surface level into what makes them who they are. I found myself nearing the end of the book and not feeling any closer or even any sympathy for anyone. I felt no more emotion towards them than I did at the beginning. The book was mediocre in my mind, but I did finish it! Which says quite a lot, honestly. It could be the right cup of tea for other people, but just wasn't for me.

Imagine a cross between Inception, Dr Strange and your favorite YA novel and you'll have Reverie 💫

I don't really have words for this book... I just finished it and waited a few hours hoping I could put thoughts to words but it's not happening properly 🤦 I'm still kind of mind blown (ALL IN A GOOD WAY) and this is a truly a breathtaking debut from Ryan La Sala ❤

The book is super twisty! While I'd say the overarching genre is urban fantasy it definitely has a strong mystery/thriller edge to it 💪 it will keep you guessing page after page and slowly piecing things together all throughout the book and thankfully concluding with everything revealed and nicely wrapped up in a satisfying ending 👌

I really enjoyed how realistic and raw all the characters were and how well we get to know them as the story progresses. The author is the master of showing not telling and using fantastic storytelling and characterisation to push the plot forward and still leave so much mystery hanging but not seeming cliche in the slightest 😊

The whole premise of the book is unique and fun and there are some lovely LGBTIQ relationships represented as well as some really wholesome platonic relationships ❤ I am also in love with a certain drag queen Poesy who is the embodiment of power and probably my favorite character from the book 😍

The plot revolves around Kane who has lost his memory after a horrific accident and only knows he was found half dead and ever since things seem a little bit off. Over time, people reveal themselves to be his friends and as darker forces lurk in the shadows Kane has to figure out who is actually on his side and who may have hidden agendas that could threaten the very fabric of reality itself.

Kane Montgomery got himself into an accident and is being held accountable for arson and possible death of an old woman. He is currently being questioned by the authorities, but the thing is, he can't remember what and how everything happened. There are a lot of things that just don't seem to fit. Was he being framed or did he really commit these crimes? He feels terribly lost and finds no one to turn to - not even his dear sister.

Then out of the blue, a drag queen-slash-witch, Dr. Poesy, appears. He suddenly feels hopeful because finally, there is someone who seems to understand his situation. He also learns about "The Others" - a group who knows the truth about what really happened to him. Reverie by Ryan La Sala is a thrilling YA book about made-up realities that will both comfort and haunt you.

This book is such a good package. There is mystery, there's humor, and then there's romance too. The best part about the romance was that it showed love in all forms. There's a boy loving another boy, a girl loving another girl, a boy loving a girl, and a brother loving his sister. The book is feminist and LGBT-friendly. I loved the fact that as soon as it was clear in the book that Poesy identifies herself as female, all the pronouns changed from 'he' to 'she' and 'him'/'his' to 'her'. There is so much power and respect in a way you address a person based on his/her choice, even when society might find it unacceptable.

I would also like to commend the author for writing a wonderful debut novel and for the fresh concept this novel has introduced. There were some parts that got me confused and that's the reason why I'm giving this a 4 instead of a 5. Trigger warnings include memory loss, bullying, guilt, and graphic injuries.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an incredible tour de force that is truly unlike anything else I've ever read before. There's definite parallels to be drawn between this story and "Inception," and the surreal, precarious nature of this ever-shifting world also brings "The Raven Cycle" to mind, but it is wholly its own.

At its heart, this story takes people who exist between worlds and who navigate multiple realities and makes their journeys literal, putting them at the forefront. It's about the deeply-held fantasies that dwell in our hearts, of worlds that we can control and ultimately belong in, and what the consequences would be if those fantasies became real fixtures in the world. As the narration puts it:
"It wasn't about finding a world that would tolerate him. It was about imagining a world that loved him back."

The reveries at the center of this narrative are about power, about agency, about exploring the multitudes of the imagination, and the strength it takes not just to imagine or create a world, but to *change* it.

To say I'm floored by "Reverie" is an understatement. I am changed by it.

I thought this book was SO GOOD. It is one of those books I wanted solely because of the cover and I’ll admit that my only complaint is the plot did manage to be kind of confusing at times, but I still found the story overall to be entertaining, enlightening, full of heart, and full of plot twists that I did not expect. It was a book that was a page turner for me, with me hungrily devouring the story until the very end.

