Reverie

Before reading Reverie, I hadn’t realized what the word genre-bending meant. But no one can read its simultaneous romance and fantasy elements without coming to understand the fluid blending of each. The characters participate in the typical fantasy plotline: fighting evil monsters, magic, the warping of time and space, and all that jazz. However, not on the side but as an integral, separate plot, Kane, the protagonist, develops a love with shy (and slightly menacing) Dean. Both plots, though, come with twists and turns and surprises (I’m more of a cat fan, but you’ll have to wait and see the role Miss Daisy the dog brings to the story). The characters are on point, from bird-hating Ursula to intense Adeline to even good-tempered Helena; despite a character cast larger than what most authors work with, each gets a substantial amount of character development and pushes the plot forward. The concept of the story as a whole began a bit cliché but soon morphed into something enjoyable, with this fresh, exciting take on daydreams.

“And the answer was: Ursula was horribly, devastatingly, and dangerously wrong about the way this reverie should end.”

Recommended for anyone who wants a book on homosexuals that’s not just about homosexuals.

--Grace Nask