This is what it says on the tin: a fun, irreverent mix of Inception with The Magicians.

I most particularly enjoyed the fact that the biggest screw-up some of the characters make in the story is due to heteronormativity. This is the kind of excellent content I like to see in my unashamedly queer books.

Would have a liked a little more fleshing out of Poesy, rather than just this amorphous, unknown figure of incredible power - where did Poesy come from? Where did her power come from? Sisters are mentioned towards the end; do they exist, and if so, how do we know they do? Where did she find Ms Daisy?

Still, it was an enjoyable read that delivered a fun book and solid plot.

This book was interesting in the context of it. It is also refreshing to see a book where the main character is gay and it describes a romance. This is very important to have a book that shows a hero that is gay. I think it will definitely help young people to see this.
Kane is a gay teenager who feels lost in the world and he wakes up in the hospital with no memory of his recent actions, which have gotten him in trouble with the police. Posey poses as a dr who is there to help Kane as long as he can get the information that Poesy needs. Kane soon finds evidence of his life and friends and while eavesdropping on a conversation between his friends where they are conspiring against him.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if your dreams or daydreams became real? What if this happened without warning and the people around you were suddenly part of this new world? While running away from his friend Ursula, Kane runs through a door that leads him to one of these dreams, known as reveries. Kane and his friends Ursula, Adeline and Elliot have been chosen to keep peace in these reveries and they have been gifted with their own unique powers drawn from their biggest fears. They are lucid in these dream worlds while the rest of the characters only know of the setting they are in. Kane also discovers a mysterious boy, Dean who has been following him but doesn't want the others to know. Dean is not what he seems but this doesn't push Kane away. Kane must remember how to use his powers to the full extent before anyone gets hurt or trapped in their dream world forever.

First and foremost I would like to thank NetGalley, Ryan La Sala, and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC.

Reverie is a fast paced, magical explosion. I was intrigued by the mystery of what happened to Kane from the moment we met him. I loved the fact that this book represents LGBT+ in so many fantastic ways! I read this book in 2 days! Kane is such a complex character who truly grows through the book.

This YA urban fantasy walks the line between fantasy and reality as we watch Kane and his crew unfold these mindbending Reveries, which are imagined worlds turned real. These can have dangerous results as they navigate through each one.

I really enjoyed this book!! I love the self exploration, the courage, the doubt. This was just what I needed after reading a heavy political fantasy! Watching people’s dreams become nightmares, and Vice versa with a super gay magical drag queen really made for such a fun read!

I recommend this book to anyone who loves magical realism/urban fantasy/YA mysteries!

4/5 stars!

This was great - exceptionally queer, so many rainbows, much love for all things gay. I would 100% read another book in this world and can I please have a fairy drag mother immediately

The book starts after Kane Montgomery after an accident. He can't remember what happens or how he got the weird scars on his head. Kane tries to piece together clues including figuring out who the three other people are that he's with in a photo (it is a picture looking down at their shoes, so not as easy as you might think).

As he's piecing together these clues he steps into a reverie which he later discovers is how he knows the others. The whole concept of a reverie is interesting. To describe it quickly you might say that it is a world based off of someone's dream. Kane and his friends are the only ones lucid in the reveries and they have to figure out how to unravel them.

Kane and his friends need to find out what is causing these reveries and how to stop them from happening anymore.

This was a really intriguing concept and I look forward to future novels from Ryan La Sala.
#NetGalley #Reverie

*eARC provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.
An #OwnVoices debut about the worlds we hide within ourselves and what happens when they become reality.

What I Loved:
-The romance is adorable. It’s really nice to see a gay character get an adorable romance arc.
-The entire concept of a reverie was amazing and well written.
-I don’t want to spoil anything, but the way Ryan writes supernatural powers to keep any one person from abusing them is nothing short of genius.

Who Should Read It:
-Readers who like magic and supernatural elements.
-If the idea of dreams coming to life and needing to be battled appeals to you.

My Rating: 4 stars. The magic was well written and the plot held my interest. I also love Kane.

For Full Review, including what I didn't like: https://youtu.be/j58WXajKyRA

Fantastical and queer, I really wanted to love this book. However, the worldbuilding felt underexplained to the point of constantly being a deus ex machina, and the characters -- although full of potential! -- never really felt developed into people. The scenes in the reveries themselves were where this book really came alive: the characters were suddenly working with the same information as the reader, and the dream element gave the story leeway to handwave explanations. However, the scenes in the contemporary world felt weaker, and overall the story read like someone explaining a book secondhand: by the end, I knew the facts of the book, but none of the emotions.

