This middle-grade fantasy is set in an alternative version of our world where some families have special magical gifts; Maren's family has a gift for making dreams and nightmares. I enjoyed the dream-making magic, which reminded me a bit of the dream magic in Laini Taylor's "Strange the Dreamer" series. I'd recommend to middle-grade fantasy readers who enjoyed Ingrid Law's "Savvy" or K. E. Ormsbee's "The House in Poplar Woods."

The Nightmare Thief is a creative whimsy-and-nightmare filled middle grade novel. I think this is a great book for younger readers that talks about confronting fear and the importance of honesty and fogiveness. I just didn't feel like it did much for me as older reader. Also, I'm a bit of wimp about creepy things (Doctor Who is about as much creep as I can handle) and I found this to be almost too creepy for me and that made me want to rush through the creepy parts or put it down altogether. So if you (or the young reader in your life) is like me, I think that's worth knowing ahead of time. For me, it was 2.5 stars.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have some mixed feelings about this book. The Idea of this book was very interesting and grabbed my attention, I needed to see how it would play out. I liked the main character and I liked how important family was to her. The "magic" that was in the book is still very interesting to me. I still think being able to make dreams and nightmares and sell them is an awesome idea. I wanted to know all the interworkings of all the magic and dream/nightmare making. For me, I wasn't a massive fan of the writing. I just wanted more from the story and it, unfortunately, fell a little flat for me. Overall I still had a fun time reading and still really enjoyed the plot and characters. I would recommend giving this a read.

This middle grade story good and I gave it four stars. The story about Maren and her sister who was in a coma was amazing!! I loved it because of the details that were in the story about comas and how Maren wondered if her sister could hear her and the world around her. I really loved Maren because she loved her sister even though she couldn't really talk to her. I love my sister so much and would do the same things Maren did! The magic in the book was set in our world but it was kind of in Maren's sisters dreams. It was really cool. I can't wait to talk to the author about this book! I want to read it again as a finished copy.

The ending was kind of a cliffhanger and I need the next one now!

The Nightmare Thief set in modern day but in a town with small bits of magic. Maren helps out in her grandmothers typewriter/dream store and even though it is totally against the rules she tries to help her sister, who is in a coma, by giving her dreams without her consent in the hopes that it will wake her up. Now because she thought she knew best she is being blackmailed by a devious woman, who has proof of what she has done. Maren knows what she needs to do but just keeps making more mistakes to cover up her other mistakes and it's kind of annoying even if it is out of the very best intentions. This book is said to be made for middle grades but I feel that the readers of this book would be more 4th and 5th graders than older students.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. All spelling and grammar errors are totally my own.

This was a very imaginative middle grade tale about magic, family, and what we would do to keep our family safe. I really loved the descriptions of this magical town. Everything felt so enchanting and cozy, it was wonderful! The emphasis on the importance of family was great to see. Maren was a strong main character and I really felt her struggles regarding her sister, her feelings of guilt, and the blackmail predicament she found herself in. The author briefly covered the topic of bullying but I wish she would have done more to expand that discussion. The issue was mentioned and we see some of the consequences of bullying but it felt very unresolved by the end. It looks like this is the first in a series, and based off this book I would gladly read the next few!

The Nightmare Thief is the type of book that makes you want to snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate and read from beginning to end. The plot is centered around a dream shop that sells good dreams and bad. Why would any want a bad dream,? This is the question that moves the plot through a fun filled mystery entered around an evil villian.. I think this is a fun read for a book group or for a children's choice program.

I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book and loved every word of it! Filled with dreams and nightmares, a sassy French-speaking parrot, and a moth-controlling villain, this magical, heartfelt story is reminiscent of Ingrid Law's work (and since she's one of my favs, that is saying something)!

The Nightmare Thief might just be my new favorite middle grade book of all time. It’s a wonderfully whimsical, spooky, beautiful world. There’s love and heartbreak, twists and turns. Each character is well developed and Maren is a beautifully crafted character. Her love runs deep for her sister Hallie, a lovely mixture of hope, despair, fear, and passion. And the villain! She is woman to be feared and is absolutely one of my favorites!


