Oh my goodness, this was SO GOOD. It pulled me in immediately, and immersed me in the story so well. The setting, the characters, the plot, all of it was so well designed and woven together to create an experience. Highly enjoyed.

I was not entirely sure what I was getting into when I picked this book up, but the cover and description were enticing! It was not what I expected.. I dnf'd at 65%

What I Liked:
-I really enjoyed the dual POVs. It was nice to see the comparisons of what life was inside the castle vs outside the castle during the hight of the plague and how the survivors are coping with their new way of living.
- I found the mystery of what was happening with the survivors interesting. There was a poem/rhyme that was very “ring around the Rosie”-esque.
- I thought the historical representation of the Jewish people was well done. I think Mara did a wonderful job of weaving in the historical context that Jewish people were blamed for the spreading of disease during the medieval plagues.
-Since this is a retelling of Poe’s Masque of the Red Death, it was nice to see some nods to the original story: the colored rooms during the masquerade and the isolated castle full of nobles.

What I wanted more from:
-I wanted more from the romance. It was definitely not the main focus of this book and after reading some of Mara’s other works I was hoping it would play more of a role in this one.
- I wanted more from Seraphina being Jewish. For me, there was a lot of “telling and not showing” the she is Jewish. Perhaps we could have seen her trying to practice her faith through prayers for her family or through other rituals while binging trapped in the castle.

Who I would recommend A Multitude of Dreams to:
-fantasy readers that don’t like a lot of romance
-fans of gothic fantasy and retellings
-horror readers that want to branch out into fantasy


Thanks you so much to Mara Rutherford and her team at Inkyard Press for providing me with a ARC to review.

A new favorite from Mara Rutherford!

I LOVED every minute of this delightfully gothic tale, a retelling of The Masque of the Red Death. It has a castle on lockdown, a girl masquerading as a princess, and a hot gravedigger—oh, and actually terrifying vampires. It’s a story of survival and hope, and nothing is as it seems.

Highly recommend—I’ve loved every book Mara has written, but this one just might be my favorite!

Very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my review. My opinions are my own.

Mara Rutherford has created a lusciously sinister and gothic retelling of The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. This is a dark story filled with a few of my favourite things castles, vampires and romance. How could my dark little heart possibly ask for more? I couldn't help but stay up late to finish it! This one is definitely not one to miss!

What a bloody good book! I’ve loved all of Mara’s books; her writing is just so easy to read and as usual, I devoured this in a day. This is a dark and gothic take on Masque of the Red Death with some bloody twists and surprises. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say I definitely enjoyed the direction this story took. It’s atmospheric, and the tension and action in the end are so high!
The romance isn’t given as much screen time as her other books, but everyone is kind of fighting for survival. This is probably my favorite thing Mara has written since Crown of Coral and Pearl (which I really loved). Definitely recommend for a quick, engaging, and darker YA read.
Also, this is definitely a book where you should read the author's note as it adds a lot of thoughtful context to some of the narrative choices.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Taken from Poe's, The Masque of the Red Death, a plague has struck and the king has sequestered himself and all of his household within the walls of his keep. Unfortunately the plague has been going on for four years, no one is allowed outside, and the food is running out.

What I liked
- vampires, but not the boyfriend kind. The kind that are actually dangerous, and aren't pretending otherwise.
- the Jewish representation was interesting. I think it's important not to gloss over or make little of the atrocities of history, so as not to repeat them. It added some good perspective.

What I think could have been better
- I didn't connect with any of the characters. They were mediocre to boring, and I didn't find that any of them held much conviction. They all seemed pretty shallow, cowardly, and wishy-washy.
- I wanted to see higher stakes. Especially in a gothic vampire novel. There were so many missed opportunities to write great conflict, and heart hammering suspense. Especially when in the Poe story, everyone is dead at the end. I sort of wished as a twist one of the beloved characters got turned and went on a killing spree.
- conflict resolutions seemed to be reached fairly conveniently without a whole lot of risk involved.

Side Note:
I'm not sure if this was supposed to be inspired by The Masque of the Red Death by Poe, or a retelling. As "inspired by" it was fine, but as a retelling it was mediocre at best. I really felt robbed of all the dancing and the different colored rooms.

I have loved Mara Rutherford's writing in the past, but this one didn't seem to be her strongest storytelling. I will still continue to look forward to her writing in the future.

