This one had all the cozy fall vibes, and the narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. It was a little slow in places, and a little kooky, but overall a fun and quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance Reader Audiobook. I really enjoyed reading about Hannah and how she was able to discover her powers while trying to rescue her Aunt Jewelia. My favorite book quote in this book is... "Autumn is unmistakably mystical. Fog rolls in and the ground is dewy from the moist rain. Leaves show their true colors as the chlorophyll drains from their veins". I wish I can visit the town of Maple Hollow this Autumn. This book gives me the Halloween vibes.

(thanks NetGalley for the audio arc!)
This book is for you if you are into horoscopes, witchy things, dream analysis and esoteric/spiritual topics.
Unfortunately, I do not fall in this category - still, I'd like to give a neutral review.

Read this book if you love
-pumkins
-halloween
-cats
-spiritualism
-witchy vibes
-a short, fast paced mystery

Hannah is a young woman living with her best friend and working as a professional pianist. Well, at least this was her job - unfortunately, this comes to an end in the beginning of this story. Hannah quickly finds herself in an uncomfortable situation: no job, her bestie/roommate would like her to move out so that her boyfriend can move in and she cannot even fall back on the comfort and support from her parents, seeing as they died in a horrible yet mysterious car accident years back. Considering this situation she is more than interested in the letter she recieves from her aunt, which she has no contact with. Unfortunately, this letter is unreadable and when Hannah gets a call from a detective letting her know that her aunt has disappeared, she knows it is time for her to uproot her life and help find her aunt.

I have to preface this by saying this book was not for me. I did read that it was tapping into metaphysics, but only being familiar with the topic through Kant and Adorno, I expected this aspect to manifest in a more philosophical way. Color me surprised when it dawned on me that this means, in fact, that this book taps heavily into the spiritual world.
Hannah is a protagonist I could not relate to at all. Not only because she sees herself as spiritual, which I do not.
Hannah felt like a rather bleak main character. She is being led by other people all the way through the book, trusting anyone that is not a detective with her full heart. She does not make a lot of own decisions and neither does she think that many interesting thoughts, rather following her intuition. Still, she is basically a Mary Sue main character, having no flaws but being the chosen one, being kind to everyone but the people that are the "villains" of the story without even knowing that. Hannah thinks she has had this kind of spiritual connection which makes her better than everyone else.
Simple concepts are described in a way that always compare, always alienate in cases where it does not make sense at all. One example would be that Hannah thinks to herself that she is different than other people, seeing that she asks philosophical questions no one dares to ask besides her. This sounds promising, would she not in the next paragraph have the most basic thoughts, like (paraphrasing): oh, I'v never even thought about the moon having an impact on our lives on earth." Like, are you kidding. I do not think that anyone, most of all spiritual people, have never asked themselves these questions. Another example of Hannahs "I am so different" thinking shows when she describes herself as being an empath whilst acting like the word empath never existed and she has a great philosophical breakthrough by describing it like sympathy, but like more than that, like the feeling anyone's package becomes her own to bear. However, these thoughts could still make for interesting character traits and plot points unfortunately, they are dropped once and never shown again.

To sum it up, Hannah is not like the other girls, while being, in fact, like the other girls.

The story itself had a rather interesting starting point, with Hannah trying to solve the mystery about her aunts disappearance. Hannah has lovely interactions with the village people which seemed pretty fleshed out for such a short book. The overall plot was not bad at all except the villains.
The villains, known as the dream haunters, do pretty much what the name suggests. Lovely concept, have read about it before but am always happy to do so again. Sadly, I was left wishing for a lot more backstory on these dream haunters. It all felt very black and white, having simple explanations for topics that needed more complicated ones. This also shows in the dream haunters being your typical cartoon villains, having monologues about their goals and screaming things like "I am a dream haunter!".

