greergreer's review against another edition
4.0
I love a book I can’t put down. They are far and few between but I found one for the new year and finished it the same day. This book started out fast and stayed on that track all the way through. No sluggish beginning or big lead up it dropped you in the story quick. I really like that in a book, give me the story and cut out all the fluff. Dream Fall is about dreams, I hate dreams, mainly about nightmares and a group of test subjects for a new shock therapy to change your REM and sleeping cycles the test subjects happen to be a group on teenagers. The test is controversial being on teens but the brain is not fully developed until you reach the age of 25. This is why they are the perfect guinea pig. Little guinea pigs with horrid nightmares that interlink and make you want to read the book in one sitting. I loved it!
mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
When an experiment goes wrong 7 teens are now stuck in a nightmarish world in their heads. It is is up to them to figure out what is going on and how they can survive/get out.
Finally, after 2 years I was able to read this book! My library (one of them) finally had it, now here is to hoping that they will get the second book faster than 2 years after the release date as I worry I may have forgotten things or am not into the story any more. I guess I could buy the book, but since this book is only 4 stars and maybe the next as well it would just mean I would buy them and then give them away again (I only keep 4.5+ stars).
This book starts off with our group of teens going to experimental therapy to cure their insomnia and then things go oh oh oh so wrong as an earthquake hits (yes, of all the things to happen) and they get stuck in their own minds in a nightmarish world that they will have to beat/survive. Next to seeing what our teens are up (through the voices of Fergus and Cata) we also get the POV of Jaime the premed student who was there to see how the research/therapy went.
While I loved seeing Fergus and Cata, and also later Jaime, I do have to say I at times thought they had the same voices. Now with Jaime it wasn’t that bad as he was in another part (the real world), but Cata and Fergus? I had to go back at times to check who was talking this time.
The nightmare world/Dreamfall and how it worked was very interesting, though also frightening as hell. All of the nightmares are terrifying and I have to say, since I could mostly read this at night, I had a few nightmares here and there. There are clowns, genocide, being buried alive, and several others. Though especially the clowns… shivers
I loved that they found out bits and pieces of how the world is working and what they are supposed to do. It was really great that they started to work together and form a team.
I also liked the Jaime parts as those gave us more insight in the characters, in what may be going on, and I just loved what Jaime did near to the end, I do hope his words find the right person.
My least favourite character? Ant. I just wasn’t a fan of this character. They had some good moments, but mostly they weren’t that helpful and even caused a few moments that had me groan in frustration.
From the start I had suspicions about Sinclair. It was just his character. He was too much of a slimeball to me. Too much trying to please people, or not even caring what he said. He was just way too suspicious and I kept wondering when he would show his true colours.
Who or what the flickering monster was? I was eager to figure it out, though at times it just frightened me too much that I couldn’t think anything other than that I wanted to run away. ;)
There are tons of twists and turns concerning characters, I have to say I never expected them, and was going AH, really??? quite a few times. :P I guess some you could have seen coming, but with how tired and fried I am given all the things in my life now, I just didn’t see them.
Oh, and bonus points to the fabulous cover!
I am just sad this one ended on a cliffhanger. sighs
This book was scary, amazing, it had an amazing atmosphere, it was delightfully dark and spooky, and it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes throughout the entire book. Recommended!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Finally, after 2 years I was able to read this book! My library (one of them) finally had it, now here is to hoping that they will get the second book faster than 2 years after the release date as I worry I may have forgotten things or am not into the story any more. I guess I could buy the book, but since this book is only 4 stars and maybe the next as well it would just mean I would buy them and then give them away again (I only keep 4.5+ stars).
This book starts off with our group of teens going to experimental therapy to cure their insomnia and then things go oh oh oh so wrong as an earthquake hits (yes, of all the things to happen) and they get stuck in their own minds in a nightmarish world that they will have to beat/survive. Next to seeing what our teens are up (through the voices of Fergus and Cata) we also get the POV of Jaime the premed student who was there to see how the research/therapy went.
