Yume is a book that took me a little while to get into. In the early stages, I found both story lines interesting in their own way, and I could see the themes mirrored in each; however, they felt too separated. I am glad I stuck with it, though, as all that changed once we passed the midpoint. The two threads slowly came together to form a single narrative and the book finally felt like a cohesive whole. Anipare's prose was engaging and flowed well. I see in her biography that she has experience teaching English in Japan, but I hope she has exaggerated things for her representation of Cybelle's world, as if I were in Cybelle's shoes, I don't think I would last a week being treated that way! As someone currently studying Japanese, I enjoyed the Japanese text and phrases found in the pages. Meanwhile, as a fan of folklore, I enjoyed learning more about the various yokai through Anipare's story. Based on my appreciation of this book, I would definitely pick up future works by this author. For me, this was a 4.5-star read.

I recommend this book to fans of folklore-inspired fantasy and magical realism. However, if you are someone who struggles with (and is likely to DNF) slow-start books, I would urge you to persevere, as the second half of this tale does pick up the pace and bring everything together for a more action-packed finale. It's worth the wait.

If Studio Ghibli’s classic film “Spirited Away” was rated R, you’d get Sifton Tracey Anipare’s 2021 debut “Yume.”
Set in Japan, English teacher Cybelle is torn between extending her teaching contract and going back to her home in Canada. Dealing with daily scrutiny and disconnect from her peers, Cybelle’s life and appetite start to take a turn towards the weird.

Simultaneously, gifted Zaniel navigates the world of Japanese demons (known as “yokai”) and mythology alongside his immortal “bodyguard” Akki. After Cybelle and Zaniel’s paths cross in a chance encounter, the two are thrown into the supernatural underbelly of Japan to survive and do some good ole’ self-discovery.
Right off the bat, “Yume” had a slow start. Going through Cybelle’s day-to-day motions for nearly 100 pages was draining, but nevertheless, once the narrative picks up, it’s hard to put it down. Anipare jumps between Cybelle and Zaniel’s narratives like a classic film–easily and with an enviable, cinematic finesse that seamlessly pulls the curtains back on the layered worlds. Along with the cinematic narration, the prose was just as imaginative and whimsical, even during the more violent and crass scenes.

If there was any way I would live in the world of “Yume,” I would be first in line for a one-way ticket. I am not well-read on Japanese mythology and folklore, but nevertheless, the demons and supernatural creatures were a delight to read about and dive into as someone with little knowledge of Japanese myths. Yet, the mythology caught me off-guard as there is not much explanation behind the demons who made regular appearances in the story.

Cybelle and Zaniel’s arcs don’t have much growth to them, but their dynamics and likeability make the story worthwhile. Every interaction between the two is overflowing with wit that’ll have you giggling to yourself. Zaniel’s intrusion into Cybelle’s life is one of the many keys to her figuring what she wants from life; Cybelle’s interference pushes Zaniel to make some tough–but necessary decisions for his and her own well-being. I sympathized most with Cybelle’s indecisiveness toward her life–especially since I’m going through a similar existential crisis and made her a character I will hold on to long after reading this.

Anipare’s debut is as imaginative as “Spirited Away,” and will hopefully push the door open wider for more mythological stories outside of European myths in the near future. “Yume” will leave readers wanting to become experts on Japanese mythology, watch a Studio Ghibli movie (or two), and more stories from Anipare’s otherworldly mind.

Hello, and welcome back to That Introvert Reader (unless this is your first time on my blog, in which case, welcome)! Today is an important day, because I am finally going to finish my metaphorical pile of ARC reviews.
So, yes, you can stop hearing about how I got sent free books.

The book we're talking about today is Yume by Sifton Tracey Anipare, which I rated four stars, and will be out on September 14th 2021.



Firstly, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Now, my review.

(Also, I just learned that it's pronounced yoomay and not yoom. I've been pronouncing it wrong the whole time. Wow. Uh. Embarrassing.)

Yume is the story of Cybelle, a Canadian woman working as an English teacher in Japan. As a foreigner, Cybelle constantly faces doubt and sometimes outright rudeness from people.

Meanwhile, Zaniel is a human who spends his nights in the dream world (Yume is the Japanese word for dream, by the way) serving his demon 'bodyguard', Akki.

