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kateycakee's review against another edition
4.0
Very cute queer novel with equal parts adventure and wholesomeness
drakoulis's review against another edition
5.0
A fabulously gay fantasy book, an instant favorite !
Kane is dragged out of a river unconscious and when he wakes up, he has lost his memories. Mysterious people pop up in his life claiming they knew him before, that they were his friends and a dubious drag queen claims to be helping him clear his name.
Kane is confused and the more he founds out about who he used to be, the more confusing reality becomes.
Because reality can have multiple layers, dreams can be real, he finds out he has some very unusual powers, and is less and less sure who are his friends and who are his enemies.
Is the trio calling themselves The Others really who they say they are or did they somehow wipe his memory?
Is the drag queen Posey a benevolent benefactor or is she playing him?
And who is the insanely handsome mysterious boy who appears the moment Kane needs him the most and disappears just as fast?
My highlights :
2) Helena's and Maxine's story is sad and sweet and realistic and I was happy they got their happy ever after !
3) Posey is a scary and powerful villain, radiating power their own way, and La Sala successfully shows the reader that power can have many forms.
4) DEAN !!! Usually the love interest is either hot and powerful or a cinamon roll. Well, Dean is both ! He needs a hug as much as he needs to be protected, but he's also a badass and a knight in a shining armour ! He and Kane have such chemistry, and they practically re-lived their love and got the finale they deserved this time !
Edit : The new paperback cover is AMAZING !
Kane is dragged out of a river unconscious and when he wakes up, he has lost his memories. Mysterious people pop up in his life claiming they knew him before, that they were his friends and a dubious drag queen claims to be helping him clear his name.
Kane is confused and the more he founds out about who he used to be, the more confusing reality becomes.
Because reality can have multiple layers, dreams can be real, he finds out he has some very unusual powers, and is less and less sure who are his friends and who are his enemies.
Is the trio calling themselves The Others really who they say they are or did they somehow wipe his memory?
Is the drag queen Posey a benevolent benefactor or is she playing him?
And who is the insanely handsome mysterious boy who appears the moment Kane needs him the most and disappears just as fast?
My highlights :
Spoiler
1) Kane's powers manifesting as rainbow blasts is fabulously amazing. Ryan La Sala doesn't hold back, he says gay power !2) Helena's and Maxine's story is sad and sweet and realistic and I was happy they got their happy ever after !
3) Posey is a scary and powerful villain, radiating power their own way, and La Sala successfully shows the reader that power can have many forms.
4) DEAN !!! Usually the love interest is either hot and powerful or a cinamon roll. Well, Dean is both ! He needs a hug as much as he needs to be protected, but he's also a badass and a knight in a shining armour ! He and Kane have such chemistry, and they practically re-lived their love and got the finale they deserved this time !
Edit : The new paperback cover is AMAZING !
ggriffin14's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
anxiouslyreading33's review against another edition
2.0
Okay let me start this by saying I dont like fantasy I find it boring (weird I know) but I just cant do it. That being said this book is fantastical, the story is good and interesting if you are a fan of fantasy you will probably love it I however did not. I had trouble keeping up with different reveries and the characters for me fell flat
bimblebop's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think a lot of my opinions of this book can be amended by the fact that perhaps I am simply not the target audience.
It's a YA book, which I don't avoid by any means, but this one seemed a bit typical to me in its implementation sometimes. Or rather, maybe it didn't offer me anything special so I don't have particularly strong feelings about it, positive or negative? Which is interesting, because this is technically a book I should find myself relating to at least in some aspects.
Things I liked: The concept. I tend to like fantasy stories where the premise is encountering various worlds that are manifestations of human imagination (like the Persona video game series, for example), and always wondered how that could be from the perspective of someone who's not your average straight male. This aspect brought colour to this concept, because the LGBTQ+ community is inherently creative (whether it be for survival or otherwise) and the potential for it was sky-high. The ending also wrapped things up better than expected.
Things that could be better: The execution. I think the author was quite ambitious with the idea, but the swaths of teenage drama in-between (which I acknowledge is an essential part of YA) made it difficult to stay immersed for most of the story, because it didn't feel interwoven into the story as well as it could have been. Some of this is likely intentional, as the disconnect is supposed to be part of the protagonist's memory loss, but that went on for much longer than necessary. The story also didn't feel long enough to truly delve into the magnanimity of the concept that the author came up with, and in effect the description of the different reveries teetered more towards theatrical immersion than something more sensible. This also extended to the characters, because it felt like you're just short of feeling any real attachment to any of them.
Things that bothered me: The fate of specific characters.Frankly, I don't understand why Dean survived. I understand that a romance YA needs a happy ending, but tragedy for his fate just would have made more sense, and I rarely ever feel that way. His continued existence just doesn't make any sense and it wasn't explained properly either. We also barely get to know him despite being the main love interest, so there's really not much to go off of. The memory loss of Kane and Dean's time together is felt throughout the story all the way to the end. On the other hand, I feel a little unsure about Poesy's depiction as well. Truth be told, I'm still struggling to understand what the significance of Poesy being a drag queen was to her role in the story. Have I missed some kind of metaphor, is it a choice for diversity, or is it trying to send a malicious message about drag that I truly hope I'm just projecting unnecessarily? The lack of explanation made it seem almost like Kane was postured as a ""good"" gay, whilst Poesy was a ""bad"" one. I honestly think I might be reaching here, but that line in the epilogue about Poesy's 'sisters' potentially seeking revenge for her is just sitting oddly with me now, and there's not much else in the story about this to offer reprieve to these concerns.
