Review: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Posted 2 June, 2012 by Danny in Blog, Danny, Danny's Book Review / 15 Comments

Dreamless

Book II in the Starcrossed series
Genre: YA Paranromal, Greek Mythology
Published May 29th 2012 by HarperTeen
copy received from publisher
Get your own: amazon | B&N | IndieBound
format: Hardcover, eBook
synopsis from goodreads
Rating:

Can true love be forgotten?

As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.

Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

Josephine Angelini’s compelling saga becomes ever more intricate and spellbinding as an unforgettable love triangle emerges and the eternal cycle of revenge intensifies. Eagerly awaited, this sequel to the internationally bestselling STARCROSSED delivers a gritty, action-packed love story that exceeds expectation

 

You know, how it is with sequels… they scare you – especially when you loved the first book so much! But, since I loved Starcrossed so freaking much, there was no way I was going to pass on this one out of fear…

The Plot Intensifies

We are left with many open questions and a cruel, horrible cliffhanger at the end of Starcrossed. Moreover, Lucas and Helen had to face that they would never be able to be together since they are cousins. Gosh. This was a horrible moment. The reader however knows the truth with actually makes it more painful to follow the dark path both lovebirds are heading to.

The plot in Dreamless is incredible rich with mythology, Helen searching a way to beat the curse of the Furies – alone. This deeper involvement of ancient greek mythology was awesomely played. There is a lot happening  – good and bad which keeps the reader on edge the whole time.

 

Helen – Suddenly a true Heroine understanding her own strength

Helen changed a lot. She’s now becoming more and more the heroine she’s supposed to be. Strong and determined. She shoulders her responsibilities and refuses to take someone down with her. Eager to face whatever is thrown at her alone. She was a little too strong for my liking – hoping her incredible power would not overshadow the sweet girl she once was.

Orion – for everything that’s sweet and holy! He is incredible!

But, Helen does not end up facing the Tartarus alone! Help comes from somewhere she would have never expected! Orion! And .. Oh my holy goodness! He was the highlight of this book for me! He’s strong, smart fun and sexy as hell! I loved him instantly and once introduced, I couldn’t get enough from him! Although, I was as usual afraid to face this love triangle I found myself rooting for him so deeply I fell in love with this incredible character. It was hurtful to see how Helen still clung to Lucas, whom she can never have…

The  Teenage Love Drama *frowns*

Here is now, where I’m being straight out honest. I was incredibly annoyed with Helen and Lucas and the way they handled this new situation. Still deeply in love, they couldn’t stay away from each other which I found genuine, sweet and heartbreaking.

*mild spoilers ahead*

Suddenly however, Lucas changes from not being able to stay away from her to telling her how much he hates her. *frowns* Helene, instead of being smart about this – completely and utterly believes he so suddenly changes from love to hate. This was so frustrating!!! I was annoyed and angry with both Lucas and Helen! How can they both be so incredibly stupid and short sighted???  I was banging my head against the desk, couldn’t believe this direction those two were heading. There is no way someone can love you in this moment and completely hate you the next – with nothing happen in between – a change of heart just like this???

So, here’s where I want to share a conversation I had with Pushy about this very issue

*insert Skye ringing tone* 

Me: hey, I just finished Dreameless

Pushy: Oh awesome, I know how much you loved Stracrossed. How do you like it??

Me: *frowns* I’m annoyed with Helen and Lucas..

Pushy: Why?

Me: Because… *insert long raving explanation about their stupidity* 

Pushy: *chuckles* But hon, there are Teenagers!

Me: I don’t care! I’m mad at them – how can they NOT see how incredible wrong their behaviour is?

Pushy: See, when you are a Teenager everything feels more real more dramatic and more intense. Lucas and Helen are still kids, so of course they feel the way the did and of course they do stupid things you as a grown up can judge much better..

Me: hm.. but..

Pushy: No “but” remember yourself when you were 17 and the world ended because someone broke up with you or something like this.

