Book Review: The Silent Deal

Title: The Silent Deal
Author: Levi Stack
Pages: 346
Publication: 02 May, 2013
Rating: O for Outstanding
Copy: Paperback received by Levi Stack

Review: Imagine having the power of taking an ordinary object, something that we barely pay attention to, and making it the most interesting and mysterious piece you have ever seen. I’m not even talking about the story itself, I’m talking about the author. The power and talent this author holds to transform something as simple as playing cards and turn them into this peculiar power is beyond what anyone can expect from a debut author. The story is about two peasant boys, Viktor and Romulus, who live in the Russian Empire and come across secrets that they wouldn’t dare imagine. Featuring mysterious cards, Romani Gypsies and a dark forest, the novel sets itself up for a world that can only grow into something spectacular.

Starting with the world, I loved the universe that Levi Stack created. It played like a movie in my head as I read it. We all know how movies have color tones to match the mood of the scene. Some movies will be played in blue tones, others in brown, etc. etc. The thing with Stack’s world, is that it changed depending on the scenes. At times it was blue to match the mood of Viktor and where he lived. To show the fact that the people weren’t happy and neither was he, and that it was a cold world. Yet when he went to the Romani Gypsy camps, it was full of browns and greens and reds, like the Earth itself, to show how alive the people were. And towards the end of the novel, everything got dark and it was amazing!

The characters in the book are everything one could ask for, plus more. From the main characters who make real choices and show real emotions, to the supporting characters that feel like our very own enemies and friends, to everyone else who is only mentioned in passing. I do have to say that out of them all my favorites have to be the Romani Gypsies who remind me so much of my family. Colorful yet dark and mysterious, and they have this thing that brings light to the novel and yet doesn’t ruin the dark tones. Reading about them was like sitting in front of a fireplace with a nice mug of hot chocolate while the snow fell outside. It made me feel completely comfortable and at home and that’s what we want books to do.

In the beginning I was a curious to find out how a playing card could ever make a story so interesting and make me keep reading. But, as I read, I began to grow more and more intrigued with the idea that this normal object held so many secrets and so much power, that I wanted to get to the end just to discover what was going on. And once I finally learned the bits that are revealed, I wanted more. Sadly though, the book was done and I was forced to wait for the sequel.

Levi Stack is a storyteller at heart, forming his words into sentences that pull you along and don’t release you until he says so. One can call this an evil villains plan, but I call this an amazing author. He’s an author that we have to keep an eye out for the amazing things that are to come. He got me hooked with his first book, and I’m “patiently” waiting for everything else he’s going to release.

Book Review: The Namesake

Title: The Namesake
Author: Steven Parlato
Pages: 359
Publication: 18 January, 2013
Rating: O for Outstanding
Copy: ARC received by Bumbles and Fairy-Tales

Review: Easter morning. Evan Galloway and his mother spend time in church for the holy day. Thoughts of happiness and the feeling of being blessed surrounds the room in a shroud of light. Not far from the church, at Evans grandparent’s house, his father hangs off a rope from the attic beams. Evan is in his third year at St. Sebastian’s Catholic High School, and not only does he need to worry about graduating at sixteen and choosing a college to attend, he’s troubled by the thoughts and questions of why his father left him behind. Questions that he would later find out that he’d rather leave them unanswered.

The novel spends the majority of its time with Evan finding bits and pieces of his fathers past life, along with finding the hidden secrets his parents kept from him his whole entire life. Side-by-side with some normal high school subplots, the novel shapes up to be one of the best contemporary reads I have ever read.

Written in first-person, The Namesake was my first novel by Steven Parlato, which made me a bit excited to discover what this author was all about. The further I got into the book, the more I became convinced that this man was a genius with his writing. The man knows how to write! He gave me a character that I was instantly able to connect with on account of some similarities and he gave me a story that touched my heart and words that made me feel as if it were all real. To say that he made me believe and feel for the character is an understatement because he made me live as Evan and not many people have enough talent to do that.

