A Multitude of Dreams was not at all what I was expecting when I picked it up.

Princess Imogen is not who the inhabitants of the castle think she is. Those living in the castle have lived a sheltered life for the last 3 years, quarantined by order of the kind to wait out a ravaging plague. But the plague is over, the king is mad, and Imogen is ready to leave. When Nico shows up from the outside with the news that the plague is gone but that there are other terrors in the world, she and the other inhabitants have a decision to make.

I enjoyed this book so much. It kept me on my toes and incorporated certain elements in a creative and engaging way.

The plague has completely decimated the country and the mad King Stuart has boarded up the castle to contain and save the Nobels. What he doesn’t know is that his favorite daughter Princess Imogen died of the plague and was replaced with a Jewish girl named Seraphina. 4 years have gone by and the castle is quickly running out of food but the residents of the castle act as if life wasn’t turned completely upside down. The King is preparing for a masquerade to celebrate Imogen’s 20th birthday but he doesn’t know the horrors that are in store. Outside of the castle Nico is working at Lord Crane’s residence. After a strange encounter with a man named Arnaud and a stranger girl named Elizabeth, Nico begins to suspect something sinister is afoot. The story takes a turn when Nico and his coworkers are sent by Lord Crane to the castle to see if anyone is living inside.

The story had a solid idea for a plot, but I don’t think it was executed very well. At times the story was slow and hard to follow. At other times it felt like the story was being rushed. The ending of the book felt unfinished. There are still questions that were left unanswered. The characters were “like-able” enough but I never really felt like I connected much with them. I also didn’t enjoy the dialogue very much. At times I rolled my eyes because the dialogue didn’t match the scenario.

In all, the story was ok. I think certain people will love this. Unfortunately I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. The cover is amazing though and I hope they don’t change it.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book gave me all the spooky and gothic vibes and I'm here for it. A Multitude of Dreams was so damn good it I cant wait for more from this author.

A Multitude of Dreams is a fantasy by Mara Rutherford. While I was here for the gothic feels and the mysterious dark tone, I found myself wishing it focused on just Seraphine and had been told solely from her point of view. The setting lack the vibrancy I expected it to have and I'll be honest the plot lost me a bit when it introduced that there was not only regular people and the immune but also undead just walking around who come back from the dead. With an extremely slow start and a rushed ending, this one landed a bit flat for me.

Princess Imogen of Goslind has spent the last three years within the boarded-up castle that keeps her and its inhabitants safe from the bloody mori roja plague. As King Stuart descends into madness, the secrets she keeps are at risk of being revealed. Rations are dwindling, and murmuring threatens to upset the fragile balance among the castle residents. Nico Mott lost everything in the plague before Lord Crane took him in. When Lord Crane sends Nico to search for survivors in the castle, Nico meets Imogen. They will have to work together to survive what's coming.

Does this sound like Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" to you? Good if it does! We're introduced to the princess in the castle first, and we're told of her secret right away. Nico is introduced next, and he discovers Lord Crane's true intention for looking for survivors in the castle. The plague that covered the land killed most of the people, though some were naturally immune and had markings on their wrists to indicate that. The people who were in hiding are considered to be "immaculate," and the macabre nursery rhyme in the area indicates that there is most definitely an ulterior motive for finding them. With Nico impersonating a prince and the princess herself full of secrets, we know it's not going to end well or simply.

This novel essentially revolves around blood. The mori roja killed people by having them bleed out everywhere in three days. The survivors are either immune, immaculate or reborn; their blood status essentially determines what kind of risk they'll have in this post-plague future. Blood is the life, after all, and that does imply exactly what you think it does. In addition to this is the concept of blood as in bloodline, with royalty and nobility getting their way due to an accident of birth and the ordinary folk suffering. Jews in this world suffer much as they had during the plagues of our world, a parallel that the author saw in her research and carried over into the novel. I was drawn into the story and had to know what happened to all of the characters, staying up far too late to finish it. Definitely worth the exhaustion the next day!

4.0

A Multitude of Dreams is a dark, gothic YA novel that is inspired by "The Masque of Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe. Expect vampires in this book, but not in the way you are used to.

