Did not finish due to the writing style, it was just giving me a headache and I didn't care what happened to the characters.

The premise of the book is pretty interesting, however, because of the pacing of the book which was slow, it did end up boring me.

I just hope that it was much more faster.

I am always on the lookout for more new (to me) and wonderful paranormal series and authors. My primary book love lies heavily in the paranormal and more specifically the vampire-ish realm and I'm a huge one-click wonder for some pretty cover art (and add on a story basic in NOLA), so picking up Beautiful Nightmare was a no-brainer.

Damina is on the eve of her wedding and is being plagued by odd dreams. Considering the stressful event surrounding her, she figures the weird dreams are just a result. But when she discovers her betrothed in a very compromising situation, she flees for her late mother's home in New Orleans. She is quickly ensconced in a very strange but weirdly right art restoration peoples with a very intriguing and enigmatic benefactor.

I hate to say it, but I just did not engage with this book as much as I would have liked. Damina was very Mary Jane and there was just so much crying. Everyone. Every few pages, all the crying. I just... yeah. It's not for me. I, also, really wish I had known this was a love triangle situation. It was completely clean, but still a love triangle nonetheless, and I pretty much hate those with the fire of a thousand sons. And, well... I just felt there was so much added minutiae that the story kind of dragged for me.

The overall world was extremely interesting, I loved Son's idea on vampires and their development as well as all other classifications of beings in this world.

While I didn't particularly gel with the characters, I do feel this genre and specific story will probably appeal to many others. I'm salty and persnickety, so I'll just say mileage may vary.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

i never ended up downloading this but i picked it up recently, so i figured I'd also review it here!

This book was absolutely fabulous. Very well written, lots of unexpected twist. I loved the story, and I loved the development of the characters

I have mixed feelings about Beautiful Nightmare. On one hand, I loved the story, and I loved the development of the characters. On the other, some of the characters, and even Damina herself, irritated me on occasion.

As I said above, I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I absolutely loved the story. I thought the idea for the story was unique, which I love, and fantasy books, whether urban or not, are absolutely my jam. So in regards to the story, I can’t say anything negative.

Damina drove me a little bonkers. She was so indecisive through the whole book, and consistently took the blame for things that weren’t her fault. I said to myself on multiple occasions, “man, that girl needs some boundaries!”

This type of character isn’t always a bad thing, because we do get to see some growth and evolution of Damina’s character, which was definitely a good thing. Unfortunately, not all of that growth was in a good direction.

This whole book takes place over the course of about a week’s time, so when Damina falls for another man in New Orleans, I found it a bit unbelievable. First of all, Dalcour tells Damina during their first conversation, “I want you, and I always get what I want.” So he made me a little uncomfortable from the beginning.

Damina, as she’s discovering herself, and finding out about her family, is also surrounded by people who know who she is (no spoilers, promise!), and are constantly worrying about her and “protecting her,” even though she’s an adult.

What irritated me in these situations is that even though Damina isn’t up on all the information in regards to her heritage, she’s an adult and can choose to go wherever she wants, and stay out all night if she wants. She isn’t actually beholden to anyone, yet when these other people, who she’s known for less than a week, freak out on her for worrying them, she apologizes like she’s actually done something wrong. I can kind of understand their protective natures, as they know things about Damina and her past, that she has no clue about.

I loved the originality of the supernatural situations of the story, so that part was wonderful. I did really like the story, I just wish Damina had been written a little differently. She was relatable in some ways, and in others I just wanted to smack her upside her head.

One last thing I’ll say, I would love to get in touch with this author about proofreading. I came across several issues with grammar and punctuation, which I know would improve the story quite a bit. I found them distracting. Not enough to make me quit reading the book, or even quit enjoying the story, but enough that I would love to fix them, and make this story the best it can be.

I loved this story, and found quite a few of the characters a lot of fun. As you can see above, several of the supporting characters were amazing, and added so much to the story. Despite some of them being way overprotective, in my opinion, I could tell they really cared about Damina, despite only knowing her a few days.

I loved the originality of the supernatural situations of the story, so that part was wonderful. I did really like the story, I just wish Damina had been written a little differently. She was relatable in some ways, and in others I just wanted to smack her upside her head.

