Ellie JamesReseñas

This trilogy drew me in from beginning to end. I read the entire trilogy and enjoyed all of them. Highly recommended for high school. The titles are 1/ Shattered Dreams; 2/ Broken Illusions; 3/ Fragile Darkness.

FROM AMAZON: How do you stop someone you can't see? For as long as she can remember, sixteen-year-old psychic Trinity Monsour has seen things before they happen. But now, in the wake of tragedy, her visions have gone dark. She can still feel, though, and the danger she senses swirling around a new friend sends her into the New Orleans party scene, where nothing is as it seems, surprises wait at every turn, and the last guy she wants to see is the one she needs the most: the mercurial Dylan Fourcade, part stranger, part friend, part so much more.

It's the so much more that confuses her. How can she be drawn to someone she barely knows?

But whether she wants him there or not, he's by her side, shadowing her every step of the way, until the darkness clears, and a shocking truth emerges―a truth that changes everything.

This book drew me in from beginning to end. I read the entire trilogy and enjoyed all of them. Highly recommended for high school. The titles are 1/ Shattered Dreams; 2/ Broken Illusions; 3/ Fragile Darkness.

FROM AMAZON: It's almost Mardi Gras, but for 16 year-old psychic Trinity Monsour this is no time for celebration. Another girl is missing. Tormented by visions she doesn't understand―of an empty street lined by crumbling old buildings, a terrified voice warning her to be careful, and a body lying motionless in the grass, Trinity embarks upon a dark odyssey she could never have imagined.

She'll stop at nothing to better understand her abilities, convinced that doing so is the only way she can make sure the terrifying images she sees never actually happen. But it seems everyone wants to stop her. Her aunt is worried Trinity might discover secrets best left in the past. Her best friend, Victoria, is afraid Trinity is slipping away, her boyfriend, Chase, fears she's taking too many chances, and the lead detective will barely let her out of his sight. Only one person stands by her side, and in doing so, he slips deeper and deeper into her heart and her dreams―blurring the lines of reality and illusion. When the dust settles, one of them will be dead.

Good start to a Young Adult series.

A story about an average teen who turns out to not be so average. Trinity moves back to Louisiana to live with her aunt. As time goes by she finds out her bad dreams are really premonition dreams. Trinity's friends and family help her to figure out her past and in trying to find their missing friend.

I hope this will continue on into a series. I can see several of my teen patrons reading this author.

This book drew me in from beginning to end. I read the entire trilogy and enjoyed all of them. Highly recommended for high school. The titles are 1/ Shattered Dreams; 2/ Broken Illusions; 3/ Fragile Darkness.

FROM AMAZON: Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn't as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she's seen, it's already too late.

Trinity arrives on her aunt's doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she's seen.

But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica's disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica's ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.

Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

Trinity Monsour has recently come to New Orleans to live after the death of her grandmother. The story begins with her going along with a group of kids to a haunted house. Among the group are Chase who is her chemistry lab partner and crush and Jessica who is Chase's former girlfriend who doesn't see herself as an ex. Trinity isn't eager to go into the house because she is sensitive to spirits and has had visions since she was a child. However, she wants to fit in with her new crowd and decides to go inside. She doesn't know that Jessica and her henchwoman Amber are set to play a prank on her. She finds herself locked in a small dark room where visions overtake her. When she is rescued, she decides that Chance knew about the prank and was complicit. She is angry, decides to write him out of her life, and goes home.

She can't avoid Chance completely because they are in classes together but she can certainly try to ignore him. When Jessica "apologizes" by using the "it was only a joke" excuse, she decides to write her off too. So, when Jessica disappears, Trinity is surprised to have visions about her. She isn't sure what to do about them because her grandmother raised her to keep the visions secret. She has to tell her aunt about them who encourages her to go to the police. The problem is that it is just as likely in the mind of the police that Trinity was the one who got rid of Jessica.

As the visions escalate and the police suspicions grow, Chance and Jessica try to track down Trinity's deceased parents. What happened to them is a big mystery in her life and each revelation about them raises as many questions as it answers.