The characters were all perfectly laid out. I was able to connect with each and every one of them but Evan was a part of me that I completely forgot about. There were times when I felt like we were the same person as he thought and went through things that I myself have gone through. The supporting characters were amazingly written as well. None of them were fully sculpted from the first page and you learned more and more about them as the novel advanced.

Now the story itself, I can’t exactly speak much of without spoiling, so I might be a bit of a tease here. Evan’s father, also Evan Galloway, committed suicide and with a reason that we find out towards the end. Through-out the entire novel we still have him around in the form of art, letters and recorded tapes. He tells his story of things that went on when he was younger and Evan found it and plays them little by little. While people might get frustrated that he didn't just go through the whole thing, I found it ultimately realistic at the fact that he could not face the pain of listening to his father.

The story is something that does happen a lot and we do hear about it on the news once in a while. Something that is both scandalous and heart-breaking and I think that it was handled extremely well in the novel because not only do you see the taboo side, you get to experience the pain and suffering of the family. I think Parlato is a talented author and I can’t wait to see more of his work.

UPDATE! Author Steven Parlato tried commenting on the post but for some reason it wouldn't go through but he has left me a message.

"Michael, Thanks for the amazing NAMESAKE review. I'm touched by the praise, but also the sincerity & insight with which you read my work. Your deep connection with Evan and your feeling like part of his story mean the world. Input like this inspires me as I work on the next. All best, Steven Parlato."

When I get messages like this one by authors, it touches me and reminds me to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm glad that you loved the review and here's to many more future novels and success! 

Book Review: Untimed

Title: Untimed
Author: Andy Gavin
Pages: 326
Publication: 19 December, 2012
Rating: O for Outstanding
Copy: ARC received by Andy Gavin

Review: I have always enjoyed the subject of History in school. I loved reading about the wars and the people and how different the times were. I could not wait until I was about to write a paper or an essay on an interesting topic. It was one of the easiest subjects in High School and a breeze in College. Reading a History book, though? Now that’s something I have never done. I was able to read passages but I could not exactly go to bed with a novel about History. It was than exciting news when I found out that Andy Gavin was writing a book about time-traveling because not only could I read and go back in History, I could do it with out of this world elements like clockwork humanoids.

Yes, you read that right. Clockwork. Humanoids. Untimed by Andy Gavin revolves around a boy named Charlie who is able to travel through time. The problem is, because he is a male, he can only travel back in time. It is pure luck that, when he finally travels to 1725 London, he meets Yvaine, a fellow time-traveler, a girl who can only travel forward. Now to make sure you understand this, males can only travel to the past while females can only travel to the future. Together though, they can move back and forth however they want. By the end of the novel, Untimed shows us the perils of changing history and how it could affect our future, making it one hell of a novel.

I  enjoyed Andy Gavin’s first novel so I was really excited for this one. I have never read about time-traveling and thought that it would be an amazing experience to be introduced to it by this author. Andy Gavin did things that made me jump with joy and squeal like a fan boy. One of those things was how he brought our very own historical people into his world and made them have a this secret life that ties in with his story. An example of this is Benjamin Franklin and his son William Franklin. We’re introduced to these characters and see how William is part of the novels world and how he‘s connected to our main characters. I don’t want to ruin it but it’s pretty amazing and genius.

Another amazing thing is not only the way they travel and what they need to travel but the connection that they have between the past and the present. In one instance, when Charlie and Yvaine are in trouble in 1725 in London, fellow time-travelers who are even more in the past, do stuff that affects their future and help our main characters. It sounds a bit confusing but once you read the book you’ll just be jumping with amazement.

It was interesting meeting characters we know in our world and seeing them interact in this novel. I enjoyed the way the characters were written and how they had such life to them. Each character matched perfectly to their time period and some even had this theatrical air about them. It’s all thanks to Andy Gavin’s writing style of course. While it differed from his other novel, it had that quality and that signature touch that let us know it was his. I loved the world it was set in, loved seeing the different time periods and how Charlie and Yvaine were dressed to fit with the times and how even the dialogue was corresponding with the year. I especially loved how the writing reflected off of these time periods and if you left the book off in one part, you’d know where they were right away when picking it up. The writing style in general was different and I found it interesting. It did not linger with many details but it gave us enough to give us satisfaction. Andy Gavin’s writing flows with the consistency of action the novel presents us with.

Now the novel is geared towards the younger crowd and considered a Young Adult novel. In my opinion I think it’s a bit over the YA genre but not yet close to Adult, and if this is what YA is becoming I’m all for it. Gavin didn't belittle us or try to minimize the general writing style. He presented the writing and emotions of these characters as if we were able to handle it and made sure to incorporate explicit scenes in an appropriate manner. He didn't take it over to the adult side but then again, he wrote it knowing that many teenagers and young adult know damn well what’s going on. The feelings between the two main characters were real and not lovey-dovey. Not only was love being involved but there were hints of teenage lust which is something that is fresh and hardly tackled and admitted in YA.

In general, I think that the novel was brilliantly played out and allowed us to see the effects of how a simple change in the past can make such a big difference in the future. It was interesting seeing the what-ifs of the modern time and made me think a lot of what-ifs as well. It’s a bit scary knowing how everything that’s happened and everything that is happening is shaping up to go down a certain path and that there are many, many paths that differ from what is now. Untimed made me think a lot and with that ending, I can not wait for the sequel.

Book Review: The Great Unexpected

Title: The Great Unexpected
Author: Sharon Creech
Pages: 226
Publication: 04 September, 2012
Rating: E for Exceeds Expectations
Copy: Received by HarperCollins Publisher

Review: The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech is one of those books that gets right into things, much like this review, and doesn’t diddle daddle. The novel features two girls, Naomi and Lizzie who meet a young man named Finn who fell from a tree and seems to act very peculiar. To be honest, I felt like there wasn’t a specific plot and that the novel just went on its way, much like life. Whether it is a good thing or a bad I’m not exactly sure. I’ve read a couple of novels where a plot was not exactly set out in plain sight. When I say much like life, I mean that the novel doesn’t have a grand purpose and seems to gear towards great unexpected situations, pun intended.

Finn seems to be unknowingly accompanied by an older man who is asking too many questions in the small town. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean in Ireland, two women seem to talk a bunch of crazy talk that only makes sense towards the end. Aside from the odd vague plot, the book was actually pretty amazing. It kept me guessing what the purpose of the story was and there would be times where characters would say something that would connect to another character saying something previously. I actually spent two hours or so in bed putting little things together and figuring out the big picture.

The characters for a start were superb. Lizzie, the main characters best friend, has a very theatrical aura in her written character. From the way she speaks and by her actions it’s as if she’s an actress overacting her part and its fantastic! Others, such as Witch Wiggins and Crazy Cora, were also interesting and even though half of the time it was false, the rumors we hear about hem are entertaining. Most of the other characters also have interesting dialogue that felt absolutely refreshing and set me in the world of the book.

The writing was actually, like I said before, very refreshing. There would be times where characters would mock a certain type of speaking dialogue as if they were in the English Country during the 17th Century. I found it pretty hilarious because I, at times, do the same thing. As I was reading the book, I kept picturing everything in vivid, pastel colors of green, pink, yellow and blue. It is an odd thing to say but this book made me see colors. I also enjoyed the fact that Ireland played a good part of the novel because I love Ireland and Irish people so I felt this interesting connection.

All in all, the novel was a good one even though it is for children. I loved that it was a fast, light read that’s great for any ages with an amazing ending that makes you feel good. Gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I had never heard of Sharon Creech before, but now, because of The Great Unexpected I am tempted to check out her other books and see how good they make me feel.

