Fractured Dream

-I received a copy of this book to do an honest review-

 Have you ever wondered where fairytales go once they’re created?

It’s been eight years since Story Sparks last had a dream. Now they’re back, tormenting her as nightmares she can’t remember upon waking. The black waters of Lake Sandeen, where her Uncle Peter disappeared decades before, may hold the secret to Story’s hidden memories, or a truth she’d rather not know. On a bright summer afternoon, Story and her two best friends, Elliot and Adam, take a hike to the lake, where they dive into the cool water and never reemerge. What they find is beyond anything they’ve ever imagined could be possible, a world where dangers lurk in the form of Big Bad Wolves, living Nightmares and meddlesome witches and gods.

Now Story must remember who she really is and somehow stop two worlds from ultimate annihilation, all while trying not to be too distracted by the inexplicable pull she feels toward a certain dark-eyed traveler who seems to have secrets of his own. The fates of the worlds are counting on her.

This book was a fairytale dream.   A must read for fans of Once Upon a Time, Alice in Wonderland, and Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy series.  I can always tell when a book evokes an emotional response from me.  My reviews tend to get really long and geeky.

This post is going to be really long.

Things I loved!

I adored Story’s backstory.  The snippets we get of the Dreamer and Fiddler were fantastic.  The mythical land has its own myths!  Fantastic! 

Chapter 7 gave me chills.  Full body chills.  And I do not think I blinked once during the last two pages.  It was AWESOME.

The title, Fractured Dream, is perfect.  I won’t explain why it fits so well because SPOILERS, but trust me.  It’s perfect.

I loved Jess.  Take Traditional Little Red Riding Hood, add Once Upon a Time Red, and stir in a crackle of Selene from Underworld and you have Jess.  She was a firecracker.  I loved it.

LGBTQ.  This book had gay and lesbian characters!  *waves flag*  I love how Randall has her world treat gay characters.  No one hates or is disgusted by them, their interests are perfectly normal and valid.  I wish our world were as accepting!  In fact, it is even okay for a Thumbelina to like a human!  Cross-species love!  

*Spoiler* 

Morgana and Guinevere being in love was fantastic. As a huge Merlin/Mists of Avalon freak this made me supremely happy. Also- my favorite line came during this part: “In this story, there is no Lancelot.” I love it!

The things I didn’t like so much…

The main character, Story, did, at times, drive me a bit nuts.  She avoids doing things or realizing things that the reader has figured out chapters ago.  Her inability and refusal to do/realize things gets other people killed and hurt, and drags out the story unnecessarily.  In this way she reminded me of Evie from Paranormalcy.  It was the biggest complaint I had about that series as well.  And also…her name.  Story Sparks.  I hated it.  Fractured Dream is a fantastically imagined book, and the main character’s name is Story.  It makes me so sad.

Adam.  The other character I didn’t enjoy very much.  His constant refusal to believe anything about Story being the Dreamer drove me bonkers.  You are in a fairytale world.  Shuddup.

I did really enjoy this book although there were some things I didn’t love.  I stand by my earlier statement.  If you are a fan of Once Upon a Time, Alice in Wonderland, and Keirsten White’s Paranormalcy series you will love this book.