I’ve had the opportunity and privilegie to receive this book from the author as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, so here we go ❤️

Rating: 5/5⭐️

“Old King Stuart’s lost his head, hoping he won’t end up dead.
Lock the windows, bar the door; the plague will come for rich and poor.
If you want to stay alive, there are three ways to survive:
Run away across the sea; pray for blood immunity; Or die and be reborn again, and drink the blood of living men.”

I confess I’ve never heard of Edgar Allan Poe, so I went a little blind into this Poe retelling inspired story with a deadly plague and a masquerade. And I can say that Mara has done it again! With a darker twist to an already dark plague, this adventure follows Seraphina - known as Princess Imogen to others - and Nico - or Prince Martin -, while they discover the true of the world post plague and the courage to move on. This is a tale about resilience, found family and bravery.

I loved the writing, found the pace enjoyable and engaging and I found myself devouring this book quite quickly! All characters are very interesting and I felt they were all needed! The dual POV was absolutely magical to discover more about the plot and the world Mara had created and to experience the aftermath of the bloody three in two very distinct ways: Seraphina’s is locked inside Eldridge Hall by the King with some nobility to avoid the plague and Nico has survived the plague by being immune and serving Lord Crane.

Everything is plotted together so nicely, the little twists, the clues; you can see the author took her time to make sure everything would come together perfectly. There’s some macabre to this story and you can’t help but be mesmerised by it until the end! It’s a mix of a gothic ya fantasy with an infusion of supernatural and subtle romance.

I chose this book after falling in love with the cover, I just wish I could have fallen in love with the story as well. I found the every single character was under developed, the plot itself felt very lackluster. It made me really sad, maybe I will go back to the story from the halfway point soon and try again?!

Inspired by “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, this YA fantasy has a strong gothic vibe. Plagues, pogroms, and zombie vampires, oh my! It’s tone is dark and thought-provoking. There’s even a fake princess who has to pretend to be the princess who died. The plot is fascinating and twisty. And let’s just admit—the cover is drop dead gorgeous!

Will post on my socials (FB, website, and Instagram) March 18, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an arc of A Multitude of Dreams.

The reason I requested this title is because I am always drawn to a good Poe inspired tale. I knew going in this wasn’t going to be a retelling, but I found myself hoping that I would see more shades of Poe in the story.

I felt the beginning was strong and I was intrigued about Nico living with Lord Crane and digging graves and the Princess who was not an Princess but an imposter to keep the mad King from realizing his beloved daughter had died.

There were some really great elements: the different levels of survivors, those that sequestered and never got the plague (immaculates) and those who ended up immune and then those who chose a much different path and drank blood instead of dying. I thought that was done in an interesting way and I wish it held my interest further as I ran into problems around the midway point where a few things felt forced and/or dismissive in regards to character revelations.

I did enjoy the book and it definitely had some twists and turns! A solid 3/5 for me.

I would have given this book SIX stars is I could - This was such a fun book to read!!

This book follows the perspectives of Princess Imogen from locked within the castle at Eldridge and Nicodemus "Nico" Mott on his way to the castle. There are many other characters that you will fall in love with along the way - and a few that will make you mad as hell. I will say that I don't remember reading "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe, so I can't give an accurate opinion as far as how this was done as a retelling, but it was so satisfying as its own story and I'd say its release is timely with the status of our current world.

My favorite thing about this book is that things are not as they seem - I found this book to be very UNPREDICTABLE at times and throw me for twists and turns that I was not expecting. Everything was woven together beautifully - the connections that we reveal as the story goes on are incredible. I would love to continue to learn and grow with these characters, I feel like there's so many more adventures that could come from this story.

I thought it was really neat that despite this being a "fantasy" story - it still was able to touch upon the very real and relevant issue of antisemitism. I think this was done in a tasteful and meaningful way. It was also interesting to reflect that this piece discusses the "plague" which in society right now is also pretty spot on as we have all been living through COVID.

Although this story is brief, I felt as though the characters were well developed and had adequate backstories to captivate us the readers and keep us wanting to learn more. This is definitely a YOUNG ADULT book that can be enjoyed by "older folks" like myself (people 30+). It doesn't get too spicy, but there's enough "adult material" that it doesn't read too young. If you like creepy gothic mysteries with some romance, dive in!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I was disappointed with this book. It is a take on The Masque of the Red Death but really, Rutherford chose to focus more on aesthetics than themes in my opinion. Of course, the plague is there but...maybe I let my expectations get too high before I started reading.