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY
All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can't remember anything since an accident robbed him of his memories a few weeks ago. And the world feels different—reality itself seems different. So when three of his classmates claim to be his friends and the only people who can tell him what's truly going on, he doesn't know what to believe or who he can trust. 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 only he can stop their world from unraveling.

The concept of daydreams becoming akin to parallel dimensions that suck people in as supporting characters against their will was done well in my opinion, and I found the Others to be very interesting characters. I grew attached to them all rather quickly, and while I often did wonder - like Kane - if they were to be trusted or feared, it was hard not to fall in love with these nerdy, super-hero-esque characters. I especially loved Elliot’s constant corrections and Ursula’s love for baking and cooking.

This book also has A LOT of LGBTQ+ representation, with many main characters and villains being queer, gay or lesbian and I LOVED that about this book. It is nice to see yourself and other complex and diverse characters represented well and at the forefront of a story. I highly recommend you pick up this book!!!!

‘The act of crushing a dream can’t be minimised. At best, it’s mean. At worst, it’s murder.’

I need to stop getting sucked into book hype vortexes. I keep expecting too much and winding up disappointed, unsure if the let down is real or a result of the height of the pedestal I placed the book upon before I read the first sentence.

“Reveries are what happens when a person’s imagined world becomes real. They’re like miniature realities, with their own plots and rules and perils.”

I absolutely adored the concept of ‘Reverie’ and I love the design of the cover. I liked a lot of the sequences in the book, even though they felt disjointed at times, and thought the individual reveries I visited were very imaginative. So, what went wrong?

My main problem with this book was its characters. I never connected with any of them and, because of that, I wasn’t emotionally invested in what happened to them. I wanted to laugh with them, cry with them and be concerned for them, but I walked alongside them numb.

“You’re more powerful than you know.”

I would have loved to have loved or hated various characters but in all honesty there are still two characters that remain interchangeable to me. I know both of their names but throughout the book, unless I was reading a description of one of them, I couldn’t remember which one they were.

Every reverie has a plot. If you don’t follow the rules of the reverie, you risk triggering a plot twist, and plot twists can be pretty deadly for people trapped inside reveries.”

There were so many elements I loved: a drag queen sorceress with her teacup, a character that has a much loved copy of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’, pain transformed into power, subtitles appearing in a reverie whenever another language is spoken, and creations like a “gigantic nightmare horse-spider”. It should have all come together for me but it didn’t and I’m gutted.

I’ve seen some glowing reviews of this book and I’m having major book envy; I wish I’d experienced the book the way they did. I’d encourage you to read some 5 star reviews. I hope you love it as much as they did.

Content warnings include mention of bullying and suicidal ideation.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read this book.

Happy book birthday to REVERIE! TWs for queerphobic and homophobic microaggressions (enacted against the main characters).

An imaginative debut work of young adult fantasy, Ryan La Sala's takes on some of the most classic of classic YA tropes (the meet cute, especially the gay meet cute; the mysterious benefactor of murky intent; and a found family full of schoolyard outcasts ... among others). It's full of color and drama, with an added layer of flamboyant *queer* drama that both interested me in reading this book in the first place AND means that the stakes are super high for me, a queer person.

To be clear, this is not a coming-out story, even though it still is in many ways a coming-of-age story. The main character, Kane, has already been out for many years, and in part feels something of a social outcast because of being publicly out(ed). He comments on this experience extensively, especially towards the beginning of the book while La Sala is engaged in place-setting, and it's certainly a through-line of the novel, particularly because he finds A) a romantic interest and B) an accepting found family/friend squad over the course of the book, both of which intersect with his past experiences of homophobic microaggressions in respect to memory ... and memory is what's on tap above all else in this book. Kane's voice comes off as quite sharp and embittered as a result of his past experiences, understandably, and if anything I found it difficult to settle into this book because the first quarter or so was grim and the main character prickly. He ultimately softens and learns to trust others, but this isn't the usual "immediate click" found family narrative; he spends much of the book circling and combative with his allies.

The magical element of this book hinges on a muddling of time and memory and magic, leading to the titular "reveries" in which certain people can become stranded in the fantasies or dreamscapes of others. These fantasies follow plot arcs as unconsciously dreamed up by the primary dreamer, and if outsiders intrude on a reverie's intrinsic script they can set off dangerous chains of events that lead to real-world consequences. La Sala doesn't take this in a Lovecraftian direction, even though he certainly could have, and in so doing I feel this book cleaves a bit more toward the YA fantasy set of tropes than the (supposedly) "adult" fantasy tropes. I hate the false binary that's been set up there by those in marketing, but I mention the above ... cleavage direction ... because I work in library-land and such things do play a part in determining how a book is designated in our collection.

