This book is lush, imaginative, and so very queer. It is a story all young members of the LGBT community would want to read, and it’s a breath of fresh air from the heteronormative stories clogging up the genre.

I was interested when I saw the cover, but I was sold when I read “Inception meets The Magicians.” I really enjoyed this one! I’d read more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of this book for my honest review.

I liked Inception, I liked The Magicians. I was not a fan of Ryan La Sala’s Reverie. The description was intriguing enough, the police found Kane half-dead in a river and he has no memory of what happened. There are promises of dragging and danger and wildly imaginative plot elements.

But I didn’t see it. I stopped at a quarter of the way through Reverie and had to push myself to get there through the mundanity. La Sala’s writing is strong but the plot was weak and the characters could not hold my interest long enough for me to wait for monsters.

In that 25%, a single monster showed up. I never saw a subterranean temple or a Victorian home rife with scandal and sorcery. I did see a lot of sass.

Kane’s sass is really the only thing that kept me reading. He’s got an answer for everything whether or not he says it out loud.

Ultimately, I think the writing is enough to carry fans through the rest of the story where it wasn’t enough for me.

I honestly don’t even know where to begin with this review. This book was so beautifully original and unique. Reveries are daydreams that have become real, they suck people nearby into them. When this happens, most people are not lucid. They play along with their parts of the daydream without being aware. The Others are a group of teens who stay lucid in the Reveries. They keep the story going as smoothly as they can and then ‘unravel’ them so that everyone stays safe. Each of the Others has a power to help them. I thought this was so cool! It’s so incredibly original! And also huge props to La Sala for creating so many worlds within his story!
Also there’s so many queer characters!!! Love that. I always want as many queer characters as possible.

Something I really enjoyed about this novel was that the villain is a drag queen. She is a villain, but not because she’s queer or a drag queen, but because she’s a genuinely bad person. That was pretty cool. It works and isn’t offensive because the main character, Kane, is gay. While I sympathized with Kane because of how ostracized he was for being gay, I just really didn’t like him? His personality is just so unlikeable, which I feel is very unusual for a main character. He was just so angry and mean to everyone. He threatened to kill the Others so many times throughout the book. He’s probably why I didn’t give this book 5 stars. He annoyed me a lot.
All the other characters were so awesome though!! They are very three dimensional characters! I especially loved Sophia, Kane’s sister. I really enjoyed their relationship too. It felt like a very organic sibling relationship, which I feel like we don’t get in novels very often. Dean was adorable! I kinda wish we could have learned a little more about his background.

I felt like the action got to be a little too much towards the end. I found myself skimming it more than reading. After all the drama was resolved, though, I really enjoyed the ending. It felt really natural and peaceful, which was perfect for the tone of the story.

I liked the originality of this story, though I wish the main character could have been a tad more likeable. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys unique and magical stories!

Inception is one of my absolute favorite movies, so when I saw it listed as a comp title for this book, I really didn't need to read the rest of the blurb.

"Wildly imaginative" is a perfect description of this book.  Easily one of the most creative novels I've read this year.  Kane is confused and unable to remember much of the trauma he recently experienced.  He feels like a stranger in his own bedroom, and many of his personal items are a mystery to him.  I was all in and needed to know more.  Kane's quest to discover who he is takes the reader on an incredible, illusory journey through the fantasies/dreams/reveries of other people.  At times, you may not know what's real or make-believe.  Some of the characters have powers that come in handy when these reveries spiral out of control.  And there's also a sorceress-like drag queen with a killer wardrobe.  Can I just mention the creativity again?

Kane's character is a treasure, and even in his confusion, his sense of humor shines through.  His sister, Sophia, also has some memorable quips.  While I liked the other supporting characters, I wanted more information about them and how they'd come together.  By the end of the novel, I felt as if I barely knew them.  

With themes of sibling bonds and friendships, amazing representation, and vividly imaginative dream sequences, Reverie will leave you feeling like you just stepped off a bizarre carousel ride through a fantasy world.  And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was so interested in Reverie from the moment I saw the cover, then I read the synopsis and I couldn’t wait to pick it up. I am so happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was as magical as I hoped it would be!

Reveries are basically someone’s dreams made into a reality. Each world is more extravagant and beautiful than the last. They all are completely different and have their own sets of rules. The author does a great job at explaining how everything works with in them. It can be a lot to take in at times, but it’s written in a way that is easy to understand. You never truly know what is going to happen while the characters are inside of these reveries so there are quite a few twists and turns along the way. I was on the edge of my seat for a majority of the book.