…..

In the end, as so often Pushy is right and I shouldn’t have been so annoyed and angry, I shouldn’t have forgotten that those are kids I’m reading about!

Bewitched Rating

I was actually torn between 3.5 and 4 because of the Helen/Lucas issue – but Pushy is right and I go with 4 

Bottom Line

Dreamless was intense and full of mythology that keeps you on edge. Dreamless is the perfect follow-up and introduces a new incredible awesome character people will easily fall for! Slightly annoyed with the main characters in the end didn’t hide the fact that Dreamless was amazing!

  

Additional Private Notes

I’m heading for NYC tomorrow, and I’m super excited! So if you are going to BEA and BCC and see me, please drop by and Say Hello. I would LOVE to meet you! We try to do some Vlogging from BEA – so we try to keep you updated while we are away!

Much Love!

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15 Responses to “Review: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini”

  1. They drove me crazy too for the same reason! Pushy is right, they are teens. But for two that seem fairly mature…grr! LOL!

    Great review as always!
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    Danny 6/3/2012

    Hehe!!! Truly!!! I’m happy to hear that you felt the same way about those two love birds. They drove me nuts!!!!!!!
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  2. As much as I love YA books, I sometimes have trouble with the immaturity of the characters ( being so verrryyyy far from my teen years.) It’s very hard to see from their perspective sometimes. I try to be honest about this in my reviews when it happens. Maybe that’s why I like paranormal teens! I can excuse anything if you have “special powers!”
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    Danny 6/3/2012

    I agree! That’s why I have to read adult books once in a while!
    I truly never thought about this , but you are totally right – Teens with paranormal powers always seem to be more mature which is usually I love to read them! But just those too drove me nuts!!!
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  3. Aw, that sounds frustrating! I hate it when silly relationship things like that muddy up the plot. I know it’s “normal” for teens, but it’s still annoying to read. I’m glad to hear the mythology stuff gets even better though! And you have me very curious about Orion… 🙂
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    Danny 6/3/2012

    YES!!! That’s exactly what annoyed me soooo much and I was so stuck in my anger until I talked it through with Pushy!!!

    Orion is AMAZING!!!
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  4. Danny-
    I understand you’re frustration but Helen has always been a little unsure of Lucas’ love for her so I can see her believing it. Plus, he was convincing. But I so remember when everything was the end of the world. I have diaries full of it, just in case I forget. And I have teens, just in case that doesn’t remind me. Something on FB can be the end of the world for them. So, I didn’t have a hard time with that part. I liked Orion, but I am still wanting the Lucas and Helen thing to work out. I’ll have to email you some suspicions I have.

    Heather

    Have fun at BEA!!
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  5. I haven’t read Starcrossed yet, because I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about it. I heard that there’s insta-love in it, so I wasn’t sure if the book would appeal to me or not. It seems like you enjoyed the second book although you were a little annoyed by the romance.
    Anyways, reading your review makes me wonder whether I should read Starcrossed or not.
    I’m really glad you loved this one, Danny. 🙂
    Great review ! 😀

    Oh and btw, I’m a little late, but Have a fabulous time at BEA ! 😀

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  6. Hi Danny! *waves*
    I love your thoughtful, detailed reviews! I haven’t read Starcrossed yet, not to mention Dreamless, but since I love Greek mythology and starcrossed lovers, I am pretty sure I’ll be picking it up, soon! Glad to hear you enjoyed it enough to give it 4 stars.

    I think I know what you mean when you say that you were annoyed with Helen and Lucas – I felt exactly the same about Kate and Henry in The Goddess Test series, but Pushy makes a great point – they are teenagers. Unfortunately the same thing can’t be said about Henry – he’s freaking OLD and he still acts like a angsty EMO teenager. UGH! 😀 But still, gotta love the mythology and the drama, right?! 🙂

    Wonderful review, hon! <3
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