While I loved seeing Fergus and Cata, and also later Jaime, I do have to say I at times thought they had the same voices. Now with Jaime it wasn’t that bad as he was in another part (the real world), but Cata and Fergus? I had to go back at times to check who was talking this time.
The nightmare world/Dreamfall and how it worked was very interesting, though also frightening as hell. All of the nightmares are terrifying and I have to say, since I could mostly read this at night, I had a few nightmares here and there. There are clowns, genocide, being buried alive, and several others. Though especially the clowns… shivers
I loved that they found out bits and pieces of how the world is working and what they are supposed to do. It was really great that they started to work together and form a team.
I also liked the Jaime parts as those gave us more insight in the characters, in what may be going on, and I just loved what Jaime did near to the end, I do hope his words find the right person.
My least favourite character? Ant. I just wasn’t a fan of this character. They had some good moments, but mostly they weren’t that helpful and even caused a few moments that had me groan in frustration.
From the start I had suspicions about Sinclair. It was just his character. He was too much of a slimeball to me. Too much trying to please people, or not even caring what he said. He was just way too suspicious and I kept wondering when he would show his true colours.
Who or what the flickering monster was? I was eager to figure it out, though at times it just frightened me too much that I couldn’t think anything other than that I wanted to run away. ;)
There are tons of twists and turns concerning characters, I have to say I never expected them, and was going AH, really??? quite a few times. :P I guess some you could have seen coming, but with how tired and fried I am given all the things in my life now, I just didn’t see them.
Oh, and bonus points to the fabulous cover!
I am just sad this one ended on a cliffhanger. sighs
This book was scary, amazing, it had an amazing atmosphere, it was delightfully dark and spooky, and it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes throughout the entire book. Recommended!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
becandbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a yes but also a no. While I wouldn't straight up call this book problematic, it did jump on a lot of horror/mental health cliches that made me not so happy. But it was also heaps of fun.
By far, this is not a unique storyline: getting trapped in a dreamscape that involves running away from nightmares and maybe/maybe not dying has been done before. However, if you are like me and enjoy cheesy, slasher-feeling, YA horror stories (see There's Someone Inside Your House) then you will probably still get a kick out of this book.
The pacing of this book is really well done. There is action and suspense and all that dark horror story goodness, but that's not to a detriment of a minimal storyline. There is a lot to figure out: if you die in the nightmare do you die in real life? what's with 'the void'? who are these people trapped together really? what's with that monster that keeps turning up? There is plenty to think about and keep you interested in the story.
And this isn't as cheesy as I was expecting. Sure it's got plenty of cliches (and not all good ones, more on that later) and it's less terrifying and more "yeah people are probably going to die and there are a few corpses thrown in but I'm not at all scared". But all in all, I found the book engaging all the way through and finished it up in just a day.
Okay, so what are these issues that I keep talking about then?
Well, a lot of the characters present with different physical and mental health disorders. They all have insomnia and other sleep-related disorders, and several also identify with PTSD, anorexia, depression, and suicidal tendencies. And while I wasn't expecting these to be heavily discussed or looked into, there were times in which they probably could have been addressed with more sensitivity.
One line that stood out to me was when the MC, Cata, is thinking about the other teenagers involved in the story: "I'm not sure they're 100% normal". This directly aimed at their mental and/or physical well-being and can we please just agree that the 'normal' label is trash?
And then there is
All in all though, I enjoyed this book. I am a sucker for books written in the YA slasher style and I do want to read more of them. I will be picking up [b:Neverwake|35180938|Neverwake (Dreamfall #2)|Amy Plum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508174714l/35180938._SY75_.jpg|46757612] and no doubt you guys will hear my thoughts when that happens.
Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
becandbooks.com ‧ trigger warning database ‧ book depository ‧ more links
By far, this is not a unique storyline: getting trapped in a dreamscape that involves running away from nightmares and maybe/maybe not dying has been done before. However, if you are like me and enjoy cheesy, slasher-feeling, YA horror stories (see There's Someone Inside Your House) then you will probably still get a kick out of this book.
