by: Heather L. ReidPublication Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Month9Books
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 321 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars
It’s been twenty three days since Quinn has slept for more than minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her, and whispering of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life. Energy drinks and caffeine pills don’t make a dent. When Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. The demons are determined to keep them apart, and Aaron from discovering the secret locked away in his memory. Together, they could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.
-goodreads.com description
This was a complicated book for me. I really wanted to like it, but I just had so many conflicting feelings while reading it! This wasn't a very fast-paced book for me. It definitely took some getting into. Reid did do an excellent job describing Quinn's nightmares and I thought her imagery was incredible, so that was a perk for me.
The storyline however, didn't do it for me. Until the end. The whole book just seemed like there was way too much high school drama and it overshadowed the paranormal elements. It wasn't until the end where the puzzles pieces finally started to fit together that we gained an understanding of why Quinn was having these nightmares and hearing voices.
Quinn, the main character, is dealing with horrific nightmares and not getting any sleep because she's too afraid of what will happen. Her boyfriend broke up with her and is now dating a different girl, her grades have plummeted, and she's on probation from the cheer squad. Things are definitely not going her way. I did not like listening to Quinn obssess over her ex-boyfriend, Jeff. Especially when good guy Aaron comes around.
Aaron is drawn to Quinn and has secretly liked her for quite some time. He decides he wants to try and make his move now that Quinn is single. Quinn, still hung up on her ex, doesn't really give Aaron much attention, until he swoops in and 'saves' her from passing out in the hallway.
I hated how Quinn treated Aaron. Here, you have a great guy, who genuinely likes you and wants to be with you, and you're hung up on your dirtbag ex who is dating a girl you don't even like! I realize Quinn is plagued with these nightmares and hears voices, but that doesn't give you the right to jerk the guy around. I did like Aaron's character a bit more than Quinn. He couldn't stay away from Quinn, no matter how hard he tried, and practically just kept asking for his heart to be broken. We do find out the reason why he can't seem to let go of her at the end of the book, however.
I think that is my biggest issue with the book- I just didn't like our protagonist. If I can't find anything relatable to my main character it's usually a no-go for me. And Quinn just got on my nerves.
I saw that Reid is writing a sequel and I will read it because I am curious as to where she is going to go with the book, especially after all the revelations at the end. Hopefully now that Quinn knows the truth and after having a harrowing experience, she'll grow up a bit and will redeem herself in the next book.
*Thank you to Month9Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for review. I received this book in return for a fair and honest review.*
