Reverie

If the Matrix existed at a modern Hogwarts ... The Reverie is what might be written about it. I loved this book and if you enjoy YA novels about magic, friends with the added touch of an evil Drag Queen who's trying to destroy the world... well, then this is the perfect book for you.

The book opens with Kane Montgomery dealing with the aftermath of a violent incident he has no memory of. The police are still questioning him, his sister Sophie doesn't seem to trust him and Kane can't remember even the most simple things about his life.

When Kane goes back to school, he begins to realize that everything around him isn't what it seems. There's the magnetic boy with the seafoam eyes who no one else seems to know. There's a Drag Queen show more Sorceress who claims to be attempting to help Kane. There are The Others who say they are Kane's friends even though he can't remember them.

It turns out that the world isn't what Kane thinks... at all. There is magic in the world and part of that manifests itself in reveries. People's subconscious minds weave together dream-like worlds that have a plot that must play out. Normal people are drawn into the reveries and become characters in elaborate stories. The problem is that reveries can be dangerous if lucid people don't go along with the plot... the reveries have to reach their natural conclusion.

Kane was part of a team that used to try and eradicate reveries by letting them play out and then using their magical skills to unravel them. Then the others tried to hurt Kane and stole his memories. Kane doesn't know who to believe, or who he trusts or what role he plays in a world full of reveries.

This is an adventure story about a world that has been touched by magic. It has a little bit of romance, a lot of heroes fighting monsters and some delightful twists and turns. show less

If the Matrix existed at a modern Hogwarts ... The Reverie is what might be written about it. I loved this book and if you enjoy YA novels about magic, friends with the added touch of an evil Drag Queen who's trying to destroy the world... well, then this is the perfect book for you.

The book opens with Kane Montgomery dealing with the aftermath of a violent incident he has no memory of. The police are still questioning him, his sister Sophie doesn't seem to trust him and Kane can't remember even the most simple things about his life.

When Kane goes back to school, he begins to realize that everything around him isn't what it seems. There's the magnetic boy with the seafoam eyes who no one else seems to know. There's a Drag Queen show more Sorceress who claims to be attempting to help Kane. There are The Others who say they are Kane's friends even though he can't remember them.

It turns out that the world isn't what Kane thinks... at all. There is magic in the world and part of that manifests itself in reveries. People's subconscious minds weave together dream-like worlds that have a plot that must play out. Normal people are drawn into the reveries and become characters in elaborate stories. The problem is that reveries can be dangerous if lucid people don't go along with the plot... the reveries have to reach their natural conclusion.

Kane was part of a team that used to try and eradicate reveries by letting them play out and then using their magical skills to unravel them. Then the others tried to hurt Kane and stole his memories. Kane doesn't know who to believe, or who he trusts or what role he plays in a world full of reveries.

This is an adventure story about a world that has been touched by magic. It has a little bit of romance, a lot of heroes fighting monsters and some delightful twists and turns. show less

I was provided a copy of the book by Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What a fantastical, imaginative debut from author Ryan La Sala.

It offers characters that range from witty to snarky to dark and deliciously devious (a drag queen sorceress!), a very fast-paced plot, and evocative imagery in both the reveries themselves and in Posey's "world". At times, I got lost within the world-building, particularly during the reveries, but the concept started to make more sense as the story unfolded. Kane's initial amnesia lent to some distancing or disconnect between characters, and as a result, I wasn't sure who to trust.

This is a roller-coaster ride of a plot. I enjoyed it, but my teen absolutely ADORED it, and couldn't stop gushing over it show more (and in fact, bought copies for her teachers to add to the school and classroom libraries when it came out.) There is a great amount of queer rep in the book, and I think it will appeal to teens. show less

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I wanted to love Reverie by Ryan La Sala so much!

Reverie has a wonderful cover that draws you in immediately. The plot mentions a boy and a fantasy world that revolves around dreams. Everything I hoped this book would be – it wasn’t.

