Review: Neverwake (Dreamfall #2) by Amy Plum

Title: Neverwake

Series: Dreamfall #2

Previous book in this series: Dreamfall

Author: Amy Plum

Genre: YA, horror, sci-fi

Publication date: August 2018

Published by: HarperTeen

Source: Purchased hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Book Outlet | Thrift Books

Synopsis: For most people, nightmares always come to an end. But for Cata, Ant, and the others, there may be no escape from theirs. After an experimental treatment meant to cure their insomnia went horribly wrong, the teens were dragged into a shared dreamworld where their most terrifying fears became reality.

The six of them have no way of waking up. And they’re beginning to realize that if they die here, they might actually die in the real world. One of the dreamers is already gone, and anyone could be next. The only thing they know for certain is that they have to work together to survive. But as they learn the truth about one another’s pasts, they soon discover they are trapped with something far worse than their nightmares…

My rating: ★★★★☆

This book picks up right where the last book left off, with the kids stuck in their nightmares and the cycles changing. The periods of respite they have are getting shorter as the periods with the nightmares are getting longer and longer and eventually they’ll be perpetually in the nightmares without rest. Yikes 😬 One thing I like is that these periods correlate with the REM cycle where they have periods of REM sleep and periods non-REM sleep. That was very interesting to me, but it also made sense!

Oh but if you think that nightmares are the only thing they have to worry about, well, you’d be WRONG! Jamie (the student observing the whole thing on the outside) recently discovered that there is a freaking psychopath in their midst 😬 Now the kids have navigate all these killer nightmares with one kids who could kill them at any time, nightmares or no. And they don’t even know who it is! When we find out who it is and the things this person did... it was messed up. But at least there is no more monster. That’s a plus, right? Lol. So that static monster that was chasing them in the first book turned out to be one of the kids undergoing the experiment. This poor kid saw himself as a monster IRL, hence why he showed up monster-ish in the dreams. Isn’t that sad? 😩

Speaking of the kids, the POV was split between some of them inside the dreams and also Jamie. I really liked this sort of dual POV where we got the action in the nightmares (which I loved!), but we also got to see things from Jamie’s POV in the lab and all the science as to what was happening with the kids and what the doctors were doing to get them out of the coma. It was very interesting stuff!

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book were all the horror movie villain cameos in the nightmares! It sucked for the kids, but as a horror movie fan, I really loved it. Lol. Fergus’s nightmare was actually my favorite among all the dreams. It was just so creepy and good!

And then that end... it was so freaking suspenseful! What with the REM cycles changing and the kids stuck inside and Jamie trying to do something to save them... OMG it was intense! But I really enjoyed the end because the kids had to face their greatest fears, and it just made for some really good character development. And development that happened in just one day! In real time, at least. Because it felt like they were inside those nightmares for ages. But yeah. I loved the ending, and I just loved the concept of this duology overall. I really enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