A Rémálom-rejtvény

The Arkwell Academy #3

by Mindee Arnett, Mónika Mesterházi (Translator)

Porka ​Evergím harmadikos az Akkordél Akadémián, és nincs más vágya, mint egyedül maradni a barátjával, Eli Bookerrel, de a sors szó szerint távol tartja őket egymástól. Porka ugyanis Rémálom, aki be tud lépni Eli álmaiba, hogy figyelmeztető jeleket találjon a jövő értelmezéséhez, de egy ősi átok szerint, ha igaz szerelem bontakozik ki közöttük, az tragédiához vezet. Porka és Eli vállalná a kockázatot, ám a hatalom másképp gondolja: kísérőt jelölnek ki melléjük, aki vigyáz, hogy a kapcsolatuk szigorúan plátói maradjon.
Ha ez nem lenne elég, a Mágusfajták Rendkívüli Hírszerzési Alosztálya (az M.R.H.A.) megbízza őket, hogy az álomlátó kötelékükre támaszkodva segítsenek megtalálni a fekete mágiának a mágusfajták által ismert legnagyobb hatalmú tárgyát. Az Animus Mortem feltámasztja a holtakat, de az élők lelkének kiszívása útján… így hollétének kinyomozása valóban élet-halál kérdése.
Hogy még rosszabb legyen a helyzet, Porka egyik barátját gyilkossággal vádolják, és az illető számít rá, hogy Porka tisztázza.
Porkának túl sok álma, túl sok feladata van, túl sokan ellenőrzik, mit csinál, ám egy Rémálom ritkán engedelmeskedik a játékszabályoknak. Átok és kísérő ide vagy oda, neki mélyre kell hatolnia Eli álmaiban, ha ki akarja deríteni az igazságot, és meg akarja találni a módját, hogyan legyenek végre igazán együtt!

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance, Magic, Supernatural

414 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2015

About the author

YA Author of Onyx Ivory, Avalon, and the Arkwell Academy series. Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary. Addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space.

Reviews

[★MC's Corner★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I felt like this is actually the end… I think there’s more of the story…
But I also think this is the last book.
*MC’s Corner*
Note: Spoilers.
• I just love this series. Mindee Arnett introduced me ‘Nightmare’ on my paranormal list, which as far as I know it’s original.
Its very genius and I want more. Maybe not Dusty but the world. It’s a great concept.

• This is kind of book that I would enjoy much more if I watch it. Imagining it wasn’t enough. I want to see it with my own eyes. They should make it a TV show or something. I will watch it.
@gleekidMC

[Jessi (Novel Heartbeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a satisfying end to an adorable series! It's been a long time since I read the second book, but I was thrilled to jump back into this magical world. I absolutely LOVE the magic in this book!

It seemed like Dusty and Eli's relationship was always difficult. If it wasn't one thing getting in between them, it was another. I loved that they still stayed strong despite it all, though! They didn't give up on each other. I was glad to see them finally get to be together.

I adore the mystery aspect of this entire series. There's always a mystery to be solved! I did figure out some of it before it happened, but it still took me a while. There were a few things that managed to catch me by surprise (I love that!).

The only complaint I have is that I wasn't as emotionally invested as I'd hoped to be. There was a MAJOR thing that happened toward the end that probably should have upset me, but it didn't. Honestly, I think the only reason I felt nothing because I didn't believe it for a minute. I knew Eli wasn't going to die.

If you haven't read any of the Arkwell Academy books yet, I definitely recommend picking up these cute and magical books!

This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.

[Ileana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing end to an amazing series! The way the entire 'last battle' played out, it was amazing in many ways.
I loved this series from the very first book and I have been waiting for the nightmare charade for a long long time, and I finally got it. I can't tell you how amazing it feels to be back in such an amazing adventure with Dusty and Eli.
It is a really complicated story and has many plots, but again the main point is Marrow. The person who revived him must be found.
And to be completely honest, I always know who the actual culprit was, I just didn't want to believe it...
But he's the evil dude and you've gotta deal with it I guess...
But other than that, the book was an amazing hit, and I absolutely loved it!!
Sadly the series is over...
Oh well! Life...

