I wasn't sure what to expect going into this but was pleasantly surprised. A magical tale of dueling magicians, secret identities, curses and nightmares that attack cities. I really enjoyed this unique world and magic system. It's so rare to read a stand alone fantasy, let alone one that is satisfying. This story managed to introduce an unknown world without feeling rushed or overwhelming with information and all of the characters were well developed. While I wouldn't mind revisiting this world, the ending of this book did not feel unfinished or leave me feeling more was needed to wrap up this tale.

The concept of dreams and magic to contain them is a wonderful one, and I really wanted to continue with this. I didn't keep going more because of the robotic voice. While it's a little better than the odd male computerized one, this one still managed to throw me out of the story multiple times before even meeting the first major plot point.

It'll be better to wait until this is formally read by a voice actor, or wait for a print copy.

Ross always delivery epic fantasy novels. They're usually standalones that make you crave more. This is the case in Dreams Lie Beneath. A multilayered story that hinges on a mystery that drove "wraiths" to different corners of a mountainscape. Within the scope of the who dun it, there's also a lot of character development mixed in with a slow moving romance. Clem, our heroine, is an apprentice under her father as a dream warden. Their world has been cursed to experience nightmares after dark and they must defeat the nightmare and protect the people. This is all blown to bits when they're forced to leave their home. As the story progresses, we slowly peel back layers. No one is who they seem to be and the only person Clem can trust is her enemy, Phelan, our hero. I loved their scenes together and their slow growth from enemies to romance. More than that I really needed to know how the mystery was solved. Who killed the duke and who was in the alliance to murder him? It was twisted on twists and I wish we would have had more time in the castle in the sky. This is great for any fantasy lover that loves a good plot. I did this on both audio and kindle, I preferred the kindle but audio narrator was good too.

I listened to a NetGalley computer-generated audio of this book, so my opinions are affected by this format.

I liked the premise of this book and found the magic system to be pretty interesting in a world where nightmares come true. I also liked the main character for the most part and became invested in what was going to happen to her. But I had trouble connecting with Phelan and didn't really feel their romantic connection. This could definitely have been affected by the computer-generated audio since you really didn't get tone or intention when it came to conversations between the two of them, and in fact, with the other side characters, it was hard to feel connected to them when I didn't get an emotional vibe from them. From an objective standpoint, I liked Phelan, but as I said, it was hard to sense a true emotional connection between the two of them.

That said, I think this story has a lot of potential, and I loved the story of the Seven Wraiths and how the author wove that story throughout Clementine's story. I look forward to the general release of this book and to either reading it myself or listening to a real audiobook. The bones of this story seem to be good and worth revisiting.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a great read. Beautiful writing, interesting, compelling characters, and a fascinating world, including the magic system. It really pulled me in from the first page (um, chapter? I did listen to it) and made me eager to find out what happened next. Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy YA or character-driven fantasy. I want to read the rest of Ross's books now.

***Audio arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for review. Thanks Netgalley!***

Wow. I wasn't sure what to think when I started this book, but as the story unfolded I couldn't stop listening. The world building. the elements of magic, the disguises, the betrayals, the dreams vs nightmares, this ended up being an incredible story. I'm not entirely sure I wanted it to end. I could read a whole series on Clem and Phelan and the world they're going to build.

Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for this voice galley. It's weird to listen to a book with a synthetic voice, but I still enjoyed the story, and I hope that the actual audiobook finds a narrator that can truly bring this story to life.

It's listed as "perfect for readers of The Hazel Wood and The Night Circus" of which I've not read either, but now I really want to. This world of magic and revenge was captivating. It was so easy to root for the protagonist, Clementine, during her adventure and romance.
Clementine expects to take over the protection of her town as the warden. Unfortunately, two other magicians arrive and challenge her father and her authority. She strikes out to seek justice but finds much more is at stake.
I listened to a syndicated voice for this audiobook, so I can't speak to the nuances of the narration by Chloe Dolandis. I listened to the audio sample that she performed and I think it would be a good listen.
Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rebecca, and Harper Audio for a voice galley of Dreams Lie Beneath.