A devastating plague, the mori roja, has cut through the kingdom of Gosling, leaving only those immune or quarantined surviving. Princess Imogen, the youngest of four daughters of King Stuart, has been stuck in the castle with all of the king's court for the last three years. King Stuart is descending into madness, and all she wants to do is leave the palace. Imogen is hiding a secret, she is not truly the Princess Imogen, but Seraphina, a Jewish girl who is forced to masquerade in front of the nobles. Nicodemus Mott was a noble before the plague, but after losing his family and everyone around him, he finds himself rescued from starvation from Lord Crane. Nico works as a gravedigger for Crane and a servant of his household. Crane sends Nico to search for survivors in the castle, where he meets with Seraphina. They both discover horrors and mysteries they must navigate and face together.

What I really, really liked about this book was the uniqueness of the setting and overall atmosphere. It is a YA story, but there are elements of horror and the author does an amazing job of incorporating an eerie atmosphere. This book does not shy away from the darker parts and effects of a plague, such as burying the bodies, the isolation, and the grief and loss of family and community. It also showed the gaudiness of the nobles and how they lived in excess while they shut off the rest of the kingdom to suffer. The plot is very unpredictable and twisty, I seriously could not guess where this book was going. This isn't a book about revitalizing the kingdom or taking rule, but just individual people who just want to survive and be free.

We do get introduced to vampires in this book, but the author treats them as horrifying as they truly are. Blood-sucking creatures that survive any wounds and crawl around at night, searching for their next victim. They are truly monsters, and our first encounter in the book with one was actually pretty scary.

The author did note that many parts of this book illustrate anti-semitism towards the Jewish community, as they were often accused of creating the Black Plague that this is based on and many prejudices are still weaved into this world.

I will say the characters weren't necessarily my favorite part of the story, and didn't exactly stand out to me. Seraphina is very brash, but smart and able to put on a performance as she's had to in the last three years. Nico tries to as ethical as possible and truly tries his best to save people and do the right thing, which ties into his passion for being a physician. Their motivations were very straight forward and I felt they were your typical YA main characters. The romance felt a little rushed at the end as well, where they suddenly became very interested in each other rather than intrigued and caring about each other. The romance is a very small subplot in this story though.

Overall, I just loved the overall setting and how the author incorporated different plot lines. It kept me on my feet and immersed within the writing. If you like dark, YA fairy tales, this is for you!

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A reimagining of The Masque of Red Death from Edgar Allan Poe? Say less. The story is set in a world where a plague has been unleashed and a commoner is taken from her family and forced to pretend to be the princess who was killed by the plague to fool the mad king who has trapped them all in this castle while a gentlemen/physician has become a servant to a lord who is hiding a true monster within and must find a way to escape before it's too late, both their paths will cross and both of them will have to find a way to escape the monsters in the wood, the mad king, and the sickness that is coming after them all.

Princess Imogen of Goslind has lived a sheltered life in the boarded up castle and she has one secret, she is actually Seraphina, a commoner who was taken from her family and forced to pretend to be the Princess Imogen who had actually died in order to keep the king's madness at bay. Seraphina longs for her real family, longs to escape the prison that is the castle and the tempermental king who holds her hostage. The inhabitants in the castle are all trapped by the king, who has been keeping up the facade that everything is fine, but food is running low and servants are dying... and with the masquerade for Princess Imogen's birthday coming up, tensions are only rising further.

Nico Mott lived a comfortable life of status and was a physician before his entire family was killed by the plague and he was left starving and delirious in the woods until Lord Crane found him and made him a servant... but Nico has begun to notice strange things happening around Lord Crane, particularly the disappearances of people and the bloody clothes... and now Nico knows he has to escape and warn others before the monster that is his master kills them all.

Nico and Seraphina's paths cross and together they'll have to find a way to escape the dangers lurking not only within the castle but outside as well, from sickness to vampiric like creatures out for their blood.