But there is a new yokai (this is like a demon basically) on the scene, and when it gets on Akki's bad side, Cybelle is caught in the clash. She needs to know what is real... and what she truly wants.

I feel like I am not doing the best job of describing what went on here, so let me give you guys the blurb.

Cybelle teaches English in a small city in Japan. Her contract is up for renewal, her mother is begging her to come back to Canada, and she is not sure where she belongs anymore. She faces ostracism and fear daily, but she loves her job, despite its increasing difficulties. She vows to do her best — even when her sleep, appetite, and life in general start to get weird, and conforming to the rules that once helped her becomes a struggle.

Meanwhile, yokai feast and cavort around Osaka and Kyoto as the barrier between their world and the human world thins. Zaniel spends his nights walking the dream world and serving his demon “bodyguard,” Akki. But there is a new yokai on the scene, and it has gotten on Akki’s bad side. When Cybelle gets caught up in the supernatural clash, she has to figure out what is real and, more importantly, what she really wants … before her life spirals out of control altogether.

So, while it was a little confusing for my tiny brain, I enjoyed Yume, although I think it would have been just as strong as a contemporary about Cybelle. It was very nice to have that fantasy element. As a character, I quite liked Zaniel. He reminds me of Aydin from the book I'm reading right now, Hana Khan Carries On. (which I am loving)

The reason why Yume lost a star in my rating was because I found it a little confusing, and I think other readers felt the same way. There was a lot to take in, and it was a little bit like when I started the Grishaverse books. (Like, I still probably couldn't name the Grisha orders if you held a gun to my head)

But, like the Grishaverse books, once you had it, you definitely had it. And it was a nicely wrapped up standalone. You don't get standalone fantasies very often, so this was nice to see. Yume doesn't really need a sequel, in the same way that The Night Circus didn't.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, Yume will be out on September 14th 2021 and will be available in both electronic and paper format. If you read and buy it, let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading this blog post!


Review will be published later today

I do not even know where to start on this book, it was all just so so good.

The Authors style is smooth, easy to read and it means I was eating through the pages before I even knew what time it was. The story was something the likes of which I had never read before, and I loved it. I learned something of Japanese culture, as well as being totally entertained in the process. The horror aspects were nicely done, descriptive without being too over the top.

I can not wait for any future books from this author.

This was like Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets Strange the Dreamer meets dream fantasy. I really enjoyed this, and that cover is STUNNING.

If you like creepy, weird stories about demons and finding a place in the world, pick this up. What a fun ride!

The synopsis of Yume gripped me immediately. I love Japanese mythology and culture and I was hoping for all of that in Yume, but I don't know if it was everything I wanted it to be. I think my biggest issue with the book is that there is a lot of telling and not showing. I love reading books set in Japan because I want to know about the interesting cultural quirks and lifestyle, but Yume quickly glossed over all of those nuances.
Not to mention that there is a lot of Romanji that isn't explained. Knowing some rudimentary Japanese helped, but I could see reader's unfamiliar with Japanese being very confused.
Between switching POVs and telling, not showing, this was a miss for me.

The cover and summary of this story really drew me in! But ultimately I found myself getting distracted while reading, which generally happens for me when I'm not properly invested in a story. I think there's something really special here, but I just couldn't get into the execution.

