Review: Fractured Dream

Title: Fractured Dream
Author: K.M. Randall
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Release Date: June 16, 2014

Have you ever wondered where fairytales go once they're created? It's been eight years since Story Sparks last had a dream. Now they're back, tormenting her as nightmares she can't remember upon waking. The black waters of Lake Sandeen, where her Uncle Peter disappeared decades before, may hold the secret to Story's hidden memories, or a truth she'd rather not know. On a bright summer afternoon, Story and her two best friends, Elliott and Adam, take a hike to the lake, where they dive into the cool water and never reemerge. What they find is beyond anything they've ever imagined could be possible, a world where dangers lurk in the form of Big Bad Wolves, living Nightmares and meddlesome witches and gods. Now Story must remember who she really is and somehow stop two worlds from ultimate annihilation, all while trying not to be too distracted by the inexplicable pull she feels toward a certain dark-eyed traveler who seems to have secrets of his own. The fates of the worlds are counting on her.

So, a lot of what I read is fairy tales and their retellings.  It made me kind of excited to see this available on NetGalley.

There are a lot of issues I take with this book.  I didn't just not connect with Story, the main character.  I found myself disliking her.  She constantly seemed to be pushing against herself and making things harder on everyone, just to not admit she had a darker side.  Newsflash: everyone has a dark side.  

I'm not generally into the insta-love thing.  I was willing to go with it the way it was done in this story mainly because it wasn't really insta-love.  Even though it kind of was.  But okay, that didn't really bother me too much.  

What really bothered me was the unlikeliness of a bunch of the brewing relationships at the end of the book.  A human and a tiny fairy? What?  A wolf killer and a wolf?  I'm sorry but no.  I'm not okay with this.  And that sex scene in the middle.  I'm usually fine with sex scenes.  But this one.  Wow.  I felt like I was reading about my parents.  

This book was predictable.  Okay, that's not necessarily a terrible thing, but it was predictable.  almost from the moment we met Nicholas I had figured out exactly who he was, even though the rest of the characters hadn't figured it out until way later in the book.  I had figured out who Brink really was way early on.  And it seemed really obvious to me that Story needed to embrace her dark side to defeat Brink, even though she didn't realize it until it was almost too late.

So what did I actually like about the book?  I did enjoy some of the fascinating changes to the fairy tales.  I also really liked the complexity to Nicholas's character.

I would recommend this book if you are really into fairy tales.  It was enjoyable enough, but there are a lot of books out there that are a lot better.

Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.