*Originally posted in June of 2013*
I've been searching for this book for what seems like ages. A reviewer had given it high praise and I found the premise to be very intriguing. The only problem was, I couldn't find it anywhere. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I stumbled across TWO copies in Half Price Books. I think I may have squealed. So, I did go in with rather high expectations, but I was not let down. At all.
The over all idea for this novel could have turned out to be a disaster if it weren't so incredibly well written. It took me a while to get into the story, but that has been happening a lot with me lately. Once I got well into the story, however, I was absolutely hooked. Every character was so well defined and written. Bertie made for an excellent heroine. She was outlandish and flawed, but she did ultimately have good intentions at heart. The faeries were my absolute favorites. They were absolutely hilarious! I loved every second they were there, which is basically the whole book. And of course, there is a bit of a love triangle, but it's not a suffocating one, of which I was glad.
The setting itself can be character as well. The Théâtre houses the characters from every play ever written, and I just loved how those characters were exploited. Hamlet is a sulky teen, Ophelia shows up every time there is running water, I was just so amused by the author's take on iconic Shakespearean roles. Oh, and let's talk about the cover for a moment, shall we? IT'S FREAKING GORGEOUS. As soon as I saw it, I had to have it.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel to those who like fantasy, theater, faeries, or strong willed heroines, because it definitely has all four. I'm going to have to go on a hunt to find book two now. Who knows how long that will take... it'll be worth it though.
- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.
It's not often that I come across a series whose installments I can read back to back or in close proximity to one another. I know several people who have to exist in a certain story or genre for a while, but is I do that I get burnt out. The last time I did that was over a year ago when I went on a dystopia binge. However, I read Eyes Like Stars only a couple months ago and I just had to read the sequel. And it did not at all disappoint. We get a continuation of the story in the first book but outside the theater with new characters and even higher stakes.
The change of scenery in Perchance to Dream gave a story a refreshing change without losing the magic that Eyes Like Stars had. If anything, it might have been even more magical. Some sequences, especially towards the end, I could totally see as a stop-motion film. Everything was so whimsical and well developed, especially the characters. We have the return of the faeries from A Midsummer Night's Dream, who will forever be my favorite characters, as well as some new characters. It's very rare that a book will cause me to laugh out loud, but the faeries' banters about sweets and pies and all around tom-foolery will never fail to make me laugh. And the reason for that is probably because the writing is so well done and so clever. The language is something I just absolutely love. It's this mix of modern and Shakespearean English that is just so delicious to read and really adds to the crafting of the story.
However, this series, like every other young adult series, is not without romance and a love triangle. But, I will defend this one by saying that it was unpredictable, and the outcome at the end of this novel is not one you see very often. And that could apply to the entire book as a whole. The narrative took twists and turns that I didn't expect. It was just so well crafted! One minute I'd be laughing at the faeries, the next moment Bertie would be stuck in some sort of waking dream, and the next moment would be dark and sort of scary. It takes an awful lot of skill to be able to jump ranges like that.
Overall, if you haven't read this series, you definitely need to pick up Eyes Like Stars. It's been a while since I've wanted to completely binge on a series, but this is turning out to be one of those moments. I need to find a copy of book three as soon as possible.
- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.