Kane is a gay teenager who is trying to pick up the pieces of his life back together after an attack leaves him with no memories of the past. He is in the search of who he is and who he was, and he discovers an alternate reality that he was involved in.

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to a resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters show more – anything you could wish for. And one wrong step can twist the entire thing into a lethal nightmare maze.

Sounds complicated already?

What if I told you that this is only from the blurb and the book doesn’t really explain these things at all?

Kane is an unraveler, together with The Others. Or at least he was, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. And here we are now, with Kane trying to solve the mystery and fight against evil.

I jumped into this book very eagerly, and was disappointing immediately, within the first couple of pages. The reveries and their whole concept were quite confusing, to the point of me not knowing whether the characters are now in a reverie, or in their real world.

Reverie had an amazing concept and it could’ve been done way better than this. I am just disappointed. It all seemed a bit messy and felt like it wasn’t thought through…

I didn’t connect with any of the characters, except for Kane, for the below reasons. And that was it… I didn’t care about any of the others, and there were quite a few characters.

One thing that annoyed me about Reverie, was the exaggeration of the #OwnVoices.

I am not against it, on the contrary! I love equality and I love diversity, and I share love everywhere and to everyone, and if you know me in real life, you will know this about me. We are all equal and different at the same time, and that is the unique thing that connects us all.

However, this book keeps mentioning that Kane is gay. And Kane is a lovely character. He is smart and he is brave. His memories were lost and is desperately trying to find out who he is, who he was, who are his true friends, who is good and who is evil. He doesn’t take for granted on what people tell him. He is AMAZING. Kane was so much more than just gay. But the author kept trying so hard to put an #OwnVoices hashtag on this book, that is was quite aggressive and off-putting. I love books that feature #OwnVoices, but Ryan, please – a little bit of modesty would’ve been nice.

I keep feeling this pressure of trying to write a book review that will not offend anyone, and I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I need to say that sometimes, there can be such a thing as “too much OwnVoicing” in a book. And we shouldn’t be afraid to point it out!

I am really sad about this one, guys. Honestly, I expected it to love it so bad, and now I feel down. I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you think you will love it, please pick it up. You are valid!

Thank you to the team at Netgalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for sending me an ARC e-copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

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This is a neat story that considers our dreams (the hopes and goals version of dreams, not the REM sleep version) and daydreams and fantasies, and how they impact our lives and our selves. It is a book that somehow seemed grounded in reality and completely fantastical all at the same time.

The characters were a lot of fun, and (even though the ones I felt the most connection to were the older adult side characters, instead of the teenage protagonists) I enjoyed reading their story.

I think this is a case where the resolution will stick with me longer than the rest of the book. I can imagine the details of the story fading, but the general impression of the epilogue sticking around.

I decided to round this up on here, but for me personally this was a 3.75. I really enjoyed it, but it isn't one that I would likely read again. It was, however, lots of fun to read. This book was like going from one fever dream to another to another quite literally! Reveries are daydreams/fantasies that people have but that come to life and everyone around them is sucked into their reverie and take on their parts to play not realizing that this isn't how the world is supposed to be. Our main character is a gay boy but that doesn't really play much into the actual storyline, though one reverie does take them to a planet "full of the gays". There are a group of teens that somehow are lucid during these reveries and have special powers to show more use during them and they try to ensure that the reveries come to a conclusion and no one gets hurt or remembers it after the fact. Also there is a mystical drag queen throughout the story, and it is just a wild ride! show less

A one sitting read for me. I liked the concept and the way the story unfolded. Two things detracted from my overall enjoyment. First, as a part time editor, there were several instances where whoever proofed this before publication dropped the ball. Those types of errors jump out at me and break my concentration when I'm immersed in a book. Second, I really came to dislike Kane. I can understand him and empathize with him, but the longer he acted the way he did, the less I liked him.