I really liked the concept of this Novella. It really had some good parts but it was a miss for me. Melissa and Mark's relationship was adorable.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this short Novella

When I got this I thought it was going to be a cute quick story, but I pleasantly got more than I thought for such a short read...

In this book, we follow two characters who are Immortals Dream and Cupid & we get a little back story of them as we go through the book. (Dream is joined together with Nightmare at the back of his head, trying to fight off the ever-dark longings of his influence - where Cupid is the love matchmaker bringing humans together).

We see a bet go on between these two over two people who come into Cupid's shop where one is in love and the other one feels angry and hateful... but Cupid knows they are soul mates and takes the bet of getting these two together without using any magical powers.

Over this journey, we are taken through Cupid's ego and arrogance thinking he has this in the bag and will be no sweat, but the more we see the more Cupid's nature is challenged realising that there is so much more to Humans than he thought, & even though he's seen as the powerhouse behind love he starts to realise that his not as smart nor is he how he is genuinely seen by others ( the self-discovery and the questioning of his standing in his position not only in the world but in the cosmic circle of it all shows that even Immortals are flawed individuals by there own behaviours and sense of self).

Cupid goes through this transformation over two people with a connection but due to human Fallings straying so far apart from one another, the journey shows how humans are complex and complicated messes and how we can hold on to things festering from the inside turning something pure into an explosive battleground of not only emotions but memories that shape future events and our interactions with others).

This book for me was moving and a really deep read & I recommend it... it's only 88 pages long but the story leaves a punch ( well it did with me).

If there's one thing I wasn't expecting was to love this novella as much as I did. Genuinely didn't know what to expect going into it considering I got sucked into requesting this for the cover alone but OMG!

I loved following along with Dream and Cupid's antics while they were working to bring together two soulmates - who, by the way, I love. Z and Chris own my heart.

Supernatural beings betting on a relationship, what can go wrong? I wish this was a better hit for me, however, I felt like the characters all lacked personality.

NetGalley and Victory Editing for the chance to read this!

This is such a cute book, I usually read dark romance, but this is one of those book that send you flying out of a reading slump.
Dream has a bet with Cupid (what one you want to know, well then get this cutie and find out)

Cupid has thought it would be easy to win, but its going to take more work than anticipated.

If you like "Sandman" this would be a good read for you

Nighmare needs his own book!!! PLEASEEEE

I didn't connect to the prose, it felt overly floral and too similarly too simple. It made connecting with the characters really difficult. Ultimately, this book isn't for me, but I know there are readers out there who will love this writing style.

So Dream, Nightmare, Cupid, Death.. Are real, like real people and they walk among us, dictating who we loved, who/what we dream and all of that and the idea is quite interesting but also the fact that we can't control that and sadly when is not meant to be is not meant to be even if we're bonded to someone.. Well I can't say much otherwise I will spoiler but yes, I loved the concept and the idea

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fantasy
Number of pages: 115

A Short Synopsis 📑
A bet between Cupid and Dream.
What could go wrong? It was just a simple bet.
But when that bet involves two childhood best friends who’d turned into enemies—or, much rather, two soulmates who’d do everything but give in to their feelings—that’s where the complications come in.
Dream wagers that this would be the one couple Cupid cannot bring together.
But will Cupid’s ego allow him to lose?

My Thoughts 💭
I found the novella's concept to be quite beautiful, and I was genuinely invested in Chris and Zoya's story. However, I struggled with the sudden shifts in perspective, which took me out of the narrative at times. In addition, I was left wanting more from the relationship between Dream and Cupid, feeling that it was underdeveloped and lacking the depth I craved. Despite these issues, I appreciated the unique setting and the author's writing style. If you love the concepts of dreams in a book, a short read, and sweet characters, this one is for you. It was my first read by this author.

Thank you, Netgalley and the author, for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

I was completely sucked in by the cover and honestly didn't care what the book was about, so going into it I didn't realize it was a novella. I don't tend to read novellas because I find them to rushed but this was a really good one!! I loved the concept of Cupid and Dream making a bet on a human couple, it was really sweet watching them get invested and attached to these two random people! Chris and Zoya's relationship was well done, I enjoyed their backstory and how the relationship evolved. Cupid and Dream were my fave though, I liked seeing them get closer as they work to reunite Chris and Zoya. Dream's struggles with Nightmare was also well done!

3.5⭐️

I received an ARC copy of this novella for a honest review. This is the first novel by Akira Varma that I have read.

This novella has a good concept - a bet between two childhood best friends turned enemies, Cupid and Dream. It is short and sweet, with a message of hope and love.

This book was a bit hard to follow at times as it jumps between characters without setting up a strict POV, so I was sometimes left rereading areas to try to pinpoint whose POV I was reading.

Overall I enjoyed the book!