I enjoyed this thriller. It was a bit dated with Jessica's reliance on her BlackBerry and the rebuilding efforts after Katrina not being very far along but the suspense was great and Trinity's struggles with her psychic gifts intriguing.

Good start to a Young Adult series.

A story about an average teen who turns out to not be so average. Trinity moves back to Louisiana to live with her aunt. As time goes by she finds out her bad dreams are really premonition dreams. Trinity's friends and family help her to figure out her past and in trying to find their missing friend.

I hope this will continue on into a series. I can see several of my teen patrons reading this author.

This book has an interesting concept with the psychic setting being in New Orleans, and it seems there is a meaning in that choice. This story was a mystery in a lot of aspects with the storyline, the characters and the symbolism. Maybe I am looking too closely at the symbols but I noticed that the James went to great detail to mention the cross that Chase was wearing around his neck, the dragonfly that Trinity wore, her name is a symbol. The thing I would have liked to know is what it all means to the story, if nothing at all. I must admit this story left me wanting for more as much was left unsaid, and then I found out it was going to be a new series, which I was excited to learn.
What we do know is Trinity has psychic abilities that allow her to see and feel what will and is happening to someone. What we don't know is who are all the people that surround her, such as Chase the boy she likes; he is the typical jock crush, possessive, brooding and strange but there is something dark about him that doesn't feel right. Dylan, the son of a friend of her mothers', is mysterious and intriguing. It's the beginning of a love triangle but not quite yet, I will root for Dylan if it happens. All the characters have potential to be great and it would be nice for a some more development to make them richer.
Lastly, the plot was full of twists, turns and dead ends. As soon as I had an idea of who took Jessica, something changed and I was back to guessing. Even the end of the book made me wonder, when we do find out who took her(Jessica) everything happened so quickly.There was a lot said that left more questions. Hopefully, James will address some of the mysteries within her mystery in the next installment, which I look forward to reading.Overall, I liked this book and it was an interesting read for the beginning of a series and I would suggest this to anyone that likes paranormal mysteries.

Broken Illusions by Ellie James re-introduces us to young psychic Tinity Monsour, who lives a life filled with visions of those who have gone missing and those it may be too late to save. At her side is her Aunt Sage, boyfriend Chase, best friend Victoria, and a mysterious young man named Dylan whose power may rival her own. Haunted by dreams that leave her questioning both her present and her past, Trinity sets out to understand the ability that has led her down terrifying paths in an attempt to stop her darkest visions from becoming reality.

The "Midnight Dragonfly" series has a darker tone than most YA paranormals I read. James has placed her characters in New Orléans, a place rife with illusion. The feel of a city decaying from age and natural disasters seeps through the pages, along with the mysteries that haunt the area. It's a place where a Ouija board can make you believe you are not alone in the room, and serial killers hide in plain sight. In the midst of it all is Trinity, a young girl whose visions have caught the eye of police detective LaSalle who believes her ability can lead him to the predators who roam the streets.

Trinity is not your typical teenage heroine; she is tortured by her visions and her inability to decipher them. Driven by the need to understand her dreams and to try to stop them from becoming reality, she is not a relaxed or happy character. In fact, it is very difficult for her to picture a rosy future since her past and present are pretty dark. Despite this, I like Trinity very much. She is gutsy and determined to help those who are in trouble, but can also be a little too impulsive and impatient. She always seems stressed by the visions she receives and I find myself straining along with her to unravel what she has seen. Suspense and mystery are the main focus here, but romance still plays a part as Trinity tries to plan a happy future with Chase while being drawn to the elusive Dylan.