I mentioned earlier that the stakes are high here, and I'll be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about the LGBTQIA+ content of this book. I'm nonbinary (agender), asexual, and aromantic. And I come from the conservative depths of the religious American heartland, so I am not AS familiar with drag culture, vogueing, and other historic expressions and manifestations of queer culture as I am with ... well, I'd like to be. So when I approach this book as a nonbinary person, I A) don't see much of myself in this book, and B) am made uncomfortable by the way the villain's queerness becomes a part of a larger evilness. I'm going to try to steer clear of spoiling any big reveals here, but suffice it to say, there's some pronoun switching that may be widely accepted in drag culture that I'm just not read into. I'm misgendered ... literally ... dozens of times a day. And it hurts every damn time. So I'm probably more sensitive to that than others might be, and more struck by it when it manifests in a work of fiction I'm reading.

I do have a sneaking suspicion that La Sala's queer characters are drawn more from a part of the LGBTQIA+ community's historic experience that I just haven't lived, so I'm not officially subtracting any stars for my muddled feelings. I enjoyed the book, even though I had to set aside some personal muddledness. I look forward to seeing what La Sala comes up with next, as his style and voice continue to mature.

"Reverie" might be one of the most original YA ‘magic’ books I’ve seen in a while. 

What first drew the attention of many readers (and, eventually, myself) was the inclusion of lgbtq+ characters and a drag queen sorceress. After hearing a multitude of other people talk about reading this book, I finally gave in and requested myself a copy. 

But what’s special about this novel, to me, isn’t its queerness; Reverie has one of the most interesting ‘fantasy’ elements I’ve seen in a  long time and a structure that turns the usual YA story line (literally) on its head. 

I was intrigued from the beginning, in which we are thrust into Kane’s world after he has had an accident and wakes with very little memory of his life, relationships, and (most importantly) how he ended up in the crash to begin with...and how he got out. The first part of the story immediately sets up an unconventional structure in comparison to most YA novels like it, which was intriguing to me.

But the tension didn't let up as we learn how and why Kane has lost his memories. My eagerness to flip page after page didn’t cease as I was immersed deeper and deeper into a world not so unlike our own, but which begs the question; what happens when our imagined realities are better than the real ones? And what if those realities came true?

I loved the idea of the reveries, both in what they were and how they were realized on the page. The inclusion of real-life subtitles I found to be particularly clever and funny.

At first, I thought that seeing the reveries described again and again would lose its charm, but each was so original, well-imagined and described, and made so much sense (eventually) in the context of their creation that I never got sick of them. In fact, I probably would have sat through hundreds of more pages of different reveries and enjoyed every second.

In fact, overall, I thought that this story could have been longer. Although, I’m not sure if that’s just because I wanted more of the reveries or because I needed more.

Some aspects, I thought, could have used a bit more time. For example, I might have liked to get to know our characters more, and let them establish (or re-establish) their relationships with Kane over a longer span of time. More ‘I wonder if I should trust them’ and ‘I don’t know what to think or who to trust’ angst wouldn’t have been ill-placed in my opinion...which is something I never thought I'd say about a YA fantasy like this...

I also thought there could have been more exploration into how the ‘magic system' fit into a world so like ours and how it came about, although there’s enough already in there that I was never actually confused or felt like I missed information. (AKA I don’t understand why so many reviewers have said it was too confusing to keep reading...)

But even when I had some doubts about the story, the writing style in this book is so whimsical yet uncomplicated that it never loses its charm to read. Unfortunately, it was somewhat peppered with grammatical errors. 

Usually with an advanced copy, I wouldn’t point out spelling mistakes and errors, but considering that I got this copy so close to publication, and that it specified that no errors were supposed to present, I can’t say that it didn’t somewhat affect my reading experience. Most of the errors were so simplistic, and could have been so easily fixed with just one more go-over; for example, there was an instance in which Kane’s name was misspelled as "Kate" which caused me some moments of confused page flipping.

I rated "Reverie" 4.5 out of 5 stars.

2.5/5, rounded up because a) so much queer rep, and b) I freaking love the concept of an evil drag queen.

“Kane shoved down his curiosity, knowing it was useless to expect a drag queen to do anything other than exactly what she wanted.”