[mith · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe i'm falling in a slump, maybe it's what i'm reading? i don't know.
in any case, this book doesn't feel like the others in the series--it's... boring. slow. the characters seem lifeless and don't have the spunky, fun energy i remember them having--one of the reasons i rated the predecessors so highly.
and, also? the romance was really getting on my nerves. it was all "I need to be with him", "We belong together!", "They can't keep us apart" and a lot of other, eye-roll inducing romantic trope you can think of. i've been semi-cynical to these types of romances so naturally.
anyway, from what i've read--2 stars.
DNF
----
THANK LORDE FOR CONSISTENCY. still in love with the name, wow.
—•—
I love the name--but why is it coming out it August? These books came out earlier in the year and aw ;-;

[Penny Raspenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I've wasted so much time in reading this.

Dusty was really annoying and incredibly dumb in my opinion. I couldn't relate to the story in any way and it must have been one of the few times I have literally read a book and not fallen into it. It felt like there was no real connection between the characters and their actions, and the plot wasn't structured well enough for my taste. Not to mention the fact that the trilogy is centered on a pair of dream-seers (two people who are warned about future events in the dreams they share) who never actually predicted anything from their dreams.

Oh, well.

I will rate with two stars because I reserve the one-star-ratings for really bad books. I didn't hate this but I didn't exactly enjoy it either.

[Shaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did this really take me almost a month to read this? Didn't seem like it at all! I read 2 books between beginning this and ending this - so I guess that explains it.

I enjoyed this book. I'm trying to think of points to make but it all really blurred together for me. It was enjoyable, there are a few things I would have liked to see done differently though. The ending was kind of strange to me. It was a little bit repetitive if I'm being completely obvious - but its okay. I really like the characters in Mindee Arnett's novels and I'm sad to see this series end but all in all it was a solid finale.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I'm going to admit outright that this probably should have been a five stars instead of a four but I'm pouting because she says in the beginning right before the book even begins that this is the last story in the series and it doesn't really feel done to me. I'm not ready to let go of Dusty and Eli and I don't feel I should have to.

**Spoiler (sort of) **
Sure the initial love story obstacles and the initial villain present have been defeated in this trilogy so it probably wouldn't work as a continued YA series because I think the couple has been through enough but honestly you've got a dream psychic couple and a world that's almost always on the verge of war because of elitist groups plus the main characters outright admit Marrow's supporters are still out there. That really doesn't feel like a finished series to me. I'll admit continuing on might not fit with the expectations of the age category/genre combination but this pair and this world could make an AWESOME urban fantasy series that I really want to read. So it would be greatly appreciated if Arnett would WRITE it.
**End Spoiler/Rant**

Despite practically wanting to tantrum that this is the end of the series I really enjoyed the final book in the Arkwell Academy Trilogy. The story was extremely fast paced and I'll admit I would have liked a bit more time to indulge in this well constructed amazingly imaginative world. Dusty's newfound strength and confidence despite her many social, magical, and romantic struggles was a delight to read. She's grown so much as a character since the first novel it's would be hard not to be proud of her as a character. Each of the main characters - Dusty, Eli, Selena and Lance have grown as a characters, grown as "people" the way teens do as they're coming into their own person and forging who they're going to be and that was a delight to read.

Learning more about the sword, the phoenix, all of the elements that are an essential cornerstone in the Arkwell Academy world was a pure delight. Overall this novel was a rapidly moving adventure filled with magic, mystery, friendship and love was a delight to read from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, such an excellent ending to the series! I enjoyed it so much, and how everything came together, that was just so fantastic! Though there are kinda some side questions in my mind, I'm OK with them unanswered, because they weren't the big burning ones!

[Lisa]

I skimmed this one - my heart just wasn't in it.

[Alexa · Rating 1 out of 5]

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

The concluding book of this young adult Arkwell Academy is a pretty great round up of the trilogy altogether.  My thoughts about this last book is really no different than what I'd thought of the first two books:  The Nightmare Charade is very enjoyable, and it has a lot of great potential to expand upon its world.  I still feel like it's missing something to make it rank more in the awesome category, but I DO have to give the book props for managing to keep my attention so well.  Whether that's because it's a mystery, or simply because of how easy it is to read, I'm not sure; however, I DO know that I gleaned a good amount of entertainment from it, and even got some feels wrenched out of me towards the end.

The truth, though, is that there is little about this book I can think of to complain about.  Maybe that Dusty still seems so easy to push around by her teachers and her ex-boyfriend.  Or maybe that there were some moments wherein I got a little lost as to what was going on (although that could have been because I was listening to the audio book and lost focus at some points).  The ending certainly felt a little more angst-ridden than I would have liked, but I sort of saw it coming miles away.

