Reviewed by: Sis-in-law Sarah
The sisters say: Brilliant, bold, and beautiful
How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.
Okay...just take a moment and look at this cover. Now, I know that they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but we all know that everyone does it. And seriously, this beauty does not disappoint. This was one of those amazing books where you stay up until the wee hours of the morning to finish, then you wake up the next day and re-read the whole thing. I'm not kidding. I did this...twice.
I'm totally one of those people that didn't understand what was so awesome about Greek mythology when I was forced to study it in literature. To me, it was boring...too much family drama, pathetic people, and really weird names. But...I love when authors take old legends and make them into modern fiction; so, I decided to give this a try. And OMGods, I now LOVE Greek mythology. Angelini explains the Greek stories in a way that makes sense and is extremely interesting! It's opened up a whole new world for me!
Helen is an incredible heroine. She's the awkward, weird, shy girl that never can quite fit into the crowd. She's beautiful, but extremely tall...so the other kids just kind of avoid her. I loved discovering along with Helen who she really is and the destiny she was born to fulfill. Everyone wants to feel significant in some way...and it's so exciting to be with Helen when she figures out her significance. And boy does she experience some crazy things in this book!
And Lucas. OMGods!!!!!!!!!! Lucas might just be one of my most favorite heros in YA fiction. He's tall, he's gorgeous, he's a Greek legend for goodness sake! Some girls really like the kind of guy they can fix...you know, the one that's horrible to everyone but you. Me...I like the prince to come sweep me off my feet. And Lucas did that. Oh, boy, did he do that!
The love story in this book is not love at first sight. They actually hate each other for a good while. (Read it and you'll find out why!) The angst and hatred between them is so incredibly put that I felt what they were feeling. Seriously, Josie. Excellent writing. If you were in my living room right now, I'd hug you.
I could really go on and on gushing about this book. There's so much more complexity to the story! (Which, to me is such a relief from the simplicity that YA literature mostly entails!) And the best part...the setup for book two. Seriously CANNOT wait! Once I hold Dreamless in my hands, I might actually pee my pants. No joke.
You do not want to miss this book, people. Read it so you can be just as excited for the release date for Dreamless as I am! This is a bandwagon you do not want to miss out on!!!!
Look for Dreamless in May 2012!!!