Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ebook.

This book was everything you could hope for and more.
Dark and sinister are the words that come to mind the most.
The story and characters were developed perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed the backstories presented.
I could definitely see this book becoming an amazing upcoming horror movie, as there were "jump scares".

Highly recommend this read!

I really enjoyed this gothic novel! Spooky castles, conniving nobles, a deadly plague, and a Jewish girl disguised as a princess. I think the romance was a little rushed, but otherwise I enjoyed the story and the characters! Seraphina was a great character and I loved the Jewish representation.

A Multitude of Dreams
by Mara Rutherford
Pub Date: 29 Aug 2023

Wow this was amazing gothic tale, loved it!!

The bloody plague is finally past, but what fresh horror lies in its wake?

Princess Imogen of Goslind has lived a sheltered life for three years at the boarded-up castle—she and the rest of its inhabitants safe from the bloody mori roja plague that’s ravaged the kingdom. But Princess Imogen has a secret, and as King Stuart descends further into madness, it’s at great risk of being revealed. Rations dwindle each day, and unhappy murmurings threaten to crack the facade of the years-long charade being played within the castle walls.

Nico Mott once enjoyed a comfortable life of status, but the plague took everyone and everything from him. If not for the generosity of a nearby lord, Nico may not have survived the mori roja’s aftermath. But does owing Lord Crane his life mean he owes him his silence?

When Lord Crane sends Nico to search for more plague survivors in the castle, Nico collides with a princess who wants to break out. They will each have to navigate the web of lies they’ve woven if they’re going to survive the nightmares ahead.

#AMultitudeofDreams

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my favorite Mara Rutherford book to date! A Multitude of Dreams is a gothic YA reimagining of The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe and comes out just in time for anyone looking for a slightly spooky, and atmospheric tale for the coming autumn season. I loved the idea of this castle that is completely cut off from the world, and it was a perfect mix of creepy and dark. The setting was definitely my favorite part of this book! I’m also a big fan of standalone books and I appreciate the story this book tells in such a short amount of time without feeling like it was too short. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and mysterious read!

A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford is a fun gothic fantasy that manages to tie in relevant social issues alongside a vampirism storyline. Beautiful, striking cover art, and enough mystery to keep you turning the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

This was a fairly solid YA quick read (3.5/5). There was light-horror, palace intrigue, a bit of slow-burn romance, and a touch of social issues all woven into this fantasy retelling. I was initially drawn to this book based on the cover art which is 5-star.
I had not read the authors prior works so did not have any expectations on that front, but any homage to Edgar Allan Poe piques my interest. I say "homage" as this is not a retelling of The Masque of Red Death. Though Mara Rutherford starts with elements of gothic castle, shut-away nobles, with a mad king (like Poe's prince), plague, and masquerade; her focus is more on other characters and social issues. There are princesses with lines of succession, and romantic interests. There is a spotlight on how Jews are targeted and blamed for outbreaks. (If you do not believe this true in our current world just look at the recent accusations that RFK Jr. was spouting.) And then, there are vampires. Much as I enjoy a good vampire-horror, this was my biggest issue with the book. I'm not sure that this element was something I really needed in this story. That said, I still enjoyed the narrative and the dual-POV writing style.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Inkyard Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This was a well-written story. I enjoyed the plot and the characters very much! Great book and definitely recommend!

This book was what I thought it was going to be. It just feels that since this authors other series ended she has lost the spark that made her stories amazing. This book had the same issues as Luminous had that it felt like the author was holding something back. I wish that she would have just gone full dark with this one. It just felt like it was lacking.

This was such a great book. It is filled with mystery, romance, fantasy, hidden identities, and more. If you enjoy creepy stories with great twist you will love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard publisher the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
There is no doubt in my mind that the author Mara Rutherford is an excellent story weaver. Her characters were complex and dimensional. I loved the dual point of view, and how the stories converged so seamlessly once the main characters finally met. The plague-ridden atmosphere was full of emotions ruled by the deep stress of a difficult situation where no matter what path our heroes take, it will lead to danger. It helped keep my interest, and I was eager to find out the conclusion of each of these characters.
There were a few things which kept me from loving this story. The first was the introduction of the true character of the villain’s post plague illness, and why they did what they did. There were hints from a children’s song and other speckled moments alluding to the fact that the “monsters” in the story were changed by the plague. It still somehow lacked that monster thriller moment, the “ah-ha knew it” horror flash and felt slightly strange when it was confirmed.
I’m not Jewish, and so I cannot comment on the representation, however, I do feel sometimes the context in which references were included did not flow with the story. I stopped numerous times while reading just because the way things were mentioned felt so out of context with the rest of the writing, that it was hard to continue; completely breaking up the flow and had me questioning “why did the author throw that in there??” I’m all about celebrating heritage and acknowledging community histories, it just didn’t weave in well with the rest of the story the way it was done.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this tale, with its unique twist from the words of E.A. Poe. I’d give it a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I would read other stories from this author.

Seraphina is a young Jew that was chosen to impersonate the Princess Imogen of Goslind who died from the mori roja plague. With food supplies dwindling and rumors and the plague dying out, Seraphina longs to find a way to escape the confines of the castle she, and other elite, have been hidden away in for the past four years.

Nico Mott, survivor or the plague, is trying to find his place in a healing world. When he begins to suspect his savior, lord Crane, of nefarious deeds, he resolves to warn the survivors locked away in the castle of the darkness that awaits them outside their doors.

This was a fun, fast paced retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. The story was easy to follow and somewhat predictable but it didn't stop me from enjoying it.

Gothic, atmospheric, and beautiful retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Mask of the Red Death! Perfect autumnal read, this will give you all the vibes! Certainly adding this to our collection.

This book was full of surprises, with twists and turns sprinkled throughout the story. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that the story offers more than one might expect just based off the blurb on the back of the book. The author does a great job building her characters in such a short book, and I loved both POV characters. And look at that gorgeous cover! The atmosphere and story both make this a perfect autumn read. If you're looking for a soft gothic horror story, pick up A Multitude of Dreams on August 29. You won't want to put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and InkYard Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley & Inkyard Press for an ARC of this book

Welcome to a gothic, YA fantasy Edgar Allen Poe retelling! Enter plagues, madness, corruption, antisemitism and vampires.

A Multitude of Dreams takes place at the end of a deadly plague that has all but wiped out the local population of Gosling. Killing its victims in three days and leaving those called the immune with branch like red markings on their wrists. The castle has been locked up for four years, and the food is starting to run low, but the few survivors sheltered here are not allowed to speak of the Bloody Plague on the orders of their King. The youngest Princess of Goslind wants out but her and her sisters are hiding a huge secret. She's actually not the young Princess Imogen, she's Seraphina, a Jewish girl who has been taken from her home and forced to masquerade as the dead princess. She meets Nico, a ward of Lord Crane, who has mysterious plans for the land of Goslind and the last surviving immaculate's that live within the castle. Nico has come to warn the castle of the disastrous and danger world outside their castle walls and the two of them team up to take on the threats that have spawned in their world.

I had little to no knowledge of the historical fact of Jews being accused of causing and spreading plagues during the Middle Ages and harshly scapegoated for it whenever there was an outbreak. For me personally it felt like it was an anecdote thrown into the background that didn't really change anything for the story because it wasn't fully explored. All seriousness of this getting thrown out the window with the addition of Vampires. But not specifically mentioned as vampires, but all descriptions of these "creatures" lets you know, they are in fact vampires.

The book was a little slow in the introduction, but finally starts to build when the two main characters finally meet. The introduction of Vampires, the battle to save the castle survivors that wasn't necessarily a battle, and unfulfilling conclusion are what have lead to my review. It was an interesting take, but having not read the story this is a retelling of I cannot comment on the connection between the two personally. It was a quick read, but I feel like I'm missing MORE to the story. I wish the Jewish plight of the middle ages had been integrated into the story more. There was more depth to Nico as a character, I just needed More. It was an ok story as is, it could've been a duology easily. I just wish it had more development.

The premise was great and the book was atmospheric. I did sometimes struggle to differentiate characters and I felt that the beginning of the book was a pretty slow burn before a last third that was action-packed. It just didn't feel as smooth as I was hoping.

A MULTITUDE OF DREAMS is based on Poe’s Masque of the Red Death and plagues. A fantasy country is hit by a mysterious plague and the king’s family and many nobles shut themselves up in a country estate and leave the rest of the country to fend for itself for four years as people fight and die. The author also used her Jewish heritage as inspiration for this book—the main character Seraphina is not the princess everyone believes but a Jew stolen to replace the princess who died early on in the plague.

This book has a lot of good ideas going for it, and I did care about the characters and their struggles, but the pacing left a lot to be desired for me. Seraphina does not meet Nico, the gravedigger love interest, until around 40% in. The concerns that the novel starts with also take a turn and become about different things ultimately.

I really did love the author’s previous book The Poison Season and I will definitely check out future books by this author, but I don’t think this particular book was for me.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley got this arc. This is my honest review.

This retelling of The Masque of the Red Death was opulently mysterious and dark with the charm that only a gothic Romantasy can bring! I really loved the characters and overall plot of this story: the grandiose plans of the nobility despite meeting the end of life as they know it leading to needing the help of the underdogs of the normal world to save them? There is plenty of action and plot twists for all!

This was just the lush, gothic inspired, horror I needed. I cannot wait for everyone to kick off spooky season with A Multitude of Dreams. Although based on the Poe story, I felt this was wholly unique, the characters were well drawn and it was very well paced. I loved Nico and Imogen, and I felt their perspectives were distinct and different (sometimes difficult in dual POV novels, but Rutherford knocks it out the park.) I also loved the representation.

Read this. You won't regret it.

Soft, inexperienced puppy mmc meets reluctant Jewish “princess” fmc in this gothic Poe retelling filled with romance, heartbreak AND vampires.
This book was decadent and bloody.

A decent book, all in all. Fast-paced (which I love) and gothic scene setting! A good purchase for YA collections and those who like grim retellings.