Dreams Lie Beneath

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: I have been a fan of many of Ross's novels, and this is one of the few I hadn't read yet. Previous books I have read by Ross are "Sisters of Sword and Song" ( loved it), The Queen's Rising (okay), Wild Reverence (loved it), and the Letters of Enchantment duology (loved it). I ended up really loving this book as well. I loved the creative world here; this was very well written and easy to read. I thought the magic in here was especially intriguing and would have loved to learn more about the magic system.

Clementine (Clem) is training under her father to become the Warden of her small town. The Warden protects a town from the curse of show more the Nightmares of the residents that come alive every new moon. Clem's future takes an odd turn when two magicians arrive to challenge her father for his domain. Clem finds herself drawn into a past and conflict that she never knew existed. She is forced to uncover the truth behind many lies and tell many lies of her own if she is going to survive the path forward.

I absolutely loved this world where Nightmares comes alive and wardens must protect people against them. It is a fascinating curse to have on a world and the magicians that fight this curse are intriguing as well. I thought the magic system here was interesting and would have loved the chance to hear more about it and understand it better. There are multiple kinds of magic in this world, and although we hear about them, we never really get to delve into how they work.

This starts as a revenge story, but quickly morphs into Clem trying to uncover secrets and mysteries from multiple directions. I really enjoyed all of the characters in here, including Clem. They are all very morally gray, none of them are really evil, but they make as many bad decisions as they do good ones. There is an enemies to lovers type of romance blended into the story, which I thought was well done. These are complicated characters, and making assumptions about any of them can be dangerous.

I enjoyed how the story wrapped up and always love a good fantasy that is contained to one book; however, I loved this world so much that I wanted more. I wanted to know what happens after all these events that take place and what happens to this amazing world in the future.

Ross is an amazing writer, and I find her writing both easy to read and incredibly beautiful. It always flows off the page so well.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this story. I loved the complex characters, the intriguing world, the mystery, and the magic. I thought the story wrapped up nicely but wanted more. I wanted to learn more about the aftermath in this world and more about how the magic worked. I always really enjoy Ross's writing style; it flows so well, is easy to read and beautiful. I would highly recommend if you are looking for a stand-alone dark fantasy with a creative world and intriguing characters. show less

This book was a wonderful surprise. I have to say, I wasn't really sure what I'd be getting into when I started... it's pitched as being perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood and The Night Circus and, while I really enjoyed the latter, I didn't have the best time with the former. Luckily, I really enjoyed Dreams Lie Beneath!

I was captured by this book right from the first page and, even though it took a fair bit before I felt like I understood what was going on, I appreciated how the author managed to throw us in right in the middle of the action. I personally find it a slightly dangerous tactic that doesn't always work out well, but it did in this case. I loved the introduction of dreams and nightmares and slowly unravelling the mystery show more surrounding the curse that plagues the realm.

The characters were definitely my favourite thing about this book. Clem, the protagonist, in particular is beautifully complex. I loved seeing her grow and mature throughout the book, becoming more confident as the book progresses while at the same time facing her own prejudices and contradictions. I particularly enjoyed the fact that Clem's journey of self-discovery was such a central part of the book, as were her relationships with the other characters. Family and friendship were central topics too, and I really loved to see how they were developed. There's romance, there's betrayal, there's revenge and there are lots of hidden truths, and all of these elements are woven together in a masterful way to deliver a complex and well-rounded tale.

The magic and the curse were fascinating, and I loved the dream elements. There were a few things in the magic system I wasn't entirely sure I understood and confused me slightly at times, but I still felt like I got most of it in the end so I wasn't too fussed about the small details. The worldbuilding was also great, even though there too there were a few minor points I didn't really get fully.

Despite that, I flew through this and thoroughly enjoyed every page, to the point that I didn't even notice some of the issues until I sat down to write this review. This was definitely one of my favourite reads this year so far and one of the best YA fantasy books I have read in a while! I'm really looking forward to reading more by this author.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less

Deep, dark and satisfying, a story where everyone has secrets and many are not who/what they seem. Clementine starts out with revenge as her goal, but the longer she is with Phelan, the more she must question her motives, who he truly is and what he wants. The mysterious realm locked away from the world for so long becomes a player itself, as more and more surprises are revealed. Plenty of tension and intrigue make this story flow well. A dandy choice for libraries that care about offering intelligent teen readers a good tale.

I know this book isn't perfect, but it was perfectly captivating and therefore it deserves 5 stars. It kept me guessing up until the last few pages, and the only things that I find myself wishing for were more romance and what-comes-next. (If not a sequel, than an epilogue would have been lovely... The ending wasn't bad; I just want more!)

This book does remind me a bit of Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, which I reread frequently (along with its sequel Court Duel)... I guess enemies-to-lovers truly is one of my favorite tropes (although that shouldn't surprise me in the slightest, given my various fandom ships.) I digress: good book! I'd definitely read a sequel!

A curse plagues the realm of Azenor—during each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams.

Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn.

3.5⭐️