The Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy, #1) by Mindee Arnett

Feb 18, 2013 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, fantasy-or-paranormal, mystery, paranormal, romance

“A fully charged Nightmare can do whatever they want inside a dream. Here, we’re like gods.”

In Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair, we have several familiar things – a boarding school, a murder mystery, an inevitable romance – several familiar things that are quite fortunately complemented by the fresh and exciting new ideas that Arnett brings us. While this debut novel is not by any means a ground-breaker, and can easily be labelled formulaic in instances, it has a good portion of entertainin...more “A fully charged Nightmare can do whatever they want inside a dream. Here, we’re like gods.”

In Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair, we have several familiar things – a boarding school, a murder mystery, an inevitable romance – several familiar things that are quite fortunately complemented by the fresh and exciting new ideas that Arnett brings us. While this debut novel is not by any means a ground-breaker, and can easily be labelled formulaic in instances, it has a good portion of entertaining and inventive scenes to make up for the areas in which it lacks these.

Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare. Nightmares are members of the Darkind and feed on fictus, the substance of dreams. After a rather ominous but comical opening scene – in which our clumsy Dusty is forced to sit on the attractive Eli Booker’s chest – the story takes us to Arkwell Academy, a place for the education of Magickind. Here we have psychics, sirens, demons, and everything in between – plenty of paranormal abilities and magical talents to keep things fairly interesting. When Dusty’s dream-invading skills are needed for the investigation of a murder, she is quickly paired up with Eli Booker, the other half of the dream-seer team. This brings us several night-time adventures with Dusty and Eli searching for clues in Eli’s dreams – reluctantly at first. The two share some pleasingly awkward scenes together, much to my delight.

The plot, unfortunately, is surprisingly weak during the second half of the book – this is where the inscrutable physical metaphors from Eli’s dreams are tied together and the murders at the Academy are slowly solved. While this should have been the most riveting part of the book, and aptly built towards a thrilling climax, it is, in fact, disappointingly stiff and a mere fraction away from boring. The characters are a little better, thankfully. Admittedly some of the secondary characters could benefit from further development – particularly Paul and Selene – but it is Dusty who truly delights. While my interest in the story wavered far too often, I enjoyed Dusty’s witty voice and hilarious comments well enough to overlook it. She is feisty, a little naïve, but most definitely a source of entertainment.

There is a very light love triangle (or love square, even) present throughout this, but it is satisfyingly resolved by the end. While Eli is predominately responsible for the romantic tension in this book – and it is a slight but pleasing romance, though not one to take too seriously – Paul is given a fair bit of attention, too. Eli is, not surprisingly, the more appealing of the two, with Paul paling quite significantly in comparison. It is tied off nicely, even if a little predictably.

Overall, there is a decent amount to like about The Nightmare Affair. Although there is certain room for improvement, and things I hope will be clearer in the second book, it is not too difficult appreciating the quick entertainment that this book can bring. The cover, which I must also briefly mention, is wonderfully accurate and a brilliant visual reflection of the tone of the book. Tor Teen really do excel at this.

(This review also appears on my blog)(less)

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Feb 25, 2013 Blythe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: highly-anticipating-2013, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, blog-tour, unmet-potential, read-reviewed, netgalley-edelweiss-arc, meh, love-triangle, i-totally-saw-that-coming, disappointments, awesome-world-building, 2013-reads

For a book that initially sounded so original, I hate to say that I found The Nightmare Affair to be helplessly average. Enjoyable? Yes--hence my three star rating. I did have fun reading The Nightmare Affair, and, overall, I did enjoy it, but as a whole I found it to be an ultimately familiar read.

The paranormal lore aspect to The Nightmare Affair is for the most part fresh, bringing new and fun ideas to the table, and the world-building is somewhat thorough and interesting, albeit not entirel...more For a book that initially sounded so original, I hate to say that I found The Nightmare Affair to be helplessly average. Enjoyable? Yes--hence my three star rating. I did have fun reading The Nightmare Affair, and, overall, I did enjoy it, but as a whole I found it to be an ultimately familiar read.

The paranormal lore aspect to The Nightmare Affair is for the most part fresh, bringing new and fun ideas to the table, and the world-building is somewhat thorough and interesting, albeit not entirely original. Similarly to most readers, the thing that stood out most about The Nightmare Affair for me was the concept of Nightmares as a paranormal creature, and I'm glad to say that, with that concept, Mindee Arnett has created a fun and fantastical boarding school and murder mystery story.

However, the resemblance of The Nightmare Affair to other popular young adult reads is practically glaring--most notably its resemblance to Harry Potter. Let me just point out that I'm not that type of reader who brings every book with a magical boarding school right back to Harry Potter, and I might have been picking at straws concerning similarities between the two in The Nightmare Affair, but some things were far to similar for me to pass up. (view spoiler)

Similarities to other popular works aside, The Nightmare Affair is lacking in quite a few aspects--most considerably the murder mystery and the characterization, or lack thereof. Upon finishing The Nightmare Affair, I'm left with an unfortunately vague sense as to what the characters were like, as we're not given much development and characterization in the novel. The main character, Dusty, was overall likable and witty, but by the end of the novel I just don't feel like I truly knew anything about her other than the basics, which were told to us. As well as that, the murder mystery in The Nightmare Affair is almost painfully predictable, and even though I had a fun time going through the murder mystery even knowing the outcome, a less glaringly obvious outcome would have been beneficent to my enjoyment in the story.

However, despite those above qualms, I'd recommend The Nightmare Affair to anyone looking for a quick and fun paranormal romance and mystery with refreshing new lore and witty dialogue and characters. Though I do fully acknowledge its faults, I had an incredibly fun time reading The Nightmare Affair, but in the end it lacked the amount of depth necessary for it to be a memorable read. (less)

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Feb 20, 2013 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, paranormal

Nightmares! We all know what they are, we've all gotten them, but for Dusty, this is a little more literal than you would think. She IS a Nightmare, meaning she "feeds" by hopping into people's dreams. However she soon learns that that's not all there is to it--especially in her case.

For the lore and originality, this book gets all its points. I enjoyed learning about all the different paranormal beings in this book. While some are not what you would consider original--werewolves and faeries ar...more Nightmares! We all know what they are, we've all gotten them, but for Dusty, this is a little more literal than you would think. She IS a Nightmare, meaning she "feeds" by hopping into people's dreams. However she soon learns that that's not all there is to it--especially in her case.

For the lore and originality, this book gets all its points. I enjoyed learning about all the different paranormal beings in this book. While some are not what you would consider original--werewolves and faeries are hardly unheard of these days, Mindee brings us a slew of different beings that walk the grounds of this school and somehow, she manages to give them all a little flair of eccentricity to make them different, also menacing, while still touching base with the classics of their genres. I thought this was much more interesting than them being romanticized like we've become used to. As for the plot they envelop, it, too, brings out some good old classic lores involving well known paranormal beings from our childhood story books--with dark twists of course!

