Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. Then Eli's dream comes true. Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target. 5 Stars, 0 Flames
Nightmare Affair pulled me in from the first page and lingered long after I had finished. Destiny Everhart is a Nightmare, a mythical creature who feeds on people's dreams to fuel her magic. Dusty is a smart alec, impulsive, stubborn and defiant character. I love her! Like me, she tends to speak before engaging her brain, and often jumps the gun, landing her in some sticky situations. Open scene, Destiny Everhart, Dusty, is breaking into someone's home through there window and falls into a pile of dirty laundry...boxers to be exact. Pause for Eww! moment. Then she notices who's bedroom she's in, her crush from her previous high school, Eli Booker. You'd think she would just go back out the window and find someone else's dreams to invade. Dusty would leave if it weren't for one tiny detail, the Will. Enacted to stop the infighting among magickind, the Will controls how you use magic and who you can use it against. Hence the reason Dusty is climbing onto Eli's chest instead of leaving. She can't, the Will has chosen Eli for her to feed from. When Eli wakes up to Dusty on his chest, he freaks out and rightfully so. Normally in this situation Dusty uses a corrector spell that undoes her actions, effectively wiping herself from Eli's memory. Only this time, it doesn't work. Dusty soon finds out that not only is she the only half-human, half-Nightmare, but she is also a rare dream-seer. With little guidance, and even less time for mistakes, Dusty, Eli, and their friends try to decipher what little clues they garner to find a murderer.
Mindy Arnett has created a wonderful world filled with surprising little details that really made this world so rich. Like the trash trolls that consume garbage and recyclables. Also, since the school is saturated with magic, inanimate objects and electronics, like computers, chairs, or radios, tend to develop minds of their own. For example, the principal has a keyboard that as she types makes Three Stooges sound effects.Computers talk back to you or chairs move away or attack you.
Ms. Arnett is able to blend comedy, tragedy, romance, and mystery into a fantastic tale that deals with the a young girl who is struggling with new powers, unresolved issues with her mom, and a crush on a boy who dreams about another. Dusty has some growing up to do, and I like that she doesn't get a handle on her powers right away, in fact she struggles with her power even before she finds out she is a dream-seer. But she slowly gains confidence in herself, with a few mishaps on the way. Though I love when she melts Eli's girlfriend's face in a dream in an unconcious fit of jealousy! Hilarious! I loved this book and I will definitely be reading this one again, especially when the next book in the series comes out. Only bad thing about finding a great author at the beginning of the series is waiting for the next book! Five stars, 0 flames.
I requested this book for review on Netgalley.com
Posted by Emily
No comments:
Post a Comment