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Thursday, March 8, 2018

Vault of Dreamers

The Vault of Dreamers (The Vault of Dreamers, #1)

The Vault of Dreamers always kind of intrigued me with that cover but I've only now gotten around to reading it. The premise was one that I rather liked, as well. A girl named Rosie Sinclair attends a school where their waking hours are broadcast for a type of reality show, where fans determine the students' popularity rank by who they choose to follow. The school is geared towards artistic kids, to the point where they actually give students sleeping pills at night to make sure they sleep so many hours- ostensibly to nurture their creativity. Or something like that. Okay, it sounds a little sketchy, maybe, but a school where they make you sleep at night- because that isn't ominous, right?- definitely appealed. 

Rosie of course doesn't sleep, or at least not always- sometimes she fakes taking her pill and wanders around, so she can think or just because she wants to be up at night (she is a teen). And by doing so she observes some suspicious behavior, naturally. It appears that some students are being taken away at night, for unknown purposes, and as she investigates she soon finds that the school has a secret. Not only that, but she is the one of the students who is apparently being experimented on, as she discovers IV marks on her arm and notices her sleeping pod has been disturbed. Complicating matters is the fact that she's on camera at all times, except late at night when they're supposed to be sleeping. So in true YA fashion Rosie takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. 

In spite of some realism issues I liked this. The premise is fairly interesting, although the reality show angle I could have done without- I think the story would have worked without it. But it does add an interesting wrinkle. Rosie is pretty well developed, she comes from a poor background so the school is kind of her only way to advance, which partly explains why she stays when things look iffy. Even so her motivations, while laudable, seemed a little unrealistic towards the end, when things get intense. And her friends Janice and Paige could have used a little more development. 

The other issue I had is that this was clearly setting up a sequel, and has a pretty big cliffhanger. I would have liked a little more closure. I'm intrigued enough to continue though, and I think the plot itself is actually pretty unique. As you can imagine from the title, dreams play a big role in the story, and I thought some of the reveals were pretty well done. And in spite of my issues I enjoyed this book a lot, it was definitely a page turner. There was some nice suspense, and I'll be jumping right into the next book. 

19 comments:

  1. I've got this one on my shelf for eventually. I thought it sounded ominous, too.
    Wow, maybe its me, but the way you describe the TV show popularity ratings by following and her being there as her big chance because she's poor made me think of Katniss and the Hunger Games.
    Glad it was a fun one even if it got over the top at times. And good to know about the cliffhanger, I do better when I know those are coming. :)

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  2. I find this premise so creepy -- good, but still creepy. Weirdly, this reminded me of the Truman show more than anything

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  3. The reality show element interests me...if this was about adults I might read it but not having a lot of luck with YA the last five years!

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  4. I really like the sound of this one - even the reality show - and the cliffhanger. Might have to get a copy.

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  5. I like the sound of this one, too, and loved your clear review! It looked familiar and to my surprise I have it and apparently there are two more in this series! I really want to read it.

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  6. I remember when this came out, I thought it sounded really good. I think the series is complete, so you could binge read the rest😊

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  7. Love that cover. Makes me curious. As I read your review, the book sounded familiar. Had to check Goodreads.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  8. Cliffhangers are one of my pet peeves. I really hate them. If I see a book that I really want to read and it has a cliffhanger, I will have the next book so I can read it right away.

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  9. Sounds like this one had an interesting premise but a few problems that hinder it. I’m intrigued though.

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  10. LOL, yes those YA heroines do want to take things on themselves

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  11. I really like the premise of this one. I've never really heard of this book, but it's definitely one that I want to pick up now. Strong cliffhangers like that can really frustrate me a lot also. Great review, I'm definitely intrigued!

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  12. I like that this has such a unique premise. Rosie sounds like a pretty interesting main character too. Cliffhanger endings drive me crazy though so I'm glad to know the next book is already available. Great review!

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  13. Great review! I have to check this one out. As always, thanks for your honest review!

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  14. Totally agree about the realism! That was my problem with the first book. After I kind of made my peace with it, the realism didn't bug me as much in the next ones. And another thing that irked me is that the technology does NOT seem like tech of the future. I mean, they still use Facebook FFS. And TVs and all kinds of stuff that will definitely be obsolete in the future. And I know, I am probably picking, but still. But I did like it. I think Rosie is a good character, and the whole dream thing is definitely intriguing. Now that you mention it, you're right about the reality show part too hah. Great review!!

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  15. I haven't read this book but I have heard about it. I don't like it when books obviously set up for a sequel and leave with a cliffhanger and an open ending and no closure at all. I don't think I'll check it out anytime soon, but you never know.

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  16. You were really good at finding redeeming features in this story, me... not so much. Ha ha! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one. πŸ“š

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  17. I have an old review copy of this one that I still need to get to. It sounds like I need to dig it out and read it soon. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  18. This sounds good! With a big cliffhanger though, I better wait to read this one. At least I don’t think a book two is out yet. πŸ€” Great review!

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  19. I am interested in reading this book. I really enjoyed the Birthmarked trilogy the author wrote, I powered through it a few years back so I had this on my radar and then never actually got around to buying. There are flaws to the story but the fact you're interested in the sequel still makes me certain enough I should give it a shot. I will brace myself for the cliffhanger.

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