Book Review: Ten

Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Pages: 294
Publication: 18 September, 2012
Rating: A for Acceptable
Copy: Received by HarperCollins Publisher

Review: Who doesn’t love a good murder story? I mean seriously, we go out in big groups and pay close to fifteen bucks just to see a bunch of teens make bad choices and get killed by one person. As pathetic as it sounds, it’s very exciting watching the gruesome ways they get killed and what the motive behind it all was. So when I heard about Ten by Gretchen McNeil I just knew I HAD to read it. Finally, HarperCollins Publishers sent me a copy and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

I knew that I would enjoy the book that was centered around murders and I did enjoy it. There were just some things that were a bit off. I should break this into parts so that no one here gets confused. The story. I enjoyed the story, I immediately tried to predict who the murder would be and hoped that I was wrong. And it was fun seeing who was being killed one by one and knowing that my predictions were possibly coming true. I kind of wished that it didn’t stick to the cliché of who makes it towards the end and who doesn’t because it kind of killed the mood but whatever.

I enjoyed the different ways that the killings were portrayed, as odd and cruel as that sounds. But seeing it connected to the motive was actually pretty cool. There was specific ways each one died and it was because of something they had previously done. Kind of like Saw only less gruesome and less of a chance to survive. But the characters, that’s where things started to get complicated.

I truly did like the characters to a certain extent. I felt like a novel of this type should’ve been a bit longer and possibly not YA because it just doesn’t give me that same factor as movies or adult books. While some of them I cared for, others I couldn’t even begin to worry about that someone was after them. One minute they were there and the next minute they were gone. I could try to explain this by comparing to another book about dying teens but it wouldn’t help. It just didn’t give me enough to care about them.

My main problem was with the main character. Again, I did like her character but there were certain parts where she really pissed me off and not in a good way. Not in a, “this character is so dumb omg!” but more in, “why did this author just do that, she ruined a good thing.” You might not see a difference but there is. When you’ve just seen someone dead from being hanged, you don’t think of certain things. So when the guy you like gives you a tap on your kiss, you would think about it for a few shocked seconds and then move on. At least, a normal person would. But Gretchen McNeil went out to give us some inner dialogue that Meg, our heroine, thought.

When the guy she likes T.J. gives her a tap kiss before doing something dangerous her immediate thoughts were, “He kissed me. What does this mean? I hope my best friend Minnie didn’t see. What if she saw, what will I do or say?” Mind you they’re in the forest, trying to find something and have barely escaped falling from their lives, and all she can think about is if Minnie saw the kiss from where she is. Which is inside of the house. She even looks to see if there’s a view of it. Again I repeat, she almost fell to her death and they’re in the middle of a storm outside. It completely ruined the mood and felt so forced and so crappy that I knew this book went away from five stars.

But aside from the forced romance scenes that were so spaced out it made no sense, the book was alright. It seemed a bit cliché at parts but the end truly surprised me. The writing was also good and flowed great and kept me reading non stop. Although, some parts just seemed a bit too convenient like certain deaths, I still managed to overlook that. My only problem is that I am now still on a quest to read a killer book about a killer. And I’ve learned my lesson to not check YA.

Book Review: The Darkening Dream

Title: The Darkening Dream
Author: Andy Gavin
Pages: 379
Rating: O for Outstanding
Review: Think of Salem, Massachusetts and you would think of the Salem Witch Trials, but we aren’t in the 1600’s. The year is 1913 and tales of witches are long gone, substituted by those of the vampires. Aside from them being called vampires, what do these vampires have in common with those that we know of in today’s world? Absolutely nothing. When Andy Gavin went back in time with The Darkening Dream, he not only brought us to old traditions but to old rules. Farewell to the vampires that sparkle and fall in love with teenage girls and hello to the vampires who burn in the sun, sleep in a coffin and attack for pleasure.

     Having received an email from Andy to review his novel, I was a bit hesitant at first. Vampires aren‘t generally on my reading list, but how many spoiled apples did I have to go through before I finally gave up? With each word he typed though, I became more and more curious. He revealed the fact that he was co-creator of Naughty Dog, and when I finally saw the cover for the novel I just couldn’t turn it down at all. How could this man, this creator of games such as Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, create a novel about vampires to hold my attention. Not to mention he added Egyptian gods to the mix. A weird mix but yet I set off on the journey.