From the very beginning we are aware that the main character Kane has no memories from the past few months. So while he is learning all the ins and outs of reveries, so are we. I really loved learning about the magic system and the world right along side him.

This wasn’t a romance based fantasy, but the relationship between two of the characters was precious. I really loved chemistry they had. I do wish that we were able to see more of them all throughout the story though.

The only issue I had with this book was the way the reveries were unraveled. Since each world was so complex, I expected more from the unraveling. It just seemed a little bit too easy and convenient for my liking.

Overall, I really did like Reverie. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun and creative fantasy!

A magical book that will give you a hangover. Reverie is a book described as "Inception" meeting "The Magicians" in a wildly imaginative story about what happens when the secret worlds people hide within themselves come to light. These secret worlds that manifest into the real world portrays the inner most feelings and desires, pain and fears of an individual. To understand how it works, you'll have to read the book. (hehe)

So, what I really enjoyed about this book was the world building. It was full of imaginative creations and everything was so magical (well, it should be since it is kinda fuelled by magical energy). I mean, when there are so many different worlds that are reveries in a single book, you just can't help but feel the magic radiating from it. Once again, I can't expound more since it will lead to spoilers.

Besides that, I thought the character development was tied very well to the plot. They were all very suspenseful beckoning me to unravel the truth behind each character. I was also always on the edge of my seat expecting a plot twist at any moment because in this particular world building, plot twists were allowed to happen anytime when one of the characters made a bad decision (I don't know why it is always the main character that makes the mistakes in most stories though).

Next, let's talk about the writing style. I honestly thought it was good. It was simple and easy to understand which made the experience all the more of a smooth ride. I mean most fantasy books are pretty heavy, so this kind of writing style kinda balances it out.

Overall, it was a great book though some dialogues were pretty cliche. I would definitely recommend this book to others because I feel like it is one of those books that really brings you to a different world like a great escape.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with an arc to review!

This book was an absolute whirlwind. It had been awhile since I have devoured a book as quickly as I did Reverie. I found the writing to be beautiful and there were certain lines that just spoke to the queer experience so well. Also, to anyone who has any questions about how to write using singular they Ryan La Sala provides so easily for you. I enjoyed being able to learn things through Kane's eyes as processes and pieces together what his world looks like. What a beautiful debut!

“Dreams can be parasites we sacrifice ourselves too. Dreams can be monstrous, beautiful things incubated in misery and hatched by spite. Or dreams can be the artifacts we excavate to discover who we really are”

I honestly don’t know where to start with this book. It has a bit of everything… actually, a lot of everything. Contemporary fantasy. Action-adventure. Romance. YA friendship dramas. All through the unapologetically queer rainbow-tinted glasses… I mean, there is a drag queen sorceress as a central character.

I was instantly hooked into this book, from the first page of the opening chapter. Teenager Kane has woken after an accident, missing an enormous chunk of his memory, and a focus of the local police. He embarks on the adventure – with the often unwilling help of his protective sister Sophia – to piece together his missing past, and what he begins to uncover very quickly becomes very surreal as he meets the people known as the Others and learns where he fits into their lives.

This story really is an adventure, and through the reveries – the worlds created by people unaware of the fact that their daydreams have become very real – the reader is taken across multiple worlds on multiple planes of reality. The ensemble characters could have been explored a little more, I feel, but they still feel defined enough to have distinct personalities.

What brought my rating down slightly was my inability to fully picture some of the reveries, or rather, not having the time to have each new world feel real enough. That was just because once in the reveries, the book became so fast paced in true action-adventure style, that some aspects whizzed by. I think that this book could work really well as a screen adaptation for that reason!

“Just because something is imagined doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous”

Rating: 3.5/5, rounded to 4 stars

I loved the flamboyance and sheer queerness of this book and it was super imaginative and creative. This story is campy, over the top, and exactly what I was expecting from La Sala, knowing his twitter persona. It started very strong with a creepy mystery that immediately drew me in. When the nature of the weirdness became clearer I was a bit hesitant but still willing to go with it. Things quickly became very bizarre and surreal. The real world and imaginary worlds or reveries as they are called get all tangled up and mashed together and it’s difficult to unravel what is happening in the real world and what is happening in the imaginary ones. I’m still not sure about the real world consequences for things that happen in the reveries and I never quite wrapped my head around the whole concept. I have to admit I am imminently logical and look for explanations for everything and this book is the opposite of logical and straight forward.

