While I'm usually not one for low ratings, Mara Rutherford’s "A Multitude of Dreams" fell into the trap of a promising premise with poor execution. I was drawn in by the inspiration being Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of Red Death" and found it was woven into the story well. The exposition engages with myriad storylines of a deadly plague, a commoner disguised as royalty, a mad king, and bloodthirsty vampires, deeming worldbuilding the highlight. Unfortunately, the novel soon devolved into disarray. The language came off as childish even keeping in mind this is YA, and the relationships, both platonic and romantic, were underdeveloped. I appreciated the Jewish representation; however, it was referenced at seemingly random moments and could have tied into the story better. The ending was unsatisfying as the conflict was barely approaching a resolution where we left off. Rather than an ending open to interpretation, we were left hanging amid the climax. I began this read with high hopes but ultimately found it difficult to be invested in the story or its characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first time reading a book by this author, but I was so intrigued by a dark retelling of a Poe story. I love those gothic, dark and spooky vibes, so I was definitely excited to start this. While the story's pace was a bit slow at the start, it definitely picked up and was an enjoyable read as expected. Dual POV, too? Yay! As always, I enjoy romance in my books, but the romance in this was quite minimal (not at the forefront) so don't be expected a fantasy romance.

3/5 ⭐

This is the second book I’ve read of Mara Rutherford and it did not disappoint. A Multitude of Dreams is a gothic retelling of The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe. The plot starts out a little slow until the characters finally meet and then the pacing picks up. The story is spooky and eerie, similar to Poe, but also so intriguing and thrilling. Chemistry could have been more between Nico and Seraphina but they are still very good characters. Nico is a normal boy, but loyal with good morals and strength. Seraphina is not afraid of going for what she wants. It was nice to have some history of antisemitism with plagues added in. Great twists and turns which is typical for Rutherford and an overall really great read! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

First off, thank you to NetGalley, Mara and Inkyard for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. The premise sounded amazing and the cover is stunning, however I struggled to connect with the characters or love the plot.

As an Edgar Allen Poe fan I was all for jumping right into this book. I also loved Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara, so I didn't hesitate to snatch this one up.

The writing is great. It's easy to follow and you aren't overwhelmed by world building. The characters weren't bad, they were somewhat likeable, I just couldn't get into it. I ended up just pushing through to finish.

Will I still read more by Mara, absolutely!! Do I think others will love this story, also, yes! It just wasn't for me.

A Multitude of Dreams was an interesting read that covers a lot of ground, and while some threads worked wonderfully, others seemed only to muddy the overall story.

So what did I like?

The plague itself. The impact of the mori roja is something to which everyone can relate (thanks, COVID): the isolation, the decreasing supplies, the sudden deaths, the dramatic dichotomy between those who are affected and those who aren't, the fear of exposure, and the violence between survivors. It was realistic but nicely set in a fantasy world. What's less realistic but really worked was...

The vampires, I'd read several reviews for this book when I was approved for an ARC and somehow managed not to get spoiled on this one. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when the true horror of this book was not the plague but actual monsters. I was even more pleased with the way the vampires are created/born and the blood immunity for some individuals. The second half of this novel--where it basically becomes a vampire story--was great.

Seraphina as Princess Imogen. I liked the pretend princess drama, and I especially liked that the replacement was a secret for some people and not the others, which created an extra tension of whether or not Seraphina's true identity would be exposed and cause more chaos. The minor details such as having to dye her hair often were a nice touch.

And what did I think didn't work as well?

A long period of build-up. The story goes for quite a while before there's even a hint of vampires, and while I didn't need vampires from page one, I could've done without quite as much setting the stage.

The real world religion in a fantasy world. HEAR ME OUT! It's not that I didn't like the Jewish representation, it just felt odd to have a real religion in a not-real setting. Using Judaism as a basis and calling the religion something different while including information at the end of the novel about antisemitism and how it played a role in the writing of this book would've worked. But as it is, I couldn't completely let myself become immersed in the world of Goslind because of this real-world aspect.