I loved this story, and found quite a few of the characters a lot of fun. As you can see above, several of the supporting characters were amazing, and added so much to the story. Despite some of them being way overprotective, in my opinion, I could tell they really cared about Damina, despite only knowing her a few days.

One last thing I’ll say, I would love to get in touch with this author about proofreading. I came across several issues with grammar and punctuation, which I know, if edited, would improve the story quite a bit. I found them distracting. Not enough to make me quit reading the book, or even quit enjoying the story, but enough that I would love to fix them, and make this story the best it can be. I think this book is worth it.

I tried to give this a chance but I did have to DNF this book. The writing was annoyingly repetitive (the guy in her dreams smells like cinnamon!) and the character is an insufferable Karen. We open the book on her wedding day and instead of being happy she's all complaints. I'd ask why shes even getting married to this guy if she's this uninterested but this is obviously a set up so the reader doesn't hate the main character when she cheats on her husband/fiancé with the dream guy (that smells like cinnamon!!). We're also introduced to her relationship with her family and its all catty bitchy women hating other women. I only want to read about women who like other women, not make their entire personality about pretending to like someone while endlessly insulting them. The icing on the cake of my DNF was the fat shaming at the end of the first chapter. She doesn't diet or exercise but she's OBVIOUSLY super attractive and skinny.

This book had so much potential for me but sadly it didnt hit the spot. I dont know why as it started strong and contained alot of elements which I love in a book but I just didnt fall in love.

That being said, I know for a fact there will be a huge fan base for this so please dont let me review put you off.

My review has been posted to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Goodreads. It will also be posted to my Instagram account

“‘I promise you, Damina, one day soon, the clouds will give way to your sunshine. And tonight you my dear, will shimmer with electricity so bright you will light up the night. I promise.’”

In Beautiful Nightmare by L.C. Son, on the day before her wedding Damina is betrayed in the most heartbreaking way. With the help of a close friend she escaped everyone, looking for a chance to regroup in New Orleans. When there she discovers some things about her ancestors that surprise her, and finds a man who has been haunting her dreams for years. As Damina learns more about the mystical world she is a part of she must decide who to trust and what her roll will be.

There was so much I should have loved about this book. I mean it has vampires, shifters, romance, drama, and angst. All things I am usually all in for. But there was a disconnect in the writing for me. Especially in the conversational writing. It felt very amateur and immature to me. I felt like it was 15-16 year old forced conversations and dynamics at times, and it really didn’t fit the story. I still say if it sounds interesting to you, give it a shot, maybe you connect with it better. But for me its 2.5 star read.

This book is a huge world-building start to the series that includes any and all paranormals you can thing of.

The main character in this massive world is Damina. She's gone through the loss of her parents at a young age, but was luckily adopted by her aunt and raised along with her cousin. Seems relatively normal until we start seeing signs that she can change the weather with her moods and she has recurring dreams about a tree and wolves. Pretty early on in the story there is an act of betrayal on her wedding night that sends her spiraling into a different world (not literally).

The rest of the book takes place in New Orleans, where Damina finds out her true history and sees behind the curtain of the mundane. There's old historical house restoration work, vampires, wolves, clubs, dancing, sexy times, and more all wrapped in to a hefty size book. There's twists and turns, but even with so many pages, we get a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. While I'm sure this book will suit some readers, I found it difficult to complete personally. There are a ton of characters we meet, so I'm sure the reader can find someone to root for along the way, even if Damina isn't your cup of tea.

I haven't had much of time in the past months so I am just half way through. But so far so good I love the characters so much. The authors writing style is really great. I love that she came up with some new idea to use in YA book (like honestly this is the first book with this theme what I found and I love it). I am really hoping I will someday also buy this book so I can have it on my shelf fr!
Well so far I can give it 4.5/5 ⭐.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish this one. The cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded interesting. But I wasn't drawn into the story at all so I don't believe I can provide any honest feedback. Thank you for the opportunity.