Sick of being forced to walk in her mother's rebel shadow, Dusty is trying to find her own identity in this school full of magical beings. Being a half-breed, she's been plagued with the notion that she's a lesser being, having to deal with snide remarks and snickers since she started to attend Arkwell Academy. I liked that she's a character who doesn't take things too seriously or melodramatically, there is no angst with this one, she's down to earth and puts her trust into the friends she does have, who I have to say are quite loyal. With that said the main characters--Dusty and her immediate surrounding--are likeable, and the romance included between some of them is kept light, but sweet. There is also a good number of adult characters included in the plot, some filling substantial roles, others nothing more than another name on a page. With this large a number of characters, though, it makes it difficult to develop a very deep connection with any of them, and for a mystery this often makes the big reveal emotionless--which was unfortunately the case for this novel.

Interesting is what I would call the end reveal. After hunting down a killer for a while, it's always interesting to find out what exactly has been happening, why, and who is behind it. It's difficult to point out the exact place where this one in particular lost its flair for me, but by the time we do find out all of the answers, I was indifferent about it all. This could be due to two things: I did figure out a large part of the mystery early on, some of it I personally found obvious enough to make me annoyed that the characters weren't seeing it. Or--and I'm going to explain this the best I can without spoilers so bear with me--it could also be due to the way the twists were presented in the end: One twist is introduced, only to be turned around a minute later with another twist taking its place, annulling the first. This was done several times until finally reaching the "real" twist, which wasn't much of a shocker for me, sadly.

Fun and refreshing with its creepy take on well known paranormal beings, The Nightmare Affair is an entertaining read that, even though it didn't enrapture me as much as I was hoping, proved to be a fun read nonetheless.

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An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Mar 09, 2013 Monika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, young-adult, fantasy

EDIT 30/07/2012:
"He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing."

No way!!!

description

This one sounds like an amazing mystery and the main character, Dusty is a nightmare, so cool!

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Mar 23, 2013 Keertana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley-and-first-reads

Rating: 2 Stars/DNF

From first glance, Arnett's debut seems to have a lot going for it. An eye-catching cover? Check. Gorgeous title fonts and imagery? Check. A fascinating new idea? Check. Unfortunately, however, The Nightmare Affair is - no pun intended - a nightmare to read. While it starts off promising enough with a unique premises, it soon deteriorates into nothing more than a stereotypical paranormal mystery, riddled with a Hogwarts-eque boarding school and topped off with silly, unrealis...more Rating: 2 Stars/DNF

From first glance, Arnett's debut seems to have a lot going for it. An eye-catching cover? Check. Gorgeous title fonts and imagery? Check. A fascinating new idea? Check. Unfortunately, however, The Nightmare Affair is - no pun intended - a nightmare to read. While it starts off promising enough with a unique premises, it soon deteriorates into nothing more than a stereotypical paranormal mystery, riddled with a Hogwarts-eque boarding school and topped off with silly, unrealistic dialogue and characterization.

The Nightmare Affair starts out well enough, grabbing the reader in from the first chapter itself as we are introduced to our protagonist, Dusty, and her nighttime duty of gracing humans with nightmares. On this particular night, she happens to be in the home of Eli, an extremely good-looking guy from her former high school. Usually, kneeling over a hot, shirtless guy while he sleeps to give him a nightmare wouldn't be a problem, but tonight, everything goes wrong. For one, Eli's nightmare takes place on the grounds of Dusty's current school, a place for those with paranormal powers - such as werewolves, faeries, and nightmares - to hone their powers and, also, a place that Eli should know nothing about. Yet, to make matters worse, when Eli wakes up, Dusty's magic refuses to work on him and the girl they've both seen dead in his nightmare is found to be murdered just hours later.

Needless to say, with such an engrossing beginning, I had high hopes for this one. Yet, to my immense disappointment, Chapter 1 is as good as it gets. Dusty is whisked away, back to her boarding school and from there, everything just gets worse. One of my biggest issues with this debut is the dialogue. It is obvious that Mindee Arnett doesn't really know - or understand - teenagers. Not only are the conversations in this story riddled with cliches, but the interactions with adults seemed too stereotypical and unreal to truly seem plausible. Dusty's mother, Moira, is cast in an utterly ridiculous light, failing to provide a foundation for a strong mother-daughter bond and Dusty's rivals in her school are just as predictable as your run-of-the-mill blonde cheerleader, from their expressions to the next words that come out of their mouth.

If all this wasn't bad enough, the romance set-up between Eli and Dusty is obvious - and far too boring - from the very beginning. As characters, Eli and Dusty bring nothing new to what we've already seen done time-and-time again and as a reader who went into this book looking for originality, I came across only the same old bland story lines, characters, and settings. From what I've heard from my trusted friends, it turns out that Arnett's debut has a love triangle to top this all off, one that seems wholly unnecessary since even I can already tell you who Dusty will chose, despite not having met the second guy yet.

Honestly, this book is just too simplistic, poorly executed, and unoriginal to be worth my time. I gave it nearly a hundred pages before giving up and simply have to arrive at the conclusion that it is not for me. I know plenty of readers who have found to be a fun and enjoyable piece, but I am unfortunately not one of them. If you don't mind a rather typical, but entertaining, paranormal mystery, The Nightmare Affair will most likely be your cup of tea, but if, like me, you were drawn to this novel because of its potential uniqueness in an overdone genre, look elsewhere.

You can read this review and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings.(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Wendy Darling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, tor, training-schools-supernaturals, 2013-publication, march, read-2013, brain-candy

3.5 stars Dusty is a girl who is literally a nightmare. Reading the synopsis about this girl who feeds off bad dreams (based on mythical mares in folklore), I didn't expect to find that this story would have a more lighthearted tone. The overall feel of the book is pretty humorous and the story is fast-paced, and both the writing style and the set-up of a school for magical creatures reminded me quite a bit of Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall series.

I have to admit that while I enjoyed the story while...more

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Jan 15, 2013 fяσzєη rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: covergasm, netgalley-or-edelweiss, 2013-faves, books-i-want-to-marry, deserves-the-hype, dickhead-heroes, faeries, demons, faves, heroines-i-adore, hilarious, its-so-fluffy-im-gonna-die, love-triangles, made-me-smile, mermaids-and-sirens, witches

This review is also available over at my blog.

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This was a very fun read!

Obviously what first lured me into wanting to read this book was the Nightmare concept, which I thought was very interesting, and I'm always intrigued when an author creates their own species of paranormal creatures. Nightmares feed on dreams, and the stuff that dreams are made of, called fictus. But Dusty isn't just any Nightmare. She's also a dream-seer, which means she can see the future through drea...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Kara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, boarding-school, didn-t-live-up-to-expectations, dreaded-love-triangle, for-review, magic, net-galley, paranormal, young-adult

I have noticed, for the most part, that when a blogger says a book is "fun," i.e., "this book didn't have a lot of depth but it was fun," that's code word for it was meh. At least most of the time. But when I say it here, I actually mean it. The Nightmare Affair WAS fun. The story was fairly formulaic, but I appreciated the unique usage of a very famous legend. I enjoyed the mythology and there were some world-building elements I truly enjoyed. If you are a casual reader reading the book purely...more I have noticed, for the most part, that when a blogger says a book is "fun," i.e., "this book didn't have a lot of depth but it was fun," that's code word for it was meh. At least most of the time. But when I say it here, I actually mean it. The Nightmare Affair WAS fun. The story was fairly formulaic, but I appreciated the unique usage of a very famous legend. I enjoyed the mythology and there were some world-building elements I truly enjoyed. If you are a casual reader reading the book purely for story/plot, I think The Nightmare Affair will be one you most likely will love. Someone like me looks at all the mechanics of a book though, and that's where the flaws lie. I'll get to those shortly, but I can be objective enough to separate my thoughts from the way others are probably going to feel. That's why, before I get into this review any more deeply, I want to say that I DO recommend this book for the casual reader. I thought it was AWESOME for that purpose.

Moving on.

I know I didn't need to include that GIF but I kind of wanted to because I have had it forever and I WANTED to use its so badly!

So, back to the book.

Most of my issues were with the writing. When I started reading this book, I was actually worried I was going to have to DNF it. But I stuck it out and it did get better. That said, there was SO MUCH telling in this book. Almost zero instances of imagery. Poor character development which makes sense since the author was telling me everything about the characters rather than showing me. I didn't believe in the chemistry between Paul and Dusty because the author didn't show me it existed. The writing was bare bones: vague, lacking in detail, and just very meh.

The characters grew on me a little by the end, but still, most of them felt very flat to me. Eli, Paul, Mr. Morrow, Selene, Moira...ALL FLAT. I like my characters with personality and I just was not able to become attached to these people because of the poor writing.

I did like the way the story wrapped up. The climax and fight scene kept me incredibly engaged and flipping those pages. I thought it was written well and paced correctly. That was one area of the book where I thought the writing worked.

For as creepy as the setting should have been, it was not creepy at all. But that was because the appropriate amount of detail and atmosphere was not added. I don't know if the author actually writes like this or because the editor made an executive decision that it needed to be simpler, but either way, it was a poor decision. I almost felt as if this book gave off a middle grade vibe, but then I hate to insult middle grade books because most of them have more depth than this. Ouch, I know.

Also, you'll find a couple of the typical YA tropes here: love triangle, instalove, shallow mean girl with no depth, the quirky best friend who wasn't all the quirky, etc. Not to mention there were several interesting parallels between this book and Harry Potter. Clearly the author is a fan. Not that that's a bad thing but this almost bordered on a bit too much.

I could complain for a while about this book. But I clearly didn't hate it as I rated it 3 stars. Which brings me back to the first paragraph. Sometimes I wish I still read as a casual reader, because if I did, 5 stars all the way. If I just read for fun and not to critique, this book would have been magic for me. But it wasn't. But the story is a great ride, so if you are looking for a lighthearted paranormal read, I think I could recommend this to you. (less)

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Feb 11, 2013 Bonnie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blog-tour, fantasy, ya, arcs-read, read-in-2013, edelweiss-netgalley

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
A copy of The Nightmare Affair was provided to me by Tor Teen/Netgalley for review purposes.

Mare or Nightmare
noun
1. an evil spirit or goblin in Germanic folklore which rides on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on bad dreams (or "nightmares").

Dusty is a relatively normal 16 year-old girl, except for that whole "my mother is a Nightmare". In the most literal sense. Literal meaning she's a mythical creature that feeds on what dreams are made of. One night while Du...more My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
A copy of The Nightmare Affair was provided to me by Tor Teen/Netgalley for review purposes.

Mare or Nightmare
noun
1. an evil spirit or goblin in Germanic folklore which rides on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on bad dreams (or "nightmares").

Dusty is a relatively normal 16 year-old girl, except for that whole "my mother is a Nightmare". In the most literal sense. Literal meaning she's a mythical creature that feeds on what dreams are made of. One night while Dusty is doing just that, she finds herself in a dream depicting a murder of one of her classmates that is vivid enough to leave her shaken. She returns to her school that night only to find out that that was no ordinary dream, she had just witnessed a real murder.

Nightmares aren't the only mythical creature in this vibrant and imaginative world Mindee has created. Dusty attends Arkwell Academy along with other magical beings such as warlocks, witches, vampires, sirens, mermaids, demons, and of course, nightmares. The purpose of the Academy is to teach all magical creatures how to function and live in this world undetected. Considering there was so much to this world, there was a lot of information to be explained in detail for the reader and it was a bit of an information overload in the beginning. There was one particular aspect of this world regarding what was called 'The Will' which was a powerful magic that essentially acted as a 'Big Brother' and kept individuals from using their magic to harm. It played a huge part of the story as a whole but wasn't explained as easily as it could have been and I was left with unanswered questions regarding its functionality.

I dislike comparing books with out another because there is so little these days that is truly original. Some facet of every story has more than likely already been done time and time again, the part that becomes most important is how that author takes that used idea and molds and transforms it into something uniquely theirs. I could go on and on about how much the setting reminded me of Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins with its supernatural school with various different magical beings. How the main character who is quirky and funny yet ultimately an outcast. How her enemies are the beautiful popular girls and even the parental setup is similar with her mother being estranged and her father being non-magical (just the other way around in HH). I could even go so far as to compare the seriousness and intensity of the mystery to a Dan Brown novel and the magical battles and ending worthy of a Harry Potter book. I could likely do this form of comparison with all my book reviews.

The point in all this, despite these comparisons that danced through my head while reading, is I loved those bits that were truly unique and given the authors special touch. Using a 'Nightmare' as a supernatural being was genius and I loved it. I also loved how she took a supernatural story and added a medieval twist (two things that I would normally never put together in my head) and really made it work for me. I'd like to see some stronger character development in future installments and please, please, make that completely unnecessary love triangle go away. This book is one Nightmare you mind experiencing. Recommended for supernatural mystery fans looking for a bit of a twist.

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Apr 22, 2013 Suzanne (Paranormal Pages) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: most-anticipated-2013, kindle-read, nightmares

3.5 stars

One of my most anticipated reads of 2013, this book didn't disappoint. While it didn't blow me away, I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

There were just a few issues I had with it. The story is built around a lot of mystery and suspense but I found it to be really predictable. I worked it out almost from the beginning and found that the character that I suspected was bland uninteresting and there seemed to be no other reason for him to be there, but for him to be the bad guy when it came to...more 3.5 stars

One of my most anticipated reads of 2013, this book didn't disappoint. While it didn't blow me away, I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

There were just a few issues I had with it. The story is built around a lot of mystery and suspense but I found it to be really predictable. I worked it out almost from the beginning and found that the character that I suspected was bland uninteresting and there seemed to be no other reason for him to be there, but for him to be the bad guy when it came to it.

I don't know whether I would really call this a love triangle or not. There were two guys, but one relationship finished before another started, so I'm not sure. But I didn't find the romance in this to be very appealing. There was some enjoyable tension between two of the characters but I felt it was resolved too quickly, which for me, gave it an insta lovey kind of feel. And I didn't quite take to the other guy, I had my suspicions of him, so that was fairly disappointing.

I was happy with how this story started off, I just felt that we got to the bones of it too quickly. I would have liked to see Dusty interacting at the Academy and one or two uneventful dream feeds first before getting to the important one. But I did manage to connect with the story straight away but I then felt it waned a little in the middle before picking up again for an exciting ending.

Dusty is a nightmare, literally. This is original for me, as I've only come across one once before, and it wasn't as a main character so it was nice to have this whole book based around one. I loved the idea of dream seers, especially with someone as hot as Eli, I wouldn't complain. Dusty's smart mouthed attitude endeared her to me and her only friend, Selene, who is a siren, was also a character I just couldn't help but like.

I really liked Eli too. He holds it against Dusty because he had to leave his school and attend the Academy. I enjoy tension between characters that gradually builds into something more, but here, I just found him being overly nice to Dusty far too soon for my liking. He was a part of the "in" crowd and very few people seemed to like Dusty because she was a nightmare, so I felt it could have been played out a bit longer.

Looking back, this review does sound extremely negative and that's not the impression I wanted to give. None of these issues really hindered my enjoyment of the book and I will have no hesitation in recommending it. It is well written, with a decent plot and good characterisation, for the most part. For me, it just could have been slightly better.
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Feb 26, 2013 Experiment BL626 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, netgalley, paranormal, reviewed

The plot was good. The characters, not so much.

+ the protagonist
The book was written exclusively in 1st person POV from Dusty’s side. I love this type of POV, but I quickly found Dusty lacking as a heroine in many ways. When you remove her special powers and circumstances, she was as plain and uninteresting as her (nick)namesake, dust. More than plain, to my perpetual discomfort, Dusty didn’t exhibit prudence, caution, or any apparent trait that showed she had any sense of self-preservation. I g...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Van rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare, a Magickind and in order to replenish her magic/powers she has to feed off of people’s dreams (and the best way to ‘feed’ is by sitting on the chest of the victim, which is as weird as it sounds lol). On one of her regular feeding trips she goes into the dream of Eli Booker, one of the hottest guys that go to her old high school. His dream is unlike any other dream she’d ever encounter, his was vivid and colorful versus the dull black and white one she been in…and...more Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare, a Magickind and in order to replenish her magic/powers she has to feed off of people’s dreams (and the best way to ‘feed’ is by sitting on the chest of the victim, which is as weird as it sounds lol). On one of her regular feeding trips she goes into the dream of Eli Booker, one of the hottest guys that go to her old high school. His dream is unlike any other dream she’d ever encounter, his was vivid and colorful versus the dull black and white one she been in…and he’s dreaming of a murder at her current school which should be impossible. Dusty is currently attending Arkwell Academy, a school for the Magickind (Fairies, mermaids, siren, demons etc) and there’s no way he’s been there because it’s for magical folks and he’s an ordinary human. Before Dusty can analyze more of the dream, Eli grabs Dusty and boots her from the dream. She tries to spell him to escape but everything she throws at Eli gets cancelled out. Things go from bad to worse when she arrives back at Arkwell to discover Eli’s dream has just came true. A murderer is on the loose, and the magis (top Magickind leaders) want Dusty to find the clues to who the killer is by using her Nightmare skills. There is a catch though, she’s only allowed to ‘feed’ off of Eli because it turns out she’s a dream-seer (someone who can see what will happen in the future) and it will only work when she’s with Eli.

When I first heard about this book, I knew I was going to like it from its cute cover to the intriguing synopsis about a girl who is the epitome of Nightmare (at least to what we think we know). This book is a mash up all things paranormal with a hint of Nancy Drew, Mean Girls, and Harry Potter. Many people probably think The Nightmare Affair is just another paranormal boarding school novel but it isn’t. Most of the paranormal beings aren’t the typical vampires or werewolves seen in most YA today but focus on other lesser known paras such as Sirens, Demons, fairies, wizards all with their own uniqueness and of course Nightmares. Although Nightmares are rare, and there is only three (including Dusty) within the whole area or even state (but you have to read the book to find out why!). The paranormal mystery in the story was interesting, it always kept me guessing who the killer was, and the overall characters were all well fleshed out, I enjoy every single character…even the snotty Lance and Katarina.

I love Dusty from the start, she’s really down to earth, a typical 16-year old, smart, and doesn’t care what people think of her. Dusty never fitted in when she arrived at Arkwell a couple months ago, she’s the only Nightmare at school and her mother is an infamous rebel known to always bend/break The Will (which is a magic spell/rule that makes sure all Magickind don’t harm one another). Dusty is constantly picked on by the popular kids (Lance and Katarina) but it never fazes her, she isn’t afraid to talk back and or retaliate against them. Then there's Dusty’s mom Moira and best friend Selene who are also great secondary characters. Moira isn’t your typical mother, she’s kind of out there and even though some of her parental teachings are questionable, she loves dusty very much.Talking of Dusty's mom, she was another plus for the story because not only is Dusty’s mom around keeping tabs on her but for once the main YA MC has both parents for that matter! I don’t know if you guys noticed but a lot of MC in YA have no parents because they died, not even there, or gosh know what...I find that annoying and repetitive since it’s in every other YA out there . Then we have Selene who is a siren, she’s a loyal and caring friend and doesn’t let her good siren looks get to her head like others (*cough*Katarina).

Another thing I enjoyed about The Nightmare Affair was that the author incorporated Arthurian myth/legends into the story which I found fun because not many books have done that in a YA novel (at least none that I’ve read), and I just recently watched 4 season of the TV show Merlin so reading about Arthur and Merlin made me giddy :D. There is also a love triangle in the book, and while I’m not a fan of love triangles this one didn’t bother me so much because I already knew who she’d pick in the end. Yes, it was slightly predictable but it didn’t make the story any less fun. I love this book a lot, and it exceeded my expectations. The Nightmare Affair is full of awesome characters, fascinating world building, and a killer fun mystery that had me guessing till the end. The end is left open to build on in the next book but not like a cliff hanger thankfully. I can’t wait to read more about Dusty and her friends in the next book, The Nightmare Dilemma which comes out in 2014! I highly recommend this to everyone, who I think will like a light-fun paranormal mystery. (less)

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Mar 02, 2013 Zuleeza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

Words cannot express how sorry I am for being MIA since early this year. My daily routine includes chopping sheep organs and working with radioactive substance for my Honors year. Wish I have more time to hang out here and read more. :(

Anyway, The Midnight Affair was a lovely surprise because I didn't expect to feel this entertained when I was expecting something entirely different from a book. I don't know why but I kept expecting a darker and a more depressing tone of the story even though the...more Words cannot express how sorry I am for being MIA since early this year. My daily routine includes chopping sheep organs and working with radioactive substance for my Honors year. Wish I have more time to hang out here and read more. :(

Anyway, The Midnight Affair was a lovely surprise because I didn't expect to feel this entertained when I was expecting something entirely different from a book. I don't know why but I kept expecting a darker and a more depressing tone of the story even though the cover and the blurb kinda hint that this is more like a chick-lit fantasy YA novel. Probably because my infatuation with lucid dreams LOL!

Initially, although the premise of Nightmare as a person is very refreshing, I couldn't help but to feel like this is another Harry Potter/Hex Hall wannabe. It doesn't help when Dusty, the protag reminds me a lot of Sophie from Hex Hall due to her sassy plus awkward persona. But somehow it worked? I agree the first half was not substantial enough but strangely it didn't deter me from reading more. I was quite entertained with the wide range of species in Arkwell Academy such as the werewolf police, the hag, the siren - they all inject a little something to the story with their distinctive personalities.

The second half was intense LOL! The myth isn't entirely original but the spin put on to it was believable and well-developed. I have a feeling that there were indeed some plot holes, but because the story was so enjoyable at this point, I didn't bother to scrutinize anymore. Yes, it was also predictable but not too predictable, if you get I mean? LOL! You'd know that obviously these guys weren't the bad guys but you're not entirely sure if the good guys were truly the good guys?

Anyway, the ending put aside, Paul is the ultimate swoonworthy guy! I also liked the best friend, Selene, the rebellious siren. I was somewhat entertained by the pranks war between Dusty and Lance. Lance is this scumbag, popular guy who likes to assume the Joker persona. Extra brownie points from me there because I just love the Joker!

So overall, I thought this book wasn't bad at all. It's not spectacular, mind you, but if you're looking for a light read then this fits the bill nicely. :)

**The ARC was provided by Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 JennyJen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, fun-times, hero-doesnt-do-it-for-me, magic, read-2013, romance-sans-the-cheese, solid-series-start, young-adult

*No spoilers.

3.5 stars.

Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair is a fun little read. If nothing else, it’s definitely unique in that the main character is a nightmare. Can’t say I’ve ever read a book with a nightmare as the MC. Truthfully, I didn’t love this book, but I did like it and it was easy to keep picking it up. Though I felt it was pretty predictable, Arnett did a good job of peppering the story with her own originality and that kept this from being just another generic YA read.

Dusty is a...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Sarah added it

Shelves: 2013, books-i-must-have, wishlist, on-the-lookout-for-this, most-excited-for, arc, books-to-be-reviewed

What a jolly good book.

Review to come.
***
The synopsis made me giggle-snort so bad, something came out of my nose. I wonder what it'd would be like when I am finally reading this. Must prepare some tissues. You never know. ;)

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Mar 19, 2013 Reeka (BoundbyWords) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-read-2013, contemporary-fantasy, ya-fiction

As seen on my blog:

2.5 STARS
I wanted this book to be so much more than it was. Every aspect in The Nightmare Affair seemed to be lacking the juice and spunk it needed to be something spectacular. The world building was non-existent and contrived, the characters were thrown at you with little to no back-story, and I turned the last page feeling pretty...hollow. There were many frames put up in this book, but there was no solid foundation, or walls, to support the ideas.

Dusty Everhart is a nightm...more As seen on my blog:

2.5 STARS
I wanted this book to be so much more than it was. Every aspect in The Nightmare Affair seemed to be lacking the juice and spunk it needed to be something spectacular. The world building was non-existent and contrived, the characters were thrown at you with little to no back-story, and I turned the last page feeling pretty...hollow. There were many frames put up in this book, but there was no solid foundation, or walls, to support the ideas.

Dusty Everhart is a nightmare, she survives by feeding off of the "fictus" (substance) in people's dreams. When I first read the synopsis, I thought "WHOA, that is so freaking cool, and original!". Inside, I began to brew up feelings of mystery and magic and a whole other slew of things I didn't get ONE ounce of, once I actually started reading. Dusty was your typical, hormone-enraged, slightly awkward in her own skin, teenaged girl. Take away the fact that she goes to a school for "magickind," and you're left with a premise that has infested almost every single fantasy/paranormal YA fiction novel about a teenager with magical powers. I was SO prepared for something different with The Nightmare Affair, and I believe that it fully intended to offer that to me, but unfortunately, it fell short, in so many ways.

The characters in this are, for the most part, gifted with all sorts of magical powers. There are fairies, sirens, demons, wizards..the works. That fact alone left me a bit overwhelmed-there were just TOO many types of characters trying to exist at one time. It felt like the author was trying to throw as many in as possible, which caused character development to suffer as a result. While each character's ability definitely warranted awe, it all seemed a bit over exaggerated in the end. I also thought it was a little strange that every character, no matter their kind, attended classes to learn how to do the exact same magic. This is me nit-picking, I know, but combined, all of the little discrepancies added up to a huge snag in my mind.

Dusty's character was a mile away from me, and while I enjoyed the entertainment aspect that she and Eli provided as they worked to solve a murder case, I felt no connection with her as a person. We were given a slight glimpse into the stilted relationship she had with her mother, but even that, was all it was: a slight glimpse. Her mother might as well have been an ex-best friend, or a roommate-that's how inconsequential their relationship felt. I don't think that dynamic was intentional, I think we were, as readers, supposed to feel the underlying love Dusty's mother had for her, but unfortunately, I felt nothing.

The Nightmare Affair was not a complete bust, the storyline aimed outside the box, but sadly, hit the walls and fell inside of it. I was entertained, but I wasn't jumping out of my seat.

Recommended for: Fans of fantasy, contemporary, hormone-enraged romance, and been-there, done-that, magic.

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*DISCLAIMER* I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Valia Lind rated it 5 of 5 stars

Actual review: http://wordsareinnermusic.blogspot.co...

Guys, I've been sitting on this review for two months! I don't even know how I contained my excitement until now, but somehow I did. Well, mostly it's because I talked about the book nonstop anyway. *snickers* But I'm way ahead of myself here.

The Nightmare Affair is a story of Dusty Everhart, a real life Nightmare. This is not a technical term, it's a magical one. It's her job to sit on top of unsuspecting victims and drink their dream jui...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: march-releases, challenge-debut-author, challenge-paranormal-fantasy

INT Giveaway on the blog! http://somelikeitparanormall.blogspot...

Dusty is a nightmare that feeds on dreams. The Will is the power that controls the paranormals and sets her feeding schedule for every other week. While out on a feed run she realizes she will have to feed on one of her old classmates, Eli. Straddling him, she enters his dreams where she sees the death of one of her new classmates. Eli notices her, touches her and she is lifted from the dream. Her magic bounces off him and she tak...more INT Giveaway on the blog! http://somelikeitparanormall.blogspot...

Dusty is a nightmare that feeds on dreams. The Will is the power that controls the paranormals and sets her feeding schedule for every other week. While out on a feed run she realizes she will have to feed on one of her old classmates, Eli. Straddling him, she enters his dreams where she sees the death of one of her new classmates. Eli notices her, touches her and she is lifted from the dream. Her magic bounces off him and she takes off running. There is something different about her powers with Eli which is confirmed when the dream becomes a reality.

Once Dusty came into her powers she had to leave her old school behind to attend Arkwell Academy. Now that Eli is able to help Dusty see the future in his dreams, he has to give up his normal life, to also attend Arkwell Academy with a bunch of kids who can do magic except him. This causes some bitterness from Eli and things with Dusty do not start off well. It also made it difficult to like Eli at first even though I could understand his feelings. He wants to avoid Dusty and her freaky powers but The Will commands that Dusty now visit his dreams three times a week. Dusty has an attraction to Eli but believes he hates her. They do begin to build a friendship that I think will make a romance in the sequel really great. I enjoyed their scenes and how they worked to become a team.

The mystery is the heavy focus of the book. I loved Dusty and Eli working as detectives and Dusty even makes a reference to Veronica Mars. I did find part of the mystery to be a bit predictable and cliche but the other half did surprise me. Dusty looked into teachers and other students at the Academy. The Academy itself was fun and reminded me a bit of Hogwarts. There were magic classes and unique teachers. All different types of paranormal creatures attend the school so there was a variety of interesting characters.

Dusty's mom, and nightmares in general, are known for disobedience so she doesn't have a lot of friends besides her siren roommate Selene. I often find the best friend characters in books to be flat and pointless but I found Selene very likable. She is a siren and known for beauty but she really wants to be seen as more. She is very supportive of Dusty. Selene, Dusty, and Eli often have little Scooby Doo like meetings to help track down the killer. They were a hilarious group at times and kept me turning the pages. The conclusion wrapped up the mystery well without any hanging questions. I look forward to seeing what Dusty and Eli solve next as they grew into a strong pair.

---
"A fully charged Nightmare can do whatever they want inside a dream. Here, we're like gods."
A chill went through me at her words. It all sounded a bit too much like A Nightmare on Elm Street for my tastes.

"That was quite a show," Lance said. "Do you straddle all your victims even after they're awake, or is it something you reserve for Eli?"

"Hurry up and go to sleep already," I said. "I wanna get this freak show on the road."
---

*I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*(less)

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Feb 17, 2013 Savindi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, young-adult

Cover Gushing Worthiness: The cover of The Nightmare Affair is probably one of my favourite bookcovers of the year. I like the colours, the setting and the silhouette of a girl. It reminded me a lot of the cover of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. Last verdict: The cover is visually appealing and hats off to the cover designer because I can’t think of a reason not to pick up the book after looking at the cover.

Review: I don’t remember exactly how I came across The Nightmare Affair, but I suspect...more

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May 06, 2013 Tandie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, magic, special-ed-school, supa-powers, brain-candy-fluff

This was a cute, fun read. Dusty is a Nightmare. She feeds on fictus, the stuff of people's dreams. She encounters a boy she knows from school one night and he busts her in his room invading his dream. He gets sucked into her magical world, which includes attending Arkwell Academy. Eli Booker is NOT happy about this new development. Crazy mom, a murderer on the loose, and magic. Lots of fun!

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Mar 10, 2013 Stormi (Lightning Book Promotions) rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I read the blurb for this book I thought, now this book sounds interesting. Never heard about Nightmares before, so that sounds like a fresh new idea. I wasn't let down, it was a fun and interesting read. The author is a new one and I will continue to check in and see what else she is writing.

Dusty is a Nightmare, literally. She gets her magic from the fictus that comes from people's dreams. She was an ordinary until she came into her powers, now all of a sudden she is in a new school, Arkw...more When I read the blurb for this book I thought, now this book sounds interesting. Never heard about Nightmares before, so that sounds like a fresh new idea. I wasn't let down, it was a fun and interesting read. The author is a new one and I will continue to check in and see what else she is writing.

Dusty is a Nightmare, literally. She gets her magic from the fictus that comes from people's dreams. She was an ordinary until she came into her powers, now all of a sudden she is in a new school, Arkwell Academy. It's a place for magickind and they don't really care for halfkinds which is what Dusty is, her mother is a nightmare but her father is an ordinary.

Dusty finds it sort of embarrassing to climb up on sleeping people and feed off their dreams, but nothing was more embarrassing than finding out that the Will had brought her to Eli Booker's place. He is one of the hot boys from her old school and now she has to climb up on his chest and feed from his dream. Dusty thought things just couldn't get worse, until he sees her in his dream and touches her knocking her out of his dream and waking him up.

The interesting thing about that dream was that she seen someone from her school who was murdered. Then she finds out that the girl really was murdered and that she is a dreamseer. With Eli she can see things that will happen in the future, but they might now always look as simple as seeing the murdered girl. She has to write down everything so that the oracle can try and figure out what the dreams mean.

Eli hates Dusty at first because now he has to transfer to a new school, one that hates ordinaries so that she can feed on his dreams. His father is a detective and he wants to be one too so he can't just let a killer kill again so after a while Dusty and Eli sort of come to terms with each other. Eli starts dating Katarina which really gets on Dusty's nerves as she can't stand her, but then Dusty finds Paul.

Eli, Dusty and her friend Selene try and do their best to find out who is killing the Keepers before someone nasty breaks The Will. Dusty hardly knows who to trust and some of those she thought she could trust end up not being so friendly.

Dusty was a fairly strong character with some flaws but I think that makes them a bit more believable. She could be a little whiny at times but overall she was strong. She came though in the end even when she didn't think she had the strengh. I liked her, I liked the whole being a nightmare as it is something I never think of or see as a character.

Eli, is an ordinary trying to live in a magickind world. Most magickind hate ordinaries so I would have thought he would have a hard time adjusting to Arkwell. His good looks help him as well as his roommate being one of the more popular naturekind boys. It sort of makes Dusty upset at how much is is accepted when nobody but Selene want's to be her friend, because she is halfkind. Eli, is hot, sweet, smart and just really adorable.