I definitely saw potential and I was interested enough in seeing how everything was wrapped up that I did finish the book but the characters felt rather flat and by the end, I just didn't care anymore. This could be due in part to the repetitive nature of portions of the book and the character's inner narratives/dialogue as well.

Also, I do want to mention here that there was a great potential for discussion here about plagues and the blame that is all too often placed on minorities- the author mentioned this but did not take true advantage of it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy I received for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Mara is a great writer and I love everything I’ve read by her so far. This book has the eerie vibes of The Poison Season but with a much more gothic atmosphere. It revolves around a plague and a castle full of nobles who have shut themselves away while the rest of the world suffers. It’s a dual POV from Princess Imogen inside the castle, and Nico Mott living on an estate with other immunes.

I feel like saying too much will give things away, but I will say that things are not at all as they seem in this book and there are lots of exciting secrets to uncover. It was suspenseful and bloody at times, but also had strong characters and sweet moments. I liked both MCs and the romance was cute, although the book was on the shorter side which didn’t leave much room for development. Overall I really enjoyed this and the cover is stunning.

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

A second for this cover, if you will.

Doubly, a second for this is an Edgar Allen Poe retelling.

Late last year I was lucky enough to win a copy of The Poison Season via BookishFirst, then received a stunning special edition of it via Owlcrate....and I absolutely loved the book. So, when I was randomly scrolling Netgalley and landed on this one - I knew I had to have it!

Imagine my surprise when I got accepted to review this (or don't, I am new to the site and still get excited for acceptances).

Anyway, on to the story itself. While I am not personally ready to read Pandemic-centered stories, I really quite enjoyed The Poison Season and A Multitude of Dreams. Mara Rutherford is just that good! I like that this book was a subtle nod to Edgar Allen, and appreciate the author for making a note of that in the front & back of the book - otherwise it would have gone right over my head.

I like the idea of a castle being untouched by a plague for four years. Of course, in real life, I know that this is something that would not truly happen - especially considering we lived through a pandemic where people got sick even leaving their homes for a few minutes. In the beginning of this book I pictured maybe a couple dozen people in this castle along with the royals....not hundreds of nobles all stuck in one place. And nobody questioned the almost endless food supply in four years!

This whole mini ecosystem untouched by the plague really caught my interest, and I would read a whole novella about everything they did in that castle over the last four years, read about how the meals would change and when rationing would truly kick in, would read more about the sisters and their dynamic. Heck, I wanted to know more about the King and why he acted the way he did! Of course, I am glad that this book skipped to the point and wasn't incredibly boring and drawn out, but also I am left with so any questions about this castle - which I will just have to speculate about!

I enjoyed the characters too. Just like in the Poison Season, you have a boy and a girl in virtually opposite worlds that come together in an attempt for one to save another. I do see the similarities between the books, despite there being different plots. This book does have a little less romance than Poison Season, but the relationship is still there and they work together to get everyone to safety!

Then, because you cannot just have a plague story - the author threw in a new kind of monster too. Well, not new to the book world, but new to the world inside this book. I will not lie, it kind of threw me for a loop, but it made the story interesting and it kind of pushed the characters to leave the "safety" and confines of the castle wall.

Plus, the author was able to weave in a subtle nod to vaccinations in this story as well.....respect for that.

The author does also touch a bit on the Jewish experience in history as well. She touches on it in her Author Note at the end, and basically says that the events of this book are entirely fictional, but some of the fears are from ones rooted in history. The main character is Jewish, she battles with feeling not enough for her heritage, and she witnessed pogroms because gentiles thought her people caused the plague. It was definitely a very real aspect thrown into a fictional world!

Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and it did surprise me a few times throughout as well. I am a sucker for some Poe-related retellings, and I loved the atmosphere of the castle with a quiet, dead world outside. I would have loved to see more inside the castle for the last four years, but also think the author did a good job balancing out the story and weaving in a good amount of action throughout as well. This is definitely a story I will remember for a while to come!
Content warnings: death, blood, body horror, murder, plague, confinement, racism, gun violence, self harm, survivors guilt, genocide

"He who saves a single life, saves the world entire"

Sinister, dark, engaging, gothic - everything I could've ever wanted. The writing was impeccable and the characters were well developed with deep backstories. I LOVED learning about the Jewish representation in the story. I never knew that the Jewish people were wrongfully blamed for spreading plagues in the past. I'll also mention how engaging the tense and scary scenes were within the book. It felt like from 50% onward we were getting jump scares, artfully written scary scenes, and plot twist after plot twist. This was my first Mara Rutherford book and I am now such a stan. I need to read The Poison Season now. If you liked Anatomy: A Love Story I think you'd love the gothic and sinister style of this book as well.

"She was cunning, and brave, and she was never going to hide who she was again."

"She remembered how he'd kissed her bruised wrists, how the pain in her heart contrasted with the butterflies in her stomach at the tenderness of the gesture."

Thank you for this opportunity! So I am really digging how the Jewish community is sharing their histories and stories with the wide world through retelling and books. This one an insidious creep up on you sort of take on a popular authors work. I am definitely recommending this to everybody I meet

2.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard, and Mara Rutherford for an E-Galley of this book. All opinions are my own.

I can say that was an entertaining read. The premise was really interesting. I was fascinated by the twist on the Edgar Allan Poe story; it wasn’t what I expected at all.

I also think this book highlights a history of antisemitism related to plagues that most people don’t know, and I think that’s really important—especially in the context of the recent antisemitic hate related to COVID (people claiming it was a Jewish hoax, calling the vaccine a “Jew jab”, etc.)

That said, there were a few major disappointments for me.

I almost put this book down and didn’t finish it after the first chapter. When you’re being introduced to the characters, Rutherford immediately hits you over the head with the characterization of Rose as the kinda dumb girly sister, Nina as the kinda dumb sl*tty sister, and Seraphina as being not like the other girls. And I mean, she hits you over the head with it.

Featuring such hits as, “Seraphina rolled her eyes as her sisters and their ladies tittered and trilled like a small flock of sparrows.”

Rose says that the handsome Lord Greymont would look handsome wearing anything, followed by Nina saying that he’d look handsome naked

Rose wants to go to the masquerade as a pink butterfly. Nina wants to be a siren. And then we get the following exchange:

“‘What does a siren costume consist of?’ Jocelyn asked.
‘Cleavage,’ Rose retorted before Nina could answer, and even Seraphina had to laugh. Rose wasn’t usually quick or witty.
‘Ha ha,’ Nina said, though she was admiring said cleavage in the mirror.”

Then as Seraphina goes to bed, Rose tells her to dream of a handsome man and a royal wedding. Nina tells her to dream of a royal wedding night.

Rose is all handsome men and weddings and pink. Nina is all sex and vanity. And everything I have mentioned above is just from the first chapter. Rose and Nina then get very little characterization beyond this for the rest of the book. We do establish that Nina is brave and that Rose is…nasal? And that’s pretty much it.

I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt that she’s trying to establish that Seraphina’s upbringing and origins were different from that of Nina and Rose, but she leans really heavily on sexist tropes and attitudes to do it. There were more clever ways to investigate those differences.

And then the subtle misogyny continues through the book.

We have more of Seraphina not being like the other girls: “He laughed, a soft rumble in his chest. ‘You are nothing like the other ladies at Eldridge, Princess Imogen.’”

We have a bit of a Lady Macbeth trope with Giselle.

We have a moment close to the end where Seraphina states that she could never go back to her old life and spend her days being just a wife and mother.

We have the author stating that female vampires don’t really exist because they’d rather die than drink blood. That’s called benevolent sexism, and not only does it speak to a bias that women are somehow inherently gentle and compassionate compared to men—which is harmful in and of itself—it also reinforces the insidious idea that men somehow can’t help being predatory and violent. That it’s an inherent gender difference that makes men more likely to assault and kill others. This is compounded by a history of vampirism as a metaphor for sexual assault, a metaphor that is repeatedly reinforced within this story from the beginning.

This was an enormous obstacle preventing this from being a higher rated book for me. And all my other disappointments—that the masquerade was a very brief and insignificant part of the story, that the romance felt rushed and forced, that the author has Seraphina look at Nico and think to herself that she was given strength by the reminder that one person cared about her as ‘Seraphina’ WITH JOCELYN AND DALIA STANDING RIGHT THERE—just felt so minor in comparison.