There’s an interesting job in Azenor; magicians are wardens to keep the townspeople safe from their nightmares. Clementine is preparing to take over as warden of her town, a role currently occupied by her father, when she winds up in the middle of a timeless feud and must do whatever it takes to make sure her town remains in their control.

This book is beautifully written. It is whimsical and magical. The story and characters were both explored very well.

The world is built wonderfully and it’s such a unique idea for a story. You cannot deny the fairytale feels that Rebecca will give you throughout this entire book. Weaving magic and dreams together gives the entire book an ethereal feel to it.

Enemies to lovers trope, I’m always here for that. The romance was also a slow burn, which I appreciate in an enemies to lovers plot, sometimes it’s hatehatehatehateLOVE and very fast and fierce, but this book took its time and really built the tension and longing.

Phelan was a great character and doesn’t get the love he deserves because Clementine is such a great character as well. Her loyalty and ferocity are so admirable, even when they get her into trouble or when they cloud her judgement.

As I’ve said in the past with voice galleys, I think this book will be even better with actual narration. The automated narration can definitely be a deterrent at times. Luckily in this situation, the writing itself was so good that it was easy to disregard the robotic narration.

Dreams Lie Beneath is marketed as a YA fantasy, but I think people who stick mostly to adult novels would enjoy this as well. Is has the whimsical feel that is found in many popular adult magical realism books.

This is a DNF for me. Not because I was not impressed with the writing, the world, or the characters. In fact, based upon my limited knowledge of all these things I am rating it as a 4. I am completely fascinated by this concept. The audio is painful, however, and I tried. I really did. I cannot do it without cringing or my mind wandering because the read aloud is so terrible. This is one that I fully plan on reading though and may have to purchase because I want to read it and enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I received this early audiobook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Dreams Lie Beneath

Author: Rebecca Ross

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: N/A DNFed

Publication Date: November 2, 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: N/A DNFed

Explanation of CWs: N/A DNFed

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Pages: 496

Synopsis: A curse plagues the realm of Azenor—during each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams.

Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn.

Review: DNFed at 20%. I have to be in the mood for this type of book and after trying and trying for a couple of months I’m momentarily giving up on this book. However, I do want to try it again in paperback form and not audiobook.

Verdict: DNFed but coming back later!

Content warnings: murder, minor surgery, eviction

Clem is a Warden with her father, a type of magical task force meant to protect the populace from nightmares. But one day, local nobles come to challenge Clem's father for his jurisdiction, but it's far more than a land grab as a local legend might be coming back to break a curse related to a Duchy. Wanting revenge, Clem uses troll magic to disguise herself to become a Warden partner to one of the nobles, Phelan. And magic centuries lost starts coming forth and the truths might be coming from inside the family.

There were many things I enjoyed about this one. Most notably the scares and the general spookiness of the nightmares coming out at the new moon (which is a nice deviation from full moon summoning monsters as is more traditional). The world-building in that aspect was solid. Wardens are cool and nightmares coming to life once a month played out in a really fun way. I also enjoyed the prose, with careful detail given to the aesthetic of the world. It's immersive and makes the book a very easy read.

With regard to the integration of the backstory to the present story, it feels plot-driven in a way that I'm not sure worked. While Clem has a lot of her own goals and agency, the integration of the backstory seems a bit forced, and having her as a vehicle to reveal those secrets wasn't the most effective. More over, there were many characters and keeping the threads straight due to lack of character development of people not immediately related to Clem proved rather difficult.

The enemies-to-lovers romance really didn't work for me. I think it's because of the depth of Phelan and his brother's personal slight against Clem. There's just something a bit unbelievable about being able to overlook an eviction transitioning to a love story. Perhaps I might be misunderstanding how the trope works, but it felt like something too easily forgiven, especially given the reveals later on.