This was such a fun and unique take on the classic story. I am a huge Poe fan and this was the perfect blend of gothic horrors and romance that I could ever ask for. It really was the perfect read for anyone who is looking for a gothic one and it definitely would be one to add to your autumn tbr!

*Thanks Netgalley and Inkyard Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I love me a good gothic novel and this didn’t disappoint and I loved the historical fiction angle the book had. The Jewish history was amazing with how it was woven through the story. I love this so much and just wished the story kept going but I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read more from this author

In a time of a plague a king who is a little off his rocker keeps the others in his court confined within the castle. He especially keeps his four daughters extremely close. However, one daughter isn't actually the princess she is just a commoner who looks like the princess to ensure the king doesn't completely lose it. But, after four years their supplies have now run out and the king wants to throw a ball for his favorite daughter's birthday. A prince arrives to warn the king of the outside world and the plauge is gone, but the sickness either created immunes, killed, or turned people into blood craving monsters who want to only eat those who have never been exposed to the sickness. Now there is a castle full of vulnerable nobles without any supplies...how will they survive.


This is a take on a vampire story I never would have thought of, but it was absolutely amazing. It also has a dystopian theme in a Renaissance Era which I loved.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This cover, THIS COVER! So gorgeous, I was immediately snagged by the vibes it exuded: dark, gothic, eerie. This tale is very loosely inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, so the spookiness factor is major plus in my eyes.

The writing is fantastic, and I nearly finished this in one sitting! It is a shorter book, so there is not a huge amount of development in terms of characterization or the romance. But both are done well. The Princess Imogen and Nico are in some ways worlds apart from each other, but deep down they have a connection that I think was written beautifully, and I enjoyed seeing them discover the other pieces of themselves and each other.

The world-building, the castle and surrounding forest, the atmosphere sent chills down my spine. This book is so haunting, lovely yet rotting underneath.

The twist was not completely unexpected, but I did enjoy where the story went with it. I've seen some other reviews where people were not happy about the Jewish protagonist and antisemitism mixed with fantasy, but I thought it worked well to point out a piece of history and showcase it in a way that was not super obscured and still understood easily. But that's just my two cents.

Overall, I liked the story and I was thoroughly entertained, which is all I can ask of any book.

One of my favorite authors EVER. Her books are so beautifully crafted and so amazingly done. Her stories are imaginative and A Multitude of Dreams is no different. To be honest, this book is so transcendent that it might be Rutherford's best work to date. I'm so shocked this book isn't being talked about EVERY WHERE I GO! Because it should be. Please, please, please read this book!

This is a mash-up of the short story "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe and various vampire legends. A young Jewish girl, Seraphina, is a look alike for the recently deceased princess Imogen. Imogen's sisters take her to the castle where Seraphina must know pretend to be a princess to save her life. The years pass and the plague (the reason the king shut them into the castle in the first place) appears to be subsiding, but the king's health is failing and so the noble residents are unsure of what to do. In the other part of the novel, Nico Mott was saved by Lord Crane and now Nico works for him. Nico comes to discover that Crane is a vampire. Eventually, Nico arrives at the castle and meets Seraphina. Together they work to help the rest of the survivors and try to figure out how to deal with the child vampires they find. I appreciate the author's desire to include a Jewish protagonist, but beyond that aspect of the novel, it was not a very original story or an original take on the source materials.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review

My rating: 3-3.5 (rounded to 3 for goodreads sake)

I thought the premise of this book was incredibly interesting, and it was part of the reason I requested it, but unfortunately, for me, it didn’t quite live up to the expectations. I will say that this is the second time I’ve been duped into reading a vampire book, and I’m really not sure how to feel about that. Overall, I felt a bit misled by the description. The stakes here were not enough to keep me engrossed, and that resulted in me being kind of bored during this book and what I felt was an anticlimactic ending. Additionally, several of the characters were shallow or caricaturized (Branson, Crane, Giselle, etc) when they didn’t need to be.

However, this is not a fault with the writing. This may be the perfect book for someone who’s just not me. The vibes were definitely gothic and mysterious, and the main character’s backstory was interesting. The concept itself is also really cool. The use of Jewish representation rooted in real history was fascinated, although in some places, the use of words like “Jewish”, “english”, and “kosher”, took me out of the fantasy a bit. I didn’t understand why this book wasn’t just set in a fantasy medieval England in that case.

