Review--Neverwake by Amy Plum

Nightmare on Elm Street meets Scream in this thrilling and chilling sequel to Dreamfall—which Madeleine Roux, New York Times bestselling author of the Asylum series, called “remarkable, riveting, disorienting, and dark.”

For most people, nightmares always come to an end. But for Cata, Ant, and the others, there may be no escape from theirs. After an experimental treatment meant to cure their insomnia went horribly wrong, the teens were dragged into a shared dreamworld where their most terrifying fears became reality.

The six of them have no way of waking up. And they’re beginning to realize that if they die here, they might actually die in the real world. One of the dreamers is already gone, and anyone could be next. The only thing they know for certain is that they have to work together to survive. But as they learn the truth about one another’s pasts, they soon discover they are trapped with something far worse than their nightmares….

Perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux, Danielle Vega, and Kendare Blake, Neverwake is the final book in this spine-tingling duology full of action, suspense, and horror—and it is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

I finally picked up Amy Plum's conclusion to Dreamfall with Neverwake! I read Dreamfall as an ARC last year and was positively DYING to get my hands on this one! It picks up pretty much where we left off, which was a good thing because things were getting rather intense when we learned that among the teenagers was a psychopathic murderer! Cue the dramatic music!

We already know who the killer is and that's Sinclair. Yet the teenagers are still caught in the dangers and chaos of their nightmares and Fergus, who woke briefly and learned of there being a killer among them, remains unconscious for sometime. In the meantime, Cata, Remi, Ant, and Sinclair are trying to get through each of the nightmares alive, all the while knowing there time in the "safe zone" keeps diminishing.

Real world side, we watch as Jamie is trying to figure things out regarding the teenagers and what they are possibly going through. The scientists believe they are all in comas, simple as that. But based on what Fergus said in the short time that he was semi-conscious and what BethAnn said when she was briefly awake as well, she starts to think there may be something more to what they are all experiencing. She will do everything in her power to get the teens to all safely wake up before something terrible happens to them in their dreams that may cause irreparable damage.

This one was just as exciting and thrilling as it predecessor! Though it's been over a year since I've read that one, I can't really say much on comparisons and whatnot. You could basically see this duology as one long novel since both books were under 300 pages. I almost wonder if it would've served better as one long novel rather than two short ones because the plot was sort of the same when you think of it. The teenagers were trying to stay alive and survive the nightmares they were being forced into.

Since I read this one sporadically over the long weekend, I don't feel like I really got the whole "feel" of it. Sporadically, it was still a pretty awesome read, if a little too much like the first one, yet knowing more than we did in the beginning. Again, I really think this would've been better off as one big book instead of just needlessly making it two shorter ones. At under 300 pages, it is a rather short read in comparison to the majority of YA books. But that's just my opinion. I still think this was an amazing and thrilling duology that I would easily re-read again...had I the time for re-reads!

The pacing was still intense with it's multiple points of view going from Cata to Ant to Fergus and then Jamie in no real pattern. I think this would've been more awesome in this second novel if we would have been able to get Sinclair's point of view since we have a better idea of who he is now! It likely would've been disturbing too, but for creep factor that would've been a plus! We were always moving forward though, going from nightmare to nightmare as the teens tried to overcome their worst fears. It was sort of inspiring too, watching them fight to overcome the things that terrified them most!

The ending was most enjoyable too! I quite enjoyed the turnout on a lot of things! I won't get into those details obviously, but I have to say it was a most satisfying experience! This duology certainly remained my faith in Amy's writing when previous I felt "meh" over her previous books. If she writes more like this, I'd definitely be up for more! The Dreamfall duology is the perfect read for this time of year as it's a nice creepy and twisted kind of read that will keep you reading long into the night!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars