The Nightmare Affair

This book was rather enjoyable – in a slightly weird way! It combined fantastical creatures (like sirens, nightmares and werewolfs) with ordinary themes. It was really bizarre... But captivating all the same. The copy I read was an ARC, and it is being released tomorrow!

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. Eli is dreaming of a murder. Then Eli's dream comes true. Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

My Thoughts:  What really made this book, was the protagonist: Dusty. Despite being a living Nightmare, Dusty is like any other teen girl to be honest. Her voice is quirky and full of energy, but balanced out with a healthy dose of sarcasm. I really loved her character, and although the writing really wasn't the best (most of it was quite poor), she really stood out.

But now we get to the weird bit. The narrative was really upbeat and funny, whilst the book was a murder/fantasy/adventure... Strange, right? Nevertheless I eventually (and I mean eventually) got used to the oddness, and got enthralled by the plot line. It had some twists that kept me reading, and some questions I needed to know the answer to! Basically, this book was a fairly fun read... Just not 'wow'. The conclusion was interesting, and although it might not be your cup of tea, it's worth reading just to hear the ending I guess. But it is definitely not a favourite of mine... And would I read anything else by this author? Probably not...

Favourite Quote:   

"Yeah, well, the dog ate my notebook with all my good excuses." 

The Word: 

Why?  Like I mentioned a lot in the review, this book had a really weird concept... A concept that sort of... Worked. I mean, it's difficult to explain how unusual and surreal the whole book was to be honest!