The main villain--the guy who killed the previous book's villain, as well as kidnaps two Nightmares--was a bit of a surprise to me, however, and I DID find myself a bit blindsided; though whether this was in a good way, or a bad way... I'm really not sure.

Once again, the characters, our kids, are great when they get together to investigate the murder and kidnappings--Dream Team, indeed.  I'm just glad there's so much camaraderie between our main couple and their "side-kick" best friends.

And maybe I've thought of one more thing to quibble about:  Our two main characters kind of fall flat compared to the two "side-kicks," if I were really to be honest with myself.  Dusty has a way of sounding kind of dull in her narration, and aside from the fact that Eli isn't a typical, young adult novel broody teenage boy, he's actually a bit ordinary and boring.  While it's true that I like that he's not the standard YA main male character, I also wish there was more to him in this book--he feels less interesting than he did in previous books.

In contrast, Lance and Selene are both pretty awesome and cool, especially Selene with her badassery, trying out for the Gladiator team and flying around with her Siren wings, owning the battle with just her badass, badassery alone...  Selene was always a great character from the beginning, and I love that she stays true, as the supportive best friend throughout.

Note to author:  Selene needs her own book.

As far as the romance between Eli and Dusty is concerned, while I'm glad that the two of them never faltered in their feelings or their determination to be together in spite of the Dream Seer Curse, I DID feel like Dusty dwelt a little too much on Eli and their love and their entire "Fated to be Torn Apart" scenario.

Otherwise, The Nightmare Charade is still a readily enjoyable book that doesn't have all those over-exhausted YA cliches to bog it down.  I'm certainly content with what I got out of it, book, series, and all!


***


Halloween Bingo 2017

This book may also work for these other squares:
- Murder Most Foul:  The murder actually happens off-stage, and only mentioned at the beginning of the book, so this might be a stretch.
- Amateur Sleuth:  Dusty, Eli, Selene, and Lance are definitely not law enforcement, as young teenage students investigating a murder, a kidnapping, and the possible rebirth of an old nemesis.
- Monsters:  There are any number of creatures mentioned in this book, including Dusty, who is a Nightmare (or a half-kind Nightmare), which is a creature who feeds on people's dreams.  Then there is Selene, who is a Siren; and a phoenix is even presented; mermaids are mentioned... I mean, basically, The Arkwell Academy is a school for different kinds of magic creatures.  (On a separate note, I may or may not use this book for the Monsters square instead, depending on my mood.)

[Liliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book

I first started this series ELEVEN years ago, and I’m only completing it now...



When I say I’m bad at finishing series, this is what I mean!! And it’s crazy because this is a series I really like! It was so much fun, I liked the world, and I also loved the characters! I’m really going to miss it all.



In this book, we had this sort of double mystery situation going on, which I enjoyed because these two separate mysteries were more connected than anyone anticipated. First, Eli and Dusty are recruited to find an artifact that, as Eli put it, is basically a zombie maker. Lol. It can raise the dead and it is a very powerful object of the black magic variety 😬

Also, Dusty’s mother is in some serious trouble and Dusty, of course, wants to help her. But on top of all of that, Eli and Dusty still have the damn Dream Seer curse they have to contend with. According to Lady Elaine and her visions of the future, if they continue to be romantically involved, things are going to end badly. Well, we finally find out how bad in this book, and... it’s pretty bad guys...



It sucked, but I’m also glad that they took the risk to continue seeing each other because they were just so cute together!! And anyway, I was holding out hope that things would turn out okay for them. If Julian and Emma from The Dark Artifices made it work, then these guys would be able to as well.



And I really enjoyed the finale of this series! There were some things I saw coming and some plot twists that caught me off guard, but it was overall a great story! The mysteries were intriguing, the Dream Team’s (lol) investigation was engaging, and I loved the characters and their relationships! I adore Dusty! She is so sassy and determined. And Eli is so sweet and charming—I loved him too! And Duty’s best friend Selene was amazing! She’s a siren and absolutely badass!! And speaking of that, the world and the mythology are other things I enjoyed about this series! I love that it had a bunch of different supernatural beings and that the main character was a literal Nightmare—that is just so cool! I really enjoyed following her and all these different characters with their cool abilities. This was overall a really solid series, and I am going to miss it.

