Book Review: Dead Dreams by Emma Right

Title: Dead Dreams

Author: Emma Right

Series: Dead Dreams (#1)

Publisher: Self-published

Publication Date: 8-26-13

Pages: 250

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller

Source: ARC provided by author and Grapevine Book Tours

Eighteen-year-old Brie O’Mara has so much going for her: a loving family in the sidelines, an heiress for a roommate, and dreams that might just come true. Big dreams—of going to acting school, finishing college and making a name for herself. She is about to be the envy of everyone she knew. What more could she hope for? Except her dreams are about to lead her down the road to nightmares. Nightmares that could turn into a deadly reality.

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I both really liked and really disliked this book at the same time, and as such, had a hard time choosing a star rating for it. This book was a very quick read; I literally couldn’t put it down. I flew threw this book because I was so hooked into the suspenseful story and reading it almost felt like I was watching a movie.

The author did a great job with the mystery aspect of this book. I really like psychological thrillers, but only if they’re done right. And Emma Right really knew what she was doing when it came to creating a creepy atmosphere and leaving me totally clueless as to how this series is going to continue. I hate being able to figure out what’s going on before the main character does, and that definitely didn’t happen with Dead Dreams.

I do have to say that I think part of the reason I was so stumped was because of the unrealistic plot. It was almost like a soap opera, in that, even though what was happening was really engrossing, something like this would never happen in real life. And it’s hard to guess the outcome of something when it’s so far-fetched. But, at the same time, it was engrossing. I really wanted to keep reading and reading, to find out how Brie’s story was going to turn out.

But Brie’s character was another downfall of this book. At first, I really liked her…an 18-year-old aspiring actress, Brie moves into an apartment in order to get away from her suffocating family. She’s working two jobs in order to save up for college, and hopes to become friends with her new roommate, Sarah. Sarah eventually convinces Brie to participate in a plan to get them both more money, and that’s when the story starts to get really interesting.

But I started to dislike Brie as the novel went on, because the author forced Brie to make some really stupid and out-of-character decisions/judgments in order to move the plot along. While I understand that this particular plot necessitated a sort of gullible and immature narrator, it was confusing that Brie originally seemed so smart, independent, and capable. I think that this book would’ve worked better if Right had gone the more untraditional “unlikable main character” route, and then had her show character growth after learning a lesson from this experience. Because there definitely are people out there who are dumb enough to have gone along with Sarah’s plan…it’s just that Brie doesn’t seem like she’d be one of them.

Ultimately, I loved how fast-paced, intriguing and captivating this novel was. I seriously couldn’t put it down! Dead Dreams is an admirable thriller debut, and I will most likely stick around to see what Brie does next (yes, this book does have a cliffhanger!), but I was a little disappointed with the super unrealistic plot and Brie’s confusing decisions.

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Miranda Mowbray

Book Review: Dead Dreams by Emma Right

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