Book Review: Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Title: Fearsome Dreamer

Author: Laure Eve
Series:  Fearsome Dreamer, #1
Pages:  357
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Date of Publication: 3rd October 2013
Source: From publisher for review*
Synopsis from Goodreads: There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.

This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.

There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.

These people are dangerous.

And wanted. Desperately wanted.

Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.

But she doesn’t know that she is being lied to. She doesn’t know that the man teaching her about her talent is becoming obsessed by her, and considered by some to be the most dangerous man alive ...

My Thoughts:
I was so excited to start Fearsome Dreamer, as I'd heard so much great hype about it that it promised to be a good read. It's very imaginative and original and overall is a very enjoyable read, and I definitely recommend it!

It took a little while to get started and it also took me some time to really understand and get to grips with the world they lived in and all the different places and cultures, etc. I think there needed to be a little bit more world building, and while I know sometimes that can be a bit tedious and it isn't everyone's cup of tea, I do think it was necessary just to help the story begin to get going a little earlier, or to at least speed it up a little.

However, saying that, I did read it very quickly after about 100 pages, and I'd find myself having read for an hour and a half after what only seemed like twenty minutes, so that's always nice. Once I'd got to the second half though, which was when the story really picked up, with all the narratives coming together into one storyline, I raced through and read the rest in what would have been one sitting, if Strictly Come Dancing hadn't inconveniently come along and interrupted me :P

The story is told from three different perspectives, although it is written in third person which I think was done very effectively. Sometimes I think that dual narratives can be a bit disjointed and irrelevant when written in third person, but not in Fearsome Dreamer. Rue is a Talented apprentice hedgewitch living in Angle Tar, who leaps at the chance to get away and do something different - learn to use her Talent. White is extremely Talented, perhaps the most powerful Talented in the world, and Frith is a recruiter of the Talented to train them to fight against the thing that is coming to destroy the Castle. (This probably doesn't make much sense if you've not read it, but just run with it.) I liked Rue best, and yes, it's probably because she's a teenage (I think, anyway!) girl and she was the one I could understand and relate to the most. That's not to say that I didn't like White though, because I did, and Frith was cool but his narrative was a little confusing (this was where more world building was needed).

The overall plot was great and especially I loved reading about the university they're at and about the lessons with White, and it was great to learn about the Talent along with Rue. My favourite scene had to be the ball though - it was so beautiful... Aww. *sigh* The ideas behind the novel are very original and imaginative and I think that as the book went on, the pacing really evened out too and by the end it was paced brilliantly and the plot was engaging to read. It doesn't end on a massive cliffhanger either which is a bonus, although there is a preview of the next book in the series which does leave you in the middle of a scene wanting more, I'll not lie.

Overall, I definitely recommend that you read Fearsome Dreamer as soon as you can. Although the beginning does perhaps leave just a little to be desired, Laure Eve's writing is excellent and more than makes up for anything missing plot wise. If you're looking for a young adult novel with a fresh new voice and original plot line, look no further, as Fearsome Dreamer is the one for you.



*Huge thanks to Hot Key Books for providing me with a copy of Fearsome Dreamer in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.