Lastly, I want to touch on the genre. A lot of my feelings towards this book do not belong in the criticism of a fantasy novel, yet I found it read more like a mystery novel trying to make me believe into spiritualism whilst taking it a small step further and adding witches and portals, making it a fantasy. I am sure that a lot of people could view all of this as normal fantasy and call it a day. In the fantasy novels I know, protagonists question what happens around them and even if they feel like this power or lore or anything has been part of their selves whilst alienating them from others, it is done with more wonder and without the conspiratory "I knew it was like that!".

My final tip: If you consider reading this book, check out the author first. You pretty much get what you expect from looking at her website in a mystery fantasy form. If this does speak to you then I think this book will make a fun quick Halloween read for you.

I’m sorry. The prose read like teenage fanfic and was just twee. There is no character development, just silly wishes of how the author wishes they could live. Does that make sense. I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes.

This is a cozy witchy novel, which will be starting a series. Our main character Hannah loses her job, receives news that her aunt she’s never known, is missing and is moving to a mysterious small town. We have a mystery, magical pumpkins, autumnal atmosphere, spooky plotlines however the story leaves much to be desired. My main issue with the novel was the worldbuilding, the author would rather flat-out tell us how it all works rather than show organically. She was not surprised by any of the supernatural, she’d get straight lectures about the magical world from the librarian, a bunch of things were far-fetched like randomly seeing the villain and spying on them eavesdropping under their window, hearing their master plan.

Some other parts felt also a bit preachy since the author is also some kind of a dream coach. It was also hard to distinguish which parts were Hannah’s real life and which were Hannah’s dreams especially while listening to audibook.

Giving this a generous 3 for the cozy atmosphere since Goodreads doesn’t do half stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Inner Realms Publishing for providing access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun quick read that is perfect if you want more of a cozy book to read for fall/Spooky Season. With a long lost aunt, magical pumpkin patch, a dreamworld, and talking cats, what else could you want? While I really enjoyed this book, I hope that the following books in the series really dig deep into character development and cementing those complex personalities that make the characters unique. I like Hannah and Jewelia well enough, but there is SO much potential for these characters and the series as a whole.

I did listen to this as an audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator’s voice, and thought she did a great job with the story. I also loved the bit about the author at the end of the book! I found it very interesting. Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself!

Overall, I’d rate this 4 stars. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I need ALL the talking cats! ❤️

🧚🏻 I just wanted to thank NetGalley, Inner Realms Publishing, and author Megan Mary for providing me with a free audio version of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

This book is the perfect companion for an autumn day—imagine the crisp fall air, golden leaves drifting from the trees, and you curled up with a warm apple cider and a soft blanket. Its charm feels like bundling up in your favorite sweater while pumpkin-scented candles flicker nearby, wrapping you in that cozy, comforting feeling only autumn can bring.

I truly enjoyed this book as a lighthearted escape, offering a refreshing breather between the heavier novels that have been occupying my shelves. From the very beginning, the story pulls you in with the main character caught in the middle of a personal upheaval. Before she can even begin to sort through the chaos in her life, she learns that her estranged aunt has gone missing. Following her instincts, she sets off to her family’s ancestral home, hoping to find her aunt—and, in doing so, uncover a part of herself she didn’t realize was missing.

As the story unfolds, she encounters a delightful cast of characters who not only help her understand her aunt but also reveal new layers of her own strength and resilience. Watching her grow into her own feels like being wrapped in the warmth of a cozy autumn evening—a gentle, feel-good story that reminds you of the beauty in personal growth and discovery.

If you’re searching for an adorable autumn read that feels as comforting as a peaceful walk through crunchy leaves, this one is sure to hit the spot.

Hannah Skye has just lost her job so when she receives an invite from her Aunt Jewelia, she has no reason not to travel to Maple Hollow. Her Aunt is missing and Hannah will try to help find her, at the same time finding all about herself and her destiny.

Well written and narrated (I listened to the audiobook). Interesting characters in this gently paced novel all about magic, spells, music and the relevance of dreams. Enjoyable novel.

Short, spooky, sweet Halloween themed book!