When I heard that a book existed where the “evil queen” trope has been transfigured into “drag queen sorceress,” I just knew I had to read it. And it’s a YA fantasy being compared to Inception and full of fabulously queer characters? It sounded like such an exciting idea. But you know those books that you have so hyped up in your mind because they sound so fresh and original, but then you find out that “fresh” is just a euphemism for “unpolished and awkward”? Yeah, that’s how this one ended up.

“That’s the thing about a big imagination. It’s hard to belong anywhere when you can always imagine something better.”

I’m not even entirely sure I can properly summarize this book, because on the one hand, I don’t want to give too much away…but on the other hand, it’s really dang confusing for quite a while when it totally doesn’t need to be, so I don’t feel too bad. Kane Montgomery is your typical super gay, out-and-mostly-proud loner. Well, maybe not so normal. Recently, he crashed his car into the old mill near his town, causing a huge explosion. He was found in a river shortly thereafter, suddenly missing several months’ worth of memories, and sporting some nasty burns on the back of his head. He can’t help the nagging feeling that he’s missing something important. Enter the Others, a group of students with (relatively new) superpowers, who enter Reveries (daydreams-made-real) and safely unravel them so that those who are dreaming and partaking in them can return safely to their lives without any memory of the Reverie itself. Kane thinks he used to be one of the Others as well. If only he could remember what happened that summer…

What ensues is a whirlwind plot of magic, evil schemes, illusions, fights, lots of wiped memories, family, friendship, and a dash of love. It’s pretty wild. Unfortunately, “wild” doesn’t always equate to “good.”

But, as always, I’ll start with the positive. This book’s largest and most obvious strength is its unabashed queerness. By the end of the book, nearly every character, primary or secondary, is confirmed not-straight–seriously, there are like two straight people total. Though they do face some external homophobia, they are generally respected, which is nice to see. As mentioned before, the villain is a literal drag queen sorceress, who is fabulous and evil and a total manipulative bitch who also happens to have perfect nails and hair at all times. And, just in case the story wasn’t gay enough, the main character is a gay teen whose power involves shooting literal rainbows out of his hands. I am not making this up, I swear.

I also do have to give La Sala props for coming up with such a creative and ambitious premise. The idea of people needing daydreams to sustain themselves but having to contend with those dreams sometimes getting out of control–and/or fighting back–is interesting, to say the least. There’s the omnipresent dread of knowing that, like in a regular dream, most people aren’t aware that they’re actually in a Reverie, and that if too much deviates from expectation, the Reverie will warp and twist itself into something more akin to a nightmare. The contents of the Reveries themselves were sometimes astonishingly original, particularly one involving a romance novel and some bejeweled eggs that hatch horrifying-yet-beautiful creatures. Finally, with magic manifesting itself in dream journals and dogs, charm bracelets and teacups, La Sala infused the world with all sorts of delightful quirks, most of which tied up nicely by the book’s conclusion. And he manages to anchor this weirdness as well, with a very normal, down-to-earth sibling relationship between Kane and his sister Sophia, with all the usual sibling bickering and freeze-outs juxtaposed with fierce loyalty, especially when it comes to keeping secrets from their parents.

The thing is, when you have such a large concept to work with, you have to execute it flawlessly. If you’re using a familiar magic system, like wizards with wands, your audience can infer pretty easily how they work. But when you’re coming up with a whole new way of experiencing a daydream, there are questions you need to answer–about how and why they start, about what their limits are, about what people on the outside will see, and so on–and while we got a great idea of what it is like to be inside the Reverie or to unravel it, many of the foundational details were either ignored altogether or given a cursory-at-best explanation somewhere in the storyline. Furthermore, even when they were explained, it was almost always in the form of an info-dump from one of the secondary characters, either a monologue or what feels like a very poorly scripted conversation, rather than organically explored.

This leads me to my second major issue with the book, which was the weak writing overall, starting with incredibly stilted dialogue. The characters’ jokes weren’t very funny, their speech patterns didn’t seem natural, and their expressions of emotion didn’t feel particularly heartfelt. Despite the fact that there were technically four major couples (either established or clearly beginning) by the end of the book, I only really felt a legitimate connection in one of them–and this was just a side couple, not even one of the Others!–and maybe some hints of it in a second. In particular, Sophia’s romantic feelings for someone come seemingly out of nowhere, and they were just sort of dropped in there, mentioned a few times, and then promptly ignored again by the end of the book.

