Review: The Nightmare Dilemma (The Arkwell Academy #2) by Mindee Arnett

Title: The Nightmare Dilemma

Series: The Arkwell Academy #2

Previous book in this series: The Nightmare Affair

Author: by Mindee Arnett

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: January 2014

Published by: Tor Teen

Source: Won paperback ARC in giveaway

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Synopsis: Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

My rating: ★★★★☆

It had been a while since I read the first book in this series, I think almost 10 years, but despite that, I decided to not re-read it before going into this book. I love re-reading books but I have actually read The Nightmare Affair twice, so I thought I would be okay. And I was! I had a vague memory of what went on in the last book, but this book also did a pretty good job of touching on the important things that happened in The Nightmare Affair, so I was very happy about that.

I was so glad to be back in this world! I forgot how fun it was! In the last book, the Will was broken so now magic is running rampant. For example, there’s a chair named Buster who is obsessed with Dusty’s friend Selene. Yes, you read that right. A chair.

I just love the magic in this book. The way inanimate objects basically have a mind of their own... It’s so fun! And I also love that a bunch of different supernatural creatures attend this school. Selene is a siren and Dusty is a literal Nightmare. It’s so cool!

I also really enjoyed the story because it had a mystery element to it. Dusty is not only trying to figure out who attacked one of her mermaid friends, but she’s also spying on her ex-boyfriend who was recently acquitted after the shenanigans he pulled in the last book. I was hooked! There were attacks and curses and spying...

I really enjoyed this book! The story and mystery were intriguing, plus the end of the book was action-packed, and you know I loved that! I also really liked the characters and the romance. The sexual tension between Duty and Eli... it was SO good! It was cute and Eli was charming! And I can’t believe I forgot how sassy Dusty was! I love her! There was this bit of information that was revealed to Dusty at the end of the book that gave me strong The Dark Artifices vibes. If you’ve read both this book and that series, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But anyway, the revelation made me sad because I really like these characters! Things worked out for the characters in TDA, so hopefully there’ll be a good solution in The Nightmare Charade. And I promise it won't take me another 10 years to read that one! 😆 I honestly can’t believe it took me this long to read this because I really enjoyed it! It’s just a fun world with interesting supernatural beings. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this series is going to wrap up!

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! 😊