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. A review will be posted on my instagram on 07 December 2021, a month before publication and on GoodReads. Upon publication, the review will also be added to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

The Nightmare Thief is the story of Maren, living in the charming and magical town of Rockpool Bay, whose lost her sister to a coma, her oldest and dearest friend to social school pressures, and is trying to figure out how to live in the present with all the heaviness that comes with it. Her safe haven is the dream shop owned by her Gran-Gran and the magic she's trained in there. But when Maren breaks a cardinal rule to give her sleeping sister a dream without her consent, she finds herself at the center of an evil, and frightfully magical, ballerina's blackmail conspiracy.

All in all, this story was heart-pounding, adventurous, frightening in the best ways, and family-driven at its empowering core. There's true fear lurking in the shadows of the twists and turns of The Nightmare Thief, but it makes Maren's smarts and bravery all the more potent when she finds a way to save herself, her Gran-Gran, her restored best friend, and all of her town from the greed and resentment of a villain that can truly make you shiver. Perfect for those who love a smart protagonist, this book speaks to the reader and reminds them that even when all odds seem against them, they can be up to the task by harnessing their own unique power.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an E-ARC in return for an honest review!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3510852047

This was a beautiful read! I had a hard time believing this was a debut because the writing was just so concise and engaging. I was drawn in from the very first page. Maren was endearing and relatable and I cannot wait to find out where the story may take her in the future. It was such an imaginative story and immersive - I wish I could read this again for the first time.
Definitely recommend going in blindly because it added a lot to my reading experience!

Loved this!! Imaginative and engaging middle grade fantasy featuring a heartfelt sister story that will leave you with all the feels, a dream-witch granny, a scheming ballerina, a second chance with a former friend, and a parrot with attitude who insults people in French. Highly recommend!

The world building is intriguing but the overemphasis on cutesy, semi-twee characters and elements put me off. Very young fantasy fans might enjoy this work, and indeed it could make a very nice multi-night bedtime story or in-class group reading tale, but readers of the age likely to be able to read it alone may find it below their interest level.

For Christmas this year, I would like to visit Rockpool Bay. I want to see the lavender ocean, buy some singing bubbles, and collect a flying dream from Maren Partridge's dream shop.

Simply put, THE NIGHTMARE THIEF is like it's own kind of dream. It's whimsical and lovely and a little bit dark around the edges, centering around a young girl who breaks a rule in order to save her comatose sister -- and ends up being blackmailed by a dastardly ballerina. Nicole Lesperance is a total master of details, and several days after finishing this book, I'm still wondering what ingredients Lishta & Maren would put in a dream sachet for me. I can guess what ingredients would make up THE NIGHTMARE THIEF; a feather from a bad-mouthed French parrot, splinters from a rotten-but-beloved pier, and a thread from Hallie Partridge's hospital bed, perhaps?

Personally, I felt the book's only weakness was a rather drawn-out climax sloughing toward a predictable end, but I can see MG fantasy lovers selecting THE NIGHTMARE THIEF as their new favorite. For the classroom, the book can be used to spark useful conversations about choice, consent, and of course, blackmail. 4/5.

A very cute and enjoyable story. The magic in the world is described beautifully, I could really imagine being there myself. Would definitely recommend for a wholesome tale

If nothing else, this book will teach you that you should never negotiate with blackmailers, because it never turns out well. But, having said this, the way that Maren tries to save the day and cooperate, is her undoing, but she, being young, she doesn't know that.

Maren is from a family that can infuse dreams into sachets. Many people in their town have some sort of magic ability, but the ability can't always be used to make money, the way selling dreams can.

Maren is forced to make nightmares.

Good story of friendships, and bullies, and of course, what to do about blackmail. Good world building in the real work, as well.