(A note: some of the language used when the drag queen villain was introduced felt uncomfortably close to language used in misgendering genderqueer and non-binary people, but as a cis person, it's not my place to decide one way or the other.)

Exactly how does one describe Reverie? Like, HOW!
Living in a shining, glittery liminality, this #OwnVoices gleefully queer book has everything from the way friendships and first love leave us vulnerable, to the power of dreams to reflect, refract, and change us.
I loved Kane and his Cadre. Each character is challenged by their power, and their ideas of self, which is beautiful.

However, I had one little niggle. The main antagonist is an evil drag queen sorceress. The author has a lovely explanation as to why he loved creating a gender-bending, larger than life, beautiful, genre-breaking villain. With so few representations of Drag on the screen or the page, I would have been interested to see something a little more positive. Or perhaps a character who is fluid rather than a performer. That's just my little whinge, though.

A+ for world building
A+ for queer representation
A+ for characters that I would probably adopt as my new foster babies.

(Also, Ryan, if you need a new mother? I'm all yours)

4.5 glitter balls out of 5

Disclaimer: eARC was provide via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Reverie has been on my radar for a while now, and when I finally got to read it, it exceeded every single one of my expectations. I picked it up to reread almost as soon as I finished this.

It follows a teenage boy, Kane, trying to figure out the gaps in his memory and how they came to be, alongside having to deal with manifestations of people's daydreams - reveries.

Now it may seem obvious what part these reveries play in the plot, considering the title of the book and all, but they were so well developed, but in a way that ignites the reader's curiosity and basically makes Reverie unputdownable. Without going into too much detail so as to avoid spoilers, each reverie is written in such a way that they have their own unique tones, and come to life as stories within the main plot, adding an extra dimension to the already dynamic plot. Major kudos to Ryan La Sala for coming up with stories within this one; I would have read a full novel for each one.

The writing style itself was breathtaking. There were several part where I had to put my kindle down because the writing was so visceral, and as great as the book was, I really didn't want to be sucked in literally. It also changed in subtle ways for each reverie that made it so I could picture exactly what they would be like if I were sitting in a movie theatre watching them on the big screen. I'm honestly still not over how beautiful this book is.

The writing is not alone in what makes Reverie so magical and wonderful. The magic system in this, with the etherea that creates the reveries and the powers that characters possess, is a large part of how compelling Reverie is as a story. It worked similarly to science, in a way that reminded me of A Wrinkle in Time; even though it was at times complex (which goes to show the thought that Ryan La Sala put into it) everything made sense. Also, where can I apply to do Poesy's degrees?

The characters themselves are all fantastic. Poesy especially was really well written, multidimensional with compelling motives that felt completely natural, even though unfortunately we live in a world where (as far as I know) there are no reveries. Kane, the main character, was extraordinarily relatable as we followed his journey through the book, and even though part of the plot revolves around his loss of memories there is a very strong sense of who he is as a person, but he also has good character development. Also, he's gay, and we really could use more fantasy that has gay main characters but doesn't centre around their struggles, at least with regards to sexuality. I could go on an in-depth rant on how great some of the characters who show up later in the book are, but we'd be here for days and I'd like to avoid spoilers. What I will say, though, is that Sophia is the best sibling ever, and Kane is lucky she's on his side.

The plot itself is just twisty enough to keep the reader at the edge of their seats, but not so twisty that it launches them into space. The different elements of the book come together to enhance the plot, not detract from it, and lend themselves well to creating a perfect pace, balancing well with the twists and the suspense.

TL;DR: Everyone should read this as soon as it comes out. It is such a fantastic book that whenever someone asks me how much I liked it, I loose all knowledge of the English language. Whether you're a plot person, a fan of great antagonists, or a lover of magic, you will not feel deprived.

At first I found Reverie to be a little more middle grade than I expected but it did end up being a tad bit mature later on but not so much so I would feel uncomfortable letting my middle grade reader read it. In fact I might insist.



Reverie is extremely LGBT friendly. Though I am not personally a part of this community I fully support it and think it’s great to have diverse work out there. The main character happens to be gay, other characters are implied gay and there is an esquisite drag queen. Is that an integral part of of the story? You bet in the vein of self acceptance. Can the same story be told with straight characters? Sure, we all have insecurities. But it’s perfect the way it is.