She has support from her Aunt Sage and best friend Victoria. Victoria is intrigued by Trinity's ability and accepts her as she is. With no ability of her own, she is unaware of the dangers that can be unleashed when toying with the supernatural. When things go wrong, though, she doesn't run but tries to help in any way she can. Aunt Sage, meanwhile, wants desperately for Trinity to have a happier life than her mother did. Trinity's mother Rachel, who was also plagued by visions, was killed with Trinity's father in a house fire when Trinity was very young, and in Broken Illusions the memories of this event start making themselves known. Not only is Trinity trying to figure out who is toying with her in the present, she has to deal with the memories of her past that have been locked deep inside her mind. When Trinity goes against her aunt's wishes and opens doors Sage would prefer she keep closed, a lot of anger and hurt is unleashed that could have unforeseen consequences.

LaSalle steps up his presence in this installment. Since he is dating Sage, he is around more often and able to notice when Trinity is shaken by new visions. Trying to work with her to find a tarot card reader who has gone missing, he follows up any lead Trinity gives him. Always pressing her for more details, there are moments when it seems like he is more interested in her ability than the person behind it.

Unfortunately, one of the people who should be supporting her, Chase, has trust issues that sometimes have him backing away from Trinity when she needs him the most. He is also torn by an obligation to his ex-girlfriend Jessica, who has never recovered from the events in book one Shattered Dreams. To be fair to his character, though, Trinity herself is torn by her attraction to Dylan and finds herself turning to him instead of Chase whenever things take a dangerous turn. Dylan remains a pretty mysterious character in Broken Illusions, but he continues to fascinate. He and Chase are like two sides of a coin - Chase is facing up into the light with everyday dreams of playing football, going to the beach and getting into college, while Dylan is the darker side with paranormal abilities of his own, a somber demeanor and the knowledge that a higher education is not in his future because he is needed elsewhere. Trinity's ties to both boys are tested, until fate takes the decision out of her hands.

Skimming is not an option with this series. If you are not paying attention, you can find yourself confused by what is happening. Just like in any good mystery concentration is key, so it helps that James writes in a manner that catches you up in the events playing out on the page and grips you from one scene to the next. Everything twists and turns between reality and dreams. Due to this intricacy, I find I have to be in the appropriate mood to read this series. I found myself distracted by outside events in my life while I read this book, so there were points where I lost my way and needed to re-read parts to get back on track. When I was back on track, however, there was a nice flow to the story with moments of tension and time to relax in between. It all built up to an exciting confrontation with the (unexpected) villain and a heartbreaking finale.

I really enjoy the "Midnight Dragonfly" series by Ellie James, especially 16-year-old heroine Trinity Monsour. Visited by dreams of missing persons and other victims, Trinity tries desperately to unravel the visions before it is too late. With intricate twists and turns Broken Illusions is a YA paranormal that takes the reader on a journey through dreams that reveals not everything - or everyone - is what they seem.½

Ellie James returns one last time to the Midnight Dragonfly world with FRAGILE DARKNESS. After tragedy struck in BROKEN ILLUSIONS, Trinity Monsour’s dreams and visions have deserted her. Shaken by the loss, but sensing danger all around, Trinity tries to pick up the pieces with the help of the mysterious Dylan Fourcade – but will she be too late?

What I Loved

The Emotion: The ending of book two BROKEN ILLUSIONS was devastating, and the fall-out is seen throughout FRAGILE DARKNESS. I found myself in tears multiple times as the story unfolded because I cared so much for the characters and the pain they were still experiencing. A shocking scene between Trinity and new character Will about a third of the way through had me gasping out loud (I kid you not) with shock. I love when stories grab me this much!

Twists and Turns: This would not be a Midnight Dragonfly novel without the dizzying number of twists and turns that leave you guessing until the very end. Just when you – and Trinity – think you have something figured out along comes a wrench in the works that leaves you questioning what just happened and wondering what is next. Yet it all somehow comes together into a cohesive whole at the end – along with another bucket of tears.

What I Liked

New Characters: Will and his loving girlfriend Kendall added a very interesting thread to FRAGILE DARKNESS. Will was so incredibly erratic that the questions surrounding him just kept coming: was he high? crazy? or was something more sinister going on? Yet Kendall stuck with him, supportive and caring, desperately trying to find out why her boyfriend had changed so radically – even going so far as to recruit Trinity to do a reading. Fascinating stuff that played out in an unforeseen manner.

