h my goodness! I am not sure what to say about this book. How about the positives? Eye catching cover, I requested this YA sci-fi/new age book without really paying attention to the synopsis. I had absolutely no preconceived notions. The writing was beautiful, there were even some lovely sentences that I could see myself using to teach figurative language in the classroom. The two main protagonists Zat and Babe held names that I have never come across in fiction before. Although I do know a woman from my parents church that is named Babe (nickname for Bea).

But the storyline was all over the place for me and I didn't really "get" what it was all about. The world building wasn't really executed that well and I just couldn't care about the teen romance angst and the dream sequences began to get really boring.

Kathryn Berla's "Dream Me" held my interest throughout. I loved the idea of the novel--falling in love with someone in a dream and having that dream continue on from the last point every night. Although I liked the ending, I felt that it ended too quickly and too easily for my taste. Fans of Sci-Fi and Distopian genres will find something to love in this quick read. Thank you, Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing, for providing me with an advanced copy of "Dream Me" in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book sounded intriguing, a future earth where people no longer dreamed, and a boy who found himself with the ability to do so. Sadly the book failed to live up to its promise for me.
The world building for the future earth was pretty poor, with vague explanations of why the earth was dying and why or how people could travel back in time through dreams. The book also has a character living in current day earth, Babe, a teenager who works a summer job in the local country club. While the author at least makes some attempt at giving Babe some depth as a character, it is just an attempt, she still feels pretty flat and one dimensional, though not quite as much as Zat, the boy from the future who becomes infatuated with her.
There were a lot of things I didn't like about this book, but one of the worst was the decision the author made to have Babe endure a sexual assault and then keep quiet about it to save her parent's job, it's not a great message to give to the young girls this book is presumably aimed at. I also felt the end of the book was rushed, and a cop out, there was no explanation of how the resolution the author chose could really be possible, and it was just one more disappointment for me as a reader.

I just finished this book... and I am a little in shock. I think that it ended too soon, with too little explanation. I feel like I have experienced literary whiplash.

The book takes us through the life and dream life of Babe (named from a professional golfer) as she transitions into her new life in Sugar Dunes, Florida where her father has just become the new gold Pro for the Crystal Pines country club. This transition is much like the many others that she and her family have had to make while she has grown up--new town, new school and new jobs.

This time, though, along with the new friends and job her dreams take a shift with the reoccurring addition of Zat--a human from a future where Earth is left uninhabitable and time traveling into the dreams of those living in the past is possible. As a relationship of sorts is developed between Babe and Zat the reality of their situation becomes more of a hindrance to their lives and happiness. Living in another person's dreams is only a good idea... and the painful headaches that come from having another being present in your dreams is more harmful than anything.

There is one small hope that Zat doesn't completely explain, he might be able to take human form again. Does he?

I wish that life for Zat was explained more, that the choosing process that went into Zat finding Babe was explained more. The book had a lot of holes that I wish were filled. I wanted to know more. How did what happened at the end of the book even happen?

I was able to get into this story, was not able to finish.

Going into this book with an open mind I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, I want to know more!!!! This book is well written, encapturing beautiful characters and an intriguing plot! I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the young adult genre or sci fi!

Extremely interesting premise and really well told story. The ending was very abrupt though. One minutes hes in the dreams and the next hes in the real world. How? Why? Who was the guy with the camera. I think maybe with a bit of expansion on the storyline it could go from good to wow

OMG, this book is so amazing. It is just perfection. The writing is wonderful and so full of vivid imagery and lovely sentences. The cast of characters is great and all experience character growth at a natural pace. What grabbed my attention first was the detail in how Berla sets a scene. I was truly swept away, and couldn't put this down - I had to know how it would end! A fun story all tied together with a delightful ending. I'm pretty sure there was a big smile on my face when I finished

The only way he could be with her was in her dreams. Zat was from a dark, distant future Earth and in the desolation of his world, people no longer dream, yet Zat does and his dreams are filled with a long ago Earth of beauty and a girl named Babe.

Babe’s dreams star a boy named Zat and every night they are together, but those dreams bring her migraines of excruciating pain. Babe finds she would rather be with Zat in a dream world than to live in reality without him. Must they choose between their special dreams and life without each other? Is there any way to bring their dreams to life?

DREAM ME by Kathryn Berla is a completely different take on young adult fantasy, a future where Earth is destroyed, yet the technology of that time allows a person’s consciousness to travel through time. What a fascinating concept that could fill pages of details and background, fleshing out this quick read with more depth.

Was the author’s intent to keep Zat less defined than Babe? If so, in a unique way, it fits the story, a boy of her dreams, a love that seems impossible and a girl who is forced to live in a real world that is constantly changing for her.

Great reading for young adults who don’t need the depth older readers will seek. Short chapters, and a good presentation that reads well and just may prove that dreams can come true.

I received an ARC edition from Amberjack Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (July 11, 2017)
Publication Date: July 11, 2017
Genre: YA
Print Length: 270 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Dream me started of great and I was intrigued but then it just fall apart and no longer held my interest. I got about half way through the book before I gave up. I'm not even sure what was going on or what the premise was. Maybe I gave up too soon?

Since I was unable to finish reading it -- I will not put the review on the blog.

http://fkrants.blogspot.com/p/ngfails.html

It's an enjoyable book and a very well written. I'm totally into it right from the beginning. The story is so unique which left me speechless. I totally loving it.

Babe thinks dreaming's addictive? Try this book. Honestly, a really great read. It was a little bit sci-fi, a little bit fantasy, a little bit contemporary YA, and a whole lot of fun. The blog entries backed up by the dual perspective kept things interesting and moving, whilst all the characters were a lovable, relatable bunch. Sure, it felt towards the end as if a couple of Zat scenes were missing before he made his decision about - let's say stuff - but it all tied together very nicely at the end. I'm glad I read it.

I first want to say that I have read many books but I found this book harder to review then others. I really enjoyed reading this novel but I found it to be a light hearted romance novel with a bit of sci-fi added to the mix. This book was a great break from the typical books that I usually read. I read this book in a day because it is a fill in the blanks kind of book. Berla has created a unique plot line, beautiful description of the settings and characters but there was missing backstories with a few holes here and there. Overall, I found this book did cheer me up and was a good read.

I usually enjoy this type of story but just could not relate to the characters and found the whole novel confusing.

I received this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing.

Dream Me is a sci-fi novel for teenagers and young adults. It’s about a young girl named Babe (Really? Oh yes) who has often moved in her life. Before starting her senior year of high school, her parents decide to move one more time – to Sugar Dunes, Florida, a tranquil but small place where the most exciting things seem to happen at the local country club. Or is there more to it? No, there actually isn’t because the farfetched and implausible sci-fi plot is neither thrilling nor romantic nor anything that might make it even remotely interesting.

So the fantastic part goes like this: One day Babe meets a super hot guy in her dream, Zat (Really? Unfortunately, yes). It turns out that he is from the future, like way future, where the earth has basically become uninhabitable. Instead of leaving the planet, he decides to take a different path, which is time travelling by inhabiting someone else’s dreams. How this works is never explained. Neither why Babe was chosen to be Zat’s host. But of course, they fall head over heels in love with each other. Also, no one knows why, but one can assume that a sci-fi book for teens has to include a love story. So after establishing that they are madly in love, the question is, what should they do now? Babe is suffering physically from her vivid dreams, and her real life and friends who care about her get ignored entirely. Can these poor star-crossed lovers ever be together? Could this get even dumber? Could it be that Zat turns out to be an invention of Babe’s deranged mind? Because that would make sense in an otherwise disappointing book.

Overall, this book is wanting due to its lack of plot and character development, proper romance and original sci-fi for that matter. Why go to all the lengths to come up with a novel technology and then hide it from the reader? “I could explain it to you, but that would be too complicated, believe me,” is basically what Zat tells Babe. Like “What?!” Give me that science, I’m sure I can handle it. The book is saved from becoming a total bore through some minor characters that add at least a bit of colour to this dull story. I think the book would have had the potential to be intriguing if the author had provided fleshed out main characters and a fully developed plot.

First line: <i>"He thought about the girl again."</i>

I rather enjoyed this novel which I was able to read courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for this review. Dream Me is a novel that is definitely quite different from novels I've read recently, but this is probably a good thing. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the characters, such as Mai and LeGrand, who were really interesting, likeable, and realistic, but it would have been nice to learn about these characters in further depth.

Babe is a typical teenaged girl whose parents' career leads her and her family to move to different parts of the country every few months or years. This story is set in Sugar Dunes, which seems like a quaint town with plenty to discover.
Zat is a dreamer from the future, and he appears to be quite different and definitely very interesting...and even more interesting to me than the rest of the story and characters in some senses. However, I found that after a certain point in the novel, we don't get to hear very much about Zat except in Babe's dreams...which is fine, but is ultimately what resulted in my 4 star rating, as I wanted to know more about Zat, the future world, how he learned to dream, and how he came to exist solely in Babe's dreams.

