ARC Review: Dreamology by Lucy Keating

5/5 Stars

Published by Harper Teen

Published April 12, 2016

Synopsis: For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.

But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. It turns out, though, that Real Max is nothing like Dream Max, and getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.

When their dreams start to bleed dangerously into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?

This book. This book. Dreamology has to be one of my favorite contemporary novels ever. There was something about this book that struck so intimately close to my heart. The writing was quirky and fun, yet there were times where I was completely blown away by the eloquence and poetic nuances. After learning that this book combined magic realism with contemporary, and a swoon worthy romance, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Being one of my most anticipated reads of 2016, I went into this book with high expectations - and boy, I was not let down. Whether it be the exuberant depiction of dreams, or the striking, heartfelt shock of reality, Lucy Keating had me basking in the pages.

I enjoyed literally every aspect of this book. From the characters, to the plot, to the dialogue and the writing, everything was to the tee in precision and quality. Not one word, sentence, or page was faulty in someway - it all served its specific purpose. Each chapter was entertaining and humorous, especially when everything started piecing itself together. What I found unique about this book, was that each chapter introduced you to a new, unknown part of the story (the characters, the plot, etc.). This made all the chapters intriguing, and not some meaningless fluff. In addition to this, the pacing was fitting to the story. It wasn't too fast, nor too slow; I thought it was able to get the point across in a nice span of time and in a neat, concise way.

These characters were so much fun! The personalities and quirks of each character reminded me a lot of my group of friends. There are those who are able to steady and ground you, while others can bring out the adventurous, risk taking side of you. In this case, a single person may be able to do both for you. Alice Rowe, my wonderfully vibrant, wanderlust, girl, you made laugh more times than I can count. Alice was the perfect protagonist for this story. She was funny, affable, and so caught up in the dreamworld that its beauty began to bleed into the real world. This made everything she experienced all the more outrageous and winsome. Along with her came the dreamy (literally) Max, whom I thought was a perfect match for Alice. He, like I stated above, was one of those characters that was able to tether Alice back to the ground, yet still let her soar above the clouds. What you're looking at here is the extraordinary story of this dynamic duo, and how they refused to let their dreams be their only source of happiness.

I could honestly go on and on about the wonders of Dreamology, but I'm gonna keep it sweet and simple and tell you to pre-order it. There is an undeniable swarm of happiness that comes from reading this book. After reading loads of fantasy, this was the perfect book to drag me back down into the glowing pits of contemporary novels. I love reading books that deal with topics such as sleeping, dreaming, and the unconscious mind. There's something so interesting about plunging deep into your mind to discover your innermost thoughts and your desires, or the reason why you may dream the way you do. With this, Lucy Keating was able to wrap up all of the things I enjoy into one package. She made Dreamology not only about the romance or the thrilling adventures, but she made it about the scientific approach to discovering the source of the problem. This debut novel made me laugh and smile, cry and stare longingly into the distance, but most of all, it made me realize that reality can be just as dreamy if you allow it to be.