🛑 Loose outline below, so stop here if you don’t want to know! 🛑

Hannah just lost her job. She is beside herself. How will she make ends meet?
At the same time, she receives a letter from her long lost Aunt Jewelia. But Hannah doesn’t understand it! And…she’s never met her. Somehow, she is being called to her Aunt’s hometown…Maple Hollow.

As if this isn’t enough already, she get a a phone call from the Maple Hollow Police. Her Aunt is missing…and Hannah is the only family she has left…

And so Hannah arrives in Maple Hollow….where there just might be some Magicks at play…

But is it too late???

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #InnerRealmsPublishing and #IndependentBookPublishers for an ARC of the audiobook…just in the Nick of time! ****Release date is TOMORROW, 10/3/24! ****

#TheDreamHaunters by #MeganMary and narrated nicely by #PearlHewwitt.

And, don’t you just LOVE this cover?? !!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounds up to 4!

⭐️ Talking cats ? 🐈‍⬛✔️
⭐️ Magical pumpkins? 🎃 ✔️
⭐️ Finding your place in the world? ✔️
💫 Small town vibes? ✔️

Feel free to like, follow and friend me on: Goodreads,
Insta @ #BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, and click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

Wow!.. Megan Mary really knows how to create a magical mystery!

This storyline had me gripped from the very beginning.. I don't want to say too much about the actual storyline and give the exciting bits away.

I absolutely loved the main character, for she is brave, strong and quite determined to find out what happened to our aunt. I love the clues that she left for her.

I loved the pumpkin aspect, I thought that was a really cool concept.

I think that this book is perfect for getting into the spooky / witchy / Halloween vibe!

Also I have to say I listened to this through netgalley and the narrator was just perfect for this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Inner Realms Publishing for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

A well thought out book just felt a bit childish for me. The plot was great, and I loved the cats though. Great October/Halloween read just don’t expect anything actually scary. Just cozy with a nice atmosphere.

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 10th October and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of November.

This was a DNF for me. I got 23% in. The audiobook narrator is good. However, the writing just doesn’t work for me. It seems more of a juvenile book. Too many similes and I just wasn’t invested in any of the characters this far into the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio ARC.

This was a pleasant story with pumpkin patches and talking cats. Perfect for the autumn season. The narration was lovely (Pearl Hewitt). It's probably not one that will stay with me but definitely worth the time.

Lovely and cozy if not a little slowly paced.
An interesting story and a relatively quick read/ listen, looking forward to more in the series.
Great narrator

This book did catch my attention. I enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook. I felt like there could be so much more for this book. More details and descriptions to understand what is going on and how things came to be. I did like the concept just wished the author would have developed the story a little more.

After losing her job and getting a letter that is mostly unreadable from her estranged aunt, Hannah journeys to her formerly unknown family town to investigate. She receives a phone call from a detective investigating the disappearance of her aunt during a storm, but the vibes are weird, and Hannah doesn’t relay that she even received the letter. She sees the detective when she arrives and the suspicious feeling continues. With the help of the cat living in her aunt’s house, Hannah is able to decipher some of the letter! She learns that her aunt was being chased and hunted by Dream Hunters and can’t escape without Hannah’s help. Oh yeah, and cats can walk through pumpkins and time!

This book has some interesting lore it follows, but the pace is not for me. At 51% I haven’t felt much of a connection with the protagonist and have learned very little. For a more patient reader, I am sure it will be a fantastic read!

"The Dream Hunters" is a magical, enchanting tale perfect for those who enjoy exploring dream interpretation, spiritual mysteries, and stories that blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Megan Mary’s vivid storytelling combined with Pearl Hewitt’s brilliant narration makes this audiobook a must-listen, especially for anyone looking to get lost in an imaginative, Halloween-inspired adventure.

Based on the cover and the summary, I expected something a bit gritty. It was actually very cozy and sweet, I feel as though more interpersonal relationships between Hannah and either other people in town or a love interest would add great to the book. She spent so much of her time in her head or in her dreams and only very sporadically reached out tonher best friend back home, she was pretty isolated.