I liked the Berla's use of Babe's blog to communicate about what was going on in her personal life, as it was a good complement to the chapters. This novel was definitely an interesting read that got and held my interest. I would definitely consider reading more of this author's work in the future!

It’s kind of hard to review Dream Me. I really did not enjoy this book so it’s kind of hard to describe it. I guess I can just break down the description. I have to admit that I skimmed the latter half of this book, but still feel like I missed absolutely nothing.

“Zat is a dreamer from the distant future—a time when humans no longer dream and Earth is a desolate wasteland. He dreams of the beautiful Earth of the past, and a fiery-haired beauty named Babe. Against the wisdom of his peers, Zat decides to risk everything to travel back in time and live in Babe’s dreams…”

Okay so right here I am thinking ‘oh this is cool, he’s from the future earth and it’s dying and he somehow he dreams of the past. Maybe he has some sort of magical powers that lets him see things from the past. And cool he can time travel how awesome…wait…he lives in her dreams? I don’t know what that means, but maybe it won’t be weird.’
We only get to see a brief glimpse of this future earth and it’s a terrible glimpse. There isn’t a whole lot of world building, there’s an attempt to describe the world that he lives in, but it isn’t very rich and skims on the surface of what it’s actually like. I think that fleshing out Zat’s world, showing him interacting more with people that from his own time, letting us learn who Zat really is could have done a wonder for this book.

“Babe is the perpetual new girl in town. Her father's job frequently moves the family around the country, and Babe just longs for a place to call home. As she settles into the sleepy town of Sugar Dunes, Florida, Babe begins to have strange dreams of a green-eyed boy named Zat.”

Okay let’s look at this; this introduction here tells me that there are going to be alternating POV’s in the book. Okay cool, I’ve had really great success recently with these kinds of books recently. We meet this girl named Babe and learn about her background and based on her father’s career I thought this took place in the near future, but then nothing in this book really follows up on that. The highlight of the book is honestly the description of Sugar Dunes, Florida. It seems to be the only thing that is described in depth in this book.
The two different narrations don’t really work in this book, they are uneven and don’t shine for either character. We spend most of the time with Babe, but everything is so superficial and I never ever get a sense of who Babe really is. She comes off as really juvenile and immature and her conversations just don’t feel natural. We don’t get a sense of her beyond the surface. Fleshing out both of these characters would have brought the book to life.

“Night after night, Babe shows Zat her world. But the dreams come at the cost of nearly crippling migraines every morning. Babe’s life outside of her dreams pales in comparison to her growing love for Zat and their time spent together.
But the more time Babe and Zat spend together in her dreams, the more Babe’s pain increases, and Zat begins to question the reality of his existence. How can he live a life with Babe, when all they have is her dreams?
Can a dream become a reality?”

This is where the premise of this book becomes way too strange for me. Zat is a time traveler who really just takes over people’s mind hence showing up in Babe’s dreams. He invades her mind without her knowing or her approval and then she ends of falling in love with him. This is not okay with me. It rubs me the wrong way and it creeps me out. It’s no different than her being held against her will and then falling in love with the man who does it. He should not have just entered her mind without her knowing and honestly even if she gave permission, the fact that she doesn’t even understand the future’s method of time traveling would have made it super unrealistic and weird. Even the ending of the book when he shows up for real is strange and it doesn’t work for me.

The best stories, no matter what their genre, are grounded in reality. They show real struggles, real emotions, and real decisions. This book doesn’t do that. If it tried, then it failed. There are other things that I disliked about this book, but I will just still with the ones already listed. This is not a book that I would recommend.

Great book, and I wish I could day dream like this! I wanted to review on amazon but it was not available for reviewing yet on amazon.us

Dream Me is a book that is a love story of sorts told through a science fiction point of view.

I'll start right off by saying that most of this book was confusing to me. I don't know what message was trying to be told and it irked me that I couldn't tell because I felt like I was missing out on some joke.

Here's what I did get. Zat was from a future Earth where the world and humans had evolved so much that even their appearance was changed. He was often referred to as a dreamer because even though people stopped dreaming ages ago, he was fascinated and obsessed with it, so much so that he was willing to live in and through someone else's dreams.

As much as Babe spoke throughout the book, I didn't much get the feel of her as a person. She was kind of the main character but I understood her through Zat's eyes. The way he spoke about her and expressed his feelings about and towards her helped me know her better.

Even though this book threw me for a loop, I can't deny that the author's writing is amazing. Maybe there wasn't much world building and certain points did seem either slightly forced or rushed but I wouldn't write her off as yet.