jaw417's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
olivebleu's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
thereadingwren's review
3.0
2.5/5
The concept of this was so damn cool but the writing was off and totally scrambled everything.
The reveries and all the magical stuff that went with them was really amazingly cool and I love the idea of everyone having their own dream world. When it got time to explain why the reveries were a thing, I didn't care about having an explanation and I didn't really understand the explanation given. Basically the whole ending when there's the villain monologue I didn't understand what was going on.
The writing was both beautiful and totally wrong. There was some really flowery bits that were sweet but after a while it felt like pointless filler and kept taking me away from the story. There were also a lot of totally random things that were played like 'this is clearly a thing that has been obvious since the start but we're only telling you about it now'. For example, two characters have apparently had very obvious crushes on each other the whole time even though it's never mentioned until the end when everyone starts pairing off and when throughout the whole book one characters has been referred to as a lesbian but turns out she isn't at all. Or how about the other couple that came out of literal nowhere and started kissing even though there was no build up or any talk of either character liking a particular gender...... there was just a lot of random stuff that wasn't explained.
There was also a few moments when something was mentioned nearly every paragraph leading you to think it would be important to the plot but it's not mentioned at all after a point and served no purpose whatsoever. I really don't care if Kane had a backpack on when it meant nothing in the end.
I'm really not a fan of lying to protect people (in fact I really hate it) and it was done a LOT in this book. Because of that I didn't trust any characters and found myself actually hating some characters. I was kind of rooting for Kane and Dean but didn't care too much in the end.
I did actually like some things in the book. I liked the concept, I liked the magical powers the kids had, I loved the Drag Queen and the nearly entire cast of queer characters, and I liked seeing all these different worlds. But it was also kind of a mess.
The concept of this was so damn cool but the writing was off and totally scrambled everything.
The reveries and all the magical stuff that went with them was really amazingly cool and I love the idea of everyone having their own dream world. When it got time to explain why the reveries were a thing, I didn't care about having an explanation and I didn't really understand the explanation given. Basically the whole ending when there's the villain monologue I didn't understand what was going on.
The writing was both beautiful and totally wrong. There was some really flowery bits that were sweet but after a while it felt like pointless filler and kept taking me away from the story. There were also a lot of totally random things that were played like 'this is clearly a thing that has been obvious since the start but we're only telling you about it now'. For example, two characters have apparently had very obvious crushes on each other the whole time even though it's never mentioned until the end when everyone starts pairing off and when throughout the whole book one characters has been referred to as a lesbian but turns out she isn't at all. Or how about the other couple that came out of literal nowhere and started kissing even though there was no build up or any talk of either character liking a particular gender...... there was just a lot of random stuff that wasn't explained.
There was also a few moments when something was mentioned nearly every paragraph leading you to think it would be important to the plot but it's not mentioned at all after a point and served no purpose whatsoever. I really don't care if Kane had a backpack on when it meant nothing in the end.
I'm really not a fan of lying to protect people (in fact I really hate it) and it was done a LOT in this book. Because of that I didn't trust any characters and found myself actually hating some characters. I was kind of rooting for Kane and Dean but didn't care too much in the end.
I did actually like some things in the book. I liked the concept, I liked the magical powers the kids had, I loved the Drag Queen and the nearly entire cast of queer characters, and I liked seeing all these different worlds. But it was also kind of a mess.
mayareads's review
The prose is incredibly purple and the characters are very bland. the plot is extremely predictable.
for a book sold as "wonderfully queer" it doesn't have 1/10 the gay energy of something like Cemetery Boys or Divinity 36.
for a book sold as "wonderfully queer" it doesn't have 1/10 the gay energy of something like Cemetery Boys or Divinity 36.
tsuxis's review
3.0
going from "the honeys" to this, i can definitely see how la sala's really come into himself as an author. this books worldbuilding and plot are significantly weaker than "the honeys", but i enjoyed this book still. it was... cute? i liked dean the most but he didnt really get a chance to be relevant until the final act of the book :/ also sofia was the most insufferable side character on earth
missoliviareadsbooks's review
4.0
I have no idea what I just read - but MAN IT WAS BRILLIANT! What's not to love about superpowers manifesting as rainbows???