Thank you to Megan Mary, Inner Realms Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm. This book had elements I usually like---magic, a mystery, secret heritage, cute kitties, eerie setting---but somehow it didn't quite come together for me. Something was lost in execution. Or was never there to begin with. Both? Not sure.

For one thing, there's no romance. Gotta have me some romance.

Nothing <i>happened</i>. Great instigation---mysterious letter, notified of missing aunt, flight across the country to mysterious family farm, all very sus. But then nothing. Hannah mosies around thinking things are curious, exploring the house, exploring the town, wondering wtf is going on, learning about magic, talking to the adorbs old guy, talking to her friend, talking to cats and turtles, having dreams. She hears footsteps behind her once, but that's all it amounted to.

By the time the climax came around I was so tuned out I don't remember much of it. I just remember thinking it was rather cartoonish. The evil guys were just evil. One evil guy was all "ah-ha! I have the special object now! it's mine! muahahaha!" and I mentally cringed.

I think the aesthetic might have been kinda silly, which made it hard to take the story seriously. It was very Halloweeny, but not necessarily in a good way. Pumpkins were a big deal. The family pumpkin patch was a landmark. Pumpkins were portals into a dream world. Cats used pumpkins to time travel. Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins.

I'm sorry, but pumpkins do nothing for me. They're not cryptic, they're not sinister, they're not beautiful. They're just squat orange ders that taste good as a dessert with cream cheese icing. And they help dogs poop.

Also, dreams. Dreams are never exciting. The only time I remember dreams being exciting was in Inception, and that was entirely due to the big action set pieces and legit consequences, not the confusing lore. Too many bad books and movies have used dreams as storytelling crutches, cheap plot twists or gotchas. Omg she's naked in front of the whole school! Wait, just a dream. Omg everyone's dead and the aliens have invaded! Wait, just a dream. (Or vision, same diff.) They're worthless storytelling devices, because they aren't legitimate. They have no consequences. Often they're just thoughts that don't make sense. What's compelling about that? Sometimes they're used to motivate characters, sure, and that's fine, but flimsy.

So no romance, little action, time-traveling cats, pumpkins, dreams. Not one of those things pleases me.

Then there's the magic. It dives deep into ancient Celtic lore and paganism and the original meanings for all the Halloween-related things Christianity and capitalism have appropriated and neutered over the centuries. Interesting, but not when it's delivered to you like nonfiction via exposition. Great meaning is given to....some occurrence I can't remember the name of, something about the moon cycles. And that's where the magic lost my interest.

So yeah, it ended up being very much not to my taste, but it also wasn't a well-executed story.

“The Dream Haunters” by Megan Mary is about as close to a fall beach read as you can get. Imagine sitting on a blustery dune, the wind whipping the gray waves, a thermos of hot cider nearby… You get the picture. This is the book you will want to read or listen to while bundled beneath your woolen cloak.
Hannah Skye has lost most everything she ever valued: her parents, her cat, her grandmother, and her job. Out of nowhere, she receives a letter and a plane ticket from her estranged aunt. The same day, she learns her aunt has disappeared. Immediately enmeshed in the mystery, Hannah sets out to Maple Hollow and her family’s ancestral Skye Manor. Maple Hollow exists in a state of perpetual fall, with pumpkins growing and the leaves on the trees in shades of orange, yellow, and red. There, she must uncover the truth of what happened to her aunt as well as find her own truth.

This was a very quick listen. The narrator, Pearl Hewitt, did a lovely job giving life to the different characters, even a tiny talking cat. The mystery is engrossing, and the cast of supporting characters offers both solace and menace to our main character. It’s fairly light as far as gothic-style stories go, and a novice in the area of astrology and witchcraft will appreciate the explanations, though sometimes a smidge pedantic, that Hannah receives from those wiser around her. These lectures can draw the reader out of the action, but the loss is not too great.

I enjoyed this quick, fun listen and wish I had more of it to launch me into autumn and toward Halloween. I received this audiobook from NetGalley.