Review: Dreamwalker by Andrea Heltsley

Title: Dreamwalker
Author: Andrea Heltsley
Series: Persephone’s League of Immortals
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source:  Innovative Online Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B & N
I received this book free of charge from Innovative Online Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

*I’m having a slight computer problems so links to purchasing the book are not currently available from me and neither is the book cover. When I resolve the issues, I will add the book cover and the purchase links.

Blurb from the book:
Noel Kennedy lost her boyfriend, her job and her dignity all in one week.  Then something happened and she began to dream of this stranger she had never met.  She couldn’t resist the man of her dreams named Jared especially when she met him in real life.  Entranced, she slowly unraveled a world she was meant to stay out of.  Her life was not what she thought it was once a sexy Boone stepped into the mix and shook things up.  Can she escape a life of servitude or immortality for a chance at love?

εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз

I have a love and hate relationship with this novel because of my status as Persephone. I have spent a few days just trying to review this book without Persephone’s perspective and it is not working. I’m going to start in reverse by providing the book rating first.

This novel is getting 3.5 black butterflies. It was a pretty decent novel. It had well-mannered characters with interesting back stories and the plot was intriguing. It is losing butterflies for its portrayal of Persephone, the lack of world-building, and for telling, not showing what is going on (each costs half a butterfly).

Noel is the main character and she is the one who needs to protected from Persephone. What I liked about her was that she was not whiny with what was happening around her; she took it in stride. What I didn’t like about her was that she was a little too trusting. She travels with Boone to the hotel room that he shares with Jared and the reason she does not make sense.

The plot of novel is to find the traitor that is providing information about Noel’s protection team to Persephone’s League of Immortals (who are the villains of the story) and keeping Noel safe. Of course, there is also the love triangle between Noel, Jared and Boone. As my readers know, I loathe most love triangles but I’m fine with this love triangle. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. Jared and Boone bring different elements into the relationship and Noel does have a difficult time choosing between them. She does make a final decision between them and I think she chose wrong in the end.

There are lot of characters in the group and not everyone’s background is explained which is not a problem. It is the first book in a series but the problem is that there is no background for the rogue sector of Persephone’s League of Immortals. How Noel’s protection group came to exist or how they escaped from Persephone is not explained. There is also the question of what the League is actually doing. Jared and Boone claim the Leagues is using people with special talents as slave but what does that mean? Are they building castles or are they hunting other people? The League is a very vague organization and it should not be considered some of Noel’s protection team are ex-members of the League. They should know what is going on.

How Persephone is portrayed is a problem for me and that may be because I am Persephone. Do I find her to be a credible villain? No. Persephone is implied to be the villain of the series yet there is no concrete evidence to back that up. Yes, Noel’s protection group  claim Persephone is a slave master but they do not  provide factual evidence or even horror stories to prove it. It is why I have difficulty picturing Persephone as the mastermind villain. I believe Persephone could be a credible villain (I do have a dark side) so there is room for improvement. I can’t wait to see how Persephone is transform.

In the end, it was a decent read. There is a bubble of excitement around it and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. I’m dying to know how the League  got started and how Noel and her group intend to defeat Persephone.

3.5 BB- Pretty to look at, Maybe capture

εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз

46th in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, First In A Series, YA Mythology, Witches and Witchcraft, Where Are You Reading?- Missouri