[Pastels Passions · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good conclusion, but I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been so long since I had read the previous book.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she's a criminal. No, she's a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams. 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, not to mention the crazy events of the past year. Dusty may have saved the day, but there are many days left in the year, and with an old foe back to seek revenge, she'll need all her strength to defeat him and save her friends.

The Nightmare Charade is more danger, more intrigue and hidden things, more secrets and lies. And the final reveal.

Dusty is back to investigating after a summer away from Arkwell. There are so many things on her plate this time around that I'm surprised she has time to sleep. So much of her days are spent worrying and wondering. Worrying about her mother, about Marrow, about finding time to be with Eli like a proper couple, about school. She's not given much time to get back into the swing of things. Instead, she and Eli are tossed head-first and nearly blind into a rather dangerous situation and are expected to solve it quickly. Her snark is still there, her word battles with people who bother her, but her worry and concern take over from time to time.

I was surprised at how easy it was to distrust most of the adults in this book, people like Lady Elaine and Detective Valentine. So few people are straight and honest with Dusty, so few tell her what needs to be said, give her access to the knowledge she needs to make sure she stays alive. How can they tell her that something isn't important, that she shouldn't worry about it? In this situation, everything is important. It's all extremely suspicious, not to mention frustrating.

There's a lot of emphasis on death this time around, particularly Dusty's. The book screams the massive possibility that she might not make it out alive this time. As it's the conclusion of the trilogy, I went in expecting some big reveals and some bigger battles, and with how the ending went, that's pretty much what I found. Nothing was easy for Dusty, or Eli, or even Selene or Dusty's mom, but that's good. There has to be consequences, even when it's magic. Sometimes the worst consequences happen when the battles are full of magic. The second book felt like it stuttered when it came to including the romance, which I felt was better balanced with the mystery and danger this time, but overall I enjoyed the series.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

[Pili · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first moment that I read The Nightmare Affair, I fell in love with Dusty and her slightly awkward charm and loved this school for different magickind and here I am now trying to review the final book...

Whenever we read the final book in a series we've loved and enjoyed, it's always a very bittersweet feeling and there's a lil trepitation about how well the final book will wrap up the story. In this case, I'm more than happy to report that we needed not fear! Mindee did a fantastic job to solve the big mysteries, move the story along, keep us turning pages like mad and worry about everyone because it seemed like no one was really safe!

I will try my best to remain spoiler free for not just this book but also the previous books in the trilogy, but keep in mind something might slip if I get overenthusiastic, as it might happen!

We knew to expect a mystery since we're talking about the Dream Team after all! (is it cheesy? Yes, but hell I love it!) But things are getting darker and creepier and even more dangerous than ever before! Do you see that barge/boat on the cover? You won't look at it in the same way after you've read the book, let me tell you that!

Not only we have out main guys fighting to be together as the star-crossed lovers they're now (some revelations happen here) but we also have more distrust and misdirection that ever since our new bad minion can be anyone!

We also get a good look at profiling and discrimination done through how different kinds of magickind are treated by each other. Easier to digest when it's not presented as obvious as it'd be through our normal reality but will give plenty of food for thought if applied to our every day life.

High stakes, evil that can be anyone and anywhere, and loved ones that keep on disappearing make for a tense read and if we add the very disquieting dreams that are the only clues our Dream Team has, along with some memories from the sword... Guessing who the bad guy is, turning the page hoping things can be fixed somehow, it all makes for a tense and at the same time fun read, because no matter how high the stakes are, there is always a lil bit of humour in these books, and I'm really thankful for it!

Very well deserved 4.5 stars to this final chapter! Fantastic way to end this trilogy full of charm, fun and plenty of mystery!

[Valeriane · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I read the previous books so long ago that I don't remember if I loved the series that much. They didn't make a lasting impression on me, but I did like them enough to put this book on my TBR and write the release date down in my agenda, so I must have liked them.