Loose Threads Tied: Not exactly in neat and tidy bows, but there were plenty of answers given in this final book of the trilogy. Dylan’s depths and secrets slowly worked their way to the light, while Trinity learned more about her mother and her own childhood. Romantic partnerships were cemented, while new friendships were made and final goodbyes said.

The Ending: I love happy endings, but Trinity lives in a darker world where dreams and visions place a load of responsibility on her shoulders. She has experienced a lot of loss in her life and is not a “light and happy” person. She cares deeply and wants to help with her gift, but it can lead down dark paths. FRAGILE DARKNESS is no exception, so I wasn’t sure if a happy ending would even be in the cards for Trinity. Yet I was very satisfied with how it all ended.

What Made Me Hesitate

Being In The Dark: Ellie James does not give up secrets easily in her writing – hence the twists and turns – and she lets the reader discover everything right along with Trinity. If Trinity was confused, so was I. If she was hunting for an answer, I was at her side hoping she found it. If I tried to guess what she would find, I was usually wrong. While it can be unsettling for someone who likes to be a step or two ahead and know where a story is going (which most of the time I do), it also provides the suspense that is so much a part of the Midnight Dragonfly world. It’s a frustrating style – but I don’t think I’d give up the mystery to have it smoothed out.

Conclusion

Torn apart by loss, Trinity Monsour struggles to recover her visions and help another haunted soul find peace. At her side is the mysterious Dylan Fourcade, full of secrets and powers of his own. Together they will uncover a truth that threatens the lives of old acquaintances, a new friend, and even Trinity herself. With its emotional pull, intrigue, and suspense – all set against the magical backdrop of Mardi Gras in New Orleans – FRAGILE DARKNESS brings Ellie James’s Midnight Dragonfly series to a very satisfying close.

The story starts in an abandoned house in New Orleans where some teenagers are exploring this house that's rumoured to be haunted, being teenagers, going too far. Trinity Monsour is a new student and still finding her way, when the evening leaves her locked in a room, while visions of murder intrude she has to try to get out and to try to work out who is responsible.

Then Jessica, one of the prettiest meanest girls in the school and the ex of the boy Trinity is currently exploring a reationship with, goes missing and Trinity starts to have visions, visions that scare her. Her grandmother always warned her not to tell, but if she can save her?

It's interesting but the characters didn't really come to life for me. I didn't really get a feeling of different personalities coming through and it just didn't flow for me. I may read more by this author but I'm in no rush to follow up.

Reviewed by: Crystal B
Book provided by: author
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

Natalie feels guilty for experiences doubts that a lot of first time mothers face. After she loses the baby she throws herself into her work. She is trying to cope the best way she knows how. Reed is busy trying to secure a new contract as his way of dealing with the loss. He starts seeing things that are just so unbelievable he doesn’t know whether or not to believe it. These two are such a such a wonderful couple that need to come together to over come their grief. If only there wasn’t an evil force trying to drive them apart.

This was a really great story on what a couple goes through after losing a baby. There was the sadness of Natalie and Reed. There is drama of an unexpected evil force, and the family support trying to help this sweet couple. All in all is was a great short story.

Shattered Dreams is the second story in the The Bradford Sisters Trilogy. I would love to read the other two stories and get the rest of the family story. I really did enjoy this short story and would love to read more by Anna James.

Okay, I guess I should let the world know one fact about me first...I have a huge thing for bad boys. Now, for fact number two, my love of bad boys is eclipsed only by my soft spot for the mysterious good guy who had no idea he is good. This story had both and I was in delicious heaven I tell!

The story was pure brilliant, the setting brilliant (made me text my sister and ask her to move to NOLA with me), Pitre (bad boy I am sure I wasn't supposed to puddle over) and Dylan (can I just say O my frakkin Gawd, right now) those 2 lovely boys made my heart all a flutter. Those were the good points that made me race to read this story at a break neck pace and read much too late into the night. Trinity, our heroine, was interesting enough and she had some awesome traits I like in my YA girl. Angst, the angst, I love the angst! She also had some inner turmoil going on that made her hop off the pages but boy was that chic so flip floppy, I was often annoyed and Chase is so bland and wishy washy I can't figure what anyone would see in him. I think it was because the story started at a good point but their connection was already established and they had already started falling for each other so I didn't get to nosey in on it.

This book left me anxious waiting for the next installment and praying for more Pitre and Yes, oh yes...more Dylan.

Why read: Received for review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

What impressed me: I enjoyed the first half of Shattered Dreams. I loved seeing Trinity trying to make friends with the other kids from her school and all that entailed. I even liked her visions and the way they were both a help and hindrance to her life.

What disappointed me: I disliked the mystery in Shattered Dreams - well not the mystery itself, but the way it was presented. "Clues" were presented, often in the form of Trinity's visions, that were obviously misleading. It was a succession of one suspect after another, but you never really believe any of them are likely candidates because of the heavy-handed way they're presented as such.

Recommended: Not especially. This was a psychic mystery for young adults that fell flat more often than not.

Continue series: Probably not.

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick and Dirty: The writing and characterization of the protagonist are strong, but there are confusing holes in the plot at times.

Opening Sentence: “I heard this place is like . . . haunted.”

The Review:

I enjoyed reading this book for the poetic descriptions and the strong protagonist voice. Trinity has had a different childhood than most of the teenagers her age, growing up orphaned and homeschooled by her grandmother a thousand miles away from her closest family member. After her grandmother dies, Trinity moves to New Orleans, where her parents grew up, to live with her Aunt Sara. Right off the reader is able to get a feel for the kind of person Trinity is. She accepts the challenges in her life, and works to overcome her troubles. She doesn’t fit in very well at school, but feels a close connection to her lab partner, Chase. Not only is her life difficult in the normal sense, but Trinity also seems to have inherited her mother’s gift of psychic visions. These visions increase in frequency and accuracy, and they could help save the life of the girl who treated Trinity poorly.

Trinity is smart, strong willed, and funny. I enjoyed reading her, and her voice really came out through the pages. Some novels have apathetic narrators, but not Trinity. She is driven by emotions and the need to know the truth, which propels the story forward. She knows almost nothing about her parents and their deaths, and starts to slowly uncover the truth as she explores mysterious New Orleans for her parent’s past. The reader finds out information as Trinity does, and the need to know what happened kept me reading until the end.

The book focuses mainly on Trinity, but she is not the only character, of course. Her Aunt seems nice enough, but we don’t see much interaction with who Sara really is. Ellie James does not really focus on character development for anyone else, but the reader must also remember that this is the beginning of a series, so Shattered Dreams may just be an introduction to the characters around Trinity. The one person she has the most interaction with is Chase Bonaventure, who is the ex-boyfriend of Jessica, the girl who went missing. Chase is described as likable, attractive, and athletic. Beyond liking Trinity and spending a lot of time with her, we really don’t find out much about who he is as a person. She has an indescribable attraction for him, and he is protective of her fairly quickly, but the relationship between the two does not go into much more detail than that. Maybe we will see more of who Chase is in later books.

For me, finding out what happened to Jessica and Trinity’s parents kept me reading until the end. This book is definitely a paranormal mystery since Trinity experiences clairvoyant dreams that could lead the police to find Jessica if they would take her suggestions seriously. We see the friction between the paranormal and the normal when Trinity is not believed by the police, but is suspected of having something to do with the disappearance in the first place. Anyone who reads paranormal novels knows how difficult relations are between those in power and those who know more because of their gifts.

The plot jumps around a bit between what Trinity dreams about, what actually happens, and what Trinity finds out about her family’s past. The story telling was a bit disjointed, but the descriptive imagery and mystery helped tie the book together. The ending was a bit confusing, but it functions as a cliffhanger for the next novel. I think Shattered Dreams was a good start, and I’m interested to see where this series goes.

