Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes

Publisher: NAL Trade
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Pages: 336
Source: purchased
Buy It: Amazon | The Book Depository | Barnes & Noble
She fell for him in a nighttime world. But the time for dreaming is past—and the here-and-now can be just as fragile their love…
When Theia Alderson first encountered a mysterious, handsome boy in her dreams, she never imagined how finding Haden Black—and falling in love—could change her life. To save Haden, Theia sacrificed everything. And the dangerous bargain she made could have lasting repercussions.
Now Theia has returned to Serendipity Falls, and she finds herself struggling with the same deadly hungers that have tortured Haden. When students at their high school fall prey to a mysterious illness, Theia can’t help but wonder if Haden’s control is slipping—and how much longer she’ll have a grip on her own.
And still the nightmare realm of Under won’t let them go. Someone from Haden’s past is determined to destroy Theia from the inside out, starting with those closest to her, forcing Theia to choose between family and friends and a love that may have been doomed from the start…--Goodreads
Falling Under left its readers wanting more.  Dreaming Awake starts off where we left off, wondering what new powers Theia possesses.  After being gone so long, her father is treating her extremely oddly and nothing seems quite right.  Theia is unaware of most of her new-found powers and Haden is patiently waiting for her to open up to him.  By the time Theia realizes what she can do, she knows that it may be over for Haden and her.  When Haden’s mother starts terrorizing people Theia cares about, Theia must swallow her fear and follow her down Under, a place where she seems to be Dreaming Awake.

I loved Falling Under so I went into this book, knowing that I would probably love this one too.  And I was right.  However, it is always difficult to tell with sequels because it is a rarity that the sequel is going to get any better than the first.  They can be equal or they could decrease in quality, I hardly see a sequel that surpasses its previous work.  However, Dreaming Awake got extremely close to proving my sequel-theory wrong.  It was as great as its first book.

I bought this book sometime last spring and am just getting to it now.  I don’t know why I waited so long except that it was during finals and BEA was approaching.  Aside from my excuses, I should have devoured it then. 

Gwen Hayes is fantastic.  I interviewed her last year and, because this book was so great, I am thinking of doing the same this year.  You can catch the interview HERE

Despite everything in this novel being beautifully written and gorgeous, some people have had problems with the book.  Since I don’t have any negative points, I want to bring a point from my previous review back.  For Falling Under (read my review HERE), I had made a point that it seemed very Twilight-esque.  Dreaming Awake brought that feeling back, especially when Gwen Hayes references it in the text.  If you are not a Twilight fan, then you may not like this book.  Though the only similarities I can find of Twilight in Dreaming Awake is the fact that they do mention Renesmee.

This novel is drawn so carefully.  As much as I loved the originality of Under in Falling Under, I found myself loving the structure of dreaming awake even more.  Dreaming awake reminded me a lot like Inception, for no reason except that I found Hayes’ structure of this plan to be fantastically drawn that I don’t even know if I’m dreaming awake right now. 

I was so glad to find that Theia had grown up so much.  In Falling Under, she starts out as this dependent character, always doing what her father wants.  She has, since then, grown so well into this character that I love. 

Dreaming Awake was a book that takes your insides, twists them up, and refuses to unwind them until it’s over (in other words, this book was amazing!).  If you haven’t read Falling Under yet, what are you waiting for?  Get to that one and then read this one because who wouldn’t want to read a book about demons, spells, and hell-dimensions?

“Danger doesn’t always greet with bared fangs.”
-Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes, p. 1

Rated PG-13 for sexual references, violence, nightmarish images, and heart-pounding scenes.
Cover: 5
Characters: 5
Writing Style: 5
Plot: 5
Ending: 5

Overall: 

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3 comments

  1. I had not heard of this series until just now. I will definitely be adding the first to my TBR list. :)

    Brandy @ A Little of the Book Life

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  2. Hey cuz! I figured I'd have more of a chance of reaching you on here than on facebook or email...anyways I got my new phone so send me a text with your name (just to make sure its you) so I have your number! Or you could send your # in an email or message on facebook too :)My phones still the same number :)

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