Thank you to the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bloody plague has swept through the kingdom, killing almost all it touches and leaving others permanently changed. To escape the wrath of death, the nobility hide away in their castle, hosting parties and barring the gates to pretend like the world hasn’t changed. Enter Imogen, a girl who is forced to pretend to be the dead princess to appease the will of a mad king. Nico, a survivor of the plague, is sent by his mysterious master to infiltrate the castle and find survivors. Full of gothic imagery, bloody parties, and a court of twisting lies, A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford captures the spirit of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of Red Death” while giving it a YA spin.

I wanted to love this novel so much more than I did. I loved the idea behind this story. Mixing Jewish culture and history with a famous horror story and adding in a court setting and a mystery had lots of potential. Yet the book felt very elementary. None of the characters were fully developed and the plot was baseline: there was no complexity. While I understand that there is often a lack of complexity in YA, a simple story with a simple plot and simple character is difficult to get invested in. There was little reason to care about most of the characters and the dialogue was flat in the best of times.

Nico and Imogen were fine on their own, but there was no character development and any relationship between them felt forced. Just because two characters are the main POVs does NOT mean they need to end up together, and especially here, I’m of the opinion that they would have been better off as friends. Additionally, worldbuilding is held together with threads at best. Supposedly, the castle has been fully stocked with food that never spoils for years, meaning people must go in and out of the castle. Yet the highly contagious disease that transmits through unknown means never makes its way to the nobles. Convenient? I think so.

I hate that I didn’t love this book because Rutherford’s Crown of Coral and Pearls is one of my favorite beach reads. Her debut has the atmosphere and complex villain that A Multitude of Dreams so clearly lacks, and I wish the wonder behind that story had translated into this one. Everything that happens in this novel---from the plot to the relationships---is just too convenient. I recognize that suspension of disbelief is necessary for stories to succeed, but having an in-universe reason for certain events was needed. In short, I was promised a story filled with bloody opulence and gothic splendor and instead received a stereotypical YA novel that could have been set anywhere.

I absolutely loved this book! The main themes are that of an Edgar Allan Poe-esque story that also has Jewish representation. Even the conflict involving the Mori Roja is very different from any other book I have read. I must say that I have not read the Mask of Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, but this book makes me want to go and read it.
The imagery of this story is beautiful. I did feel bad for the main character for having to be separated from everyone else in the castle. But, it also made it to where the main character could really rely on herself, but also having the need to be able to rely on others.
5 out of 5 stars- would definitely recommend.

Undoubtedly one of the wildest rides I've ever been on book-wise. I thought I knew where it was going but I was pleasantly surprised.

This is going in my top reads of the year, and will definitely be a reread for me. I really loved Nico and his growth into a leadership role, while also struggling with guilt and putting past mistakes behind him. Seraphina, too, has a lot of guilt for what she didn't do, even though she wasn't given a choice. I really loved them coming to terms with their pasts while trying to make a future not just for themselves but for everyone in the castle. Colin, Jocelyn, and Lord Greymont were also great characters who had growth of their own, and I liked seeing all the characters working together.

3.75⭐️
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pub Date: Sep 26
POV: 3rd Limited
This book is a difficult one to review, because a major plot point isn’t mentioned at all in the synopsis, however many other reviews have mentioned it without spoiler warnings. I will not be mentioning it in this review, therefore it may sound vague.

A Multitude of Dreams is a YA High Fantasy that draws in religions and plagues from our own world, while also drawing inspiration from The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. While I enjoyed the plot, the world building had some holes and I didn’t become attached to the characters.

As mentioned above, there’s a plot aspect that I was not expecting at all, but I thought it was introduced absolutely amazingly. When it hit me, I truly gasped out loud and felt dumb for not seeing it sooner. Some other reviewers didn’t enjoy the book purely due to this, but if you go in with an open mind, it really was done well.

I adored the setting in this novel. Most of the story takes place in a castle where the occupants have been quarantined for 4 years. It’s filled with eerie empty rooms, mysterious passageways, and lonely towers making this the perfect novel to read on a stormy night.

If you picked up this book purely for the Poe reference, you might not enjoy it as much. While I do believe this book had a wonderful spooky vibe, the Poe references were pretty much over about 35% into the story.

The world building didn’t feel complete. It felt like a lot of important aspects were never acknowledged, and the ending of the story felt rushed and left me with a lot of questions.