This could have been a really great story, and instead I finished it with kind of a bad taste in my mouth.

“There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams.”
- Edgar Allan Poe The Masque of the Red Death

This was a fairly quick and interesting take on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death! So naturally I had to do a reread of The Masque of the Red Death as well. This retelling turned out to be just as morbid with a more fantastical side note that I enjoyed.

The story takes place during a time after the plague ran rampant. The king has barricaded all the nobles in his castle while the rest of the world dies. While the nobles live well off with masquerade balls and no worries, after 4 years time, supplies begin to dwindle. It alternates between 2 perspectives; Princess Imogen locked away in the castle and Nicodemus “Nico” Mott locked outside of the castle. The writing was well done and cohesive with Poe’s and I really enjoyed the whole story. While the first half of the book was rather slow and not much happened at all, reminiscent of an uneventful historical fiction piece, the second half of the book become much more interesting. There were still no wild twists but this was a unique retelling of The Masque of the Red Death with a fantasy aspect that was quite interesting. The characters were well executed I think as well and I especially enjoyed the Jewish representation that was incorporated. Overall an enjoyable YA fantasy with the gothic vibe.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for the eARC!

This is the second book of Mara Rutherford’s that I’ve read, after “The Poison Season.” If you enjoyed “The Poison Season,” or if you like gothic fantasy YA, you should love “A Multitude of Dreams.” It’ll be a perfect read for spooky season. It’s a vibe.

-Seraphina is a fiery character who has faced prejudice and entrapment. Nico is a blushing, stammering gravedigger. They’re a cute twosome, but they don’t meet until after the 40% mark.
-The writing seems young YA in its simplicity, but some of the violence is more upper YA.
-The cover is *chef’s kiss*. Perfection.

Last year I read what I consider one of the best books I’ve ever read: The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford. It was so intimate, quiet in a way where you felt you walked every single step left by its protagonists. Where every scene breathed to life, every hurt caused pain, every joy giddily experienced, and every love come swooningly true. It was perfect. Needless to say: this book has high standards to reach.

And met each and every one.

This book cements me as a forever fan of Rutherford, who will devour every future work she publishes.

I loved it.

》Setting the Stage《

Typically I begin a review discussing protagonist(s), but here let me gush at the way the entire atmosphere of this book was brought to life in such a brilliant way.

There’s such an intimate nature to the narrative, not in terms of romance, but in terms of immediacy, the feeling you’re right at the edge of your seat, how the goosebumps prickle your skin, the hairs that raise on your neck, your breath catching in your throat at every revelation. There is intrigue, suspicion, and danger creeping at every corner. At times it felt they were encroaching upon the reader, watching over your shoulder, lingering just behind a closed door…narrowing in on you. Shudders. And I LOVE it.

The story develops in a way that I think you can absolutely tell where it’s going but you need to see it with your own two eyes. You may guess right, but the experience still feels raw and fresh. The stakes are raised high and there’s no telling where a path may led— and who may or may not make it out alive. But you have to find out. You just do.

And that is exciting to read.

》Seraphina《

My beautiful, wistful Seraphina. We learn a significant spoiler concerning her towards the very beginning, but I want to keep that vague for you to experience it as it’s delivered.

For now, let me say the following.

I loved her. I felt I took every single step alongside her. I felt her curiosity, her hope, her desires, her longing, and her fears, but also her strengths. She always chooses to persevere, even if she isn’t fit for a task she wants to help. She wants to be active in decision-making, especially as that’s been ripped from her for so long. I also love how readily she protected her identity and heritage, never forgetting it. Not once.

She’s a gorgeous lead and I’d be so happy to follow her anywhere.


》Nico《

Nico! His arc in particular holds the most intrigue and eeriness. I felt as if I was piecing all the hints together just as he did, in real time. And feeling the horror emerge just as it did for him. I love how perceptive and astute a character he is— and also simply how good he is. So valiant, loyal, steadfast, and good. A protector of the innocent, a young man striving to secure a the best future for all. I was anticipating the moment he would meet Seraphina, and all I shall say: I was not disappointed!


》The Romance《

The closest nitpick I came to was in the romance. And this is the reason why, if asked, I’ll say I prefer The Poison Season. Because that book brought romance more to the front and center, but in this one, it’s more a supporting cast member on a stage set for bigger things.

