Book Review: Dreamless

Title: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 487 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers to Starcrossed, the first book in the series.

Goodreads Summary: Can true love be forgotten? As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out--a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies' cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen's sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology and when I read Starcrossed last year, I devoured the book. It was so good (you can read my review here) and so I was afraid that the sequel, Dreamless, may fall victim the sophomore slump that many YA books tend to suffer from. Guys, I loved Dreamless just as much if not more than Starcrossed! It’s just that good!

Dreamless picks up shortly after where Starcrossed left off with Helen descending into the underworld in an attempt to stop the furies so that Hector can be safely reunited with the rest of the Delos family. Unlike in Starcrossed, Helen’s support system is practically non-existent in Dreamless. Hector had to leave the family, Lucas is avoiding Helen because of the attraction they feel to each other and Helen’s mortal friends, Claire and Matt are so busy comforting and trying to impress their crushes Jason and Ariadne that Helen is left out in the cold. Going to hell every night takes a horrible toll on Helen physically and emotionally, especially since she has no one to lean. That’s when Orion comes into the picture.

Normally, I’m a character over plot driven reader but Dreamless is all about the plot. Don’t get me wrong, the characters are very well developed but Angelini’s incorporation of various stories and themes from Greek mythology (such as The Iliad and The Aeneid) into the plot are awesome! Angelini’s description of the underworld is fantastic. If this book does nothing else, I hope it draws people back to originals so they can discover them (or rediscover them, as the case may be) for themselves. She also includes characters from mythology like the swoon worthy Morpheus, Ares, Hades and Persephone. I especially love how Persephone is described and I really want to thank Angelini for that!

The characters go through a lot of growth and change in Dreamless, some of it great, some less so. I wanted Helen to be emotionally stronger, especially when it comes to Lucas and I really wanted the other Scions, especially Jason, to get out of their funks and be more supportive of Helen, especially since her quest benefits them all. Hector, on the other hand, is even more awesome in this book! I just love him and love that his character is growing into the leader that we know he will be. Orion, a new character, is so swoony and fantastic. Easily, Hector and Orion are my favorite characters in Dreamless.

Greek mythology is like candy to me and while reading Dreamless, I felt like a kid in a candy store. There is tons of action, plot twists and a heck of a cliffhanger ending that has me clamoring for the next book in the series, Goddess, which comes out next year. I love this book and recommend the series to both teens and adults. 

Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.

My Rating: The Best!