The story begins with Damina, the main character, seeing her fiancé, Jackson, betray her a few hours before their wedding. This prompts Damina to run away from him and try to put as much distance between them as possible. She hides in New Orleans, where her mother’s grave is located. Once there, she makes new friends and even meets a new man, Del, who she forms an instant connection with. However not all is as it seems and Damina starts to realize this and reveal new secrets as the story progresses.
For me, the book started off a bit slow, but it picked up the pace when the betrayal occurred. From then on, it kept me on edge, wondering what would happen next. The author does a good job of describing Damina’s pain and need to flee when she sees Jackson’s betrayal. Jackson’s emotions during this scene made me have some compassion for him, but his actions throughout the first half of the book made me frustrated. This irritation stemmed from his inaction. Although we later find out what really happened with Jackson, it was frustrating to see that he didn’t really do anything to explain the situation or even try to find Damina. The feelings Damina developed for Del seemed a bit rushed. She was just getting over Jackson’s betrayal and suddenly, she loves Del. It didn’t help that most of their relationship developed in the second half of the book. Even though Damina is an interesting character, she needs time to take in all the new information she learned about her family and herself before being able to discover what her feelings truly are. This is something she seems to realize toward the end of the book and the author does a good job of expressing this.
The book is a nice read, but leaves the reader wanting more. I look forward to book 2 and finding out the fate of each character.

2.5⭐

This is the first book I read by this author and definitely the last, reminder to stop reading books that attract me because of their cover, positive point the cover is beautiful and the synopsis catches you, but this book was not for me.

The book is about Damina Nicaud, a young and "independent" woman, who for various reasons ends up leaving her fiancé Jackson the day before their wedding (he deserves it), travels to New Orleans to visit her mother's grave and discover her past while overcoming her broken heart. In that place, she realizes that people are very strange and nothing is what it seems. She meets Dalcour Marchand, an attractive man with a lot of money, they both know each other for the work she ended up doing in his mansion, and little by little they grew closer until they form a relationship (?).

*****************************SPOILER***********************************
First of all, Damina leaves her fiancé Jackson because he cheated on her, and decides to leave to not to face him, she ends up in New Orleans where she meets Jerrica, who had offered her a job to improve a mansion and there she meets Dalcour the "boss", where she finds out that she is an Altrinion, a paranormal being and they are ALL vampires, werewolves, etc.
*****************************SPOILER***********************************

Having said that, the beginning is boring and very descriptive, personally, I hate unnecessary descriptions and comments, and this book has too many, literally, THE ENTIRE book was unnecessary (I will talk about that later), second something very personal that I hate to die is public marriage/dating proposals, so even if it was only a mention I hate it. Now I don’t judge the sexual life of people and less the decisions they make about it, but I don’t know when a man tells you that he wants to wait until marriage to keep you pure it disgusts me, okay, I do not believe in waiting until marriage, but that depends on each one. That means a virgin heroine, nothing new.

But that is not the important thing because I will take care of destroying Jackson later, the relationship between Damina and Dal was non-existent, that is, they are supposed to be soulmates (it was more insta-lust) but there is no chemistry! No spark, nothing, so their relationship felt forced to me but I must emphasize that I liked that Dal tried to make Damina more confident and respected her. I like Dalcour but I feel like he keeps a lot of secrets and I didn't really get to know his character.

Let's move on to Damina, oh boy, I don't hate her but she's infuriating. It stresses me that the author has created a character who according to her is strong and independent, but the only thing she knows how to do is run away, not make decisions by herself, hate every man (listen there is no one who hates man more than me but it was excessive), to think that every woman she meets is controlling, I really wish she had answered Jackson hows he spoke to or looked at all women. And the worst of all, she does drama for everything.

Let's move on to her ex-fiance (?), I hate him to die, I hope he dies we don't need him, oh and if it's a love triangle although I never thought it would be until we reached the end. He is what people call the “perfect man”, I call him a passive controller, you know a man who is so great that he respects you and makes you think that you have an opinion, but in reality little by little, he is controlling your life. How great that Damina's car was bought by him, or her phone, or he helped her fix her house, or he can locate her by her phone and bank account because he owns it, or it so happens that his connections helped her get a work just to get her away from a friend who saw the trash that Jackson is and worked with her. That's how bad he is but he is a good man who protects her and yet she is blind to all that until the end and loves him. Disgusting.
Like, he said this:
If she had a man when we first met, she wouldn’t have interfered so much in our relationship.