Notable Scene:

Open door number one; open door number two. Life was about choices. Take a different path–dream a different dream. Even the road not taken led somewhere.

I’ll never know what would have happened if I’d just turned and walked away.

But I’m never good at that.

Determined not to buckle, I stepped deeper into the room–and saw. Lightening flashed in from a cloudless sky, replacing shadows with a harsh silver light. And in that one cruel flash, everything came into horrible focus. Filth littered the warped wood floor. Some kind of greasy grime coated the windows. Dark copper smeared against the walls. And on the mattress, something really red.

A single pink flip-flop lay upside down.

A cell phone in the corner.

On the bed . . .

I gasped. A girl lay limp as a rag doll, long legs barely covered by short denim shorts. And the hair, long, dark–

I recoiled, tried to breathe. My throat burned. My chest hurt–

“Jesus.”

I grabbed onto the oath, the familiar voice, used it to pull me back. Somehow I managed a forceful blink, returning the shadows to the room and revealing everything exactly as it had been: Jessica and Amber crouched among the candles by the mattresses, a scowling Drew a few steps away, Bethany hovering close to Chase, Pitre beside me. They all stared as if I was crazy.

There’d been no lightening. Not for them.

Only for me.

The Midnight Dragonfly Series:

1. Shattered Dreams

2. Broken Illusions

FTC Advisory: St. Martin’s Griffin provided me with a copy of Shattered Dreams. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

I found this to be a really interesting book. Being from Louisiana myself, I enjoy books that take place in set area. For now I will say that I recommend this book. Till I can write a proper review, which will hopefully be real soon.

The phrase Midnight Dragonfly being used for a new series had such potential that I couldn’t resist when I saw the publisher had a digital advance reader’s copy available. As Book #1 in Ellie James’ new YA Midnight Dragonfly series, Shattered Dreams combines magic, mystery, psychic visions and much more. It’s a compelling read that should appeal to people of all ages. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=2414.

I really enjoyed this book. A new power. A psychic combined with real life drama always makes for a great story. Ms. James took amazing characters filled with an dynamic plot and gave the reader a great read!
As the reader began this book, we meet Trinity tormented by dreams she doesn't understand. I really like how the reader is captivated from the beginning of whats these dreams mean. Ms. James give the reader clues piece by piece as the reader delves deeper into dreams. I like how the reader is taken by Trinity's past and how it comes back to haunt her.

The characters of the book are right where I want them. They know, but don't really know. I enjoyed Trinity asking questions, snooping around. It was like she is her own Nancy Drew! The reader also sees a love form during the whole process of Trinity learning the family secret. I like that Trinity does not have to do things all by herself. She has good friends and people looking out for her.

This book strongly reminded me of The Body Finder. Only in this book, people are not to forthcoming about Trinity. There is a lot of skepticism and prejudice that Trinity must over come in order for her to be who she is meant to be. Overall, this is a great book that everyone can enjoy! Dark and edgy, Shattered Dreams gives a new twist in paranormal.

3.5 Stars!

Trinity has recently returned to her birthplace of New Orleans. She moved to the mountains of Colorado when she was a toddler after her parents died. Her grandmother has recently passed and now she is living with her Aunt Sara back in NOLA.

Trinity is starting to have strange visions and dreams involving an acquaintance from school being abducted. But then the girl is really abducted. Trinity, being a good kid who wants to help, shares her visions with the police and she becomes suspect #1. Meanwhile Trinity has a personal quest to find out what really happened to her parents.

I got sucked right into the story…the fact that it starts out in a creepy abandoned house in the Garden District, sure helped. What was so personal for me about this book was the setting. N’Awlins is someplace I’ve visited often and love dearly! I could visualize so many of the landmarks and districts as I read in the story…it brought back so many fond memories!

