Review: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini
Series: Starcrossed #2
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)
First published: May 29th, 2012
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC
Pages: 487

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.

Click here for my review of Starcrossed (#1).

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

First thoughts:

After having loved the first book of Josephine Angelini's debut series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of the sequel. Sadly I didn't feel as passionate about Dreamless as I was left a bit disappointed by the characters. Nonetheless it was still a lovely read, especially because of the wonderful usage of Greek mythology and the quite exciting storyline.

More detailed:

While I couldn't get enough of the characters in Starcrossed, I sadly lacked the necessary connection to them now. My favorite character didn't appear often enough for me and even though Orion, who we are introduced to in Dreamless, might be a somewhat good substitute, I missed a feeling of being happy to meet these characters again.

I'm not exactly sure why I'm suddenly not in love with these characters. Mostly it's just a "feeling" that's hard to describe - maybe my expectations have changed during the last year. I think they were all a bit too one-dimensional for me since their thoughts constantly revolved around the same things, making it a bit tiring to listen to their thoughts.

But like I said above, I definitely enjoyed reading Dreamless despite my problems with its characters. Josephine Angelini is using Greek mythology in a very refreshing way and whenever we get to find out another clue to the complete puzzle, it was a little bit like Christmas for me. I absolutely love (Greek) mythology and found that it's used very believable in this series.

Another thing I really liked is the plot line itself. There weren't any real dull moments since something was happening (mostly going wrong) all the time, without being too overwhelming though. Especially during the last third, Dreamless was hard to put down and I can't wait to find out what Josephine has in store for us in the next book.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend Dreamless for everyone who already liked Starcrossed. Don't be scared off by my attitude towards the characters - and even if you might feel similar, the plot line and the mythology definitely balance out that deficit. I'll definitely continue reading this series and am already looking forward to the sequel.

Challenge(s):

YA Mythology Challenge 2012

Have you read this series already? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #30

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

Reading-wise the last week was a very good one and I'll start the new week with a fresh read: Fated by Alyson Noel. I've heard many mixed things about this one recently, but nonetheless I'm looking forward to read it myself.

Goodreads Summary:
Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead.

There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.

Afterwards I'm finally going to read my eARC of Dreamless by Josephine Angelini. Josi was actually the first author I ever interviewed for my blog and I can't wait to find out what she has in store for us in this second book of her series. I really enjoyed Starcrossed and since my wisdom teeth are going to be removed this week, I'm hoping that Dreamless will act as a little pick-me-up.

Goodreads Summary:
Helen needs to get through hell in two ways: by night they reflected the underworld, even worse torments her day that Lucas and they may possibly love. In the underworld, Helen meets Orion. The more time they spend together, the closer they come to. Then something totally unexpected happens, the forces calculated for holding and Lucas Orion: The four houses are combined and Scion, a new Trojan war seems inevitable!

Another book I've been hearing mixed things about recently, but nonetheless it sounds like an awesome read and I can't wait to find out what I'll think about it. Harlequin Teen's titles rarely disappoint me, so I'm hoping Dark Kiss by Michelle Rown won't either.

Goodreads Summary:

I don't do dangerous. Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back. Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

In My Mailbox #47

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

Last week's interesting posts:

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Review)
Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter (Review)

Interview with Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil

Velveteen by Daniel Marks (Waiting on Wednesday)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (Cover Comparisons)
Starters by Lissa Price (Cover Comparisons)

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The books I received last week:

Gifted:
Fever | Torn

For review:
Until I Die | Dreamless

Arise | Hemlock | Unraveling | Something Strange and Deadly

Fated | Velveteen | Flirting in Italian | The Wicked and the Just

Huge thanks to Michelle from Much Loved Books for sending me Fever and Torn! Also thanks to HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for these awesome review copies.

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I still cannot believe how awesome my week was when it comes to books. I've been dying to read all of these and now I have a hard time deciding what to pick up next. I want to read all of them - immediately. Too bad my semester break's now over... I'd love to spend all of my days reading these awesome books. :D

What did you get in your mailbox?

Carina

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Publisher: HarperTeen / Pan Macmillan (UK)
First published: April 5th, 2011
Pages: 514

Goodreads Summary:

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together? 

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My Rating: 4.5 / 5

What I thought about it:

To my shame I have to admit that I put off reading Starcrossed for a while after reading a few reviews about how this is like a second Twilight. But let me tell you: I enjoyed this novel a lot more than Twilight.

Starcrossed is a fantastic story full of mysteries and loveable characters that make it hard to put this novel down and you will constantly wish that you could read faster so you’ll know if everyone will be okay in the end. And then, when you finally know how this novel ends, you wish you could already possess the sequel Dreamless. 

What drew me in about this story, was the fact that this is based on Greek mythology and I really, really love it. There is just something special about those stories of ancient gods, goddesses and their heroes that never fails to fascinate me. And Josephine incorporated this perfectly into the story and whenever I read a name that was familiar, I squealed like a little girl.

I admit that in the beginning it seems to be a little similar to Twilight. You have a huge, mysterious family and a very shy, young girl and some quite dangerous aspects to the love story. But once I got into the story, I realized how much more detailed this is, how carefully built this novel is and how much I really love it. 

It has fantastic characters (I can't get enough of Hector and I deperately hope that there will be a lot more of him in the future!) and a storyline that got me hooked. Helen and Lucas' love story is beautiful and with every page I turned I hoped that they will be able to find a way to be happy. They're both very intriguing and well written characters and I'm looking forward to read about how they'll deal with their situation.

While the third person narrator made it a little bit hard in the beginning to identify with the characters, it soon turned out to be the right decision: You get to see the whole story from different point of views which is incredibly interesting.

All in all, Starcrossed is a fantastic debut novel and if you like Greek mythology, starcrossed lovers and fabulous characters, you have to get a copy of it.

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Tomorrow I'll post a small interview with Josephine Angelini where she talks about authors she likes, the sequel Dreamless and more. And I'll give away a copy of Starcrossed. So be sure to stop by!

Have you read Starcrossed? What did you think about it?

Carina