Alexa Lee

"The Worlds Behind Her Eyelids" by Alexa Lee is an awesome escape into the power of imagination and dealing with tough realities. The main character, Grace, is a teen stuck with a super controlling and critical mom. To cope, she dives into her daydreams where she meets Mitch, a rugged treasure hunter with a knack for taking in strays. Mitch invites Grace to join him on a wild quest for a lost artifact, and her adventures begin.

Grace’s double life is super relatable. In real life, she’s show more just trying to survive her mom's negativity, but in her mind, she’s living an epic adventure. The switch between her boring reality and the thrilling world with Mitch is seamless, and it makes you wonder if maybe daydreams can be just as real.
Mitch is a fascinating character who brings a lot to Grace's imaginary world. He’s tough but caring, guiding her through the dangerous and mysterious parts of their quest. Their growing bond adds a lot of heart to the story, making you root for both of them.
What I loved most is how Alexa Lee blurs the lines between Grace's imagination and her reality. The book dives into some pretty deep stuff about why we escape into our minds and how that can be both good and bad. Grace’s daydreams start out as her safe haven but soon turn into a complicated web that she has to navigate.
Overall, "The Worlds Behind Her Eyelids" is a gripping read that combines adventure, fantasy, and a touch of reality. Alexa Lee’s storytelling is vivid and engaging, making it easy to get lost in Grace’s worlds. If you’re into stories that explore the depths of imagination and the struggles of real life, this book is definitely for you. show less

I received this as an ARC, which I requested because I really liked the sound of the premise. Daydreams becoming a tangible reality? Very cool.

But the execution was frustrating to read. I paused reading it several months ago because I was that frustrated. When I picked it up again, I didn't start over, I just wanted to finish. Basically, the text that I received would have benefited from a more observant copy-editor. There are a lot of strange errors throughout. As an example, one paragraph show more was on the verge describing a dress, and it just cuts off mid-sentence. No period or other punctuation and another paragraph begins.

Beyond that, the main character Grace is the first-person narrator, and she can't stop saying how she "isn't sure" or is "unsure" or "uncertain" or "worried." Sometimes she expresses this sentiment two or three times in the same paragraph. It's a fairly long text, so it wouldn't hurt the word count if half of these were nixed; we would still be very aware that Grace is an anxious person. I wish she'd had more growth as a character.

Two more thoughts and I'll stop. The first is about the intended audience. This is put forth as a YA fantasy, which it predominantly is. But there's a part towards the end involving swingers on yachts in the Mediterranean, and that doesn't feel so much like YA fantasy.

Second, and this is me at my most pedantic, you can't order cannelloni for dessert. Cannelloni is a savory pasta entree (sure, I don't know, maybe you can have it as a starter if you want, but it still isn't a dessert). Cannoli is dessert. I don't think this would have been so crazy-making for me if there wasn't such a preoccupation with food throughout the whole text.

I'm not rating it, because it still feels like a very rough draft as it stands. show less

This was a truly interesting concept. Honestly, I initially struggled with the writing style; it felt laborious, and the main character struck me as someone who considered themselves as both a perpetual victim but also the overpowered hero. Despite a rocky start, I did settle into the story and enjoyed the increasing battle between what was real and what wasn't. I thought the writing style improved as time went on, and the character arcs were handled with more care and consideration than I show more initially expected. show less

This book brings together some interesting concepts. Grace finds out that she can project herself into different worlds by accident, a move that is prompted by desperation to escape her home life where her parents fight constantly and her mother is self-absorbed.

These projections start out innocently enough with Grace being pseudo-adopted by an older treasure hunter named Mitch and propelled into the dangerous but thrilling world of treasure hunting. Along with that world, she discovers a show more few others, some of them terrifying and one with potential implications for later on in the series.

In between her forays into these worlds, the reader gets glimpses of her "real" life and the reasons why she is so desperate to escape. As the book progresses, it becomes increasingly hard for her to remain in reality.

A thought-provoking read that offers the opportunity for plenty of exploration. There are some minor editing errors in the book but nothing that detracts from the story. Be aware that while this is marketed towards teens, there is language, some peril, and some brief nudity mentioned towards the end. show less