Reviews

A Netgalley ARC.

Dream a Little Dream of Me was a short, sweet novella of love and friendship featuring meddling gods. The author's passion for the storyline was very clear, and the afterword proved the sentimental place Dream a Little Dream of Me came from. It was a poetic and romantic exploration of the bonds that keep us together.

Despite this, I found the pacing of the book jilted at times, and often repetitive. Varma often makes the same statement or observation and restates it in the following sentences, a very jarring form of writing that resulted in my attention escaping the book. This, combined with both chunks of exposition and a lack of scene exploration with flat characters resulted in a lack of immersion. Thus, I rate Dream a Little Dream of Me 3/5 stars.

bookishspicy's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

“Oh my dear brother, you fear me without realizing that it is your fear that gives me the power I need.”

⚜

I really liked the concept of this Novella, this story is through the eyes of the immortal entities, Cupid and Dream, while they struggle to bring two soulmates together without using Cupid’s magic.

Chris and Zoya’s relationship dynamic was complicated, with misunderstandings separating them for three years. I enjoyed watching their past unfold and understanding what went wrong between them, although I felt we didn’t have much explanation for what Chris had hurtfully said to his friends about her. He also never said sorry to Zoya for this.

I enjoyed watching Cupid and Dream get attached to this love story for their own reasons and trying everything they could to make it work. Throughout the story, their own relationship improved and they started working together on their goal of reuniting Chris and Zoya.

I really wish we had found out whether Melissa and Mark were also soulmates, their relationship was adorable.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC.

marie_thereadingotter's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I received this book from NetGalley for review.

I picked up this book because of the synopsis. I felt like this book was too long, but also too short. Some things felt rushed, while other things felt glossed over.

I also don't really know how to feel about the characters because I don't feel like I really got to know either Cupid and Dream. Chris and Zoya, the two estranged soulmates, are the ones that I got to know the best, but I still feel like there are gaps in their history. Which might be part of the point, since they were more a plot devise than characters.

The narrative sometimes switched perspective between Cupid and Dream mid-paragraph. And that sometimes threw me off. It made the narrative inconsistent. I was more interested in Dream and Cupid, but they weren't as front and center as I would've liked. The author's note mentioned that there's another book, or a sequel of sorts that's going to focus more on Dream. And I like that idea, since this book did start with Dream talking about how his power struggles, something that I felt got pushed so far to the background that I started to forget that was what started the bet.

simonlorden's review

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3.0

I received an ARC through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

I picked up this story because I was intrigued by the summary: two cosmic entities, Dream and Cupid make a bet to reunite two estranged childhood friends. Overall it's a quick, hopeful and sweet read, and it does have a nice message about the importance of both love and hope.

Unfortunately, the writing style really ruins the experience. The language is simple, which wouldn't be a problem in itself, but the constant repetitions and the short, fragmented sentences get exhausting to read.

bookgroundmel's review

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hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the chance to read this novella.

This is a very sweet cute story about hope and love. It is a very good little story for teens to learn about how much goes into a relationship and there are 2 sides to it and communication. That although there may be hiccups with a little hope things may come through. Very sweet and super quick read.

avy9891's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

Such a lovely little story. I loved the interpretation of Dream and Cupid. Such a heart wrenching story, all the different little glimpses of love. I’m so glad that the story between Chris and Zoya progressed the way it did. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read such a beautiful story. I 100% recommend this story!

I received an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

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