Secondary characters

Allyson is the only person who knows how to use her head and she helped Damina, unfortunately, she didn't appear much in the book other than when Damina thought she was annoying for worrying about her, anyway. She really deserves the best in the world and I'm glad she was the one who helped her.
She went on a tirade about him being a control freak who was a train wreck to my very existence.

Dacari, I hate her, she's an annoying character. She is too dependent on her mother, she does everything she tells her and doesn’t think for herself, the woman is 25 years old and cannot make decisions without her mother. Not to mention how she wants everything to be about her and of course, goes and creates an unnecessary drama with some of the best characters in the book, because of course men and women cannot be friends and they all want to be with the hero. She had her good moments when she helped and defended Damina and hated Jackson but from there on out, I didn’t really like her.

Jerrica, is the one who sent the invitation to Damina and I loved her, she was just what she needed to distract herself and a great friend listening to her, what happened in the end with her character was unnecessary but still, she is one of my favorites from the book

Delia, Damina's aunt, and Dacari's mother is trash, period. Jackson's friends are trash too, they grossed me out.

On the other hand, the people Damina worked with were each different and I liked them too much. Brae is the best version of Dacari, she is what Dacari wanted to be but couldn’t, I loved her relationship with Damina, Mark I didn't think I would like him so much but in general, he was entertaining. Brian is one of the best and he deserves better than Dacari, I liked how he helped Damina, and above all that he cared about her well-being.

There are more characters to mention but we return to the same thing that they were unnecessary, I don’t understand why the author put them, they didn’t contribute absolutely anything to the story. Speaking of the story I wonder what the plot was about, you see it had no objective, seriously everything felt unnecessary, at the end of the book we were finally having a plot. This book is definitely not for me, it has many things that can be improved. I would say that I was pleased to see how Damina's character grew but it really didn't.

Is this book for you?

Premise in a sentence:
The story of a woman who travels to a city to mend her broken heart, only to discover that her life is not what it seems.
Perfect for:
Lovers of the paranormal.
Do I recommend it?
No.

TW: toxic relationships, panic attacks.
Troupe: Romance, paranormal, vampires, love triangle.
Heroine: 5/10
Hero: 6/10
Romance: 4/10
Steamy Scenes: 0/10
Violence/dark scenes: 0/10
Plot: 6/10

A different start to a paranormal romance.
Very intriguing,with mysteries,drama,emotions,love,danger.
Good characters that make the story.
Great read.
Voluntarily reviewed.

#BeautifulNightmare #NetGalley
Beautiful Nightmare, by L. C. Son, is an interesting “coming of powers” tale, but far from perfect. The author shows a lot of promise but really needs a good editor and a proofreader.

Beautiful Nightmare is a paranormal romance, but you have to slog through half the book before the paranormal events start happening. Chapters 1 – 22 are a slice of life portrait of the protagonist, Damina Nicaud, a talented woman in her late twenties who is about to be married. There is a little foreshadowing in Chapters 1 – 7 (which cover less than 24 hours in Damina’s life). But the paranormal plots don’t really get rolling until Chapter 24 (of 46 chapters).

Half of the book is set in Washington, DC, and the remainder in New Orleans. The author’s handling of both locales felt authentic and the NOLA plots took full advantage of the setting. The plotline owed a lot to earlier paranormal romances, but at this point it would be difficult for anyone creating a paranormal novel to be completely original. Still, there were so many tropes included in the story that it became difficult to keep track of who was in which alliance or conflict.

Props to the author for having a multicultural cast of characters, and for being bold enough to leave the romance element of the story unresolved. I found the brand name-dropping made the protagonist-narrator seem shallow, but that says more about me than Son; it’s a minor thing, and unlikely to bother most readers.

"Beautfiul Nightmare" is quite the book. I do have so many different emotions that it's quite tricky for me to write a review. It is a very nice, looong, romantasy paranormal romance novel, and I loved it, however, the longer it went, the more confused I got. I was angry and Jackson, mad ad Damina and then Dal - oh my! The book brought so many feelings out - this is amazing! :) Don't get me wrong, the story, the world, it is incredible, and I love the fact that the author managed to trigger so many emotions!

