lifeonasofa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Strange the Dreamer 🦋
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars
I adored this book 😭 I was so worried at the start as I went in blind. The descriptive writing, whilst beautiful, had me doubting if I could make it through this chonk of a book. But I needn’t have worried 🥰
Laini creates such a clear picture of the world. The premise of the book, the plot itself - so original. Books opening with the promise of adventure, aren’t usually my thing but I was absorbed completely once we met Sarai and her fellow blues 👀
The characters are the reason this book won my heart. They were really well developed, I felt I knew each and every one of them. The whole romance thing was done in such a delicate way, I didn’t mind it. 💕
And that ending! How dare you!! I’ll never recover 🤯
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars
I adored this book 😭 I was so worried at the start as I went in blind. The descriptive writing, whilst beautiful, had me doubting if I could make it through this chonk of a book. But I needn’t have worried 🥰
Laini creates such a clear picture of the world. The premise of the book, the plot itself - so original. Books opening with the promise of adventure, aren’t usually my thing but I was absorbed completely once we met Sarai and her fellow blues 👀
The characters are the reason this book won my heart. They were really well developed, I felt I knew each and every one of them. The whole romance thing was done in such a delicate way, I didn’t mind it. 💕
And that ending! How dare you!! I’ll never recover 🤯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, War, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
xena42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Beautifully written, magical and hopeful yet challenging and dark story about mysterious people with otherworldly and dangerous powers, and the city who fears them. Glad I read it when the second book is available to pick up immediately, since it ends on a cliffhanger.
On the negative side:
Note that the adult/minor relationship tag refers to a 20-year-old in a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old, which I personally think is close enough in age to be acceptable in the world of this story, although other readers may not agree, as in our real world it seems rather sus for a 3rd year college student to be dating an 11th grader in high school.
There are also descriptions of a sexually active 15-year-old with their teenage lover, plus mentions of another young couple who are sleeping together. All the teenage sex, despite not being graphically described but only alluded to artistically, was rather off-putting because an adult writer should not be encouraging her adolescent readers to engage in sex - it leads to consequences like STDs/STIs, unwanted pregnancies, and emotions that are too complicated for most young people to understand.
This inevitably results in broken hearts and emotional trauma in the majority of cases, which then leads to some (or many) people having difficulty finding love as adults because their teen romances ripped a hole in their heart they've not been able to repair so far. For real, I know people in their 50s who still haven't recovered from their adolescent entanglements and that's why they are single today... and that's why their would-be partner is also single. These are consequences that resulted in the unhappiness of two people (much like Eril-Fane and Azareen in this book, although in their case they had no choice in the matter).
So if you're a teenager reading this review - don't be inspired by the exploits of the young lovers in this book, and instead wait until you're older to chase... "that." You'll have more of a chance to mature and develop so that you also meet somebody mature who can give you the true love you'll want to receive and give in return.
On the negative side:
Note that the adult/minor relationship tag refers to a 20-year-old in a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old, which I personally think is close enough in age to be acceptable in the world of this story, although other readers may not agree, as in our real world it seems rather sus for a 3rd year college student to be dating an 11th grader in high school.
There are also descriptions of a sexually active 15-year-old with their teenage lover, plus mentions of another young couple who are sleeping together. All the teenage sex, despite not being graphically described but only alluded to artistically, was rather off-putting because an adult writer should not be encouraging her adolescent readers to engage in sex - it leads to consequences like STDs/STIs, unwanted pregnancies, and emotions that are too complicated for most young people to understand.
This inevitably results in broken hearts and emotional trauma in the majority of cases, which then leads to some (or many) people having difficulty finding love as adults because their teen romances ripped a hole in their heart they've not been able to repair so far. For real, I know people in their 50s who still haven't recovered from their adolescent entanglements and that's why they are single today... and that's why their would-be partner is also single. These are consequences that resulted in the unhappiness of two people (much like Eril-Fane and Azareen in this book, although in their case they had no choice in the matter).