Although the characters are fresh and new, I didn't think that the storyline was extremely original. I did however enjoy the story and found it to be a fast paced read and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. If you like these types of stories I think you will find this one to be a fun light read and would recommend it.
(less)

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May 23, 2013 Arthistorychick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, paranormal-series, young-adult

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
(Book #1: The Arkwell Academy)
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4½/5 stars

Dusty is just like every other sixteen-year-old girl with one glaring exception: she is a Nightmare. Not the “Oh, she is a nightmare to be friends with!” kind of way but in the come into you room in the middle of the night, sit on your chest and feed off your dreams kind of way. Being a half-breed (mortal dad and Nightmare mother) Dusty didn’t come into her powers until a few months ago and she...more The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
(Book #1: The Arkwell Academy)
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4½/5 stars

Dusty is just like every other sixteen-year-old girl with one glaring exception: she is a Nightmare. Not the “Oh, she is a nightmare to be friends with!” kind of way but in the come into you room in the middle of the night, sit on your chest and feed off your dreams kind of way. Being a half-breed (mortal dad and Nightmare mother) Dusty didn’t come into her powers until a few months ago and she is slowly getting the hang of this whole feeding off dreams deal. She’s even learning to adjust to life at her new school, Arkwell Academy, a place for those like Dusty with magical abilities.

A few times every couple of weeks Dusty leaves Arkwell to satisfy her Nightmare need for dreams and while she is still getting the hang of things she knows something has gone horribly wrong the night she tries to feed from Eli Booker – total hotty from her old high school and the one person her magic does not work on. WTH?? Even more problematic is what Dusty and Eli saw in Eli’s dream, an Arkwell student found dead on school grounds with no suspect in sight. Within a few days’ time, everything is turned upside down and sideways with Eli now enrolled at Arkwell, Dusty told she is a very, very rare dream-seer, Eli is her one and only dream-seeing partner and, the two of them together must help the powers that be determine who killed an Arkwell student. No pressure there, right?

Eli and Dusty, not surprisingly have a hard time getting into synch with one another. Eli is angry about being yanked out of his old life and Dusty is more than a little uncomfortable with feeding from a guy she has the hots for. Both however realize their mission is important and try to make the best of a hard situation. Also throw into the mix are Dusty’s super-awesome roommate (and Siren!!) Selene, the nerdy and non-magical library guy with a crush on Dusty, Paul and, Dusty’s often absent and totally infamous mom, Moira. As events begin to unfold and more bodies begin to show up, Dusty and her crew realize they are in way over their heads but that they may be the only ones capable of stopping a vicious killer.

The Nightmare Affair is driven by its cast of characters and each has his/her own unique voice, qualities, and flaws. Dusty is an absolute favorite and though her stubbornness often gets her into more trouble than is strictly necessary, she is still worth routing for. Eli is all kinds of pretty and determined to make the most of his situation – he may not be able to wield magic but his dad is a detective and he has learned a lot from his old man. Selene and Moira are two characters I want a lot more of!! Selene is gorgeous (but hides it!), generally fearless and intelligent while Moira is a well-known and totally unapologetic rule-breaker who seems to dislike everyone, including her own daughter. In the long haul, I think these two females have the ability and personalities to really take over the Nightmare series. For the record, I am OK with that!

The Bottom Line: I tried starting this book several times and had a hard time getting into it which leads me to my only reservation about this read: the first couple of chapters are a little hard to get through but once you do, the ride is well worth the slightly difficult beginning. Once I got into this book it was a smooth and easy read with lots of twists and turns and some really cool twists on some fun myths and legends. I had a hard time putting this one down once it got rolling  I will admit to having seen one of the badies coming from a mile away but not the super-big baddy and how the whole plot would eventually unfold. Every twist and turn leads to a dramatic finish with the group, Selene, Eli and, Dusty working together to catch a killer. Overall, I am glad I got over myself and gave The Nightmare Affair a fair shot. I feel good and confident in recommending this read to all YA+ readers and lovers of the paranormal. (less)

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May 17, 2013 Gena rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a cute little book, with some interesting characters. Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare, a magical girl who feeds off the energy of a dreamer's dream. When she meets Eli she learns her true destiny and together they have to defeat a powerful wizard who wants to rule their world. Mindee Arnett has created a fun new series full of fairies, trolls, vampires, hellhounds and the like. All of them attend a magical academy where they take classes and learn to navigate their world. Dusty is new to h...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Pinkie Pie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-read

Wow! This was a lot of fun to read. There was quite a lot going on in The Nightmare Affair. Arnett combined a host of mythologies and wrote them all into one book. It was very enjoyable, with a plucky, fun protagonist and a compelling mystery.

From the beginning, I knew I would love Dusty. We meet her as she is breaking into a house on one of her bi-weekly feeding sessions. She is a Nightmare - a being that feeds on the stuff dreams are made of. Of course, the victim er, subject, Eli, is the hott...more Wow! This was a lot of fun to read. There was quite a lot going on in The Nightmare Affair. Arnett combined a host of mythologies and wrote them all into one book. It was very enjoyable, with a plucky, fun protagonist and a compelling mystery.

From the beginning, I knew I would love Dusty. We meet her as she is breaking into a house on one of her bi-weekly feeding sessions. She is a Nightmare - a being that feeds on the stuff dreams are made of. Of course, the victim er, subject, Eli, is the hottest guy at Dusty's old, normal school, and this sends her into a tailspin of snark and anxiety that doesn't let up until the end of the novel. I loved her voice - she was plucky and hilarious and sincere, if a little gullible. I loved how she always fought to do the right thing, even when it seemed like the hardest thing, and that she was a loyal, true friend.

The relationships between the characters are what makes this novel as enjoyable as it was. With all the clashing personalities, because of the huge variety of creatures attending Arkwell Academy, it makes for quite a volatile environment. Because of this, the interactions were always dynamic, and it was fun getting to learn to nuances of the magickind community. Friendship was a prevailing theme throughout the book - whether it's Dusty's friendship with her siren room mate, Selene, or the tentative but close companionship she finds with Eli. Even the romance, which didn't take over the book, thank god, with the magically inept Paul, was normal, and I mean that in the best way.

Now, I am a sucker for boarding school stories - I just can't stay away from them! And The Nightmare Affair certainly delivered. There is the close-quarters feeling with all of the characters, which of course would lead to conflict even in a normal, human school. In fact, I loved all of the world-building in this book. The magickind have a working government (in all countries, not just America!) with different branches, similar to our own. The Academy itself was well drawn out, and I loved how every magical being you could dream up, from hags and minotaurs to Hell hounds and wizards, were involved.

