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Title: Somniare

Subtitle: Somniare, Book 1

Author: D. T. Dyllin

Narrator: Johanna Fairview

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-12-17

Publisher: Tik Tok Press

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Teens, Ages 11-13

Publisher's Summary:

Remy Novem was murdered....

But she didn't die.

Forced to escape to Somniare, a dream landscape, Remy must somehow survive living nightmares, and endless torment without using her magic. Her only hope for freedom is to hitch a ride with a human back into reality, tricking the poor creature into believing no harm will befall them.

Remy isn't troubled by the fact that she must kill to live....

Until love changes everything.

Members Reviews:

Mixed bag.

Would you try another book from D. T. Dyllin and/or Johanna Fairview?

Probably yes, because this book was a mixed bag. This book had a unique world building element and kept me confused about what's happening for some time (which is both a positive and negative aspect, if you know what I mean). Thus, when the dream world was explained, it became a little exciting. But then, the characters didn't quite develop from there on. Both main characters had just one shade. And thus didn't make me drawn to them. I was mostly in "meh" mode. And Remy running in "Harry Potter mode" didn't help it. She kept doing stupid things and still "saving the day" by convenient incidents / luck. That really irks me.

That said, just because of the good world building I see in this book, I might give another chance to a different book from the author.

How could the performance have been better?

The narration was kinda irritating me too. The narrator over dramatized the narration. Throughout the book, it sounded like Remy was on the edge. Last word of every sentence is dragged. Felt weird to me.

Any additional comments?

I voluntarily received a free copy of this book from the author / narrator / publisher and I'm leaving an unbiased review.

Think of It Like an Anime...

The voice performance was really good. There was one word, the word Kiernan used for witches (which I listened to this so I'm not sure how to spell it), which really drove me crazy. It might have been accurate as far as pronunciation, but it came out sounding like someone clearing their throat. Other than that, the voice acting was spot on, almost as near perfect as you can get.

The story... while it was entertaining in parts, it lacked something. Overall, I'm not fond of the "spunky agency" heroines in YA novels, but towards the end it was at least explained in part why Remy was so foolish and gung-ho in the earlier part. She wasn't a bad protagonist, with that explained, but it was hard to like her for a while. I will say this: bravo to the author for having a bisexual protagonist! I gave that a star all by itself! You just don't see that.

The actual story had to do with Remy trying to find her way out of the dream realm, which is called Somniare. I see there's a sequel to it, which isn't surprising since this volume ended on a cliffhanger. It more or less was complete at the end, but obviously meant to lead into the next book. I'm not sure if it's a true cliffhanger or not, but there's enough at stake I would say it is. Not very fond of books leaving off on cliffhangers. Even if it's part of a series, the end should be well defined, and the whole a satisfying story on its own. The world of Sominare is really fascinating though, and I think the author did a fantastic job of world-building. It was a simple concept, yet unique enough that it stood out.