Very interesting story! I don't know anything about Japanese mythology or anime, but this story did have a bit of a Spirited Away vibe. I don't know anything about Japanese culture either, so after reading this I'm not sure if this is what a typical foreigner's experience would be. There's a lot going on here, from corporate culture, relationships with coworkers and managers, parenting philosophy, night life, festivals at shrines, and what is considered acceptable social interaction. This book paints a picture of people who are, in general, tremendously and blatantly racist, anti-foreigner, and misogynist . The coworkers in particular are both aggressively discriminatory and hostile, yet also fearful and timid. Children, in general, seem to run amok with no discipline at all from their parents (though really we only saw mothers). It was perfectly acceptable for preschoolers to punch and scratch each other, their teachers, their parents. Parents took no responsibility and only superficial remorse at this behavior. No punishments of any kind toward children occurred, only encouragements and stickers. As adult employees there's a huge emphasis on obedience, but very little on creating a congenial environment or providing good or consistent leadership. One can expect to be ridiculed and manipulated by one's coworkers openly and without repercussion. Maybe this is only supposed to have been occurring in the two workplaces we see, but the matter-of-fact portrayal makes it seem it's more widespread. Given what a hostile and friendless experience Cybelle is having she is torn about returning home, but we're not really given any insight into why that might be the case. I probably missed a good amount of nuance, give that there was a TON of Japanese.. It wasn't just names of food or monsters, entire dialogs would happen entirely in Japanese with no translation or context to aid understanding. I Googled some of it, but since I'm not trying to learn Japanese that quickly became tiresome. I did really like Cybelle and Zaniel, the two main characters, and the story did follow a good pace and come to a very satisfying concusion. There was some random cruelty at the end which seemed out of place, but maybe that's typical for anime. So, very interesting story, relatable and likable characters, good character development, possibly insightful into Japanese culture, and a definitely unique portrayal of a black Canadian woman working as an English teacher in Japan with some interference from demons and monsters.

Cybelle is Canadian but has lived in Japan for the past 6.5 years teaching English lessons at a tutoring school for kids. Zaniel is a dream walker who is bound to help the demon Nightmare King, Akki in exchange for protection from other demons. A new demon, the Yokai, shows up in dreamland and shakes things up for Akki, which makes him angry. Cybelle and Zaniel's paths cross in the real world and they must work together to help the Yokai defeat Akki and free Zaniel from being duty-bound to serve him.

The beginning of this book is fairly boring and confusing. The story is told from Cybelle's POV and also the POV of Zaniel/Akki. One told in 1st person narrative and the other told in 3rd person narrative. I understand this was to showcase the difference between real world and dreamland, but I personally wish it was all written in one style. Right away you are thrown into the demon/dreamworld without a lot of explanation, and as dreams go it is a strange world. Cybelle's story is mundane and feels flat until she meets Zaniel and begins to experience the dreamland. Cybelle does experience a lot of microaggressions in Japan, which is based off the author's personal experiences.

I wasn't hooked until I was about 40% in, and this is a long book. That being said, once the story picked it up it was a constant wild ride that I didn't want to put down. It read like a fever dream - the chaotic, randomness was so well done it almost started to make sense at the end.

Heads up this book does have some gruesome scenes and is fairly violent.

Thank you Dundurn Publishers for granting me access to this boos as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Drawn in by the very colourful cover and the premise of Japanese folklore in a modern day setting I jumped into pressing “request” over at Netgalley. I thought I would like it because I find Japanese mythology and folklore extremely interesting and so different from my native Swedish folklore. But, it turns out I didn’t really enjoy the book that much.

The book has three different POV-characters, and I will write mostly about one of them – Cybelle, a Canadian black woman working as an English teacher in Japan. I had a hard time understanding WHY she did want to be a teacher at that particular workplace as she seemed to really dislike both her co-workers, her boss and the children she taught. I understand why as the management did seem to be extremely toxic – like changing her schedule constantly, moving around her classes without telling her, not letting her eat lunch.

The other POVs were centred around a group of yokai – but to be honest I mostly skimmed their parts as I didn’t find them interesting.

All in all, I did not really enjoy this book. I wish I could have.

dnf @ 37%

The premise of this book sounded so intriguing. Modern fantasy in Japan? HELL YES. However, the execution of the story fell a bit for me. This is told in dual POV which was my main issue. One perspective deals with the magical part of Japan with monsters and all that interesting detail. I was very invested. However, the other POV was simply about a teacher in Japan teaching people English. I was not a fan of this AT ALL. The writing style was easy to read but the story dragged on, especially for the POV. Like, I wouldn't have minded if we got a one or two chapters about the experiences of this teacher in Japan, however, it continued until 37% which is roughly 200 pages of this book. So, technically, the plot hasn't started yet since these two storylines are suppose to mesh and I kept anticipating when this would happen but everytime, I think something is going to happen, nothing happens. I appreciated, however, how the author talked about issues such as racism and living in Japan as a black woman. I love how it addressed that people of color can also be racists. With that being said, I think some chapters can be cut out to speed the story along. This could have been such a great book, however, the pacing just didn't do it for me, sadly. But, if you're a person who might not mind a very slow book, then you might still like this!