I will say, the romance felt forced, especially by the end, and in addition to the flat characters, the inclusion of vampires felt ridiculous to me. A book that I expected to be about a plague-ravaged country, political intrigue, and a mad king, turned into some humans vs vampires something.

Overall, while I was incredibly interested by the concept, I felt disappointed by the execution of this book. It wasn't great, but it wasn’t awful.

Thank you again to Inkyard press and the Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a retelling of Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. If you enjoy gothic, dystopian YA fantasy, give this book a try. It was a fun and quick read. I was not the target audience of this book and I was left with so many questions, but it is a unique book that will appeal to YA readers that like a moody vibe with monsters.

I thought this book would be more like Naomi Noviks writing. The concept seemed really interesting to me but the execution/story arcs fell short for me.

This blood curdling tale takes place in a fantasy world that is much like the Middle Ages in Europe. The plague has decimated the countryside besides those who are immune. Nico lost his whole family and now works for a Lord on his property with others who were saved. Seraphina is pretending to be Princess Imogen while trapped in the castle because the king is too scared to open its doors. All of this with an undercurrent of the antisemitism that took place around this time period.

I really enjoyed this. The story became a lot more interesting when Nico and Seraphina meet, and the real bulk of this tale takes place. I had fun and also loved the horror, including the vampires, which were a great surprise.

Out August 29, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

I really enjoyed reading this one. A little predictable, but in a good way.

A plague, a King who freezes his kingdom in time by not allowing anyone in or out of the castle, a Princess who is not really a Princess and a Prince who is not really a Prince. Mixed in there are a few vampires, immunes and some immaculate who have never been exposed to the plague. All combine to make a very interesting story.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I couldn't wait to dive in. I mean, how can you go wrong with an Edgar Allen Poe retelling? Even though this story is a retelling, I found it to be unique and refreshing. I loved the idea of a gothic tale featuring a plague, a fake princess, vampires, and a forbidden romance.

A Multitude of Dreams has all the makings of a great read, but it just didn't work for me. As much as I enjoyed the creepy and gothic vibe of the story, the pacing was too slow for my liking, and with a plot that has a lot of moving parts, the slow pace was a major distraction for me. I really struggled to stay connected to the story and the characters. And while I do appreciate the world this author created and all of the fantasy elements, it just wasn't enough for me.

In the end, I think this is one of those books you're either going to love or you're going to hate.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Caution: Some slight spoilers (but no major plot spoilers) follow.

This book, at first glance, had everything I could want. A beautiful cover, a deadly plague, it's (loosely) based on one of my personal favorite Poe short stories, it has Jewish representation... but it also has vampires, for some reason? Which, at first, I was a little leery of, as the YA vampire craze of the 2000s-2010s wasn't exactly my favorite literary trend (as much as I love Anne Rice), but it was actually surprisingly well included here. The plot moved along at a decent pace, the characters were decently well developed, and the tone was creepy enough to keep me engaged. Overall, a fun read for fans of atmospheric YA stories with a touch of fantasy and just enough horror to keep you interested, but not enough to keep you up at night.

3.5*, rounded up.

Thank you to Inkyard Press for this earc

Unfortunately this book was not for me.

First, let me just point something out. If you’re an author who’s writing a book about a hated Jewish person, please write a religious background. Don’t just make an assumption everyone knows what you’re talking about. Especially when you’re also kind of writing in a paranormal subplot. And honestly speaking, if you take away main character being Jewish, this story would not have changed whatsoever.

As a Jew, I would love to see accurate representation. This book is not an example of that. If you’re telling Seraphina was raised in a Jewish family and suffered so much with living in the palace full of gentiles, I very much don’t want to read about her falling in love with a not Jewish boy she just met.

For the rest of plot, everything was incredibly flat and predictable. Nothing about the writing made my heart bit faster.

It’s promoted as a retelling. But I would tell you to skip this one.