Book Review: Shattered Dreams by Ellie James

Shattered Dreams
by Ellie James

Genre: YA Paranormal / Mystery / Thriller

Ages: 14 and up

I received an advance e-book from NetGalley for review.

Description:



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

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

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

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

My Thoughts:

This book jumped right into the story with Trinity and her friends (some of whom are not so friendly) visiting a haunted house in New Orleans. It was a promising beginning; very creepy with a lot of interesting tension between the characters. However, the novel proved to be disappointing.

Trinity can see bits of the future in dreams and visions. Sometimes she mistakes these visions for reality and runs around screaming at men wielding knives and cats and strange women who knew her mother. About halfway through the book, I began to feel like the whole story was a dream sequence. By the end, I could barely make sense out of the plot and large sections blurred in my mind because they were so confusing.

The main characters were interesting enough, but they could have used a little more depth. There were references to things in Trinity's past that were never fully explained, even though it seemed like the author was building up to it. The romance was sweet, though, especially the way it blossomed while playing Halo. I thought that was a rather original setting for a kissing scene.

So, in the end, this book was a mixed bag for me. The things I liked were slightly outnumbered by the things I didn't like. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you like weird, creepy visions and inexplicable running.

Content Ratings: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:
I rate it an 8.10 for a few uses of the f-word and other, milder expletives.

Sexuality:
I give it a 2.10 for some mild references and innuendos.

Violence:
I rate it a 6.10 for kidnapping, attempted murder and general creepiness.

                                  Lieder Madchen