I liked the story, even though some of the secondary characters were flat. Trinity is a good kid who wanted to help a girl who had gone out of her way to make Trinity feel unwelcome. And she continued to try and help even when everyone turned against her, which I would have found very difficult to do. Chase, the object of Trinity’s affections, however was not one of my favorites. He was an open book…he lacked depth. However, Dylan, on the other hand, was much more mysterious…I wanted to know more about him! This appears to be the beginning of a series, so I’m guessing a love triangle will figure prominently in the future.

The story did have some confusing parts that I found myself rereading a number of times and still didn’t really understand, little side streets we would start to venture down that would then be abandoned. For example, elements of Trinity’s parents that were hinted at, but never explained. Some of these asides seemed pertinent, but most didn’t.

Overall, I thought it was a good debut, though a little rough around the edges. Like I said, I loved the setting and the pacing of the book and Trinity is a character I would like to know more about.

I actually found myself enjoying this book. I unlike other reviewers enjoyed Trinity she was an excellent main character (a little broken but had a heart of gold and a will to know the truth no matter what). Shattered Dreams was a psychological thriller for young adults though it seems like it was just going to be another YA paranormal romance but turned out to be so much more. Trinity is psychic and there is a killer on the loose who kidnaps her new enemy. Trinity can’t sit back and let Jessica be killed so she has to use her gifts to help her. Only well as one of Jessica’s new enemies and a motive to commit murder Trinity becomes the first suspect. She must take a long look at herself and figure out if she would rather spend a lifetime in jail or save Jessica who just happens to be her new boyfriends ex. I started out thinking that this was just going to be a fluff piece but it turned out to be so much more there are depths to this book that you must read to find out. Trinity will have to be strong and delve deep into her past if she has any chance to catch this killer.

If I'm honest, it took me a long time to get into Shattered Dreams. I took ages just to read the first forty pages, and even after that, it was kind of a slow read for me. I think my problem was with the narrator, Trinity. She wasn't a character that I could connect to. At all. I mean, sure, she lusted after a boy who already had a girlfriend, which is perfectly normal, but other than that, I had no ways to connect to her. We didn't learn anything about her interests or hobbies, so there wasn't really anything to connect to.

I also felt like the rest of the characters weren't involved enough, excluding Chase. Of course, the book was supposed to be about the mystery surrounding Jessica's disappearance, etc, and it was, but I felt like too much of the book was centered on Trinity and everything that was going on with her. I wouldn't consider Trinity a whiner, not by any means, but I was fairly annoyed because we didn't get to see much of the other characters.

I have no idea how I felt about Chase. :P He was very helpful and did almost everything he could for Trinity, but sometimes, he just fell flat to me. He was the romantic interest, and it was obvious that Trinity liked him, but he wasn't anything for me to swoon over like I often do with fictional characters.

The writing style saved this book for me. It was simple and easy to understand, yet there were still amazing descriptions of everything. I'm not sure how to say this, but the . . . creepiness bled through, I guess :P James made it believable, and if Trinity was scared, so was I. (Sort of. I don't scare easily.) The only problem I had when it came to the writing style was the italics in the dialogue - there was way too much of it, especially when people said Trinity's name. I felt like every time someone said her name, it was in italics.

Overall: Shattered Dreams was full of suspense and twists I never saw coming. Although I wish some of the other characters had been more involved and I won't be clamboring over people to get the sequel, once you get into it, Shattered Dreams is an okay read. 3 stars.

I really, really tried to read this one. I just could not get into it. The characters really bugged me to the point I was rolling my eyes instead of enjoying the story. Thus, while I gave it a shot, I quickly gave up on the story.

I truly enjoyed this book. Very fast paced, action packed, holds your interest type of story. Trinity after losing her grandmother moves back to New Orleans with Aunt Sara and learns about her true self. She trys to make new friends and things turn around on her with her gift that she has been given and trys so hard to help out her new friends who don't really seem to be to friendly at first. Especially Jessica, who gets kidnapped and poor Trinity is being accused of Jessica being missing. Nicely twisted around plot, enjoyable quick read.½

Shattered Dreams by Ellie James is a ghost story that takes place in New Orleans. That was pretty much all I needed to hear to make me want to pick up the book. I love spooky books set in the South! Unfortunately, this book basically failed on every level. I found the plot and characters both utterly ridiculous. I could barely make myself finish – I had to scan through sections of it to make it through.