Reverie is a really fun read with a gay main character whose super power is to shoot rainbows out of his fingers and a possibly villainous drag queen sorceress. It was a fun ride but I really wanted more in terms of explanation. I wanted to know how and why things were happening and the only answer I got was that it was magic and so no more explanation was needed. I wanted to know more about the reveries and how all of the people around them didn’t notice the weird things going on. Are they invisible until you’re inside them? How do people not just accidentally walk into a reverie? Near the end with multiple reveries happening at the same time as the real world it all got a bit confusing and messy. I think this story would be most appealing to readers who can just go with the flow and not ask questions about the mechanics. It’s obviously a magical world and the laws that apply to our world do not apply to this one. I think it’s a mistake to try to make it all make sense. It should be enjoyed for what it is which is a magical, queer romp unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

This book is fantasy at the best quality it can be. On top of that its QUEER friendly, not even just queer friendly but all over queer! This books takes readers on a journey that they wont forget. Creating a magical world with friendship, a thrilling plot, and great friendships! I LOVED it!

this was okay, the cover was absolutely beautiful and the author is charming. i wish i was more wowed but it didn’t have that wow factor moment.

This book had an inventive and unique premise that was sadly let down by a confusing magic system, an attempt to build several worlds and mini plots, and lackluster character development.

I think the biggest mistake of the book was letting our main character, Kane, kick off the story with an amnesia plot line. It required us follow along a gather clues about an already existing world and story from the perspective of a character that had no idea what was going on.

A major part of the book is spent inside of reveries which are manifestations of people's subconscious/dreams in the form of a story that has to be brought to a conclusion in order to "unraveled" by Kane and given back to the person it belongs to. Each reverie has its own setting, rules, and plot. Most of the action sequences take place inside of a reverie.

The reveries themselves are an interesting tool, but because they are so individual and complex, it was impossible to get a grip on the story. The combination of the reveries, amnesia, and lies from multiple characters made it difficult to anticipate anything or have any sort of expectations going forward. Ultimately, this aspect was the biggest contributor to my disappointment in this story.

My other issue is with the characters and their development. Kane has a friend group, but the memories of his friends are gone, meaning we get none of his feelings about them and have to learn about 4 different characters from the ground up. A character can't develop if there's no foundation. The love interest, Dean, had an interesting arc, but it began late in the story and felt rushed.

I also could not tell you anything about the motivation of the villain aside from her being power mad. She is a drag queen sorceress, but that seemed to be her only character trait.

A few positive aspects of this story - the sibling relationship between Kane and Sophia was genuine and heartfelt, but with a good amount of real conflict and sibling squabbles that any sibling could tell you about. Also, Kane is a gay teen that never really had a chance to be in the closet, leaving him feeling isolated in his school. These feelings were exacerbated by the lost memories of his friends, and his thoughts reflect that in a sincere way.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book! Living in a world where your dreams can be manifested into reality sounds like fun and games, but this story manages to show the stakes of it and makes it so unique. The relationships that develop in Reverie were so organic, and I was left wanting to see more of all of them. Although I wish some concepts that were introduced were touched upon more, everything that happened made for a very interesting plot.

*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*

I am late to the game in reviewing this one and I feel so bad. Not only was it an interesting world, but also a fun romp. The plot kept the story going keeping me intrigued for what was going to happen next. I also enjoyed all the relationships between the different characters. For once, the sister felt like her own person and not just a prop for the main character which is great! I love when family members actually have a point for being there. All in all, I would recommend this book for those who want a fun LGBTQ fantasy read.

This is a story filled with whimsy. The story of Kane, gay teenage boy with missing memories with powers and friends he has yet to discover. How he lost those memories and his abilities is a mystery and as those answers come to light this story begins to take shape. With those memories also come the reveries.

Reverie starts off slow. As the reader following Kane you are as disoriented and confused as he is. That takes some getting used to. You are completely unsettled and off kilter. Finding your footing in this novel takes time. And once you think you have a grip on Kane’s reality, the world shifts and your calling into question the motivations of everyone around Kane and even his own character. It’s a slow burn to the truth.

But I really enjoyed this. The first 50 pages or so take effort to get through though. It’s almost too confusing. You never have a leg to stand on, so you are lost in this would. Once you gain your footing the story takes off. It’s imaginative with really intricate, descriptive world building. There’s a running commentary throughout that I also enjoyed and found really witty and entertaining. The characters really come through in the powers that they possess and the bond they create with each other. I ended up finishing this book rather quickly. Like I said once the story came together it took off and I was intrigued. Definitely recommending this novel. It’s extremely imaginative with great world building, a villain you come to hate and a main character you see grow into the hero he needs to be.

In a world where dreams manifest into alternate realities that swallow up the world around them, Kane Montgomery and his friends are the only ones that can save their reality and the dreamers. Kane Montgomery is an average young man who woke up from a coma with a big chunk of his memories. As he works to piece together what he is missing, he discovers that he has powers and friends that work to unravel things he calls reveries, when a person’s inner reality slips out and melds with the world. Following a mysterious accident, Kane meets Poesy, a magical force who collects reveries and their creators, who is searching for the loom, a powerful item that can weave a new reality. As Kane and the Others, his powerful friends, work to unravel the various reveries that pop up, he discovers that Poesy isn’t who he thought, and that he had found love in a servant of Poesy’s, Dean. When he realizes Poesy’s true mission, Kane, Dean, and the Others work to end Poesy once and for all in the reverie Kane never wanted – his sister Sophia’s.

This book was a wild ride. I had expected a mystery or a thriller, but instead found myself in a world of magic with a premise I have never seen before. La Sala’s story is unique and gives representation to a marginalized group, with the main character and his sister being gay. Reverie explores the bonds of friendship, love, and trust as Kane and his friends fight to save their world. I loved this book, and I usually don't enjoy books written from a man's point of view. It was very well-written, featuring real characters with their own secrets and problems, an antagonist that didn’t start off that way, and a very real threat in the form of dreams manifesting. I wish I could give more than five stars. I only hope that there is more to this world and that Ryan La Sala will write it.

Reverie is a really kooky and fun book, but I still felt it was just okay overall and found myself skimming parts.

High school student Kane gets into a fiery car accident which burns down a historic building, but he can barely remember anything about what happened, and people are acting weird. It soon becomes clear that his friends know more than they let on, and that the drag queen counselor who interviewed him at the police station is super sketchy.
As Kane and his friends get drawn into sudden dream-like sequences, he must figure out what is causing them, how to stop them, and how to tap into and control his strength and power, which happens to sometimes come in the form of rainbows shooting out of his fingertips.

While this particular area of fantasy is normally not my interest, anytime I can check out a book by an LGBTQ Author, I try! This book is painted with beautiful words. Ryan's sentences are clearly lovingly constructed, and he has described some of the most beautiful mental pictures. The drag queen godmother/villain is the best. Posey made me full-on cackle as I read, and I thoroughly appreciated the levity and fear she brought to the book. The plot is...a lot. That isn't a bad thing, but as the person who has a very hard time remembering 3 characters' names, remembering what was happening wasn't very easy for me. But, I think this will be such an easy sell for fantasy readers, LGBTQ YA fans, and teens looking for some fun and adventure.

*Disclaimer* I am presenting on this book at YALSA, but I requested and read the ARC mostly before I knew this was happening or was even a possibility. I was offered the chance to talk about this book when I was already more than halfway through it. This is a fair and balanced opinion.

Having these books fall into my hands was a godsend given that we are looking to add more LGBTQ+ leads into our library collection. The main character is fantastically gay and is a very well-developed character. It is so hard to find books that are written well in character development, plot, and situations in which a character is gay, but I think we’ve found a great one. The character design in this book is and was exquisite. I enjoyed reading all the descriptions, development, and love put into the characters from the very beginning. Many of the characters have found their way in the world that is so important to that character that I can’t help but love them. Kane awakens to a “new” world in which he has no memories and is haunted by some huge, creepy, ghastly thing in which he cannot stand. He makes his way through the world without knowing anything of his life and has to go through complex situations—we don’t lose the character here, he stays IN TACT which is fantastic.

There are many themes and ideas that come into this novel such as love, heartache, self-respect, protection, and more. I really loved delving into the world that the author created as it is such a magnificent creature in and of itself. The many traditions and customs that she created was great and I really enjoyed seeing that in a book—we don’t see that written so great often. The characters in this book caught my attention so much and I believe that students would be able to connect to the different characters as well (there is someone for everyone). This can be utilized for many grades and many different groups of people—it would be a great book club book.

There is a lot of backstory that can help you understand what is happening cover to cover. I would suggest this book for a book club or even independent reading as it is not a difficult read and definitely has the high interest aspect to it that all students can get with. The characters that rush into danger is immediately something that my students would gravitate to and love to read—because who doesn’t love action in every form? Especially with a gay character at the helm who is tough but also gentle at the same time.