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!

In My Mailbox #9

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi at The Story Siren. Here are the books I got this week:

For review:
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (thank you, HarperCollins!)
Halflings by Heather Burch (thank you, Zondervan!)
Embrace by Jessica Shrivington (thank you, Sourcefire!)
The Galahad Legacy by Dom Testa (thank you, Tor!)

Won:
Fated by Sarah Alderson (thank you,Shelleyrae from Bookdout!)

From the library (all ebooks this week):
Fallen by Lauren Kate
The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Dreamless is one of my most anticipated books of the year so I was extremely excited to get a copy of it. I also got a lot of angel books this week which is unusual for me because I usually avoid this type of book but I wanted to review Halflings since it is by a Christian author and publisher. I got Embrace as a total surprise and I thank Sourcefire for sending it to me. I also work as a freelance book reviewer for a Christian website and was assigned Fallen (and the other two library books as well), so I will be reading that soon. I am usually assigned children/YA books that are being made into movies and I think the Fallen movie will be in theaters sometime this year.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Top 10 Books I’ve read in 2011

I’m so excited to be taking part in Top Ten Week hosted by Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and Lisa from A Life Bound By Books and co-hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun and Jaime & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books. Even though Today is technically the second day of the event, I am playing a bit of catch up so you will see more ‘Top 10’ posts from me today.

I read so many great books this year that it was hard for me to pick my Top 10. I tried to narrow it down to books that were published in 2011 and these are the ones that were the most memorable for me:

10. Trial by Fire, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This book really surprised me, especially since it’s a sequel (which are usually not as good as the first book) AND I did not love the first in the series. Trial by Fire has tons of action and plot twists that I never saw coming. 

9. Half-Blood, by Jennifer Armentrout
I love mythology so it’s no surprise that more than one books with myth will pop up on my ‘Top 10’ list. I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait for the sequel!

8. The Lost Saint, by Bree Despain
Technically, this was published at the very end of December 2010 but since I read it this year and loved it, I wanted to include it in my Top 10. While the relationship between the two main characters does hit a rough patch (as is typical in sequels), I still loved it. This entire series is a winner for me.

7. Waterfall, by Lisa T. Bergren
If you are looking for an adventure book with great romance, Waterfall has it all: time travel, gorgeous Italian warriors and kick-butt girls who fight with swords and bow and arrows! I really enjoyed reading this.

6. Delirium, by Lauren Oliver
Another genre that I love is dystopia and while I read and enjoyed many dystopian books this year, Delirium stood out to me mostly because of how beautifully Lauren Oliver writes. Of course, beautiful writing is nothing without an exciting plot and wonderful characters and Delirium has that too.

5. The Iron Queen, by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey series is one of my all time favorites and while I love all the books, The Iron Queen was my favorite.

4. Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini
I can’t get enough Greek mythology and Starcrossed has a lot of what I love: sweeping romance, big feuding families, lots of fighting and great characters. I’m really looking forward to the sequel.

3. There You’ll Find Me, by Jenny B. Jones
There You’ll Find Me made me laugh and cry. It is an awesome feel good book that you don’t know you need until after you finish it. I adored this and can’t wait for the next book from this author.

2. Divergent, by Veronica Roth
There was so much hype about this book and it is very well deserved. It’s exciting and romantic with a crazy good ending that I did not see coming. It’s everything I want in my dystopia. 

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Hands down my favorite of 2011. I had no idea what to really expect with Daughter of Smoke and Bone but I did not expect the awesomeness that I got. This is an intricately woven fantasy that I absolutely loved. The world building is excellent and the plot is fantastic. I cannot wait to read what Laini Taylor has in store for us in the sequel.

 Which books are in your ‘Top 10’ for 2011?

Waiting on Wednesday: Dreamless

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: May 29, 2012
Genre: Mythology

Goodreads Summary: As the only Scion that can enter Hades at will, Helen descends to the Underworld in search of a way to overcome the Furies and end the cycle of revenge that has cursed the Scions. But she’s running out of time. Each descent weakens her both in mind and spirit. A mysterious stranger might be her only salvation, but the price may be her love for Lucas Delos.

As an unforgettable love triangle emerges, Josephine Angelini’s compelling saga becomes ever more intricate and spellbinding. The eagerly awaited sequel to the internationally bestselling Starcrossed, Dreamless delivers with a huge emotional impact that will leave readers satisfied—and longing for more.

2011 was a good year for YA books based on Greek mythology and I am in the mood for more. I am really excited for this sequel as I loved the first book in this series, Starcrossed. If you guys know of other books based on Greek myth that are coming out next year, let me know. What books are you waiting on?