Before I really get going, I do have to speak positively about the setting. I think post-Katrina New Orleans is showcased very well. There are creepy old mansions and dark corners aplenty, I was very happy with that part of things. Sadly, my good feelings for the book end there.

Trinity moves to New Orleans after growing up with her grandmother in Colorado. When the grandmother dies, she moves to live with her aunt. As she tries to make friends, her life gets pretty complicated when the really scary visions she sometimes had growing up become a lot more frequent. When popular girl Jessica disappears after playing a prank on Trinity, lots of people look at her for the blame. That doesn’t include Jessica’s boyfriend Chase, who pretty much immediately jumps ship and seems to fall for Trinity.

The characters were laughably bad. Emotionally (well, really only relationship-wise), they seemed more like thirty-five year old adults than teenagers. Every time I turned around Trinity and Chase were holding each other and Chase would calmly there-there her as he pulled her into his arms – that immediate intensity came off as very odd. A real class act, that guy. No qualms about becoming involved in a very intense relationship with the girl blamed for making his (very recently ex) girlfriend disappear. Plus, major insta-love alert. Absolutely no character development to make readers understand why they want to be together. No real development otherwise either – I couldn’t tell you anything about Trinity except that she has ghostly visions and likes to whine to Chase about them.

The silliest things kept happening throughout the story. Like for example, Chase offered to help Trinity find out more about her parents, who she knows little to nothing about. He almost immediately has the information about who they are and where they lived – apparently he keeps confidential city records in his back pocket? Then, as they walk up to the creepy abandoned house, he suddenly disappears. Trinity freaks out when she can’t find him and goes running around looking for him. Then, suddenly he is there again and randomly says, “I was adopted as a baby but my parents lied about it and told me I wasn’t.” He then goes on to tell the story about how he discovered this – when they are in a tense situation and Trinity is obviously scared out of her mind. Can you say totally random and out-of-place? I literally laughed out loud in disbelief at the horrible timing.

It has been a long time since I’ve sincerely disliked every single thing about a book. Normally the things I don't like are plot points I know others will enjoy – but this is one book I recommend everyone pass over. I have already seen positive reviews of it on Goodreads though, so if you were interested in reading it before seeing my review you might look a little further before you completely give up.

The storyline was okay but the execution just wasn't good. The writing seemed forced, like the author was trying too hard to make it sound good. The characters were flat. The main character (Trinity) had some depth, but everyone else was like an empty shell. The love interest (Chase) had no personality. I had no idea why Trinity would be into him except that he was hot and said the things she wanted him to hear. Honestly, I was only able to get about halfway through the book before I just gave up!!

Trinity is special. She dreams true things, things that are or will be happening...and most of the time they are not good. Trinity comes to live with her aunt in New Orleans after the death of her grandmother. After a foolish prank is pulled on her by Jessica, the mean but popular girl at school, Jessica turns up missing. Trinity has "seen" what is going on, but most won't believe her and the ones that do think Trinity had something to do with it. Trinity has to find a way to save Jessica before it's too late, but there is a deeper plot at work against her that she doesn't see.

Trinity is a great character. Haunted by her past and her present she is looking for answers to so many questions. The urgent one is how she can help Jessica without making it seem even more like she was involved in the disappearance. She is also trying to learn more about her family and the mysterious "gift" she has of seeing things.

Trinity is helped by by her new friend, Chase. Chase used to be Jessica's boyfriend and is also being investigated as a potential part of her disappearance. He has connections and tries to help Trinity find answers to her many questions.

A great story that draws deep on the history of New Orleans, from its historical cemetaries to the wreckage left by Hurricane Katrina. We follow Trinity as she learns about the city of her past and what to expect from her future.

4/5