The other thing that I recognize is more of a "me peeve" is that there is so much casting, but no depiction of what the casting looks like. There is a notion of the cost of magic, but not its performance, which made it hard for me to fully immerse myself in the more magical sequences.

But otherwise, enjoyable, fun in places, with an interesting enough mystery to carry me through the end.

The steady push and pull of this story is what really kept me engaged - not only with the romance, but Clementine's draw to magic as well. The story is fave paced and well plotted, bit I didn't connect with the characters as much as i wanted too.

DNF at 25%

I had high hopes for this after hearing it compared to The Night Circus but I couldn’t get into it.

I didn’t like the characters and I didn’t feel drawn into the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars

Dreams Lie Beneath is magical and captivating, the best kind of fairytale to become enraptured with. Rebecca Ross has crafted a promising debut with whimsical writing, an intricate storyline, and phenomenal world building, some so luscious and terrifying that it captures you from the moment you first set sight on the world of Azenor.

This book follows Clementine Madigan, the daughter of two talented magicians, as well as gifted herself, in the art of guarding humans from their own nightmares. She and her father guard their hometown of Hereswith, where on each new moon the villagers’ nightmares come to life. That is, until one new moon arrives, and along with it, two young magicians bent on challenging Clementine and her father for the role of dream warden of Hereswith. Blinded by rage and revenge, Clementine disguises herself and unites with one of the young magicians, Phelan, intent of reclaiming her home.

But what she does not account for is how Phelan may be different than she first believed him to be, and that the new moon nightmares may be hiding much more sinister beneath.

"But sometimes things must break before they can be made whole again, so that they can be forged into something stronger."

It would be an injustice to this wondrous story to fail to mention the exquisite world building and magic system. While the premise of this novel is intriguing, it is nothing compared to what lies inside. Rebecca Ross is a master storyteller, so skilled with her words that I felt immediately enraptured from the first few chapters. The walls of my bedroom faded away, replaced by the nightmarish, yet dream-like surroundings of the world of Azenor.

The magic of this realm is unlike anything I have ever read or heard about—and I can say that without a single doubt in my mind. Ross’ story is truly unique, something entirely her own, and entirely magnificent.

And just as amazing, if not more so, is the plot and storyline of the book. Dreams Lie Beneath has too many twists to count, as it dances the line between a dream and a nightmare. The last quarter of this book eliminated any pre-conceived notions I held towards the story, with a twist I never could have imagined. Ross holds the same skill with her worldbuilding as with her ability to weave together words to form breathtaking lines.

What appears to be a straight-forward young adult fantasy novel is really anything but, as Ross subtly adds in details that seem to be simple at first but are apart of a much bigger plot than I had guessed. She is a genius at subtle storytelling, achieving an ending that is only that much more spectacular because of it.

"One does not realize how powerful a dream is, in the sleeping world as well as the waking one, until it has been stolen from them."

And now, to touch upon the reason why this book was not a full five stars for me.

While the storytelling, world, and magic was wondrous and captivating, it was not enough to make the story a favorite for me. Objectively, this book is fantastic—well-written, masterfully told, and meticulously organized. But subjectively, I simply could not connect to the characters.

This book would have a much lower rating for me if I had not been able to connect to the main character, Clementine, but luckily, she was the only character I truly liked. Clem is fierce and snarky, talented and ambitious. With similar traits to Jude from The Cruel Prince, she is an unapologetic heroine, and easily admirable to me. I don’t think she will become one of my all-time favorite female characters, but she was fantastic compared to the rest of the cast of the story.

While Clementine was wonderful, the rest of the characters in the story felt a bit…well, boring. I hate to say it because I enjoyed the rest of this story so much, but it’s true. It really dampened my enjoyment throughout some parts of the book. And yes, this group of characters includes Phelan, the love interest of this book.

I have a feeling that many people will absolutely love Phelan. He is a classic young adult fantasy protagonist—broody, mysterious, but adorable and sweet. As I mentioned before, I really wanted to love him, and the only reason I did not is because I felt disconnected from his character. He is objectively a very well-written character, but subjectively, he’s just not for me I suppose. Even so, I will not be surprised if he becomes very popular among readers when this book releases.

While most of the characters were a miss for me, I have a feeling they will receive more development as the series continued, and I am excited to hopefully fall in love with them.

"You challenged me as if you were a nightmare on a new moon."

I truly cannot rave enough about Dreams Lie Beneath. Having been compared to books like The Night Circus and Sorcery of Thorns I would even go so far as to say it exceeds those stories. This book is a hidden gem, one that would be a crime to not give a chance. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

Release Date: November 2, 2021
Page Count: 496 pages
Perfect for fans of: The Cruel Prince, The Night Circus, Sorcery of Thorns
Representation: a sapphic relationship between two side characters
Tropes: enemies to lovers, hidden identities, forced proximity, rival families (and much more)

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

*This* is fantasy, intrigue, and magic. There are characters you want to exist in real life. There are twists and turns, action and romance, beautiful phrases and believable dialogue. I look forward to recommending this book to teens in our library.

This book surprised me. I expected something familiar, but found many popular tropes twisted in unfamiliar ways. The enemies-to-lovers plot and revelation of secrets did not fully follow the well-worn path of other well-known titles. The world-building was interesting and the use of imagery in the text was thematic and well'-conceived.

I adored this stand alone YA fantasy novel in which local wardens are responsible for recording dreams and later fighting the same dreams when they appear on the night of the new moon.

Clementine is training to be a warden under her father, but he loses his post, she swears revenge on the challengers. While plotting her revenge, she also seeks to overturn the curse that’s haunting the entire kingdom.

Even with this story being recorded using the synthetic voice,(it wasn't a bad listening experience, it just lacks the emotion of a real person) I really enjoyed it. The story and the characters really drew me in, Especially in part 2 when the action really picks up.
I loved Clementine and Phelan. They are enemies, turned friends, who are slowly falling in love with each other.. Even with all the lies and secrets between them..
Everything about this story was so unique.. I love the way they use their magic to fight other peoples nightmares, I love the backstory of the cursed kingdom.. This story is full of twists turns and I loved every minute of it. and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

I couldn't finish the Night Circus, but I enjoyed this one. (Which is really saying something since I was listening to a robotic synthesized version.) Out of all the robotic audio books I've started for NetGalley first reads, I think I've finished two. This one and a new one by Pitticus Lore.
DLB was very original, unexpected, and satisfying. It kept my attention the whole time and I was glad it didn't devolve into a sex or gore fest.
The ending was a little abstract/unexplained/convenient for me, but the book as a whole was entertaining. I'd read more by the author in the future.

4.5 stars!

Clementine was the character everyone dreams of writing. She is quick, clever and caring- I loved getting to know her and I think she is the kind of character that could star in many series and always be fresh and engaging.

This story was a crazy ride. It was slow to build at the beginning but like a roller coaster once it hit the summit it did not slow down. That pace did take a long time to build up though.

I think this book was super unique with their magic system however that is my one complaint also because I didn’t fully grasp how some things worked as far as power sources and negative effects of magic utilization that may be incurred. I think if this was a series maybe that could have been fleshed out a bit more. I just didn’t understand the basis of it past usage for defense by the wardens.

The characters that join Clem on her adventures are also great and I loved Phelan. He was so fun and odd and mysterious. I felt like all of the side characters really built and supplemented the story very well.

I also think the lore of the kingdom and the 7 wraiths being woven in was super intriguing and the lore really supported and propelled the story forward.

I am a big fan and I highly recommend this- Ross’s previous duology is also magical.

All thoughts are my own offered in exchange for a galley audiobook. Thank you so much to x and NetGalley for this offering.