Strange the Dreamer / Laini Taylor

Title / Strange the Dreamer

Author / Laini Taylor

Publication Date / 2017

Series or standalone / book 1 of 2

Page no. / 545

Overall Rating / ★★★

I’ve been debating whether to pick this up for a while and I finally decided to give it a go. I was hesitant because I haven’t had a lot of luck with YA fantasy and I wasn’t the biggest fan of Taylor’s other series – I only read the first book and some of the second. After hearing a lot of good things about it, I gave it a go. While I enjoyed this book overall, I do have some mixed thoughts about it too.

 

This book follows two main protagonists; Lazlo Strange and Sarai. Both of these characters are well written with distinct voices and interesting back stories. Strange is a librarian who is captivated by stories of the lost city of Weep, while Sarai is a young woman shrouded in mystery. The secondary characters are also well written, although a few lacked some depth. While Taylor did a great job at creating these characters, the insta love definitely detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story. Don’t get me wrong I liked the romance but I wanted it to have more time to develop. Instead they fall in love within days, if not hours, of meeting each-other and the romance becomes a big focus of the story. I’m just not a fan of insta love and it was one of my main issues with this book.

 

The other main issue I had was the pacing. This is definitely a slow burner, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but for me this book dragged, especially in the middle.  Despite this, I did still enjoy the plot of this book. I will say that a few revelations that occur towards the end of the book are pretty predictable but it didn’t detract too much from my overall reading experience. In terms of the world building, I had mixed thoughts once again. I think Taylor did a great job at creating an interesting and unique world that really draws you in, but it lacked depth for me. I suppose it is because Weep is a mysterious place but I wanted to know more of it’s history and geography. I wanted an understanding of how these people lived. Despite this, I still enjoyed the world and I hope that it is explored more in the sequel. The writing is good, if a little overly descriptive at times. 

 

Overall I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it as much as everyone else seems to. I wasn’t intending to continue this duology but the ending has me intrigued enough to pick up the sequel, Muse of Nightmares. Have you guys read this book? I’d love to know what you thought of it. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

 

Pippa