     The Darkening Dream treats us to a dark story about a girl named Sarah who stumbles into some trouble because of these visions she’s having. With the help of Alex, a Greek Immigrant and her twin friends, Anne and Sam, she sets off on this terrifying adventure against an elderly vampire, a demon-loving Puritan warlock, Egyptian gods, all in the name of saving the holy trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel. While the plot-line might seem a bit of random and something on the path of comedy, it is the complete opposite. Never have I seen such an odd group come together so well and truly terrify me and the characters.

     I absolutely loved the characters both the good and the bad. They were all written so well, with each of their personalities shining through on the pages brightly. From the very beginning, the story, the writing, the characters all seemed so fresh and new. From the very beginning, you become connected to these characters and yearn to learn more. They’re all written with secrets behind them that makes you want to bring out your shovel and dig a little deeper than what the author has given. He made me connect to each and everyone of them in their own little ways. Of course the credit is given to the way he writes.

     Like I said before, Andy Gavin gave me this refreshing new story that seriously set out against serious competitors and set the table for them. I was completely surprised at how amazing the writing was for someone who was only a debut author. I immediately connected to the words and could not let go. I grabbed each and every word and let it sink in as the story formed. Everything from the characters, to the way they spoke, to the way he narrated their actions was just perfectly written to the dot. The mixture of the Egyptian gods in the end actually made sense and made one think that anything is possible and can be taken seriously. Even after being finished with the story, it still amazes me how well it was written.

     To go a little deeper into the characters, I’d have to focus on the vampires because after all this a vampire novel. The way they were shown simply amazed me. I longed for a novel where I would get killer vampires who attacked for blood and kept to their old traditions of turning into fog and bats, of sleeping in their coffin and staying away from the sun. Knowing that these vampires had a rows of sharp-fanged teeth got me excited for who their victims would be. But when the excitement went down I realized, this put the fear I had of vampires back in its place. Reading in the dead of night with only a book light on and no type of noise whatsoever, I found myself extremely uncomfortable during one part where the 900-year-old vampire torments the characters outside of their home. Knowing that he couldn’t get in but wouldn’t leave them alone seriously set me on edge and even writing about it now I’m getting that feeling again. The fear of how I felt when I was younger had suddenly hit me and I had to put the book down for a few minutes and turn the lights on.

     I’ve always been afraid of vampires when I was younger, all the thanks should be given to my sister, but with current vampire novels it became sort of a joke. So I thank you, Andy Gavin, for making that fear return again and for reminding me why years ago I had to sleep with two beanie bag babies tight on my neck. A simple childish phobia that had long gone is beginning to return and I couldn’t be more happier to welcome it with opened arms. Let’s just hope that there’s a sequel, especially with that killer ending.

Book Review: The Hidden Sun

Title: The Hidden Sun

Author: J. Lloyd Morgan

Pages: 345

Rating: E for Exceeds Expectations

Review: If I ever pick up a book that involves royalty, it always involves fantasy as well. Any sort of element from fantasy and I’ll be good. But this time the one I picked up was just royalty and politics. And oddly enough, I really enjoyed it. Getting straight to the point here, The Hidden Sun is a story that spans through a couple of years and shows what happens when the wrong person takes charge. When love becomes forbidden and a secret. What happens when your home is now the worst place to be. It’s a story that shows how challenges are met.

The reason I’m getting straight to the point is because it’s what the novel does itself. It gives us these breaks every few paragraphs skipping from one scene to another, reminding me of a television show. While at times it distracted me from the reading and made me wish that certain scenes played out longer, it kept me going, knowing that just on the next page something new and crazy was about to happen. Aside from that, the novel does span through a few years, which made me want the book to be longer. I just wanted to know the characters more, know the story and the places a bit more deeply. Keeping it short and sweet had its advantages but also disadvantages.

The characters, although, were brilliantly written out. I found them all interesting and began to love a couple of them which tore my heart as a few died. And let me warn you, J. Lloyd Morgan isn’t afraid of killing off a few characters. But the fact that they were written out so well made it all the better in the end. They brought out real emotions and care which as a reader I was happy about. His writing was also pretty good. It was easy to read and the way he played with words made it bearable.

Overall the whole book itself was epic and kept me interested enough to want to read what comes next. But I was also surprised at the fact that I fell for this story pretty hard. Not only did I enjoy it like I said above, I wanted more by the end. I wanted to know what happens next with all of the characters. I know that their stories haven’t ended and that there’s so many things that can go wrong. And even though it didn’t have any magic or dragons or wizards or whatever, it still had that magical spark to it. It was magical without the magic.

Book Review: Triangles

Title: Triangles

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Pages: 533

Rating: O for Outstanding

Review: We all know what it feels like to be a teenager. Most of us are still going through that awkward moment. The moment where we get our first kiss, our first love, our first drink, our first everything for the rest of our lives. But what happens when our teenage years are over; when we finally leave our teenage years behind. What happens when you find yourself a middle-aged person with kids and a cheating spouse? With a child you know won’t make it past the age of four. With a son who is experiencing his firsts. What happens when you can’t take it anymore? Do you allow yourself to collapse?

Triangles follows the lives of three middle-aged women as they go through their day-to-day life. Holly is a stay at home mom and wife who wants to experience a new life. Marissa is a mother of two who has to take care of her daughter with SMA and deal with her husband being at work all day, everyday. Andrea is a single mother who ties the two together and handles everyone’s problems but her own. With the lives of these three women, we get to experience how different situations affect different people and just how hard they take it. We get to see their reactions and have our hearts broken at the same time as theirs. We get to see how life is after the fun.

This is the first adult novel by Ellen Hopkins, famous author of the Crank Trilogy and many other Young Adult novels about teens. I didn’t quite know what to expect from this to be honest. I was a bit afraid that it wouldn’t match up to her other novels that have such power in them to make a person cry with a single phrase. I was scared that because it was about middle-aged women, I wouldn’t connect and that I would drop the book at only a few pages. I was excited when I received the book for review, but the fear didn‘t go away. It lingered on around my mind.

I immediately dropped the book I was reading at the time just to read this and I am beyond glad that I did. Not only did I connect with the characters, I loved them. In this one book, I became the imaginary son of these three women and saw their lives unfold before my eyes. It was a bit uncomfortable seeing their pain as if I were seeing my own mother in pain. I’m the type of person who is very reserved about my feelings around my family. I tend to keep them inside of me and not let them out. Why? I don’t exactly know, but I just do. Whether it’s a death or sadness or pain, I don’t show it. But when I read this book, I showed my emotions with ease. When a character cried, yes I felt awkward but I cried along with them. When they were happy, I smiled from ear to ear. And by the end of the novel, my eyes were red and puffy from all the tears I shed. By the end of the novel, I opened myself up to these characters. I became comfortable.

You might think that it helped me open up to my family in real life and made me realize that I‘m missing out on a big happy family, but it didn’t. That’s not the point of the book. It showed me that what I’ve been doing is normal and could even be the right thing for one to do. Your family can be your best of friend, but they can also be your worst enemy. But this isn’t about my feelings, it’s about the three ladies. I gained so much respect for women, more than I already had, now that I got to see their inside lives and secrets. I was able to go into their heads and see how they have this connection with us, their kids, and how they actually feel for us despite what they show on the outside. We might think they love us, but they do more than love. There is no word to describe the higher power. It’s just there.

But while I did gain respect for women, I lost some for others. While women have the power to do more than love, they also have the power to do more than destroy. Women are what hold everything together. They are these powerful people who can pick you up and bring you down in the snap of a finger. Triangles showed that they can destroy not only a person, but a whole entire family. It left me broken-hearted and afraid that one woman can destroy everything. It made me think that the symbol of purity and peacefulness and gentleness and everything else that I can think of that makes them who they are, wasn’t something that should be broken. As harsh as it sounds, I was disgusted by the actions of one particular woman in Triangles.