When it comes to the characters, I did enjoy them and they felt relatable, but I didn’t ever get attached to them or their well-being. There was just something missing to make me truly care.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun spooky fantasy story, I think you’ll enjoy this. However, if you’re a stickler about sound world building, you may want to look elsewhere.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Mara Rutherford for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This author is TALENTED. As the story progresses a sense of dread and unease grips the characters as well as the reader - despite it not being in first tense. Descriptions of actions, emotions and characters were vivid, I could imagine what was happening throughout. 🤩
I look forward to any Mara Rutherford books in the future! ✨

This book is a retelling of an old Poe tale, and it certainly shows. I loved the slowly creeping horror that comprised the first half of the book. It had the perfect eerie feeling of "something isn't right here" as I watched the characters slip closer and closer to an abyss none of them could see. The second half of the book was faster and more direct, which created a sense of urgency that I think worked well.. Relationships and character development felt a little rushed in the second half, but I did enjoy the ending, and felt that the story had a good resolution that wasn't too happy or too sad.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. Great for readers who enjoy gothic fantasy like Belladonna or Lakesedge.

A Multitude of Dreams is a book that will captivate you from the very first chapter and keep you hooked the whole time you are reading.

In the aftermath of a deadly plague, the story follows Princess Imogen and Nico Mott, two people who could not be more different, and yet they come together at the most crucial time. With deadly secrets and monsters looming over the castle, the princess and Nico will need to trust each other and survive.

For me, this story was about survival and what it means to forgive yourself and your past, and figure out your future.

“Survivor's guilt was the price you paid for living, and sometimes the cost was too high.”

I loved not only Imogen and Nico, but also all the side characters, but especially Colin and Jaqueline, and Henry. I really enjoyed all the plot twists and how the story came together, it kept me guessing the whole time.

The pace of the book was what I expected for a standalone fantasy, but I wished we could learn even more about the mori roja and what the world will look like going forward. I also wish there could have been some more moments between Nico and Imogen.

“The thought of losing you is like a knife in my heart, but if you ever feel like my presence would make you unhappy, I’ll go. I’ll let you face your battles alone, if that’s what you need.”

I highly recommend this book if you like darker fantasy, with romance, friendship, and a happy ending.

Thank you, Inkyard Press and NetGalley, for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anything this author writes is pure magic. I enjoyed the character and the vibe of the whole story. I love the darkness of it. I would highly recommend anything this author writes.
10/10 perfectly written.

Full review to come. I adored this story and the Edgar Allan Poe vibes. It started off slow but definitely picked up. I loved Mara's take on vampires even if I was a bit lost in the beginning with how she broke down the lore. It is definitely a very unique premise. And while I am not Jewish, I truly did appreciate the representation, especially in a fantasy story.

A Multitude of dreams is a dual pov story between Seraphina and Nico, both impacted by the deadly plague that wiped off most of their town, and face the remnants of what the plague has left behind.

I can't speak on the Jewish rep as I'm not Jewish. I appreciated having it in the book though, and the perspective of being Jewish especially in relation to a plague as is the premise of this book. Especially knowing now that Jewish people were often blamed for plagues, that was a pretty new insight for me.

The vampire twist was a bit left field especially since the book's description doesn't mention anything supernatural, and the science seemed like there were some liberties taken in terms of how to make immaculates (people who aren't immune but avoided the plague) gain immunity. But honestly I didn't mind the vamps and was just along for the ride. I think the author even mentions in her acknowledgements that she took some liberties with the science, and although I would have liked some more accuracy, her making it known that it's not the most accurate is not the worst thing in the world for me.

Seraphina was a character I empathized with a lot and Nico was admirable in his desire to help people. Colin and Jocelyn were also such lovely friends and Henry was a surprise addition to the group of characters that I love in the book. Despite the grim and dark setting, it's hard to not enjoy the story especially with such awesome characters and loyal friendships.

This was a genuinely fantastic and horrifying read. I fully enjoyed it and was completely engrossed in the story. A plague, a princess, and a horrifying mystery.

I actually couldn’t put it down and would highly recommend this novel.

So, I loved this this book. It was filled with suspense and mystery. A Multitude of Dreams starts out by slowly revealing secrets about the main characters and the plague, and the last 1/3 of the book is almost non stop action as answers to a lot of questions are revealed, and then the main conflict happens between the antagonists and protagonists. I do wish that the romance between the main two characters had been fleshed out a bit more. I loved the development of their friendship, but their love felt too rushed to be real, or maybe it was a realistic portrayal of the desperation the two felt towards the end at actually making it through the main conflict. I'm not sure. I really hope there is a book two. I feel like there is so much more to explore in this world. A Multitude of Dreams did a good job at portraying Jewish people in a fictional world. Another reason I am hoping for a book two is so the FMC can reclaim some of her Jewish heritage. So much was robbed from her, and I want to see her truly thrive after her ordeal in this book.