“When working with an unknown situation, you have to identify known factors and work within their boundaries.”
The pacing of this book is really well done. There is action and suspense and all that dark horror story goodness, but that's not to a detriment of a minimal storyline. There is a lot to figure out: if you die in the nightmare do you die in real life? what's with 'the void'? who are these people trapped together really? what's with that monster that keeps turning up? There is plenty to think about and keep you interested in the story.
And this isn't as cheesy as I was expecting. Sure it's got plenty of cliches (and not all good ones, more on that later) and it's less terrifying and more "yeah people are probably going to die and there are a few corpses thrown in but I'm not at all scared". But all in all, I found the book engaging all the way through and finished it up in just a day.
"They’ll be shocking us into normalcy.
Yes, I’m scared. But if this is what I have to do to be able to sleep again, I’m ready to sign my life away."
Okay, so what are these issues that I keep talking about then?
Well, a lot of the characters present with different physical and mental health disorders. They all have insomnia and other sleep-related disorders, and several also identify with PTSD, anorexia, depression, and suicidal tendencies. And while I wasn't expecting these to be heavily discussed or looked into, there were times in which they probably could have been addressed with more sensitivity.
One line that stood out to me was when the MC, Cata, is thinking about the other teenagers involved in the story: "I'm not sure they're 100% normal". This directly aimed at their mental and/or physical well-being and can we please just agree that the 'normal' label is trash?
And then there is
Spoiler
the psychopath plot twist. One, did it have to be a plot twist? Two, just because someone is an alleged murderer doesn't mean it is mental health related and vice versa. There are plenty of people who are diagnosed anti-social disorder AKA psycho/sociopath that are not running around plotting murders. It's just an old/sad/worn-out and damaging trope and I'm really hoping it's addressed with sensitivity in the sequel.All in all though, I enjoyed this book. I am a sucker for books written in the YA slasher style and I do want to read more of them. I will be picking up [b:Neverwake|35180938|Neverwake (Dreamfall #2)|Amy Plum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508174714l/35180938._SY75_.jpg|46757612] and no doubt you guys will hear my thoughts when that happens.
→ trigger warnings: death, gore, sleep disorders, depression, suicidal tendencies, PTSD, eating disorder, mental health stigmatization, psychosis
Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
becandbooks.com ‧ trigger warning database ‧ book depository ‧ more links
sarah_sweets's review against another edition
I got about halfway through the book and nothing of note happened. Its been about 3 years since I DNFed and I couldn't tell you a single thing about any of the characters or any of the plot that happened. It was an excelent concept for a book but in my opinion not well executed
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
I got this as an eARC through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Told from varying perspectives, this book is the story of Cata and several other teens who participate in a new study to help sleep disorders. The teens are forced into a dream state and while there, an earthquake hits the center and the teens are trapped in the dream world. They begin cycling through different nightmares and find that if they die in a nightmare, they (potentially) die in the real world.
I found myself connected to the perspective of the teen viewing the events from the scientific standpoint, instead of any of the teens actually in the dream world. I think I will read the next book, but this book didn't knock it out of the park for me.
Told from varying perspectives, this book is the story of Cata and several other teens who participate in a new study to help sleep disorders. The teens are forced into a dream state and while there, an earthquake hits the center and the teens are trapped in the dream world. They begin cycling through different nightmares and find that if they die in a nightmare, they (potentially) die in the real world.
I found myself connected to the perspective of the teen viewing the events from the scientific standpoint, instead of any of the teens actually in the dream world. I think I will read the next book, but this book didn't knock it out of the park for me.
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad spooky read for October, but Plum committed the ultimate offense: she ended this book on a cliffhanger. Although I abhor authors who do this, I still got the sequel from the library today... *facepalm*
This book also hit me in the feels three separate times near the end. Oof. Well-played, Ms. Plum, well-played.
This book also hit me in the feels three separate times near the end. Oof. Well-played, Ms. Plum, well-played.
skyblue212's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
owlyreadsalot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0