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review
2.0
I had a really hard time connecting with this book. I wanted to love it so badly but the plot completely confused and felt extremely lost.
evelynhugosbitch3bc79's review
3.0
This was really gay like everyone said but the overall story wasn't that great
bloopers's review
3.0
This book was okay.
So essentially the plot is about a gay boy and his friends trying to save the world by killing a drag queen who takes people's reveries (hence the title). I'll start with the things I like best to least.
First, the actual reveries. Its fun seeing what people are thinking of to escape our reality, but it also makes you think. What caused them to think of these things? I would really like to know what happened to them to think of this, so it might be nice if the author talked about how the reveries were formed. Aside from that thought, I love all of the descriptions that the author puts into the book. Though most of the reverie worldbuilding happens in the first chapter, there are some things that surprise me while reading the chapters.
Now, everything here I don't really like. One of those things is the character development. While the author is amazing at worldbuilding, he is pretty bad and making good characters. You get to see what the characters are like when you are first introduced to them.
Sophia is protective, Kane is gay and nieve, Ursula is kind and shy, Elliot is a know-it-all, and Adeline is mean. That is what the characters are like in pretty much all of the book unless there are those rare times where you see some character development. Something I feel like I should point out is that they(Ursula, Elliot, and Adeline) have powers based on what they are opposite of. For example, Ursula is super strong even when she doesn't like hitting people, but the author gives no explanation on why they don't like to hit people. There is no explanation in the book on why the characters are the way they are except that they are just that way.
Next okay thing, the romance. Now I get that this book is a romance, but the romance is so small that the book would be okay without it! Also, when the romance starts, it just starts so abruptly. Like I get that you have known each other for a few months now, but you don't even remember him! No need to say I love you to a person who you learned about like a week ago.
Those are really the main things about this book that are the most rewarding and most horrible. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this book unless they aren't picky about what they like to read.
Final thoughts: Ok but wouldn't re-read.
So essentially the plot is about a gay boy and his friends trying to save the world by killing a drag queen who takes people's reveries (hence the title). I'll start with the things I like best to least.
First, the actual reveries. Its fun seeing what people are thinking of to escape our reality, but it also makes you think. What caused them to think of these things? I would really like to know what happened to them to think of this, so it might be nice if the author talked about how the reveries were formed. Aside from that thought, I love all of the descriptions that the author puts into the book. Though most of the reverie worldbuilding happens in the first chapter, there are some things that surprise me while reading the chapters.
Now, everything here I don't really like. One of those things is the character development. While the author is amazing at worldbuilding, he is pretty bad and making good characters. You get to see what the characters are like when you are first introduced to them.
Sophia is protective, Kane is gay and nieve, Ursula is kind and shy, Elliot is a know-it-all, and Adeline is mean. That is what the characters are like in pretty much all of the book unless there are those rare times where you see some character development. Something I feel like I should point out is that they(Ursula, Elliot, and Adeline) have powers based on what they are opposite of. For example, Ursula is super strong even when she doesn't like hitting people, but the author gives no explanation on why they don't like to hit people. There is no explanation in the book on why the characters are the way they are except that they are just that way.
Next okay thing, the romance. Now I get that this book is a romance, but the romance is so small that the book would be okay without it! Also, when the romance starts, it just starts so abruptly. Like I get that you have known each other for a few months now, but you don't even remember him! No need to say I love you to a person who you learned about like a week ago.
Those are really the main things about this book that are the most rewarding and most horrible. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this book unless they aren't picky about what they like to read.
Final thoughts: Ok but wouldn't re-read.