Yume" by Anipare offers a unique blend of modern fantasy set in Japan, but the story's execution and pacing may not appeal to all readers.

The novel follows the dual perspectives of Cybelle, a Canadian English teacher in Japan, and Zaniel, a dream walker bound to serve the demon Nightmare King, Akki. The story takes place both in the real world, where Cybelle struggles with microaggressions and the challenges of living in Japan, and in the dream world, where Zaniel is compelled to help Akki maintain his rule over nightmares. When a new demon, the Yokai, enters the dreamland, it disrupts Akki's rule and sets the stage for an unexpected alliance between Cybelle and Zaniel.

One of the common criticisms of the book relates to its slow start. The story is told from the perspectives of the two main characters in different narrative styles (first person for Cybelle and third person for Zaniel/Akki), which some readers found confusing and a bit overwhelming. The transition between the real world and the dream world is abrupt and can be disorienting. The intricate and surreal dream world introduced in the beginning might leave readers feeling somewhat lost, which makes it challenging to get invested in the characters and their journey.

While the story features a unique blend of Japanese folklore, mythology, and supernatural elements, some readers felt that these aspects served as ornamental elements and weren't fully integrated into the narrative. The central conflict of the story is described as simple and the solution as straightforward, which can diminish the sense of tension and complexity that readers might expect from a fantasy novel.

Despite the initial challenges, the story gains momentum as it progresses, with the two main characters' paths intersecting in a way that leads to a more engaging and thrilling narrative. The author's personal experiences in Japan, including addressing issues of racism and living as a black woman in the country, added a layer of depth and authenticity to the story that was appreciated by some readers.

In summary, "Yume" presents a promising premise of modern fantasy in Japan with a mix of cultural and supernatural elements. However, the slow start and pacing issues, as well as the disjointed narrative styles, may affect the overall reading experience. For readers interested in a blend of modern Japan, folklore, and fantasy, the story might offer a unique perspective, but it may not be to everyone's taste.

This is part, daily life and part supernatural and at times it was difficult to follow as the lines were blurred between the two. I loved the dreamworld aspect of it and learning more about Japanese foklore, but I found this book lacking and difficult to stay engaged in.

It's worth a read if you're considering, as the story as a whole is interesting and unique. However some of the time it can be difficult to follow, and certain aspects feel drawn out or redundant. I feel as though this could be reduced by a hundred pages or so and deliver the story much more effectively. Regardless, I liked it.
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I loved this book. It was captivating from beginning to end, and I could not put it down.

Cybelle is a young woman who teaches English in a small city in Japan. Her contract is up for renewal, her mother is begging her to come back to Canada, and she is not sure where she belongs anymore. She faces ostracism and fear daily, but she loves her job — despite its increasing difficulties. She vows to do her best — even when her sleep, appetite, and life in general start to get weird — because she knows that if she doesn't try to be a good teacher now, then she'll never have a chance at being one later on.

When I first heard about Yume, I was intrigued. The story sounded like it would be an interesting read for me, but I wasn't sure what to expect. After reading the novel, I can say that it's definitely one worth reading!

I set this one aside as it wasn't gripping me, the first chapter was a bit confusing and the writing style didn't work for for me.

Beautiful cover, interesting story, but not really my cup of tea. Fans of fantasy genre might enjoy it.

Idk just a little hard for me to get through, it's very descriptive yet a bit dry. This will probably be a dnf for me....I keep on picking it up but I just lose interest.

What initially grabbed my attention is the stunning cover, it’s absolutely stunning. There were exciting moments that gripped me, however because of the length it did feel like a log to get through. It was like nothing I’ve read before and it will be a while before I come across something similar.
The start was a slow, I found myself struggling to get through it. I kept putting it down and not wanting to pick it up again, because wow, so many PAGES.
While this book was average to me, I’m sure it’s going to be a five star read for someone else.

A really cool fantasy novel set in Japan. The perfect debut for adults who already love the fantasy genre!

DNF at 30%.

The main character's, Cybelle, storyline was overly specific and went into so many unnecessary details anyone not interested in teaching would be yawning. I am a former English teacher and even I thought it was too much.

The parallel storyline was quite confusing. What was going on? I don't know. A supernatural creature of Japanese folklore that hires a human to get girls for him to sleep with???

And all that Japanese randomly thrown in the pages; as if anyone who doesn't speak Japanese would understand.

When was anything actually going to happen? I was trying too hard and longing it for it to be over but it's sooo long.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't want to review a book that I didn't finish.

3 stars

i do wish that there had been some more developments with certain ideas. i think some were explored quite a bit while others were sort of shunned and the shunned ideas often appeared to be the more interesting ones? it was decent enough, i think it was fun for someone who enjoys the concept.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was such a unique and beautiful book. This was a lovely reading experience. The cover is also such a stunner.

A perfect example of why NetGalley needs to allow reviewers to be able to read just a few pages before requesting a book. I knew immediately that this style of writing was not for me, and had I picked this up in a bookstore, I would have simply just put it back down.

From the first page I found this book incredibly repetitive and overly detailed. Anipare never misses a chance to say something more than once and the minutiae of practically every action is described. The only thing surprising here is that she didn't tell you how many breaths the character took or their heart rate for every scene.

I had a mixed experience reading this book. I felt like it was a bit too long and parts of the book dragged. However, I loved the blend of fantasy and slice of life. The character's voices are unique, and I loved following them. The worldbuilding was great. I'm excited to read more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me access to the ARC.

Yume was a fantasy read quite unlike any I've read before. I've seen other reviewers compare it to Spirited Away and I think that definitely holds up for the later half of the novel, but we spend a muh bigger portion of the story in reality. And I gotta say that I loved that.
I think overall my favorite parts of the story were the parts in which we were following Cybelle's day to day experience as a black teacher in Japan. I thought it was such an interesting portrayal of the difficulties of being a foreigner as well as the difficulties of being black. And these many sort of micro agressions kept piling on to such a level that they definitely didn't feel micro anymore.
The parallels with the new yokai in the dream world narrative were beautiful but the Dreamworld definitely was very jarring at first. For a long time it felt like I was reading two very different stories and while initially I started to appreciate the Dreamworld once the two story lines started to intertwine, in the end I ended up feeling like the second half was a bit drawn out and like I was losing interest with the book.
Small side note: a lot of this story is written in transcribed japanese. I've watched enough anime and Japanese drama's to be able to understand. Not sure what the impact would be for others.
Also: don't read when hungry because there's food in there. A lot of food!

3.5 stars - I am settling on this rating because I had some conflicting thoughts on this book. The atmosphere was really good - when we were in Cybelle's perspective I felt like a foreigner in Japan and when we were in Zaniel's perspective (yokai world), I felt the unsettling nature of the forest. It was perfectly spooky! Although I cannot speak for this representation, I really appreciated Cybelle's perspective as a foreigner in Japan; I think it really added to point the story and tie her two worlds together. The more Cybelle starts to spiral, the more these two worlds combine and I really enjoyed the parallel plot that Anipare created between the two. While it was a little more obvious that needed, I still think it was beautifully done to understand Cybelle's struggles. The book's main issue was it's pacing. The writing is very easy to follow and fun to read, but the pacing makes the book feel more difficult to read. There were many points towards the end of the novel where I really felt the book <i>could have</i> ended but didn't (although, I do have to say that that the last chapter was *chef's kiss* perfect - LOVE how it ended). Zaniel as a love interest/secondary character left much to be desired. I think their relationship could have been a tad more developed and I would have probably enjoyed him more. Overall, this book made me VERY excited to see what Anipare puts out next!

I'm not a particular fan of the fantasy genre but not having knowledge of the Japanese folklore made me pick up this book. The book has slight elements of horror and folklore. We follow Cybelle who teaches English in Japan, and a man named Zaniel.
At the surface it looks like there is no relation between them but there is an underlying theme of similarity between them like racism, dealing with hurt etc.
I found it to be a slow paced read, but I think that is a personal preference. But it was definitely unique and had a good prose.

This definitely became a really unexpected read for me. The premise of the book came from two different narrators. Cybelle the teacher and Zaniel, the one that walks through dreams. On a general whole this story has very good potential to be this fantasy/adventure that mixes in the modern world. However, it did felt like it dragged while the shifting of the two main characters felt really off for me. There's just this off-balance to the story that I kinda wished could've been made better.

As someone who's really into fantasy and likes the rich folklores of other countries, this novel really is a nice start for those new to the concept of the Japanese folklore elements. It has that kind of anime action kind of vibe with Zaniel's parts of the book however, I felt like Cybelle's perspective could've been given more excitement to it. It's an okay read, but to be really honest, I didn't fully care for the characters because of how dragging the story turned out. I'd still like to thank NetGalley for giving me an E-ARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.