But many might be wondering how this novel is compared to Hopkins’ Young Adult novels. The truth is, it is the Young Adult novels but for adults. I love them equally and would not be able to choose between the two. Perhaps the Young Adult novels since I’m still connected to my teenage years. But beware. While Triangles is for adults and can be read by Young Adults who are over 18 or close, it is a bit raw and shouldn’t be read by those who can’t take mature situations. And no I don’t mean all of the emotions part. I mean all of the sex parts which are more like Erotica at times. I won’t be a man about it and say, “Yea! Sex!” But I will say that it makes one fan themselves.

Book Review: In My Dreams

Title: In My Dreams

Author: Cameo Renae

Pages: 242

Rating: A for Acceptable

Review: Let me just start off by saying that this novel is a love story. There is no denying that and if you are heading into it thinking there isn't any, you are highly mistaken. But because it is a love novel, I seemed to have read it in a sort of biased way. And as much as I tried ignoring the love moments and focusing on what was going on, there were parts where I groaned and sighed because I couldn't take it. So for that I am not going to review it as a love novel and take a different route and focus more on the story and what revolved around it.

In My Dreams is about a girl named Lizzy who has this strange occurrence of dreaming about death. The strange part about it is that she is seeing the death play out as it happens in real life. It begins with Lizzy in a dream witnessing the death of her boyfriend Michael and from their it unfolds. The premise of the story really caught my attention, I wanted to see how Lizzy dealt with these “premonitions” you would say, and how she reacted towards them. Unfortunately we don’t get to see much of these premonitions as it begins with her boyfriends death and continues from there.

The novel continues with Lizzy trying to find out what happened to her boyfriend and who murdered him. Through-out the novel her boyfriend seems to contact her in her dreams where they get to experience things they could not while he was alive. He also warns her and helps her survive against this murderer who is now coming after her. The love moments seem to come during these dreams, such as going to an island, an flying and going down mountains of snow and such. Things that any couple would want to do together. Especially the flying part. Who wouldn’t want to fly? I kind of found myself rushing through these moments just so I wouldn’t have to deal with them. But, if you love romance, then it would be good for you.

Towards the end of the novel we are introduced to a couple of ideas that I thought could have been brought in the beginning or even the middle to make the novel longer and just even more interesting. One involves Lizzy’s talent with death and sets up for future novels that could introduce us to a nice mystery/paranormal series. The other part was this supernatural part that to me seemed a bit out of the ordinary for this type of book, but it could’ve set up for a darker novel in the future.

The writing style was good. It wasn’t at its best, but you often get that when novels aren’t published with high publishing companies. It wasn’t horrible to the point where you couldn’t read it, but if you have read a lot of novels, you can notice one or two mistakes here or there. But they seemed to add to the atmosphere of what the book was and didn‘t cause a disturbance. The characters were interesting, although I thought Lizzy could have been a stronger female character and not so dependant on her boyfriend. Some of her actions made me question her character, and one in particular seemed to throw her intelligence out the window. This part is towards the end of the book where this fight happens. Michael seemed like every girl’s dream but it took away from the reality. He was good for a book but not so much for the real world.

The supporting characters were interesting if I do say so myself. I wished some had bigger roles and more book time, just to add to their character and who they were. I also wish we could have seen more of the history behind the murderer seeing as I love to get inside their minds and find out why do the things they do. These couple of things could have helped make the novel longer and possibly much more complex. Although I think the author just wanted a regular run-through novel which worked.

All in all, I found this book entertaining. It is definitely a light, easy read that is good between heavier books. It’s fast, it’s intriguing, there is a lot of mystery going on. The love did throw me off a bit, but I am an adult male who much rather read action, and explosions and such, but everything else I felt was good enough to keep me reading and recommend it to people who just want something fun. So if your brain is tired of thick books with multiple complex plot-lines, check out In My Dreams by Cameo Ranae. Also, I have to say that these are my opinions on the book itself, not on the author or her as a writer in a whole. For all I know, she could write a new novel that’s about 500 pages long and it’ll blow my socks off.