Shattered Dreams
ISBN: 978-0-312-64702-5
Summary:
"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.
The problem is, 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, 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, the surprising romance she finds, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing but about the past that has been hidden from her."
My Thoughts:
Okay, so I started reading this book when I first bought it in December 2011, and I made it through the first couple chapters before setting it aside to read A Game of Thrones. I picked Shattered Dreams up again and had to re-read the first couple chapters before progressing. I finished it in only two hours, so it is a relatively quick read, and Trinity is an interesting enough character, so I'm curious to find out what happens in the next couple books.
However, I felt that the beginning was quite a bit confusing. We are introduced to seven characters by the first paragraph of page 2. That is a huge number and we certainly know next to nothing about these guys except a few words. The story comes from Trinity's POV and here's how she introduces the others: "Jessica, the stupidly beautiful cheerleader; her way-too-skinny best friend Amber; Jessica's little sister Bethany; and the guys: Chase, the quarterback (and my chemistry lab partner); Drew, who rarely said more than two words at a time; and the massively tattooed Pitre." That really doesn't tell me anything about them and I definitely don't feel invested in any of them. Then they proceed into a game of Truth or Dare that does helpfully lead into Trinity's first vision of impending doom.
In the beginning it is also established that Chase is Jessica's ex, and that Trinity is interested in him. But he is NOT a good romantic interest. Whenever I saw his name on the page, I cringed. He seemed weak to me and I didn't like that he didn't seem to believe Trinity about her dreams.
I was interested in Jim Fourcade, and I'm curious to learn more about him and what he knows. Even more than that I am interested in Dylan...he makes a much better romantic interest for Trinity than Chase. It seems like Ellie James is trying to set up for a love triangle, but I think there is no competition. Dylan is the obvious winner (at least for me).
What I'd like to see in the next books: Trinity to leave Chase and be with Dylan, to find out more about Jim Fourcade, and for Trinity to stop hiding and running away from everything because she did that a lot. She needs to become more comfortable with her gift and the knowledge that she can help people.
I liked this book, but the confusing points and the overabundance of characters at the beginning made it a read I didn't completely enjoy. Still, I give it a 3/5 and I will be reading the next book.
Shattered Dreams on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-dreams-ellie-james/1102793223?ean=9780312647025
Shattered Dreams on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Dreams-Midnight-Dragonfly-Novel/dp/B008W31EBG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356027797&sr=1-1&keywords=shattered+dreams+Ellie+James
Other Readings:
Tomorrow I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts about The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook. It was one of the book picks for my Vaginal Fantasy book club before I started doing these From the Stacks posts and I still find myself entranced by the world.
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