I won't beat around the bush : I'm disappointed in this novel. I expected to be enraptured from the first page, and to read the book in one sitting, as I often do. I expected a good, captivating mystery. I expected to, at least, be entertained or curious. I can't tell if it didn't work on me this time for some reason, if I lost interest in the series or if I was oblivious before, but it felt childish (Dusty's behaviour and characterisation, the voice/narration...), unoriginal, easy and safe. I didn't feel like there was ever really a challenge, a threat. I didn't care if Marrow came back to life and wrecked the world. I'll admit I was interested in finding out who his helper was though.
I couldn't have cared less about Eli and Dusty's love story and fate. I mean, they're cursed and the adults won't let them make out. Boo-hoo, let's pout and kiss in public anyway because we're rebels. Please, do tell Romeo and Juliet to move on: new star-crossed lovers just moved into town. In the wise words of Cher Horowitz, "As if". Really, tell me, what's the appeal of Eli anyway? Paul seemed like a much more interesting and complex character to me.
The cast of secondary characters was faceless and bland, they didn't do much. Not enough to make me care anyway. It might be because the book itself wasn't action-packed, the pace picked up roughly in the last quarter.
And, here's my problem: by then, I just didn't care. One thing I can say for sure, it lacked the humour and thrill of the other books. In my opinion, it's one of these book series that failed to sustain its story and charm in a trilogy format. I felt like the book was both too short and too long.

Also, ever since I've seen this series being compared to Harry Potter, I can't get it out of my head and unsee the many similarities. They're really quite uncanny when you think about it.

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm being very very very indulgent, so 3 stars. Upon meditation, I might change my mind and give it a 2 tomorrow.

Am I disappointed? Very. I loved the first two books and this...eh.

Most of the time it felt like I was reading the second book, it kind of gave that vibe. You know, with all the separation and waiting and waiting and more waiting. The Waiting is usually found in the second installment of most books.
By Waiting I mean the 300 + pages of nothing, of thinking, of hard thinking, the main chracter feeling stupid because she can't do anything.

Our main, Dusty keeps flashing her famous sword, Bellanax around like a flashy jewelry, being proud of it, of it's strenght, while doing nothing and biting back insults instead of fighting. Something like this:
Dusty: I have my sword, I am invincible! Look at me and fear me! (....)
three seconds later and a LOT of thinking later
Dusty: Okay, lets put down the sword and lets THINK more.

Dusty used to be more brave. I don't know what happened to her. And Eli. Eli is pretty good. At least he tries, at least when he's there. He felt like a not so important character. Rather like someoene who has to die sometimes.

What I liked:

Paul. Because I belived in him. And you KILED HIM! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?
Mr. Corvus, wish he were a bigger part of the story.
The phoenix. I always love them.
Selene with her kick-ass-ness.

[Tanya Cruz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the Nightmare Affair, I liked the Nightmare Dilemma and I enjoyed this one, I guess.
This is a trilogy that went downhill to me, the first book was very good, a magic school setting and an intriguing murder mistery... the second one was the same, and this one is the same.
I think this trilogy would have been better as a standalone because it became repetitive and kinda boring, there are still interesting bits, but the repetitive things overweight the book.
The villains motivations are not very clear, and there is this character who turned out was bad in the first one and then was bad again, and again in this one.
There is the cringy romance between the main characters who want to be together and can't because some stupid curse that came out of nowhere, just to add drama, and they seem to be horny all the time, which is kinda odd in my opinion.
The setting and magic creatures and their abilities is still the most interesting part of the book, but the plot is recycled and the mistery didn't grab my attention as the past ones did.
I enjoyed it, but not as much as I would've like to.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!!!! Completely magical filled with keep you up all night suspense, and many twists and betrayals that in this case, quite literally rip your heart out.

Also, I love The Dream Team! They are hilarious and wonderful and serious when they need to be, and between all their skills and personalities they truly do make a Dream Team!

There was one part that I figured out based on subtle hints about a certain character (who shall remain nameless) throughout the book. I had my suspicions but I didn't want it to be true, and when I discovered I was right, I felt as betrayed as Dusty. Such a cruel twist, but I still love it!

Overall, I love this series and I'm sad to have to say goodbye to Arkwell and The Dream Team, but it was an awesome ride and I can't wait to see what the author writes next!

[Hope Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am going to be honest and say that I was completely bored with this book halfway through. I was so upset that this was the conclusion to one of my favorite series of all. THERE WAS BARELY ANY ROMANCE! ONLY SNIPPETS AND IT MADE ME EXTREMELY ANGRY! I felt for the entire book Dusty and Eli were being pulled apart and I understood why they were being pulled apart but I was still angry that Mindee Arnett didn't give us some heated moments. Disappointed with another book series.

[Stronglysalty · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT 11/04/14
Oh thank god the cover is back. I love it so much, it's so pretty!



EDIT 10/25/14
Wait where did the cover go??!! No no no no!!! Please don't let there be a cover change! Please. These covers are all so pretty and I want them to match!

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!! A really perfect end to this series. Good climax near the end and a very sweet finality for the series. It tied up all the loose ends and ends basically how we all hope it will. Yay!

[carolina ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing conclusion!

[Kelvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, we’ve come a really long way and I’m actually kind of sad that I’ve finally finished the series.

From their *humble* beginning hunting down a lone murderer to taking down the Red Warlock multiple times and foiling his various plots, I’ve always loved how unique this series has been. Seriously though, the story arc of the whole series is planned out very well and the way that this book culminates, though a bit rushed imo, is magnificent.

Dusty spends this book sorting out problems from multiple fronts and at times all of her relationships seem to be falling apart and she has no idea who she can trust. But she braves her way through it all in her good ‘ol “screw the rules” fashion sneaking in illicit meetings with Eli and slipping off campus to do some investigative work of her own. That’s not to say that Dusty is fielding the brunt of the work in this book. No, her friends are all there to back her up which is another great reason to read this whole series if you haven’t already!

There’s Eli who is the loyal, if not somewhat overprotective, boyfriend but hey, who can blame him. There’s this scene about ⅔ through that really puts Eli’s mindset into perspective and then the very last chapter with him and Dusty is just so cute. Truly, their relationship has come so far. Remember in the first book where they low-key hated each other? Well I’m so glad that they’re trying to sneak in kisses all the time in this book!

Then there’s Selene and her boyfriend Lance who are also a pair to contend with. Together, all four of these characters are the “Dream Team” (kind of literal in its name too!) and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing they can’t do. They each bring different aspects to the team - not just types of magic but also in personality - and together, keeping in mind that they’re just teens, they literally take down the worst magikind to ever live. And they don’t even come across as OP doing it, like it’s as realistic as a magic battle can be and ugh that final battle scene is so satisfying when together, the Dream Team takes down the bad guys.

Speaking of the bad guys, they’re truly terrifying in this book. Not only the villains, but just the overall feel of the book was really creepy, good considering that each book literally has “Nightmare” in it. I read the bulk of this on a train ride and even with all the people around me and the noise of the train, I was pretty freaked out at some points while reading! You can say “atmosphere” all you want, but I think the mark of a good writing is when emotion and setting can come through.

My one complaint is that the characters act a bit too sappily at points, like “reach in and slap them out of it” level melodramatic. In those moments, I considered rating this book lower but then something afterwards will be written so well that I just can’t rate the Nightmare Charade poorly.

Besides, it’s a last book and though I think it would have been better for it to end a la Girl of Nightmares, I still felt at once sad and happy for the characters and my reading journey. All in all, a satisfying conclusion to this refreshing and well crafted series.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nightmare Charade is the exciting conclusion to the Arkwell Academy trilogy. It is full of all of the romantic turmoil, life and death peril, and disappearances you would expect from a final novel with the paranormal. Dusty and Eli are a fun couple to spend time with, and the dream worlds they create are intriguing to read about. The expansion of magical history and the workings of different aspects of the magical world in this book are well done. I liked most of the things about this book. There were just a few moments that made me question the validity of that particular storyline. Aside from the fact that Dusty probably had blinders on when it came to her own personal situation, if she had kept an open mind to all of the possible suspects involved and not stayed laser focused on just one option of who the bad guy could be, then she could have avoided a lot of the trouble she found herself in during the book. Additionally, I get the whole giving people a second chance thing, but man it's like she has never heard the phrase "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." I get the underlying lesson of believing in people and having them rise to the occasion in the end, but man, if she had trusted certain people a little less to start with, she never would have been in a situation where the distrustful person had to rise to the occasion. I also thought the ending was kind of gruesome, which was weird for me. Because I am not someone who is squeamish or shies away from physical action scenes. I like a good about of fighting in my novels. It could be the way it was described, but the way people were being torn apart at the end had me cringing. Finally, I'm not really sure why Dusty and Eli didn't think that everything they had gone through would be enough to change Lady Elaine's vision. I thought the battle at the end was the fulfillment of the vision or some kind of nullification tool, especially with the self-sacrifice element involved. Good job not counting your chickens before they've hatched...? These small question marks aside, this was a very satisfying ending to an interesting fantasy world.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off a disclaimer. I really, really dislike romance novels. I read young adult books because it lessens the chance of them being a romance novel. For some reason in recent years fantasy books seem to have interbred with Romance novels. Gone are the great Ursula Le Guin, Barbara Hambly, Tolkien books. Books like the Harry Potter series have all the pluses of a good story, humor, deep character development, etc. but those are becoming harder to find. I had great hopes for Patrick Rothfuss and then his second book turned into soft porn.