Thanks to Netgalleky for making this book available for an honest review.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

On the whole, this was a delightful little book, filled with whimsy and magic. There were so many fun details and twists on our day to day life and that kept me on my toes! And even though the overall tone of the book is light and fun, the author didn’t shy away from tackling some tough subjects. Maren’s concern and love for her sister was real and moving and her guilt at breaking the rules to try to help Hallie was well executed. I’d say the relationships were probably my favorite part of this book. Fleshed out and believable, they were an anchor in a world where having a dream or a nightmare is as easy as slipping a packet under your tongue.

I will say this definitely felt rushed at times – I wanted to slowly savor the world and the characters but the story was over before I knew what was happening! It made the villain in particular hard to relate to and understand because her development felt hurried. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this was a debut and, almost without exception, debuts, even if they’re excellent, feel just a teensy bit shaky to me. As if the book was a newborn fawn and it can’t help the faintest wobble in execution. I felt that here, but I have faith this author is going places. I’m excited to see what she’ll put out in the future if her first book was so good.

I am so pleased to have had the chance to read an early copy of this book and I hope everyone will check it out once it’s published!

The Nightmare Thief has such a richly crafted world, where whimsical magic comes with dark undertones. Full of spooky twists, memorable characters and a stand-out villain, this is a perfect read for fans of books like The Night Gardener.

Maren works in a dream shop, where she creates dreams.... and there is only one rule: never give a person a dream without their consent. Maren’s sister is in a coma and Maren decides to give her sister a dream...without her consent. She steals a dream and gives it to Hallie as a birthday gift, too bad for her, someone caught her on video and now she is being blackmailed. Thus begins the spiral of bad decisions for Maren as she gets deeper and deeper into the mess she created. More people are put at risk and if she doesn’t fix it soon the whole town and her family are at risk. With strange nightmares tormenting people and a sinister customer who has taken a particular interest in Maren, things are not looking good. Heres the thing, this story has all the foundations of a great fairytale, the only part I just couldn’t really connect to were the characters. I did not like any of them except for the bird. As the story progresses and more things go wrong, I just found myself not rooting for the characters. The story then wraps up and everything is seemingly fine with no consequences for anyone. The entire world of the book is very interesting and the magic dream system was fun to learn about. While this book didn’t work out for me, maybe it will for you. Definitely give it a read and see if it’s worthy of sweet dreams or nightmares.

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Kids for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Maren's sister Hallie was in an auto accident that has left her in a coma. It's been long enough that the medical professionals think she should go to long term care. Since all of the facilities specializing in this are far away from Blackpool Bay, where the family has moved to live with Maren's grandmother, Lishta, Maren is desperate to help her sister get better. Lishta runs a shop that specializes in typewriters and dreams. All of Rockpool Bay has some magic to it, and Maren and her grandmother create dreams and nightmares for people to purchase. One shady customer, Obscura Gray, wants to break the rules and get more nightmares than Lishta is willing to sell her. There are rules about giving dreams to others, and when Obscura tapes Maren giving a dream to Hallie at the hospital, Obscura blackmails the girl into providing her with nightmares. While she doesn't know exactly what Obscura is doing with them, Maren can imagine-- local shop owners are having horrific nightmares and selling up. Their properties are being taken over by nefarious sounding businesses, and Blackpool Bay is not the same. On the bright side, the dream seems to have helped Hallie, who has started to speak and open her eyes. When Obscura asks for even more magic and Maren is not able to provide it, she fears that she, her family and the whole town are in jeopardy. Will Maren be able to defeat Obscura?
Strengths: Lishta's typewriter repair shop was great fun, although it is probably equally as likely that she has a dream shop! Rockpool Bay is a delightful area, even though it is endangered by the conniving Obscura. Maren's concern for her sister is realistic, and Obscura is a great villain. This whole book had a sort of Roald Dahl-esque feel to it. The magical world was very close to the real world, and Maren has to save the day.
Weaknesses: Obscura was a little too obviously evil, in a sort of Cruella deVil way. This makes the book feel a little on the younger side, since middle school readers like a little more nuance.
What I really think: The blurbs that describe this as being like Ingrid Law and Natalie Lloyd's books are spot on, and I would throw in Wendy Mass as well. There'sa touch of Corey Haydu's Eventown as well.