Author: R. Queen
Series: The Ariel Saga #1
Age: Young Adult
Genres: Paranormal, Horror
Publication Date: October 31, 2016
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Source: Review copy provided
Purchase: Amazon
Synopsis:
Ariel Chylde is haunted by horrible dreams, and on her eighteenth birthday sheds her skin as the nightmares emerge to act out her deepest, darkest impulses.
But before Ariel can save her small town from the terror of her dreams,
she must first save herself from the sinister secret of her subconscious.
A secret guarded by unspeakable evil.
My Rating:
My Thoughts:
I wasn't sure what to rate this book because it really dragged for me and the characters were a bit strange, but I'm definitely giving this 3.5 stars. Why? As much as I tried to love this book and really get into it, I just couldn't. I felt detached from the characters which made the story boring for me. However, I enjoyed the dark fantasy aspects and the dreamlike state this book took place in.
Ariel Chylde was a good character. She used to have friends and a boyfriend until her nightmares started to get to her. Now Ariel is seen as the freak of the school. She has sudden fits, outbursts and goes into a dreamworld at unexpected moments. Ariel was a brave girl. Even though people made fun of her, she stayed true to herself. Even when the nightmares started to crack on the wall between reality and dream she stayed strong. She embraced her difference from people.
Miss Happy is Ariel's younger self in her dream world. Miss Happy is the polar opposite of Ariel. She's loud and outgoing, but still quirky. Cute Face aka Perry was the hottie that seemed to have an eye on Ariel. Of the three main characters, he was the medium. He was shy, but spoke his mind. I enjoyed Perry a lot. I think he was a good "companion" of sorts for Ariel. Stacy was a total grade A bitch. I hated her from start to finish. She wasn't a main character, but I just needed to put it out there that I hated her.
The idea behind this story seemed pretty awesome. I found my mind being blown away with the writing and the worlds, but I still felt like some things were missing. The book for me just was all over as far as pace and the way it flowed. One moment we see Ariel doing something, but than she blacks out and enters her nightmares or we hope from Ariel over to Miss Happy or even Perry's dad. It was to the point where I found myself re-reading several passages over to try and understand what happened and when it exactly happened.
Overall, the story was a pretty okay read for me and I do plan to read the sequel to see how things fair out for Ariel.
Have you read this book?