Unfortunately once I start a story I feel compelled to get to the end so I have read all 3 books in the last couple of days. I downloaded these because one of her books was in my previous read books and I made the mistake of not reading my review on it. It should have been removed from my books to read since it was also a romance novel.

I felt like I had dropped back into the 1960s reading a girl's magazine (they were big on girl catches boy stories). Seriously, the main character complains about how her beautiful friend does not have to get up an extra half hour to make herself presentable. News flash! No girl should be made to feel that she has to put a mask of makeup on to be acceptable in society. Her friend is actually taking a HOME EC class. I haven't heard that term since the 60s when girls were basically trained to catch the best husband they could because that was their only path in life. The better the husband, the better the life (SNORT).

The story and premise are interesting. That is really the most positive thing I can say about the series. The characters ALL have the same voice. You only see things through one perspective and she is pretty shallow. If it had been one book with the attraction hinted between good friends but the romance seen as something possible in the future and more attention given to the characters then I would have given it a higher rating. It is not a 3 book story and I don't care enough about any of the characters to spend that much time with them.

However if you like girly romances mixed with magical beings then this book might be for you.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the deal. This is a nice wrap up for the series. And it was a good book. But I'm docking it for blatant straight-washing and sexism. It just bothered me so much that they said, "Oh well there could have been female guard for him to seduce!" WOW. Like a male couldn't seduce a male guard and gay men don't exist. Like women can't be prison guards. I run into sexism all the time but this just made me SO UPSET. The author's mean Christian bias was showing, and I figured it out when she thanks "God and his Son" every acknowledgement in the first line. And aside from the above mentioned, she also made light references to waiting for marriage in relationships and life after death that stuck out in the wrong ways after the blatant gay people don't exist message.

POINT BEING: in a fantasy world, if you can't even imagine gay people don't exist, how interesting can your world actually be? Not interesting enough, really.

Yes this was a rant but fiction and fantasy should NOT be exclusive in these ways.

[Sandy Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back from summer vacation in Europe with her mother, Dusty is anxious to see Eli again! The dreams she stole in Europe were black and white and boring. Eli's are colorful and warm - with the bonus they are in love. Ecstatic for the first moment they were back together turned to dismay. It had been decided in her absence that they were to be chaperoned during their dream sharing sessions and followed by security! Not only that, but unlike their sophomore schedules with every class together, they now shared only two. Bummer. Add to that, they were both put under a binding confidentiality agreement when they were enlisted to help find the Animus Mortem, which the Department of Intelligence presumes was stolen to resurrect the archenemy (Marrow). Although Dusty and Eli helped defeat him in the first book in this series, he does not die, and his possible return has to be stopped. An exciting, dramatic, romantic, terrifying, finale.

[ImaSpaceKat · Rating 1 out of 5]

im done.

im so done

i cant

okay.

Marrow is boring. he has no motive except "i dun lik other ppls dat not lik me." That poor excuse is used everywhere. A good book has not just a good main character, but a good baddie.

second of all. WTF would you want justice done for someone who YOU KNOW kidnapped and tortured a kid and was also abusive towards his nephew. Im not sure if the dectectives knew this (still doesn't change anything), but Titus was a Marrow supporter. Why would you.. aggggggggggg. i cant finish the book. If i continue, I think I'll lose more brain cells. I don't know how people can think that this book is actually good and not just a piece of.... okie. calm down. left on page 96 of 380. fuck me.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series started off strong, I really enjoyed the unique world created and how cool a concept Nightmares were. Reading the third in the trilogy though, was a little of a let down. The plot was formulaic, the characters were bland and lovestruck, and there were some inconsistencies in the world building. Also, there is clearly a theme of racism in this series, and it's never really resolved or acted upon, it just continues in each book, without anyone really freaking out about it.

Overall, it was a fun, easy read, but my enjoyment just wasn't at it's fullest.