1.5 stars

Thank you, Net-Galley, for providing me with an ARC of Dream a Little Dream of Me.

This is a short and sweet Novella. I struggled with connecting with the main characters and found myself not really enjoying the writing style as well. The multi POV and the way it shifts from one character to the other was where I really struggled. I'm usually all for multiple POV but for some reason in this novella, I did not care for it as there were no warnings of the shifts.

I'm disappointed because I was very excited about the concept, but the execution fell flat for me.

I would read another book by this author before coming to a conclusion on their writing style.

4.5 stars rounded up

This is a light, short story that shows how much more complicated relationships between two people can be. Since the book it's told from the perspective of powerful entities, we also learn that when we keep rushing to the end (making couples fall in love using the seeds in this case), we miss the most important part, the journey. And seeing Cupid relearn the importance of the stories behind the humans was really sweet, especially when he was really into it, and not just passively observing them.

All in all it's a pretty quick read, but really sweet.

I think the premise and the idea is very interesting and that is what made me want to read this novella. I thought it is really cool, that Cupid and Dream are actual beings in the world doing their work. However, I felt it could have been done better. There often times some information that was thorwn into the story, that were never addressed again or resolved. But this could also be due to the fact that this is a novella and not an actual book. I wished we could have read more about the character development about all the relevant people and more importantly, about the background of Cupid and Dream.

A lovely novella with a sweet plot and love story. The writing and pacing could use some improvement, but I thoroughly enjoyed the premise.

Fleshed out, I'd want to read this as a whole book rather than a novella. I'd love to learn more about immortals like Dream and Cupid, their abilities and how they came into being, and all the ways they interfered with the world.

One thing that confused me a bit: while Cupid and Dream were going through Zoya's memories, they seemed to be watching those memories in third person (instead of first), and were even able to see "memories" that Zoya had while she was asleep as a baby. So that threw me off a little.

When I started the book, Dream and Cupid interested me a lot, but it was quite disappointing to learn that them and their interactions weren’t the highlight, but the couple Zoya and Chris. While these characters were enticing, it was quite basic, the girl ignoring the boy who was quite infatuated with her. Zoya annoyed me, and made me feel deeper for Chris. As to why I rated this low, I was way more interested in Dream, his life and character than Cupid with the two soulmates. I pushed through the story, hoping for more interactions with Dream and Nightmare but understood that this was not his story. Interesting concept, but the romance couldn’t keep me invested. 2 stars for interesting concepts and character designs.

Short sweet novella with a little cozy. Dream is fighting Nightmare, who lives inside him and is constantly battling for control. Cupid is bored and feels like his job of bringing together soul mates is redundant. To distract themselves from their ennui, the two make a bet about a young couple who are destined to be soul mates but hate one another. Chris and Zoya have been best friends their entire lives but something soured that and they cannot stand to be in the same room. Will immortal Gods betting on their fate make things better or worse?
Not a standard romance story, but it isn't really long enough to be one. Left me wanting more for all four characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise was intriguing but ultimately it fell a little short. I don’t mind a short story but I feel like this one definitely needed to be a full length novel. A lot of the plot lines were rushed and questions about Cupid and Dream were never answered. All in all, 3 stars for the amazing idea. It has potential to be a phenomenal book if ever properly fleshed out.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

This was a very cute quick read and I loved the premise.

The friendship between Cupid and Dream was interesting however, I do not feel it was developed enough to get me invested in them. I expected Dream/Nightmare to have more of a role in the story than they did. I think I expected a Jekyll & Hyde-type identity.

I was more intrigued by Chris' and Zoya's love story which was sad and hopeful at the same time.
Although the plot was intriguing, the writing style was a bit simple and at times repetitive in quick succession.

I believe there is some potential to explore more with Dream, Nightmare, and Cupid in another novella.

I loved the concept of this novella, it’s a beautiful story about what happens when you dare to hope even when there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The story sucks you in, you want to know what happened between Chris and Zoya and you find yourself rooting for Cupid to win the bet.

I did struggle to get through the story at times because of the POV shifts in the writing without any warning. I found myself having to re-read paragraphs to try and figure out which character’s perspective I was reading from. I found that jarring and it would take me out of the story. The novella did a good job getting the reader invested in Zoya and Chris’ story but I found that the story between Dream and Cupid wasn’t as developed. I knew from the synopsis that the bet was to show Dream he could overcome his lack of hope, but there wasn’t enough development there for me to feel like they were the reason the story was being told.

I would love to see this story developed into a full-length novel, I believe this writer and this story have the potential to be a 5-star read but it definitely needs some work to get there.

Thank you so much to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me the chance to write an honest review of the ARC for Dream a Little Dream of Me!


Rating:
⭐️⭐️/ 5

My review was posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram on 5/11/24.

Amazon review has been submitted but is pending their review process and will be up on my profile within 48 hours.