Despite the length of my review, all in all it was an alright book. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was maybe ten years younger as my palate has shifted significantly.
It's a YA book, which I don't avoid by any means, but this one seemed a bit typical to me in its implementation sometimes. Or rather, maybe it didn't offer me anything special so I don't have particularly strong feelings about it, positive or negative? Which is interesting, because this is technically a book I should find myself relating to at least in some aspects.
Things I liked: The concept. I tend to like fantasy stories where the premise is encountering various worlds that are manifestations of human imagination (like the Persona video game series, for example), and always wondered how that could be from the perspective of someone who's not your average straight male. This aspect brought colour to this concept, because the LGBTQ+ community is inherently creative (whether it be for survival or otherwise) and the potential for it was sky-high. The ending also wrapped things up better than expected.
Things that could be better: The execution. I think the author was quite ambitious with the idea, but the swaths of teenage drama in-between (which I acknowledge is an essential part of YA) made it difficult to stay immersed for most of the story, because it didn't feel interwoven into the story as well as it could have been. Some of this is likely intentional, as the disconnect is supposed to be part of the protagonist's memory loss, but that went on for much longer than necessary. The story also didn't feel long enough to truly delve into the magnanimity of the concept that the author came up with, and in effect the description of the different reveries teetered more towards theatrical immersion than something more sensible. This also extended to the characters, because it felt like you're just short of feeling any real attachment to any of them.
Things that bothered me: The fate of specific characters.
Despite the length of my review, all in all it was an alright book. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was maybe ten years younger as my palate has shifted significantly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism
superfangirl818's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm going to start this off by saying that the concept was really cool and interesting and it's an awesome idea to explore.
But, I'm not the biggest fan of the execution.
I found the writing hard to follow, especially at the end of the book, and I was lost a few times. I had trouble understanding what was happening multiple times throughout this book. I get that a lot was happening, but it almost felt like too much was happening. I think that Reverie could have possibly been split into a duology.
I also just generally wasn't a fan of the writing style. I felt like there were too few commas which made some sentences really confusing to me.
Finally, I didn't love the characters that much. They were all sort of boring to me and I found I didn't care that much about them. Except Dean. I thought Dean was a really interesting character. He's probably the only character I really liked.
But, I'm not the biggest fan of the execution.
I found the writing hard to follow, especially at the end of the book, and I was lost a few times. I had trouble understanding what was happening multiple times throughout this book. I get that a lot was happening, but it almost felt like too much was happening. I think that Reverie could have possibly been split into a duology.
I also just generally wasn't a fan of the writing style. I felt like there were too few commas which made some sentences really confusing to me.
Finally, I didn't love the characters that much. They were all sort of boring to me and I found I didn't care that much about them. Except Dean. I thought Dean was a really interesting character. He's probably the only character I really liked.
sheepwithteeth's review against another edition
5.0
An enticing mystery unfolds into an engulfing personal drama about love and trust and the big, world-shattering secrets that test their limits, with no less than the nature of reality at stake. Exceptional pacing, fun metafictional elements that really deliver on their promise. I devoured this book in a single sitting, interrupted only by a very pleasant 3-hour nap. Highly recommend.
val_eris's review against another edition
Hmmm. I’m conflicted. Pros, very colorful and gay, interesting premise. Cons, unlikable protagonist who I struggled to care about.
The amnesia thing is usually an interesting way of explaining the world to the reader, allowing them to learn about it as the protagonist does, but. I don’t know, I was a bit put off by Kane as a character. I buy that without his memories he would see himself as a despised loner or whatever but would that change his personality? There have been studies about people with amnesia and even if they don’t remember doing a task before, like drawing, they’ll show improvement in their ability over time. So, here we have a boy who had close friends he formed real bonds with in the past— even without remembering it, wouldn’t he have some of the emotional... fortitude? Of having those connections built into his character?
I understand the fantasy, especially as someone who really did have no friends in high school AND an elaborate fantasy world to compensate but it was hard to root for Kane. We see him in pain, lashing out, afraid, but rarely do we see him being kind or reaching out to people. We see him ignoring texts and phone calls, shutting down, pulling away from people while talking about how betrayed and lonely he is. I needed a reason to root for him and the only reason I ever had was because everyone else needed him.
The amnesia thing is usually an interesting way of explaining the world to the reader, allowing them to learn about it as the protagonist does, but. I don’t know, I was a bit put off by Kane as a character. I buy that without his memories he would see himself as a despised loner or whatever but would that change his personality? There have been studies about people with amnesia and even if they don’t remember doing a task before, like drawing, they’ll show improvement in their ability over time. So, here we have a boy who had close friends he formed real bonds with in the past— even without remembering it, wouldn’t he have some of the emotional... fortitude? Of having those connections built into his character?
I understand the fantasy, especially as someone who really did have no friends in high school AND an elaborate fantasy world to compensate but it was hard to root for Kane. We see him in pain, lashing out, afraid, but rarely do we see him being kind or reaching out to people. We see him ignoring texts and phone calls, shutting down, pulling away from people while talking about how betrayed and lonely he is. I needed a reason to root for him and the only reason I ever had was because everyone else needed him.
madsharley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0