Reviews

Reverie by Ryan La Sala

superfangirl818's review against another edition

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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.

sheepwithteeth's review against another edition

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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

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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.

madsharley's review against another edition

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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

nyeran's review against another edition

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3.0

Kane opened the small bundle. He expected a jewel, or something precious, but instead he held a plastic disk the size of his palm, with pills in clear bubbles arranged in a ring.
-“It's a birth control packet,Adeline provided. How can you not know that?
Kane shrugged.Haven't started ovulating yet.

Inizio subito dicendo quanto sia poco probabile che in una cittadina, per quanto piccola, nessuno faccia mai un sogno erotico, nemmeno gli adolescenti in pieno sviluppo e crisi ormonale. Onestamente, hai messo una drag queen a fare la villain potevi continuare ad osare.

♠ La storia di questo libro si muove per pure botte di culo. È tutto un continuo “Ho una sensazione”, “sospetto qualcosa”, “potrebbe essere così” ma senza che dietro ci siano delle basi reali, è tutto a caso. E tutto funziona, sempre. Ad un certo punto ci troviamo nel reverie di Helena, mentre il sogno va avanti Kane realizza che Helena e Maxin sono due lesbiche. Non si capisce perché arrivi a questa conclusione visto che non c'è mai nulla, veramente, che faccia pensare ad un qualcosa di più tra le due, ma siccome siamo in americaH, e li se due persone dello stesso sesso si dimostrano un minimo di affetto subito diventano queer, fingiamo che vada bene. Alla fine, per pura botta di culo, la sua deduzione era azzeccata.
Un altra volta ci ritroviamo ad usare il fischietto perché Kane sospetta che siccome Poesy è arrivata ad aiutarli dopo averlo usato, loro potrebbero raggiungere lei riusandolo. Pura botta di culo, è così. Appaiono le porte del suo santuario, loro entrano e lei non ci sta perchè sta portando a spasso il cane. Ma questa non ce l'ha un allarme? La magia? Qualche trappola? Va bene che è sicura di essere imbattibile però dai. Questi passano mezz'ora a rovistare nelle sue cose, tra i suoi ciondoli e questa si fa gli affari suoi con il cane.
Ad un certo punto Kane ha il vago sospetto che Dean sia il Dreadmare. Perchè? Per nessun motivo, non c'è niente che faccia pensare che quel mostro e il ragazzo siano la stessa persona, Dean non gli dice mai niente di criptico, non fa mai niente di sospetto, gli dice solo 'non dire a nessuno di me io non ti posso aiutare cia'. Però Dean è il Dreadmare.
Un loop continuo di èsolounsospettoperòfacciamolougualechecefrega e salta fuori che avevano ragione. A cazzo proprio.

♠ Poi, che altro, tutta la storia dei sogni, dell'immaginazione, del puoi fare quello che vuoi nei tuoi sogni perché ti appartengono, è la tua immaginazione, è il mondo che hai creato quindi hai tu il potere e tutto può succedere e la realtà cambia secondo il tuo volere è praticamente la trama di Inception, volutamente confusionaria perché tanto le soluzioni si trovano seguendo le sensazioni.
Quando il blurb dice Inception meet The Magicians non è vero, questo libro ad Inception gli è andato dritto in faccia. 

dengekimo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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

3.5

arieanstar's review against another edition

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4.0

*Thank you to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Ryan De La Sala for sending me an eARC of 'Reverie' for review.*

I absolutely loved the concept of this book! Living in a world where your dreams can be manifested into reality sounds like fun and games, but this story manages to show the stakes of it and makes it so unique. The relationships that develop in Reverie were so organic, and I was left wanting to see more of all of them. Although I wish some concepts that were introduced were touched upon more, everything that happened made for a very interesting plot.

kleonard's review against another edition

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2.0

Set in the present, this novel follows a high school student finds that he's missing large pieces of his memory. Trying to figure out exactly what happened to him, he discovers that he and others at his school can control rogue "reveries," or fantastical situations and dreams that slip into the real world. Pitted against a world-hopping con artist and magician, the kids have to figure out how to end the reveries and save people from disappearing into them forever. The idea isn't bad, but the writing isn't clear and there are all sorts of unnecessary plot elements and distracting asides and such. It needs a developmental edit and a revision.

goldandjules's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alqmort123's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0