Giselle. Her cruelty towards Seraphina wasn't unexpected per se, but her claiming that she was renamed as the king's heir and causing all sorts of chaos at the last minute seemed out of place. I'm not sure if Giselle's story line played a bigger role at some point, but it just added unnecessary drama to the great horror story that was unfolding.

The romance. I liked Nico, and I liked Nico and Seraphina together, but their relationship was rather insta-love. Yes, there's a bit of "we almost died, so we should declare our feelings now while we have the chance" going on, but still. They could've ended the story at the beginning of their relationship with it being clear that they would have a HEA instead of jumping miles ahead.

The open-endedness of the vampire children. Dalia and the other vampire children are just sort of stuck? With the suggestion that Seraphina, Nico, and co. will try to find a cure? I guess they're basically the Cullens, surviving on the blood of animals? I would've just liked more of a finality with their fates.

Overall, I think I would've liked A Multitude of Dreams more if it had gotten to the vampires more quickly. As it is? Three stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. These are my own thoughts: A Multitude of Dreams was not what I expected. I didn't realize it was a retelling of a story, and after going and reading the Poe short story, I now feel like I understand why Rutherford made the choices she did in building her world. At times, I did want to put the book down - there are parts that drag. The overall journey though was great. I love the mixed POV, which then meets in the middle and meshes well. I really hope we get a screen adaptation of this, because I loved the "twist".

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book somewhat blind since I’m not familiar with The Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, which this book is loosely based on. This was also my first book by Mara but now I’m very excited to read her others. I enjoyed the writing, found the pace engaging, and I devoured the book quickly. I definitely didn’t predict where the story was going at first and was pleasantly surprised by the twist. The vibe was dark, gothic and mysterious which only added to my love for it. The romance was more of a second plot than the primary focus, which I think that worked well for the story. It would’ve been nice to have it fleshed out a little more though, it was a little insta-love in my opinion. I would say that I think there’s potential for a sequel if the author wanted, but maybe it’s wishful thinking as I’d read more for sure.

Definitely would recommend for a quick, engaging, darker YA read.

A Multitude of Dreams is a gothic fantasy horror retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.

It follows the story of Seraphina, a young Jewish girl who was kidnapped at the beginning of the plague to impersonate the King's favourite daughter, Princess Imogen, who died of the plague. Living a sheltered life for four years away from the plague and the horrors unleashed by it, Seraphina wants nothing more than to escape. So when Nico Mott enters the castle under the guise of a prince, Seraphina hatches a plan to escape. But with the plague over, a castle full of people never exposed to it, monsters begin descending, and death will find it's way into the castle at long last.

Seraphina is such an interesting character written with so much depth. She is plucky and not afraid to get stuck in but she has to cover up her true personality with the demure and soft spoken facade of Princess Imogen. But even then, in conversations with Lord Greymont and eventually Nico, you see pieces her bleeding through. The Jewish representation fits very well with Seraphina's character and the circumstance of how she came to be Princess Imogen. Not only that but to filter in the antisemitic history that Jewish people have gone through.

Mara crafts such an eerie and gothic world not too different from our medieval one, it's descriptive and scary, one only fit for survival. Having read The Masque of the Red Death before reading A Multitude of Dreams, I can see how Mara draws inspiration from it and the elements of Poe's original that feed into Mara's retelling.

This is such a fast paced book that if you love vampires and gothic fiction please pick up this book!

A Multitude of Dreams was a delightful YA fantasy tale inspired by Poe's Masque of the Red Death. Imogen and Nico were both relatable and likeable characters and the story progressed at a good pace with plenty of action and interest throughout. Their romance perhaps felt a little sudden, but it's a YA fantasy, so that's probably par for the course, and the book wasn't overly long to have time for a more gradually development of their feelings. All up, though, this was a fun read that I raced through in just two sittings, as it was easy and enjoyable reading. Recommend for fans of YA fantasy in general and in particular those who love a good retelling. I am giving this book four stars.

"For they were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes." -Wisdom of Solomon 19:10


The plague has ended, few remain.

