The Dream Haunters

⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you like metaphysics and spiritual awakenings you will enjoy this book. It feels like it should be NA or YA due to the content and the story about the FMC's magical awakening.

The main character, Hannah is likeable and the story flows continuously between the waking world and the dream world.

The story paints a detailed picture of Maple Hollow. She travels there, hoping to uncover more information about the disappearance of her Aunt Jewelia.

I would have liked more interaction between her and the Dream Haunters as their interactions felt too brief.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

My review will be posted in the following location on the 25th June.

https://www.instagram.com/hf.payne/

"She was deep in the shadows, trying to find her way back up. Carefully choosing which mask to wear, which person she’d try to be. Anyone but herself."

Hannah is sure of only a few things: that she is down on her luck, and that she feels a powerful, unexplained draw to Maples Hollow... where her estranged Aunt Jewelia had just disappeared.
She does not know of her metaphysical heritage and the powers she possesses or that they are her Aunt's only hope of rescue. Can she figure it out in time?

This is the debut book of a new series, The Witches of Maple Hollow.

Tropes:
discovering a fated destiny
good v evil
powerful heroine
reunited family/found family
magick/metaphysical ability

content warnings:
previous death of family members is mentioned (but occurs off page)
a handful of on-page fight scenes (no excessive gore or violence)

what I liked:
when I tell you that I LOVE this prose....

"Raindrops sprawled like the roots of a fast-growing weed, then descended like the long legs of deep red wine cascading down an oversized cabernet glass."

The story is painted with vivid words that perfectly encapsulate the feeling of autumn; the sense of Halloween and pre-winter  possibilities and the awe that comes only alongside beauty that you know is fleeting.
This book made me feel like I was nestled in a forest of changing leaves with a comforting cup of coffee in my hands.

On occasion, I see an artist put a piece of their soul into one of their works that resonates so well in my own that it almost feels familiar. This book was one of those times.

"She had always felt like her lifeblood had been slowed, darkened. It didn’t run as quick, light, and fast as everyone else."

"As she stared at the waning gibbous moon, she realized that the moon was teaching her all the time. Sometimes we stand in our brightness, sometimes we sit in our darkness, but at all times we must balance both sides of ourselves."

what I didn't like:
I'd love to see more of the dream haunters, but I suspect we will get more of them in upcoming books.
This book has a few errors common in self published works. Some sections are edited more thoroughly than others. Some sections flow extremely well while others are more abrupt. We encounter occasional issues like passive voice and head hopping (though not terribly frequent). I might normally take off stars for that, but I dont think I will this time, given that there are entire sections of this book that I want to print, frame, and hang on my walls to reread regularly. This is such a rare occurrence for me that I'm leaving my rating for this book at 5 stars.


Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I feel like there was a little bit of everything and would definitely be worth a read especially during spooky season