ARC Review: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: May 30th, 2012

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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Last year, when I posted my review of this book's predecessor, Starcrossed, my only complaint was that I had to wait an entire year for the sequel.  I loved it (read my review HERE), and it had a serious cliffhanger ending that made me want more.  I have the exact same complaint about Dreamless...  Although it didn't have quite as painful a cliffhanger ending, it did leave me wanting the next installment badly, and crying over my Kindle that I have to wait another year.  I guess if that had to be my only complaint, once again, then Josephine Angelini is doing something right!  Now for the stuff I loved...

First off, once again, props to HarperTeen and their cover design people.  I've blogged about my opinion on this before, but I will state it again; HarperTeen knows how to do covers.  They are so far beyond any other publishing house in that area, and this one was no exception!  Gorgeous, isn't it?

Now that I've covered that, we can get to the book itself... As with Starcrossed, Josephine Angelini did such a wonderful job with the characters.  Of course, I reconnected immediately with everyone I loved from the first book- Helen, Lucas, Matt, Hector, Cassandra, Ariadne, Jason, Claire, Jerry, Kate- but I also was ready for the new ones.  The author does a fabulous job making the reader feel connected to not only the characters that are central to the story, but those that support it as well, and that is so very important in a book such as this, where everyone has a significant role, no matter how small.  She very seamlessly introduced new characters like Orion in a way that made me want to know him better, while at the same time leaving me conflicted as to who I was rooting for in the romance department...  

As for the story,  I have to say, I thought it was even better than book one.  When I reviewed Starcrossed, even though I loved it, I remember saying that some of the elements of the story rang a bit Twilight/The Mortal Instruments-esque to me (not that I liked it any less for it).  This time around, I had no such feelings.  I felt like it was entirely original and that isn't an easy thing to do when you are borrowing from the Greek myths.  Josephine Angelini wove a tale that was both action packed and heartbreakingly romantic.  At the end of Starcrossed I had no idea what direction this story would go in, but I have to say that I was pleasantly taken by surprise.  The world in Dreamless was both haunting and beautiful, and the ways that Helen managed to engage in it were brave and heroic.  If you enjoy Greek mythology based stories, this series is a must-read!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ++

Grade Level Recommendation:  This book is pretty clean.  There is violence, but that's to be expected given that it is based largely on Greek tragedies.  There are some intense romantic interludes, but no sex.  I would say this book is absolutely fine for grades 6 and up (ages 11+).