The romance takes a back seat to everything else. It’s absolutely there. But it’s so very gently and slowly made, there’s promise and hope for it, but it’s not the main focus. Connection is the main focus, not romance. However, I can’t detract from my rating because, although I am a romance reader above all, I think it was a wise choice not to center it in this book.

This book was about about personal journeys into self, identity, and power. Romance is a beautiful added touch, but it’s not one that needed to take focus away from the main event.

I can’t find fault in this decision, but my silly little lovey dovey heart would have welcomed more because I absolutely adored what we did get!


》The Truth in One’s Name《

There’s an eerie feeling that continually develops as the story unrolls, a feeling you’re being closed in at every corner, and it brought so much excitement to the page! But there’s also this quiet, intimate feel of the power in learning one’s self, in knowing who you are and holding on so tight to your core. To who you are, to yourself and to others. It’s about individual power into self, the empowerment in connections, and the light caress of love that helps us face every potential future ahead.

What a journey this one was!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mara Rutherford’s Street Team for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

A Multitude of Dreams was a good read for me in the terms of: diverse representation, it was refreshing to read a fantasy with Jewish representation, strong female lead character, and overall some great gothic imagery.

I personally found the first half a little slow to get through, the premise of the story kept me curious to see the end, and with a modern fantasy plague retelling… I found this standalone an overall 3/5 ⭐️

The storyline was lacking plot twists for me, and I found the characters to be a bit one dimensional. If I was eating this book 10 years ago as a young adult this may have been a 4 for me! But my taste is a bit subjectively different these days. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantasy standalone with minimal romance, anyone who loves YA fantasy fiction, or to fans of modern works similar to Edgar Allan Poe.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest and willing review. Thank you so much to the publishers, Maria, and Netgalley, for the opportunity to review the advanced copy of this book.

’ve been dying to dive into Mara Rutherford’s novels and when I saw Multitude of Dreams the cover instantly drew me in. I quickly fell in love with our two protagonists and the spin on an Edgar Allan Poe story. This book was perfectly eerie and gave off major wednesday vibes. I’m not sure what to rate this because it honestly depends if it’s a standalone or not. If it’s a standalone thennn I’m slightly let down because it felt like there was something missing I was left wanting more… sooooo if it’s a series and I know there will be more thennn that makes me like it more haha

This personally isn’t my thing. It was basically a locked up kingdom from a plague that you either are immune or you are not. There are zombies in it called reborns. It wasn’t fast pace enough for me
And I felt like I was getting bored with the amount of unneeded context. It may be your thing but not mine!

A Multitude of Dreams is a retelling of Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. Told through dual POV's, you follow Princess Imogene and Nico. Princess Imogene has been locked away during the plague, and Nico who lost everything during the plague finds himself working for Lord Crane. While the plague is over there is a new terror that is taking over the land.

Princess Imogene is not who she seems, she has a secret that she has to keep about her identity, she is also desperate to escape the castle that she has been locked in during the plague. Meanwhile Nico finds out a disturbing truth about his employer Lord Crane and is desperate to warn the residents of the castle that Lord Crane intends to target. When Nico and Princess Imogene meet truths are revealed about the plague and its aftermath as well as their true identities.

This started off strong with some slow-moving parts in the middle and a quick, action-packed ending. Overall, an interesting, creepy read with a little romance thrown in.

I really liked this book. The plot was very fun and interesting. The characters were good and well written. Overall I really enjoyed it!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Poe retelling with a plague and a masquerade? YES PLEASE.

This book was slow starting, but once it sucks you in-you're in. Rutherford did a great job creating a spooky world, with fascinating characters. This gothic setting takes you on a journey through a duel POV with Nico and Princess Imogen/Seraphina leading the way through the aftermath of a plague. As rations start to disappear and the years-long charade of being kept safe in a castle starts to fall apart, Princess Imogen starts to make a plan to get out of the castle.
Meanwhile, Nico Mott has been working for Lord Crane, who may not seem like the generous man he appears to be, and once Nico figures it out, he has to warn everyone in the castle. But how does he get there knowing what 'things' lie in wait...
This story was full of anticipation and was subtle with its dashes of spooky and eerie that definitely reflects Poe's works.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the eARC!