In the castle, under the strict rule of a half mad king, an imposter princess is plotting escape. Food supplies are dwindling, servants are disappearing, bitterness and rumors begin to swirl throughout the trapped court. In the midst of it all, a threat far greater than illness begins to emerge.


A loose retelling of the Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allan Poe), Rutherford weaves her Jewish heritage into this fantasy, offering no apologies for her religion or the very true suffering the Jewish community has endured since time immemorial. When a fictitious plague sweeps the lands, vicious pogroms target the main character's people; a painful echo of reality for many.

In addition, the concept of illness, fear of contagion, and stifling lockdown is likely to resonate with most readers, even if the author had no idea this would be the case as she began this story in 2017.

I give this book 4.5 glowing stars based on the characters, twists & turns, and a sometimes jagged plot line. I highly appreciate the lack of overt sex scenes, and obscenities, and applaud the convictions this book was born of. Another excellent book from Mara Rutherford, who has become a go to recommendation.

A fantastically slow burn of wit and twists.

This book kept me guessing until it smacked me with surprises. I adored it.

Princess Imogen is trapped. Locked in the castle with her slowly descending into madness father and what’s left of the court, imogen is praying for release. Three years ago the plague flooded their nation and Imogen has no idea of sheer real family and friends have survived. You see…. She’s not the real Imogen. Her name is Seraphina and she’s trying to survive the castle’s quickly dwindling storage of of food and the king’s violent side.

Nico, has survived the plague and now lives on the estate of Lord Crane. However after years of loyalty to his master and savior, Nico can no longer ignore the signs that something is very wrong with the Lord.

When Crane sends Nico on a mission to check the Castle for survivors, he and Imogen start to piece together the horror of their new reality. But when all the lies and truth surface, can they survive it in one piece?

This book was not what I expected AND IM HERE FOR IT!

My thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this breathtaking ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF at 51%. Normally I would never DNF an advanced review title. I’m grateful to get to receive books ahead of time and I try to always get through the book even if I have my gripes with it but honestly, at halfway through I was just done with this book.

I’ll admit I had not read ‘The Mask of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allen Poe before reading this and maybe that would’ve helped inform me better on what this book was supposed to be like. The main reason I struggled to get through this is it felt like the author was trying to tell two different stories. One consisted of a commentary on Jewish oppression during the Black Plague and the other is a fantasy version of the plague, filled with dark, thriller-like atmosphere and because other reviewers have already spoiled it, vampires. These two just don’t go together. One is a social piece on a historical time period and treatment of people during that period. The other is a fantasy that leans into its gothic backdrop and ill-defined setting and time period. When they’re together the story loses what makes it interesting, the chilling undertones, the subtle hints of paranormal. It all gets confused when the “real” elements keep crashing back in like Seraphina wanting to remind us of her Jewish heritage at every opportunity.

The romance up to the halfway mark was also pretty non-existent. They meet, Seraphina swoons over how he touches her wrist and then later she decides she finds Nico a bit bland. He thinks she’s spoiled inside the castle but likes her auburn hair, which of course isn’t hers. For halfway through in a stand-alone that features a romance, I was expecting a bit more. Maybe there is going forward but although I wasn’t expecting insta-love I had hoped for something more interesting.

I’m giving the book 2 stars for moments of poetic writing and the atmosphere. Sadly I think the book could’ve been good had it stuck to the more ethereal, mysterious set-up of an otherworldly plague, the people shut in the castle, a princess wanting to escape and Nico coming to help/warn them. But adding in ethnic tensions and elements that made the world confusing let the book down.

This gorgeously written gothic mystery and romance was amazing. This was absolutely lovely! There are so many teen fantasy books in the market nowadays, but this one stands out from the rest. I have been craving a book like this for years. Think early Sarah J Maas or "Poison Study.' Every phrase was poetry, and the descriptions were so vivid is was like I was there with the characters.
This book was everything I had been wanting and missing. Excellent dialogue, solid world building, an independent, likeable heroine, romance. I just savored each page and was very sorry when it ended. I will definitely be buying this book in print! TEN STARS!

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.