Dreams (Sarah Midnight Trilogy) [Paperback]

I bought this book after reading some good reviews for it, the blurb sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a go.

It took me a little while to follow what was going on as there was so much information to take in at the beginning, I soon fell into the storyline though particularly once I learned the reason for Sarah's parents being killed - this was a turning point for me.

The whole idea is very imaginative and as I was reading I felt a sense of urgency and extreme danger. The demons were scary and I couldn't imagine how Sarah would ever survive an attack from them.

Sarah had clearly had a difficult upbringing and reading about her obsessiveness with cleaning and tidying made my heart break for her, she seemed incredibly lost so when Harry came into her life it was nice to see someone caring for her. Harry was a lovely character although I knew the secrets he was keeping from Sarah would cause problems, at one point I was yelling at the book because I just wanted him to tell her!

When the mysterious Leaf was introduced I came up with all sorts of ideas as to who he was, I got the feeling that he wasn't trustworthy but some of his actions made me question those feelings so I still feel unsure about him.

Throughout the book the characters had inner thoughts and I loved this side of it because I'm a very nosy person and I always like to know what isn't being said.

As the book progressed Sarah became much stronger and I enjoyed seeing this change in her, after a fantastic cliffhanger ending I look forward to seeing if her strength continues into the next book!

This was a dark and at times scary book which thoroughly intrigued me.

I have to be honest and say I was just a tiny bit worried about reading this book. I loved Daniela's first book 'Watch Over Me'; it is one of my favourite reads from this year. However Watch Over Me was an adult book with a paranormal strain to it. I knew Dreams was going to be completely different. So I panicked a little and dare I say it, put off reading it until I began to see the excellent reviews appearing all over the blogosphere. Now I just want to slap myself for my stupidity, because as far as I'm now concerned, after reading this author's second book, I am convinced Daniela can write ANYTHING!
I really loved it. I found the writing to be beautiful, flowing gently off the page. The imagery made the story jump out like a child's 3D pop up book. The story has multiple layers to it, which you find yourself weaving through the story to find the links. I loved how it was fantasy in the American YA book sense, yet had a strong UK vibe to it. I hope that makes sense, because I really can't think of another way to describe it. It had the American wow factor, in British packaging, showing that we can do excellent YA fantasy in the UK too.
The characters instantly came alive in the story, similar to Watch Over Me, I actually felt like I knew them. They all had their own quirks and secrets, desperate to keep them hidden from the outside world. Sean was my favourite out of them all. He really stood out for me. I loved the way he was so possessive over Sarah; how all he wanted to do was protect her from anything bad. She just consumed his every waking thought. Poor, poor Sarah; this girl really needs to be able to trust at least one person, who won't jump in and ruin her life. No wonder she suffers with OCD; I think that she has come out with a mild reaction to the life she has led.
The only thing that stopped me giving this book a five star instead of a four and half rating I gave it, was the multiple first and third viewpoints. It took me a while to realise who every one was. It doesn't take much to distract me, so I did get slightly lost to begin with . Once I got the hang of it, I honestly couldn't put it down. On reflection, I did think that some of the first person passages were so exquisitely written and almost poetic in nature.
The story had excellent pacing and finished with a dramatic ending, leaving questions unanswered, ready for the next book.
I really am in awe of Daniela's talent as a writer. I can confidently say that I know I am going to get a good story when I read one of her books. I always feel comfortable with the way she writes. She is definitely a rising star I intend to follow.

Dreams is a story about Sarah Midnight; a seventeen-year-old girl who is grieving over the loss of her parents. Over the past few years Sarah has lost everyone close to her because of the family's history. The Midnights are a legacy family, which means they fight demons from a secret world - one that's very dangerous. Sarah was always left in the dark about her family's fight but that didn't stop the dreams. She has dreams that guide her to kill the evil demon's but recently her dreams have been all jumbled, and now she's struggling to make head or tails of them. But when the arrival of her long lost cousin; Harry, suddenly everything is becoming that much clearer.....but can see really trust Harry? And can they defeat the evil before it gets them?

I'd never heard of this book before I was asked to review and I was pleasantly surprised that it was being published by a UK publishers, and secondly that the book itself was based in the UK. It's an automatic win for me because I'll do anything to help out a UK book. But not only that, the blurb for the book really intrigued me, it sounded like something I'd love, so of course, I jumped at the chance to read it. Now after reading, I'm definitely a fan of this author's work. Daniela Sacerdoti has definitely got the knack for good story telling. She's created something unique, dark and heart-breaking and it all works well together.

The story itself was dangerous and thrilling. It was very creepy and the descriptions of the demons were quite gruesome and all very imaginable. With the story being told in a third person narrative, we get to see a lot of different characters take their own journeys. At first, I'll admit I was put off with the different characters/point of view changes, but once I really got into the story, I started enjoying it and I felt every change fit the story perfectly. It gave me a lot of insight into the story that I wouldn't have got, if the story was told just by Sarah. So overall, it worked really well. I did feel the story had a slow start and it takes a while for you to fully understand the legacy story and the role's the Midnight's play but still, it was an enjoyable journey but a little bit slow.

The relationships between the characters were very enjoyable. Sarah and Harry have a deep connection and although they are cousins, everything isn't as it seems, so be prepared for a shocking storyline. I loved Harry - he really cares for Sarah and although he's trying to do the right thing because of the job he was given, it's hard not to love Sarah. And then there's Leaf. I'm not sure about him. The chapters from his point of view gave me the impression that he's hiding something and he isn't who he says he is. Sarah clearly cares for him but if it's a choice between Harry and Leaf, then I'm all Team Harry!

Overall, Dreams is a good debut novel and I think Daniela Sacerdoti has set the ending up very well for the second book in the series. Although it's a killer of an ending, I bet it will be worth it!