"Hi! I'm Livia. I'm the dreamstrider - the one and only known person in the world who can travel through the dreamworld into another person's body, controlling their actions and seeing their hidden thoughts. But although I'm so very extra-special, it has never occurred to me that I'm in a position to demand pretty much whatever I want in return for my work as a spy. Nope, instead I'm going to splash my low self-esteem over every single page in this book, moaning about how I'm just not good enough and I don't really 'deserve' anything."

Admittedly, there's a reason given for Livia's issues - she's a member of the literal underclass in this country, the 'tunnelers'. She's been brought up to think of herself as not worth much. However, having to listen to her whining throughout this book was unspeakably tedious.

The matter wasn't helped by the other characters' behavior and interactions, either. Every single person in this book acts like they're in some kind of middle-school drama, letting petty emotions overtake them in the middle of serious situations, bursting into confessions for no particular reason, clamming up about other things that could really stand to be spoken, playing social games instead of communicating like adults. The characters even refer to each other as "boys" and (I think) "girls" rather than men and women, although they are all of age. "YA" doesn't mean "all the characters have to behave with absurd immaturity!"

I haven't read a lot of books with this specific failing, but I suspect there are a lot of them. I've gleaned this pretty much just from following Khanh's (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4527753-khanh-clowns-nightmares-and-bunnies) reviews here on Goodreads. If so, I think it's a really horrible trend. Even when I was a kid, I didn't want to read a book where spies acted like members of the cattiest and stupidest cliques at school - I wanted to read a book to imagine spies being brilliant, devious and bad-ass, and to get AWAY from all that stupid crap.

On top of this, there's an annoying love triangle (this is a very (too) romance-y book - and it's one of those no-sex romances, too); there's a grand finale that turns into a religious allegory with a preachy self-help message AND magical bits that come out of nowhere and make little sense in the context of what's happened earlier. There's also a major opportunity missed in that what Livia is doing in her spycraft is a serious, rape-like violation of extremely questionable ethics - even if it is targeting people who are planning on invading her country. I would've liked a bit of wrestling with that dilemma, at least. Especially because she DOES see the ethical issue with her mentor having repeatedly experimented on subjects who died as a result. Oh, and did I mention our main character moaning about just not being good enough, even AFTER she's saved the world?

OK, I've just done a lot of bitching about this book. Maybe too much. Because: I liked the world. I liked the set-up. I liked the STORY. I liked the portrayal of Barstadt, with its jeweled aristocrats, its oppressed undercaste, its overweening religiosity. I liked seeing Barstadt through the eyes of foreigners with a different culture, as well. I liked the plots and the spying. I liked the whole concept of the dream world, and I loved how Livia's talent isn't something that comes easily. I could've done without the "collect the lost magical thingies" bit of the plot, which has been done to death (these were particularly horcrux-ish), but I didn't even really mind it.

I just wished the whole treatment had been different. You know those cartoons and such where they take characters from a drama and make them into children to be cutesy? Like this: I feel like I just watched 'Star Wars' with those characters, and I just want to watch the regular 'Star Wars.' Because there's a good story in this book.

Many thanks to Roaring Brook Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. Al always, my opinions are solely my own. ( )

DREAMSTRIDER by Lindsay Smith is a fascinating young adult fantasy featuring spies, romance, and the intersection of dreams and nightmares.

Livia lives in the tunnels under Barstadt. When she shows potential as a dreamstrider, she’s offered the chance to leave her old life behind. Livia is taught to inhabit a sleeper’s body and access their consciousness for the purposes of espionage. Soon she becomes involved in a struggle that involves politics and religion in both the waking and dream worlds.

Smith uses vivid descriptions and engaging dialogue to keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.

Librarians will find Dreamstrider to have crossover appeal between readers seeking thought-provoking fantasy world building and those who enjoy espionage and thrillers.

Published by Roaring Brook on October 6, 2015. ARC from publisher. ( )

Originally seen on Emily Reads Everything

I really enjoyed this book. When it comes to fantasy, I'm a sucker for a unique and interesting culture and this book has it in spades. I absolutely loved the religion! This world's 'God' is called The Dreamer and he watches over them in their dreams. Dreams are sacred. In this book, it's possible to travel to Oneiros, the dream world, when one is asleep. However only the sacred priests are allowed to do this. The Dreamer governs Oneiros and answers prayers, while the Nightmare is the dark side of this coin. Luckily the Nightmare was killed many years ago by the Dreamer. It is no longer is able to plague the people of Barstadt.

There are three main countries in this book, all at the brink of war with each other. I loved the different and distinct identities these countries had. Barstadt believes in the Dreamer and has a caste system. The elite caste lives above ground with every amenity while the tunnelers, the lowest of the low, live below ground, essentially as slaves, without even citizenship. Farthing is much more liberal. They believe that their citizens should be free to feel the whole range of emotions. Farthing is home of pirates and scoundrels. The final kingdom is the Land of the Iron Winds. The Land of the Iron Winds is much more militant than the other two with a Commandant instead of an Emperor who rules with an iron fist.

The entire story is based around political intrigue. It's a little different than most because the spying is intertwined with the dreamstriding. Liv, and her ability, are integral to all of the plotting. This story really reminded me of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey, which is also very much about spies, court manipulation, and pretending to be something that you are not. I loved the mystery of it all. Trying to figure out what people's true motives were and who you can trust.

I was shocked when I got to the end and realized that this was a single story, not a series. That's so rare these days. Especially because this book was so good. Everything is all wrapped up but there are so may things that I would love to know more about. Farthing for instance! I would love to a companion novel set there. I'm really hoping that this isn't the end of this world after all. ( )

This book had a really interesting premise... a society based on dreams and dream interpretation. The main character, Livia, is on the bottom tier of society when the story starts-she's a tunneler, essentially a slave for the upper class. But she starts dreaming and pretty soon people notice that she has special talents and so she is brought into the upper class to serve them and the Dreamer by dream striding- with a special potion, she can fall asleep and inhabit someone else's sleeping body. It turns out that the kingdom is imperiled by Nightmares and Livia and her partner Brandt have to try to stop it. Lots of political intrigue, back stabbing, new alliances, and you could easily have a conversation about the parallels to American society or wold order based on things from the story. ( )