Conceptually, this book should have been a wonderful addition to YA fantasy, it was a story that had so much potential with a unique magic system, a hidden world, and teenagers fighting against an unknown evil. Instead the story lacked a cohesive storyline that made it difficult to follow what was going on, who was important to the story, and how their backstories connected to the world around them.
The book started off really strong with an interesting hook set in a dream world and it was easy to get pulled right into the action. Unfortunately, after that chapter, the strong hook disappeared. The dream world and the mystery relationships that were teased in that world were rarely seen again and had little to no bearing on the story. While the need for a strong hook is understandable, it should also be relevant to the story, so my interest quickly waned.
The characters, their powers, and their interactions were stronger than the plotline, but still leaned on the confusing side. The main group of teenagers that made up the majority of the main characters were likable enough and it was nice to see their powers described slowly over time instead of thrown at the reader. The jump from character point of view to character point of view was bumpy and at times hard to follow, but it was also an interesting change to see how the story was developing depending on the opinion of whatever characters was being read at the time.
As likable as the characters were, it would have been nice to see a more cohesive backstory. There were times when the characters would say something about their past that made no sense with the information that had previously been given. That left a feeling of confusion and dissatisfaction that was difficult to overcome.
The ending was a redeeming factor as it left on enough of a cliffhanger to peak interest in where the story will go in the next book in the series.
⅖ stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Hidden Grove Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
The Novel Llama 