Review Detail

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Dani Hart continued her contemporary fairy tale with "The Arie Chronicles: Dreams". It was better than the first book. The magic was still there along with the concept of good vs. evil. Hart even introduced a godmother in the last half of the story. Thankfully, Arie is no longer the sorrowful teen constantly reflecting on her mother’s demise. Now that she is more involved with the world around her, Arie is a much more likable character. She spends a good portion of this installment discovering her special gift and she even gets a prize out of the deal.

My favorite character in this installment was Amary. She was delightful and wise beyond her years. Amary was the perfect balance to Arie.

Another interesting character was Heath. He filled the exact same role as River. Instead of Hart presenting the standard Love Triangle, readers got a Love Square. Arie would have been the envy of any girl. She had three different guys in love with her and she had feelings for each of them. It made for some strained relationships to say the least. But, what’s a fantasy without a little chaos?

So far, character development is Hart’s greatest strength. Each character is complete. Their motivations are clearly explained. She does a wonderful job exploring what makes individuals tick. In "Dreams" each character acts out of love. It’s the same premise as in Reality but this time Hart expands the concept to include Pyrrhus and his mother. Both of them were rejected. Both of them chose darkness.

I assumed Arie’s story would end with "Dreams". There were no loose ends. Arie appeared to get her happily ever after. And, then, Hart threw in a hook. The story isn’t quite over with, but isn’t that the nature of fairy tales?