I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Brie O’Mara is your typical eighteen year-old. She wants to prove to her independence to her family. In order to do so, Brianna has two jobs and now must find a roommate. She interviews a few people until she meets Sarah. She thinks she’s hit the jackpot with Sarah and is willing to overlook her quirky paranoid ways…that is, until things begin not making sense. Then there are the nightmares that plague her. Are they her subconscious trying to warn her?

This was one of the most exceptional psychological thrillers I’ve read in quite some time. It left me on the edge of my seat and unable to put it down until the very end. I screamed in frustration when I was done because I had no idea this was a series, and now, I have to wait for book two to come out! If you’re like me and enjoy a good YA mystery once in awhile, this is a must read!
( )

3.75 stars

This book was a real mind-bender! Not knowing who to trust. Not knowing who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. The twists and turns in this story will give you whiplash. You will find yourself cocking your head, trying desperately to figure out the big picture...
I read this book in no time. It reads quickly and may give you a slight headache from the confusion and mystery behind everything in this book.
I enjoyed it.... but damned cliffhangers will get you everytime! This being a psychological thriller/mystery, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, it is really confusing at times. There were parts I had to go back to reread. There are a couple of places where the author seemed to contradict something that had already been said, but I am not sure... I was a bit confused. It is easily dismissed and the book moves forward though.
I am looking forward to hopefully getting the much needed answers in the next book... Well, I better get answers in the next book. I was left hanging with nothing answered and more questions than I started out with! ( )

Dead Dreams is about two young girls, Brie, who wants to become independent and is living on her own for the first time, and Sarah, an independently wealthy secretive know-it-all.

The book is supposed to be a psychological thriller for YA, but reads more like chick-lit with the light, casual, conversational feel of the book, with some mystery thrown in. There's lots of twists and turns that will keep you reading - the part that I enjoyed, along with the good writing.

But Brie is so, so stupid and unbelievably immature. She's always whining about her mother, who is just there to watch over her & to protect her and to make sure she's safe. And clearly Brie needs watching over, because she starts off by making a bad decision and just keeps on making bigger and badder mistakes. She knows she's making bad decisions and just goes ahead and makes them anyway - trying to prove her independence and maturity, perhaps? But all she's doing is proving what a sniveling child she really is. Can you tell I'm NOT a Brie fan?

So, if I dislike Brie so much, why am I rating this book 4 stars? Well, because of the character of Sarah. She's so secretive and mysterious and sure, is beyond manipulative, but that's exactly why I like her - it's like hate watching certain tv shows. You know it's awful, but you can't help watching and yelling at the TV screen anyway. That's exactly how I felt about Sarah.

The book ends with another twist, and leaves you feeling very confused - so confused in fact, I honestly wanted to give the book 3 stars for this reason. Yes, you want a cliffhanger at the end of any book in a series, but this feels like Right ended the book literally in the middle of the book, not written in such a way that opens up the next part to the story. ( )

3.75 stars

This book was a real mind-bender! Not knowing who to trust. Not knowing who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. The twists and turns in this story will give you whiplash. You will find yourself cocking your head, trying desperately to figure out the big picture...
I read this book in no time. It reads quickly and may give you a slight headache from the confusion and mystery behind everything in this book.
I enjoyed it.... but damned cliffhangers will get you everytime! This being a psychological thriller/mystery, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, it is really confusing at times. There were parts I had to go back to reread. There are a couple of places where the author seemed to contradict something that had already been said, but I am not sure... I was a bit confused. It is easily dismissed and the book moves forward though.
I am looking forward to hopefully getting the much needed answers in the next book... Well, I better get answers in the next book. I was left hanging with nothing answered and more questions than I started out with! ( )

** Review written for an originally posted on my blog, Book Bliss.I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased and honest review**

Review: 3.5 stars

General: What a great mystery for the YA/NA crowd. I think that from the beginning it had great dramatic tension. The mystery elements were believable and weaved in very well. That being said I think it would only work for a younger age range as I was immediately able to figure out the bottom line. I think most adults would be and would recommend this for slightly younger readers – which works as that is the category it falls in based on age range of the character.

I also loved the plot concept itself. I was a little mislead as I was hoping for a paranormal element to pop out at me at some point, not just a mystery but it was still great. The lack of convoluting the book and keeping the plot clean and the characters concise worked very well. It also does the dreaded cliff hanger ending, while I understand it I do think it was unneeded and did nothing to further the book or my desire to keep reading as the book was great on it’s own and the device of the cliffhanger bothered me, as it typically does.

Characters: Brie- Brie was a little young for me. She was an easy character to identify with for a certain age group but I felt for the setting – big dreams, big city etc- she felt a little too young. She was naive and innocent in a way that felt like it should have inhibited her from even surviving the tragedy, let alone the crazy her roommate concocts for them.

Sarah- Sarah was sleezy and deceptive in a way that was impossible not to love. She is an heiress and had the personality that is portrayed of them in the books and media. I loved her. ( )