The underlying picture with Reverie seems to be acceptance of one’s self. Being okay with who you are as well as with the way others are. There is a little bit of mental health talk as well but not so much that it darkens the feel of the story. Over all that it is a really good Urban fantasy story. I felt the story was a little different than most about magic. I thuroghly enjoyed reading this book and am sorry my reading slump made me take so long to get through it.



Now to the synopsis:

Kane Montgomery is recovering from an accident. The police seem to think it was no accident that Kane drove his dad’s car into the historical Mill on purpose. The problem is he remembers nothing.


As he tries to figure out what happened and why it quickly becomes apparent that there is something more going on around Amity. Stranger and stranger things begin happening and people who he think are friends seem to be something else as well.



And then it happens, he gets sucked into a Reverie. More astonishing is that he has the magical ability to destroy it.

When someone he thought was helping him turns out was truly just using him a Reverie ends up deadly. Kane tries to withdraw again to keep those he loves safe but in the end Kane and his friends end up in his sister’s Imaginings and it cultivates an epic showdown that could end them all.



I love the characters and the world building in this book. It is very imaginative. Ryan La Sala is an artist with words.



So my bookling friends, I would recommend Reverie by Ryan La Sala for a fun, magical Urban fantasy read.

I give Reverie a fabulous 4 out of 5 stars.



Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for a fair and honest review.

Reverie is due to release January 2020.


Aside
Tagged book review, dreams, magic, Reverie, Ryan La Sala, Urban fantasy, YA

Set in the present, this novel follows a high school student finds that he's missing large pieces of his memory. Trying to figure out exactly what happened to him, he discovers that he and others at his school can control rogue "reveries," or fantastical situations and dreams that slip into the real world. Pitted against a world-hopping con artist and magician, the kids have to figure out how to end the reveries and save people from disappearing into them forever. The idea isn't bad, but the writing isn't clear and there are all sorts of unnecessary plot elements and distracting asides and such. It needs a developmental edit and a revision.

I really enjoyed this book. Many of the main characters were LGBQT+. I mean how often is the main antagonist an epic drag queen. The world building was fantastic. I could picture the reveries beautifully. I hope this author continues writing in this world.

I received an ARC from Netflix for an honest review.

I was intrigued was soon as I saw the cover and read the summery of this book.

A young boy, Kane, try to fit puzzles pieces of his recently lost memories after an accident. He his dragged with people that claim to be his friends into dreams (reverie) thats started colliding with realitie. Really loved all the caracters. One of my faves one was Dr. Poesy, a soceress drag-queen.

Thanks to netgalley for a ecopy arc of this book.

This is my most anticipated release of 2020, and it did not disappoint. Kane's struggles of relearning his life, both the normal and the fantastical, were beautifully and realistically done. Our journey into the reveries (dreamscapes, fantasies of ordinary people) were fun and flipped clichés on their heads, and our villain was a force to be reckoned with. If you're a fan of Rick Riordan's work, I highly recommend REVERIE. Ryan La Sala is going to be a big name in the YA community for years to come.

The Quick Cut: A teen boy fights to get his memories back after a betrayal causes him to lose them. Chaos breaks loose when it comes out that dream-like states called Reveries are being used by an evil sorceress for power.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dreams are such an essential component to the human experience. Beyond the fact that they help us imagine the possibilities, it also allows to sleep more soundly. According to the National Sleep Foundation, it's estimated we dream two hours of sleep a night. So imagine if that process could become something...more? That is the world created in the story surrounding Kane.

Kane wakes up from an accident, unable to remember what happened or how he got there. With his memories lost, he works with a therapist to attempt to get back what he's lost. Soon enough, it becomes clear that his memory loss is connected to the Reveries: world created by the dreams or fantasies or another person. They can be dangerous, pull in other people into these worlds, and if you do not play along with the Reverie, it can become dangerous. Can Kane get his memory back and determine what is happening?

This book is described as "Inception meets The Magicians" and while I agree with that statement, this story didn't connect with me like those did. Beyond the bad guy in the story, a drag queen, the characters were fairly flat to me and did not make me want to root for them. Due to the way the book starts with Kane's memory loss and in the middle of the action, it started off slow. However, once the story started moving, then everything was going at a rapid pace and then I was on the opposite side of the spectrum: lost and confused.

The basic components here are fantastic and something phenomenal. What causes it to be a fail for some readers (like me) is the kneejerk pace change and not enough time taken to let the characters breathe. If these adjustments were made, the story would have captured my interest much more heavily.

At it's core a good start, but the details leave it dizzying.

My rating: 2 out of 5

Where do I even start? I started this book with high hopes and not only did it not disappoint, but it went beyond what I even imagined. The exact word I used in my immediate tweet reaction is "devastated" for the sole reason that I can't believe this book is stand-alone and I won't get more of these characters. I want the story of the before and all the stories that come in the after and every universe in-between. ALSO IT WAS LGBT AS HECK AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

Which isn't to say that everything about the story is perfect from the start. Both the reader and protagonist are dropped into a story that's already started and no memory of how it reached that point. Personally, this was a struggle because it felt slow as Kane tried to play by the rules because he didn't know anything else. However, once he started really questioning everything and slowly uncovering what had happened before his "accident", the story never let me go. Some of the twists were predictable and some came out of nowhere, but none of them felt out of place or rushed.

Besides Kane, you have a great collection of characters surrounding him that I want to know more about. Especially (view spoiler). And honestly DRAG QUEEN SORCERESS?! HELLO?????

I am also a huge sucker for unique systems of magic (or similar) and this book taps into a lot of what made Inception so fascinating to me. Human psychology and dreaming is such a strange topic and the idea that there is a way to almost play with that and use it to help or hurt people is so great. I have about a million highlighted quotes about dreams and dreaming and the worlds we build for ourselves in our heads on this ebook file. Definitely one that I will be buying in hardcover the second it's released so that I can fill it with post-it flags.

In the end I am stuck by one thing. It's a rare book that strikes me with the sudden urgency that I need to create something. Because dreaming about what you could do and be is great, but if those desires stay dreams forever, then you'll never actually be great.

I was recommended this novel by a friend to read during Pride month, it took me a lot longer to read than it should have but that's probably due to reading the ebook edition. This book is so different from anything else I've read recently, it's so twisty and magical and surprising! There's an overload of detail almost throughout the entire book so you really need to concentrate when you're reading it!

I was hooked from the first chapter where we are introduced to Kane our MC who's lost all of his recent memories! We follow Kane on a mysterious and tangled journey as he tries to uncover his memories and the reason they're lost to him.

The romance was mostly on the side, it didn't feel like a huge element of the story which was quite refreshing. I felt like there was more emphasis on the awesome group of magic wielding friends, I do love a good friendship group.

At times I will admit I got confused.. there's just a lot going on sometimes and the story twists and turns. The author has an incredible imagination. I would love to get my hands on a finished copy of this book for a reread. This book is due to be published in January 2020.

Kane is recovering from an accident, but he has to figure out exactly what happened during this accident. After a mental health therapist, assigned by the state, shows up knowing details about Kane's accident, Kane realizes that this accident is more than just an accident. It's a connection to a much bigger world within our world.

Honestly, there was a loooot going on in this book-- and not in a good way. I had trouble connecting with any of the characters (even the main character, Kane, was just kinda there), and I felt like the themes were really skimmed over. I also think that a world this complicated needs less action and more world building. Something I did like? Poesy. I have to agree with all other reviewers that Poesy is a fun, interesting character.

Kane has just been involved in a terrible accident. He can't remember anything, and as he tries to return to school and normal life, it becomes more and more obvious that he can't remember A LOT of things and something very strange is going on. He's followed by mysterious shadows late at night. A beautiful boy with haunting seafoam eyes stares at him. He discovers photos of a distant acquaintance, and those photos make it look like she and Kane are the best of friends. That's our brief introduction before we're thrust into an Inception-like environment where people have power over reality and Kane finds himself at the center.

I really enjoyed this YA fantasy. The pace is quick, a narrator missing his memories is a neat concept, and the author uses some great imagery to build the world(s). There's also very welcome diversity with several gay characters being badasses. In his acknowledgements, the author describes the flamboyant villain (yes, a drag queen sorceress!) as representing power, which is pretty cool. Many of the characters are really well fleshed out-- I felt Ursula's awkwardness, Elliot's self-loathing, and Sophia's love (and anger) for her brother.

I wish we had gotten more time with Kane and his love interest-- I think this would have fleshed out their connection more and really elevated the stakes. Like a few readers, I also agree that the book can be quite confusing in parts because it's so visual and because so much is going on. This would make an absolutely fantastic screenplay in the right hands.

Reverie is an excellent book to fill the younger YA gap that exists. It’s highly imaginative with vivid writing and a captivating storyline. Young readers will be sucked into this fantasy from the first page due to La Sala’s ability to give the reader just enough information but also keep them guessing. I highly recommend this book for all students who enjoy fantasy, vivid worlds, and unique characters.