Today's book review is of the YA book January Dreams by Carrigan Richards. I'm not sure whether to label this as a fantasy or paranormal. I think it depends how the rest of the series of books goes.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for writing an honest review of the book. All thoughts are my own and are not swayed by receiving a free copy of this book.
Synopsis
Megan isn't looking for love. She is determined to do well in school so she can get away from her stressful home.
When Megan starts to have dreams of shared life with a classmate, she is surprised. Casper is an arrogant jerk and she doesn't know why she would be having intense and personal dreams about him. Casper suddenly begins to pay attention to Megan and confesses that he has feelings for her.
Megan meets Vincent. The nice, shy boy that seems to like her instantly. They quickly fall in love, but things are a little more complicated than they first seem. During their kisses, Megan sees a life from the past where she is in love with Vincent.
The dream life and the life of her visions seem to conflict with each other. She wants to learn more about both lives, but as she does her life seems to be in more danger.
My Thoughts
Let's start off with the good: the cover of the book is nice and Megan is relatable as a high school girl. Dealing with crushes, a new love, wanting to be a successful high school student to better her life.
We meet Megan who is a plain Jane girl. She's got a best friend but that's about it. Her home life is horrible and she is focusing on when she can go away to college. Being a good student is important to her and being responsible at her job is a must so she can pay her parents back for her car. Sounds like a reasonable start. That's where it all ends.
Her dreams make her think of the jerk boy (who really isn't, he's just misunderstood) and she can't wait to go to sleep to see their life together, as soon as Megan starts dating she doesn't care about being responsible at school or work, and the love triangle is so overdone. She goes back and forth between the guys.
I thought the glimpses into a past life were interesting. I think instead of focusing so much on the two romantic relationships in the past, the author could have given us more information about the two different segments of people and a little more about their world.
I thought the glimpses into a past life were interesting. I think instead of focusing so much on the two romantic relationships in the past, the author could have given us more information about the two different segments of people and a little more about their world.
Since this is the first book in a series, the ending of the book is not resolved. You have to find out what happens with Megan, Casper, and Vincent in the second book.
My Rating
I'm really torn on how to rate this. There were some parts that I thought were good, but so many parts that made it hard to read. I'd say this is actually between "Didn't Like Story" and "It Was Okay".
If you are interested in reading this book, there is a giveaway right now on Goodreads for the book. Visit this page by April 30th for your chance for a free copy of the book.
