Wow! What a strong debut.

The world that Day builds is imaginative and one that I wish to read more about. The characters are fun to read about, and with enough complexity to their stereotypes that the reader won't think "another jock? really?".

I do wish the plot twist was a little less obvious but the book is still a fantastic read.

3 -3.5 stars.
The book was well written and easy to read. Melissa did a good job describing the main character Pax and the surroundings.

Why I gave it a 3 star is because of my personal interest: I want to have a book that capture me and lets me fly through the chapters. Unfortunately I did not feel that in this book, i thought the book was a bit slow which made me force myself though most parts.

The only thing i missed was that I wanted to know more about her friends Zeke and Ayana, they felt kind of flat and “the classic friends”. There could have been more to who they were.

But, with that said, this is a good book and I will recommend it to people I know like this kind of books.
Even if I thought the book was a bit slow and some parts were a bit obvious I don't regret reading it and if there is a second book coming I will probably read it too because I'm too curious to just leave Pax .

Paxton "Pax" Graves is a troubled teen. Or that's what the world sees. They see a girl who falls asleep in class, disappears at random and acts out, causing no end of trouble to her upstanding principal father. The only two people who see something more are her friends, Zeke and Ayana. But not even they know what's been happening to Pax in her dreams - or what she THINKS are dreams. Each time she falls asleep, she opens her eyes on a rust-colored beach beside a green ocean, only to wake up shortly after. Until she doesn't. Until a boy named Ari escorts her through a hole in a wall and back to his home, and Pax learns that what she's ACTUALLY been doing when she falls asleep is traveling to another world, a world that needs her help. A world her missing mother may ALSO have traveled to, and never left. Now she must choose if she remains in this other world to help Ari and his people and find her missing mom...or if she can't abandon those she loves and stays behind on Earth.

For a debut novel, I have to say this work was fairly interesting. The world-building was done well, fleshing out the world of Terra well without over-explaining or too much exposition. The characters are likable. Pax as a main character was someone I wanted to follow, and I am curious to see if a sequel will further flesh out the consequences of the choices she made in this first novel. I also enjoyed the side characters, especially Ari and Zeke.

Zeke's compassion adds a little depth to the stereotypical jock, and Ari's sarcasm and humor make him fun and interesting. The twist was a bit thin and I did see it coming from very early on, but I won't spoil it for those wanting to read the novel. All in all, an imaginative and solid effort worth 4/5 stars. Thank you so much to Netgalley and BQB Publishing for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

4.25/5 stars! This is my first book by author Melissa Day and I was drawn to this story because of the pretty cover. I enjoy gold gilding so this stood out to me. I didn't have super high expectations because I didn't have any idea what to expect. This book surpassed them completely. It was a great fantasy tale with an excited/gripping ending and I loved getting to know Paxton.

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