The Nightmare Affair read like watching an episode of Veronica Mars infused with Inception, Percy Jackson, and a little bit of Buffy. There was a great ensemble cast, and a mystery that might have been a bit obvious, but was still very fun. There were lots of red herrings, and new discoveries around every corner. I definitely recommend this book for readers looking for a new spin on the paranormal romance genre, with less romance, and a huge focus on the paranormal.(less)

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Mar 28, 2013 De'Zsa rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hex Hall and Harry Potter fans

Shelves: 2-stars, ya, read-2013, 2013-publication, boarding-school, friendship, love-triangle, paranormal, sci-fi-dystopian-fantasy, romance, too-damn-predictable

Rating: 1.5 stars

Review also available on: Stop and Smell The Books

You know how a reviewer rates a book 1 star, but wish they could rate it zero? Not in this case because I liked Eli, Selene, Lance, and the dog. Okay I wouldn't say the dog, but I did enjoy the dog's presence. Other than that, The Nightmare Affair was so silly to me.

The Nightmare Affair started off enjoyable; I laughed several times in the beginning because of Destiny "Dusty" Everhart's—the protagonist—witty personality. I gaine...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Chrystal added it

Shelves: 100-book-challenge-2013

I really was excited to read this book when I found out that it was based on a paranormal being that I've never read about before - a nightmare! I had no idea that nightmares could really exist as an entity - one who feeds off of the dreams of others. It was a very interesting concept and I loved every minute of learning about Dusty and her magical abilities. Also, I loved learning more about the other beings that are introduced throughout the novel - some I have known for as long as I have been...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Laney Sultan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a lot of Hex Hall, and that's great because I really enjoyed reading that series (but also sometimes took me out the story because I would start comparing the two and there were a LOT of similarities). This book started out with a bang, but as the story progressed, it lost a lot of steam unfortunately. I liked Dusty--she was sarcastic, funny, and not extremely angsty, though her musings about her Nighmare self were pretty self-loathing and annoying at times. I also didn't l...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Cassie Gutman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Paranormal Haven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-by-ronnie-guest-reviewer

2.5 stars

A fun premise with a unique protagonist is what got me to pick up Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair. Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare. A mythical creature that feeds from peoples’ dreams, we meet Dusty as she’s breaking into a home of an old classmate, Eli Booker. As Dusty is going through Eli’s dream, she stumbles upon a classmate who has been murdered. When she panics and tries to escape the dream, she ends up waking up Eli and tries to use her magic on him only to discover that he’s...more 2.5 stars

A fun premise with a unique protagonist is what got me to pick up Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair. Dusty Everhart is a Nightmare. A mythical creature that feeds from peoples’ dreams, we meet Dusty as she’s breaking into a home of an old classmate, Eli Booker. As Dusty is going through Eli’s dream, she stumbles upon a classmate who has been murdered. When she panics and tries to escape the dream, she ends up waking up Eli and tries to use her magic on him only to discover that he’s immune.

I’ve just described what happens in the first 3% of the book. The Nightmare Affair gets off to a quick start and pretty much never lets up. Because this appears to be the first book in the series, it gives you a lot of information, quickly and gracelessly. The info dumps happen frequently throughout the entire novel. Dusty attends Arkwell Academy, a school for the magically inclined, along with various other creatures that make appearances throughout the novel. The higher ups at Arkwell Academy inform Dusty that they think she is a dream-seer, that is, someone that has the ability to see the future through dreams because of what happened with her classmate, Eli Booker. Besides being her “partner” in Dusty’s dream-seeing abilities, he is also her resident crush. This I really did not understand. Besides Dusty salivating over Eli in his boxers, he doesn’t seem to have much of a personality. He spends a good portion of the book ignoring Dusty in favor of her siren classmate, Katrina.

That being said, I did like Dusty. She comes across as a likeable protagonist. She doesn’t understand her abilities half the time, she has mom issues, and lets her impulsive nature get the better of her more often than not. While Dusty investigates Rosemary’s death, she meets another boy (yes! Of course!) named Paul who expresses interest in her. Dusty’s long absent mother, Moira, comes into the picture as well. Her mother, another Nightmare, is a pretty big deal within the magical world. She tries to protect Dusty by keeping her as ignorant as possible (I’ll never understand parents who think this is in the best interest of the child) but Dusty refuses to remain clueless and makes it clear to her mom that she isn’t going anywhere.

This book had enormous potential. It has creativity, likeable characters, and a world I was very interested in reading about. However, there are so many info dumps and internal monologues that it took me out the story and bored me while I was reading. Too much telling and not enough showing. The Nightmare Affair has quite a bit to offer, but it also comes with some pretty big flaws as well.
- Ronnie(less)

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Mar 08, 2013 Owlcat Mountain added it

I don't use star reviews, so please read my review!

(Description nicked from B&N.com.)

“Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest an...more I don't use star reviews, so please read my review!

(Description nicked from B&N.com.)

“Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli's dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.”

On the whole, I have no problem with “teen goes to magic school” novels. Admittedly, there are lots of them out there since the Harry Potter phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all pale copies or unoriginal in and of themselves. They’re usually quick, light reads that enliven an afternoon or two. And The Nightmare Affair definitely falls into that category: it’s a fast read with some mystery and some magic, which is pretty much what you’d expect from such a novel.

In a way, that’s the problem: this novel feels far too much like others in the genre. It has its unique elements—my favorite being the fact that objects which are around magic for too long begin to develop personalities—but on the whole, it doesn’t break enough new ground. There is the search for the magical artifact, the obligatory love triangle, a secret society, and the heroine being kept in the dark about what’s really going on.

Aside from the tone and general plot, though, I found this a reasonably good teen novel. Making Dusty a form of succubus is an interesting choice, although linking her to a guy in order to be able to fully access her powers made me roll my eyes a little. The aforementioned “enchanted objects” contributed to fun little vignettes when they showed up. The murders themselves were not too graphic, but they had just enough detail to them to bring a genuine chill upon reading them. I would have liked more detail on the school itself, but the plot focused more on the mystery than on the school in which it takes place. There are plenty of other magical races mentioned, which will probably play into future novels.

There was one aspect in particular that I found intriguing and that I wish had been explored more. There’s a spell called “The Will” which essentially keeps magic users from harming each other. It’s not something that I’ve seen in other novels, and it’s believable that something like it would exist. It also hearkens uncomfortably to our own real-world fears of having our lives interfered with by the “powers that be”.

I’m finding that I don’t have a lot to say about this particular book. It’s a pleasant read, with some nice touches, but it didn’t really stand out from the crowd. This could be a good “gateway” book to teen fantasy for those trying to get a young person into the genre. The Nightmare Affair hits all the major points common to the type, and in that respect, it does the job it came to do.

This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on March 8, 2013.(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
The YA Book Club: 2 Winners - THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR	1	9	Mar 18, 2013 08:36pm
Shut Up & Read: GIVEAWAY - 2 winners - The Nightmare Affair	1	7	Mar 18, 2013 02:11pm
Addicted to YA: GIVEAWAY - 2 winners - A Nightmare Affair	1	8	Mar 18, 2013 02:08pm

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The Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy #1)

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