But the weak writing wasn’t just in the characters; it was also in the language overall. So many cringe-worthy phrases were used–in particular, an excess of similes (which so frequently read as juvenile; if you’re going to make creative comparisons, try to mix in some more metaphors…or, better yet, just show what’s happening, don’t tell us what it is and then follow with a further comparison!). Here are a couple examples of lines I found particularly egregious:

“Those emotions were flat now, like old soda.”


“Hmm. I don’t know, honey. I think you kind of look rock-and-roll, you know? Like, a tough guy. A tough, guy poodle.” She grinned. “Or should I say… a ruff guy.”
“That’s not funny, Mom.”
“Well, it certainly seemed to give you… paws.”
Kane tried not to laugh and failed.


“It cracked against the sorcerer, cutting into him like a wire through soft cheese.”

Finally, there was the issue of tone and pacing in this book. It tried to do a lot, and in doing so, it spread itself too thin and didn’t fully take advantage of any of its components. The start of the book was incredibly slow and meandering as Kane didn’t know what was going on. I have to confess, with the weak writing and the lack of plot development, I almost decided to DNF about 35% of the way through. Then, all of a sudden, Kane has powers–which he masters the use of way too quickly, and frankly are just way too strong to be fair–and there’s magic everywhere and all sorts of things are happening rapid-fire, one after the other, in a rush until the end of the book. It goes from a recovery of memory, with a dash of mystery, into something that feels closer to a child’s superhero TV show, complete with the super-strong-force-field person, the invisibility person, the shape-shifting person, and the person who messes with your mind. Some parts of the book felt like they were trying to be deep, to make statements about being yourself and the importance of dreaming, and to show the power of family and friendship–and, seriously, Kane cries a lot. That’s fine; he’s been through a lot, and it’s nice when characters get realistically emotional. But then you back up and look at how ridiculous the premise’s execution is, and how impossibly easily and cheesily the plot wraps itself up in the end, and you can’t take any of it seriously anymore. Things are just too simple, and too many coincidences work out too improbably well, and it feels like we’ve lurched back from serious-book to Saturday-morning-cartoon-world again. Instead of picking a direction, and maybe seasoning it with bits of the other–either a serious book with a couple funny bits, or a lighter book with a handful of emotions–it went about 50/50 and ended up discordant and less enjoyable.

One thing that might have resolved both the iffy-writing issue and the tonal-inconsistency issue would be a switch in narration style. Now, I can’t say this for sure, because obviously, it’s not like I can mentally rewrite the whole book, but this story is written in third-person, which feels weird. I think a lot of the aforementioned tonal inconsistencies are because we have an impartial third party trying to navigate a story that is split between two feelings. And a lot of the narration is just explaining what Kane is thinking anyway. A first-person narration by Kane himself could have gone a long way in terms of a) solidifying the tone, b) playing up the gaps in his memory and their emotional impact on him, and c) making his feelings more convincing. Again, though, this is just speculation; I’m not an expert, but the question of why this book wasn’t in first-person hit me within the first chapter or two, and it never left, so I thought I should mention it here as well.

Basically, this is a super-gay book that could have been super-fun or super-heartwarming but instead is mostly super-weird due to its super-strange execution. If you’re interested in the premise, by all means, go ahead and read it–the concept truly is original and captivating, if you can get past the gaps in the worldbuilding overall. But if you are hoping the characters will steal your heart, or if you’re imagining a world of lovely prose, you should probably seek it elsewhere.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

If you love magical worlds immersed in a mystery plot, this book is for you!

We follow the main character who suffers from memory loss after a traumatic incident leaving him in the middle of a wild investigation. Right away, we are thrown into trying to figure out what exactly happened while also fighting these weird, magical settings that pop up throughout the story. 

It feels like the perfect mesh of a contemporary mystery while immersed in multiple fantasy worlds. I think the author did a great job in writing such a creative book that I have not read before.

The story itself did take a few chapters to really begin to know what was going on. I gave this one 3 out of 5 stars. 

There are also diverse, LGBT characters that perfectly encompass this novel making it a bright, dramatic storm you won't want to miss!

This book was not for me. DNF at 40%.

The first 20% on the book is incredibly slow without revealing anything besides the main character being gay, which he points out on every other page. I get that it's important, but why it was constantly focused on was beyond me.

By the time we do find out about the reveries, it is incredibly confusing. I think that was the author's intention for the story but it made it difficult to follow. Combine that with the poor pacing, and I just gave up.