In Dreams

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Synopsis

Book I, "Shattered Dreams": Sarah has lived her life unaware that her world is on the verge of chaos. One night, a brutal attack reveals a hidden facet of the world she never thought possible. While she struggles to come to terms with her new reality and hold on to what’s left of her family, her mind insists on playing cruel tricks, haunting her with dreams of the life she lost… and warnings of how things could still get worse.

Book II, "Recurring Nightmares": Sarah's dreams continue to seep into her days, alternating between depictions of terrifying fates and the loving family she misses. As she struggles to separate what's real from what's not, starting a new life and making friends seem the least of her worries.

Book III, "Lucid Dreaming": Sarah thinks she's got things more or less figured out. See the future? Change the future! Easy... right?

Posting schedule:Book III “Lucid Dreaming” will update every 2 weeks.

Books I and II are complete.

What you will find inside: a dash of mystery, a splash of action, some laughs, some drama, premonitions, and a little bit of chaos. There's also some romance starting in Book 2.

What you will NOT find: supernatural creatures, harem/reverse harem, magical beings, superpowers.

Please consider this the equivalent of a PG-13 or TV14 age. Themes present in this story that may be disturbing to some readers: non-natural death, several deaths, and grief. There is no detailed description of violent acts, but there is a pool of blood at one point.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2023
Author: mariliabonelli

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 9
Views: 24,228

Chapters(99 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(2)

LuminstateRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
STORY
The story is mysterious and intriguing, and gradually reveals little twists and turns. The double timeline is really interesting and I want to see where that goes, and particularly how it relates to the events given in the prologue. I have some guesses but will have to wait and see :D
I like how this is a unique story, very different from a lot of the material you normally get on Royal Road. I’m also intrigued by the setting, and hope more of that gets revealed in the future.
CHARACTER
You feel very frustrated on Sarah's behalf. Not only has she suffered a recent trauma, but people close to her are either lying to her or being evasive, and she's not sure who she can trust. Everyone is trying to smother her, or protect her, and no-one wants to give her any details. The relationship between the sisters is deep and carefully thought out. All the characters are well-rounded and different.
STYLE
This is well-written and easy to read. The skips between different timelines are confusing at first, until you work out what’s going on.
GRAMMAR
The spelling and grammar is excellent, with almost no mistakes, very readable prose.
The Toad FamiliarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Shattered Dreams is an interesting read - a mystery thriller with a very light sci-fi/fantasy flavor. It starts off a bit confusing due to the dual story line, but readers who stick with it are quickly sucked into a world with more questions than answers
Style: 5/5
The prose suits the story and the eerie feeling of switching between the "good timeline" and "bad timeline" leaves a mark. I found myself analyzing the innocuous events in the "dreams" and connecting them to the much more dire events in "reality". You can *feel* the droning boredom Sarah feels during her captivity and her frustration at being kept in the dark.
Story: 4/5
The pacing feels a bit slow at times, although I think that was a deliberate choice on the part of the author - since Sarah clearly mirrors how I felt being drip-fed bits of information while essentially being confined to one space (so far). The dream sequences and events in reality are blended together fluidly.
Grammar: 5/5
Very few typos and mistakes. The prose was clear and easy to follow.
Character: 4.5/5
Sarah is a likable protagonist, and you sure do end up feeling for her through all the half-truths, frustrating vagueness, and somewhat patronizing sheltering the other characters subject her to. Her dynamic with her sister is well-developed, and even the side characters capture your attention. Why did they get the codenames they did? Who are they behind those codenames?
Overall, any fan of thrillers (particularly psychological thrillers) would enjoy Shattered Dreams. There are plenty of twists and turns and tons of secrets for a fan of mystery to sink their teeth into.