Ok, so let's start at the beginning. I loved the beginning, the introduction to Damina and Jackson, their world, their love. And then it happens. I was heartbroken, I did feel Damina's pain and I understand her need to run away, to hide, to protect herself. I got it and I went for it.

But the moment she arrived in NO, it was getting more and more weird for me. On the one hand I was mad at Jackson for not doing something! Trying to explain in a better way, to really fight for her and then there is the matter with Dal. I do understand that Damina is heartbroken, but it was a bit too fast - and I am still not sure, if it was really "real feelings" or if someone influenced Damina.

Also the ending - I was like - what??? What is going on?? As much as I did not like Dacari in the beginning, I felt like "ok, of course this is happening, but what?" Why do Jackson and Dal act the way they do?

There is so much going on that I have to read book 2 in order to find out what Damina is going to do. She has to woman up and become a fighter! And not just complaining about I do not know who I love, run away, and hope that others decide for her.

Also, some other side stories are part of the story, which I do like, however, I hope it's not getting more. There are quite some people already ;)

I really am looking forwad to seeing how this all plays out in book 2! I do hope, Damina, Dacari and Jackson, Dal and the others get the ending they deserve.

The only thing for me that I did not like so much is that some parts were too long for me, and sometimes it kept repeating - there I would have liked a bit more fast-paced style.


***

Mit Beautiful Nightmare hab ich mal wieder ein Buch gelesen, was so viel Emotionen bei mir aufwirbelt, dass ich es schon wieder so gut finde. Es ist alles dabei, von Liebe, Angst, Wut aber auch Freundschaft und Familie.

Wir begleiten Damina auf ihrem Weg zu ihrer Hochzeit, doch dann kommt alles anders. Und genau den Teil des Buches liebe ich, denn ich versteh Damina, dass sie so reagiert, wie sie eben reagiert, bin verdammt wütend auf Jackson, dass er nicht mehr kämpft, versucht zu erklären, wo es doch so einfach wäre.

Und dann landen wir in NO. Und ab hier hätte ich Damina einfach nur schütteln können. Denn, plötzlich findet sie sich in mitten einer anderen Welt wieder, hat neue Freunde, vergisst auf die anderen (Allyson?) und verliebt sich neu - nach so kurzer Zeit. Wobei man ja nicht weiß, ob sie das wirklich ist oder ob hier wer nachgeholfen hat?

Ich hoffe, dass Damina in Buch 2 stärker wird, dass sie für ihre Sache einsteht, dass sie kämpft und sich endlich mal ihre Gefühle eingesteht. Besonders am Ende war ich komplett verwirrt und will unbedingt wissen, wie es weitergeht!

Es gibt auf jeden Fall eine Dreiecksbeziehung, also wer das nicht mag, sollte das Buch nicht lesen. Teilweise war es mir ein bisschen zu viel.

Auf jeden Fall bin ich auf Band 2 gespannt, und hoffe, dass mir einige Fragen beantwortet werden.

Was mir nicht so gefallen hat war, dass es teilweise ziemlich Längen im Buch gab, welche ich dann bisschen überblättert hab. Das Buch ist lang, und manchmal wiederholen sich Passagen. Mal schauen, wie das so in Band 2 wird.

Damina Nicaud is an independent, strong individual who has been blind of her own existence her entire life. That is until romance blooms upon her, fighting her inner thoughts on what and who to believe in. Who will be the one to capture her heart completely?

The book kept me on my toes, from the beginning I knew something was up! Yet by the end of story all my beliefs and thoughts become scrambled, just like Damina Nicaud. Even after finishing the book minutes ago, I still cant figure out what to think of what beholds in Damina Nicaud future.

If you love paranormal romance this is for you, however, do not expect paranormal from the start or any time soon within the book. It was a slow burn into paranormal, but the author does hints the paranormal (wolves, etc.) From the beginning. Teasing the audience of what the future of the story holds. Another thing to keep in mind is that there is plenty of romance throughout the novel, but Damina Nicaud has yet to settle, making the romance be put on halt as she doesnt seem to move forward just yet.