So if you're a teenager reading this review - don't be inspired by the exploits of the young lovers in this book, and instead wait until you're older to chase... "that." You'll have more of a chance to mature and develop so that you also meet somebody mature who can give you the true love you'll want to receive and give in return.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Racial slurs, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
jackilegs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I ADORED this. it’s hard for me to imagine anyone disliking this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Rape
jg93's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
NO! What do you mean "To be continued"!?!?!
I knew there was a sequel, but I was not expecting the first book to end on a CLIFFHANGER!
At least it's already written and published... But I didn't plan to read Muse of Nightmares this month, or even this year? Guess I need to squeeze it in somewhere in April.
Because this was SO good. Much longer than I had expected tbh, but I also couldn't put it down.
I loved the writing and world building, they are phenomenal. I also loved the plot, but this is definitely more of a "the journey is the reward" kind of story (only without the reward because it ends on a cliffhanger!!!). Yes, I want the plot to progress and all the mysteries and questions to be answered. No, I don't mind reading hundreds of pages of dream descriptions and fairy tales while I'm waiting. This is truly a love letter to reading and dreaming and story telling and magic. And it's such an interesting world with many interesting and complex characters and character dynamics and a heartbreaking conflict. It actually gets pretty dark and there is a lot of trauma. So much trauma. I have so many feelings for the characters and what they went through/are still going through, the decisions they made. It physically hurts. And I don't know how, but there better be some kind of happy ending.
I knew there was a sequel, but I was not expecting the first book to end on a CLIFFHANGER!
At least it's already written and published... But I didn't plan to read Muse of Nightmares this month, or even this year? Guess I need to squeeze it in somewhere in April.
Because this was SO good. Much longer than I had expected tbh, but I also couldn't put it down.
I loved the writing and world building, they are phenomenal. I also loved the plot, but this is definitely more of a "the journey is the reward" kind of story (only without the reward because it ends on a cliffhanger!!!). Yes, I want the plot to progress and all the mysteries and questions to be answered. No, I don't mind reading hundreds of pages of dream descriptions and fairy tales while I'm waiting. This is truly a love letter to reading and dreaming and story telling and magic. And it's such an interesting world with many interesting and complex characters and character dynamics and a heartbreaking conflict. It actually gets pretty dark and there is a lot of trauma. So much trauma. I have so many feelings for the characters and what they went through/are still going through, the decisions they made. It physically hurts. And I don't know how, but there better be some kind of happy ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Genocide, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Rape, and Death of parent
froukjemelenhorst's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
BITCHH😭😭
If I were to make a list of books that perfectly described my reading tastes this would 1000% be on there. The writing is beautiful and poetic and the characters are complex and well-developed. Not to mention the world-building bc damnnn
Though the story was quite slow I absolutely loved every second of it.
And now I would like to point out 1 singular thought I had at the beginning of the book because I don’t know how to finish this
Master Hyrokkin @ Lazlo: https://youtu.be/jT22F57713A
If I were to make a list of books that perfectly described my reading tastes this would 1000% be on there. The writing is beautiful and poetic and the characters are complex and well-developed. Not to mention the world-building bc damnnn
Though the story was quite slow I absolutely loved every second of it.
And now I would like to point out 1 singular thought I had at the beginning of the book because I don’t know how to finish this
Master Hyrokkin @ Lazlo: https://youtu.be/jT22F57713A
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Genocide, and War
mooshake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
laini taylor isn't afraid to Go There i'll give her that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping and War
littlecake's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Child abuse, War, and Child death
tasneeem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Genocide
Moderate: War and Rape
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
this book doesnt totally click w/ me. idk if it's the plot--or lack thereof--or what, but there's something missing. so it's rly a testament to laini's vivid, seemingly boundless imagination; impeccable and wholly original worldbuilding; her ability to make the simple seem magical and extraordinary; thought-provoking and emotional exploration of hatred, love, survival, living, horrors and trauma of war; her writing that is pure poetry; and--though it's too sweet and toe-curling for my taste--the tenderness and longing and hope infused between sarai and lazlo, that strange the dreamer nevertheless gets 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship