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StarHearts, as fans of Josephine Angelini call themselves, will stay up all night reading Dreamless, the second book in the bestselling Starcrossed series. The saga mixes mythology, romance, action, and intrigue in a completely original way.
Dreamless continues the story of Helen Hamilton, a shy girl living on Nantucket Island whose desire for an ordinary life was thwarted when she discovered she is a Scion, a descendant of a Greek god and a mortal. Each Scion has a power, and Helen’s is the ability to travel to Hades.
Helen is determined to use her talent to stop a war amongst the gods and change her destiny, which is to live a life patterned after that of the tragic Helen of Troy. But her quest may cost her Lucas Delios, the boy she loves.
Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a major in theater and a focus on the classics. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three shelter cats.
unearthly-so
Posted May 29, 2012
I won a Goodreads Contest and received an ARC of Dreamless. My review could be a little spoilery, so take caution while reading!
Dreamless was as I had expected, full of action, plot twists, romance, and anger. Most second books in trilogies are filler novels that move along slowly, but Angelini did not give us a standard sequel.
The plot was fantastic. Helen has to find the Furies to rid the Scions of their need to kill each other. Helen faced so many obstacles being the only descender. My heart broke for her with every page. She is a true heroine -- never giving up in the face of constant failure, having her heart all but ripped from her chest, facing betrayal and loneliness. She is a tough chick.
Characters -
Lucas just pissed me off beyond belief. I understand why he was so angry and hurt, but I couldn't stand his hot and cold attitude towards Helen. He's supposed to be strong for her and he fails in that aspect.
Orion... oh wow. I fell in love with him. He never once faltered in his quest to help Helen in the Underworld. He is a beautiful, sweet soul just looking for justice in the world of Scions. His life was never easy, with hardships most people would not be able to bare. I loved Helen and his relationship. How close they seemed to be, over such a short amount of time. I can't wait to see more of Orion in the last book.
Claire also pissed me off. She was not a true friend to Helen in Dreamless. She was so infatuated with Jason that she wasn't there to support Helen as she was entirely alone. Then, when she was supposedly trying to help Helen, she was either yelling at her, making fun of her, or getting her into more trouble with the rest of the Delos family with her asenine requests. I was very disappointed in her and Jason for their attitudes towards Helen.
The rest of the characters are some what the same except Matt, who I fell in love with in Dreamless. He is just trying to cope with being a mortal surrounded by supernaturals. He is so strong and brave. It was breathtaking. And of course Hector! I was so excited to get to see more of him, even though anytime he was around all hell broke loose. I still love him though.
All and all, I have very high expectations for the next installment. I know I will be disappointed with what I want, but that won't stop me from hoping it comes true! This action packed, breathtakingly beautiful novel definitely deserves 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you Angelini for a great series so far!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I was slightly disappointed with Dreamless. I could not get into it. Starcrossed blew me away, and I could not wait to get my hands on the next novel in this series. However, Dreamless fell flat for me.
Helen and Lucas were separated at the end of Starcrossed because they are cousins. So what does Helen do? Spend the entire book pining away after Lucas. Oh sure, she met Orion, then she loved him, too. But she still wanted to bang her cousin. I was hoping this would have been handled differently and without a love triangle, honestly. I hoped that they'd find out that Helen's mom is a big liar and that they weren't really cousins. Then they could live happily ever after. But nope! I know Cassandra Clare played with this idea some in the Mortal Instruments series, but she just did it much better than Angelini did. The way Clare handled everything made it seem like it was unnatural for Clary and Jace to be apart. This was handled in a way that made it seem unnatural for Lucas and Helen to be together.
I did love Orion, though. I was hoping that Helen would quit running for emo child of the year and decide she wanted to be with him instead. Lucas was annoying in this book. I didn't like him at all. He was all broody and bratty. Orion was great. He was the main source of entertainment for the book.
Also, the book just jumped around too much. It was third person limited, but it switched POVs constantly. I could keep up because it stated who the narrator was following, but it was annoying. Every time I'd get into what was happening to one character, it'd switch. Usually, I'd get frustrated and put the book down. Because of that, it took me FOREVER to finish this book.
Additionally, I felt that things were dragged out too long. Sure, there was a lot of action, and I know I should have cared more what happened during these action scenes... especially since I loved the first book so much, but I just didn't like the characters that much (outside of Orion) in this novel. Therefore, all of the action and suspense was wasted on me. Furthermore, the characters tried to be funny a lot and they just weren't. There were many places where a character would say something not-funny-at-all and then the other character would just die laughing. I sat there like, "um why are you laughing? THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" I'm assuming these were attempts at humor, but they were not successful.
Other than Orion, the one shining part of this novel was Angelini's writing. She has a way of describing things that makes you feel like you're there. She also words things very gracefully. Because of her ability to write, I have hopes that book three in the series will be much better than this one.
I didn't hate this book, but I just liked it okay. I mostly talked about what I didn't like because I feel that the good stuff has already been mentioned, and the negative things would make me check this book out from the library first instead of buying it outright. Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. Anyone who read Starcrossed has to read this book. Also, if you haven't read Starcrossed and want a good mythology series that deals with Helen of Troy, then you should start the series. Will I continue this series? Most definitely. While Dreamless wasn't my favorite book, and I feel that Angelini had a bit of a sophmore slump issue with this novel, I have faith that the third book in the series will blow my mind.
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.bookholiday
Posted May 30, 2012
I Also Recommend:
I really enjoyed this story. There was so much to like. very good book!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 22, 2011
I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 25, 2012
I've been reading the review for dreamless, and i am getting pissed. Everyone is mad at lucas for not being there for her. HELLO!!! Did you not read the book he was doing that beacause he loved her. Lucas didn't want helen to love him because "they were cousins" (not really). He wanted her to be with Orion so she could be happy, and actually have a life. So im tired of people looking at him as the uncompassionte one , when really all he did was think about helen. All the decisions he made were for helen sake and i may be just spitballing here but anyone who risks being hated and forgotten and alone for someone who doesnt realize it is no "bad person". Everyone is so quick to fall for Orion, forgetting about his part in the prophesy. Oh and helen shes the one that doesnt deserve lucas. Yes, shes willing to die for lucas, but if she really cared why would she do something (fall for Orion) that she knew would hurt not only lucas but alot of innocent people. If she would just listen to people when they try to warn her , half of this story wouldn't be happening. I am most definetely routing for lucas because if anyone deserves helen its him. All helen thinks about after shes been with lucas is her guilt and how wrong it is. But she never put herself in his shoes to see how he might feel. EVER!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 7, 2012
WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!
LOVED IT!!
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
A STARCROSSED LOVE
COLOURFUL ADVENTURES
A NEW FRIEND
SMEXUAL TENSION
A LOVE HIDING
VILLAINS
TANTALUS
HUNDRED COUSINS
BUG GUY ( CREEPY DUDE)
HOTTIES
ORION
LUCAS
MATT
( OOO YES HE IS NOW A BUFFED HOTTIE)
HECTOR ( Awww...I love Hector)
JASON
Things aren’t looking good for Lucas and Helen. Lucas has to let go, no matter how much it hurts. He knows it has to be him. Helen is not strong enough to let go of their relationship.
Enter Orion, oh and what a lovely entrance.
Helen must descend into the Underworld to find the Furies , with the help of Orion, they work together . Orion is the best guy. I love him. He is a whole lot of smexi, but he is also funny and you just want to take him home. Things are easier with Orion...in a kind of tough mission, way.
Claire is still a most magnificent friend. Everybody needs a Claire, loyal to the core ,and is she smart!
Daphne, Helen’s mum, is rather kickass and ninja stealth and goes about her mission in the background of this book. Without the Ninja outfit.
Helen has a lot to learn still, and is stumbling about working it as she goes. She is the Descender, but I think she needs a ‘How To’ manual.
My goodness , little ol Nantucket gets a bit of a smackdown and it was pretty ‘cool’ in a bad kind of way, very colourful in my head , and crazy going on.
I had a fave scene in this book with Orion and Helen, and all I will say is it has the letter L in it, but I can’t remember the name of it...hehe!!!.....why am I even writing this? ....oh, yeah! now I remember.....nope I forgot again......
Oh, and a bit of a costume change for Helen, that would look spectacular up on the big screen.
Visually this book was magnificent and needs to be transferred to the big screen.....especially with all these hotties....errr...did I say that out loud? I meant to say, the mythology , mixed with the dream scenes, throw in the hotties and WOW!!
Josephine’s story sparkles !
Visually it is quite magical.
Just quietly, I do love the craziness of the Furies...they do get a bad rap.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 31, 2012
great book after starcrossed! i want this to be made into a movie soo bad! looking forward to the end when (i hope) lucas and helen can be together ;)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 30, 2012
Well written with exception of choppiness in terms of transitions! I could literally picture Helen and her struggle to discover the truth, the emotional and physical toll it took on her How hard her struggles were. I love how the author made Helen so brave! Also loved Ares summation of why wars are faught and how the cycle continues--wow didnt see that coming!
Disappointed in Jason's coldness towards Helen. Not sure what that was about as he was so supportive and understanding in the first book. Also dissapointed in love triangle. Thought Helen and Lucas's love for one another made them inseparable. But this book made it feel like they were only drawn together by fates. I didnt feel Lucas's love for Helen--but rather that he only cared to protect her. As one would for any friend/family member. I didnt see him struggling or a need in him to emotionally comfort/support her--even when he discovered she was wasting away much less dying. A heart should want what it wants--it doesnt have to be rational. If she was to die, why not seek comfort in one another? NOT one tear was shed by him... such a let down in my opinion!
But other than my disappointments, it was well written. Hoping 3rd book sets things right....Either their love is inseparable and should be reflected in the dialogue OR Lucas is undeserving.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 5, 2012
Yay i hope this is the next book after starcrossed i loved that book!! And if it is im soo glad to be the first to write a reveiw!!
1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 27, 2011
I loved the first one so much. I read it like 4 times. It was awesome! I cant wait.
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 31, 2012
I just finished the book and to all the fans she has to write another one cuz lucas and helen still dont know their not related! And there is still an issue with the hundred!So she needs to write another book!Team Lucas (and if u read the book u would understand y i just said that)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 28, 2013
This book was amazing! I am left speechless! I loved every second of it! I have learned a lot about greek mythology and am amazed at how great this book is! Cant wait for the third and hopefully they make it into a movie!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.After a slow start, I fell hard for STARCROSSED, the first book in Josephine Angelini's trilogy. I loved that Scions exist in the 21st century and bring a piece of the past with them. Ancient myths, epic love stories and feuds between Greek houses of Scions and gods, that’s what made STARCROSSED a fantastic read.
The ending of STARCROSSED left me in an emotional turmoil and at that time I wanted to read its sequel so badly, to see the conflicts finally being solved. You can imagine my excitement when I started DREAMLESS. Unfortunately you have to witness my disappointment now after finishing. I had a slow start with DREAMLESS as well. But the story continued like that, I never really got into the story, and it felt strenuous to keep up with Helen's story.
If you read STARCROSSED, you know in how far a certain piece of information influenced Helen and Lucas' relationship. I really didn't like the way it developed in DREAMLESS. Helen and Lucas had a limited number of scenes full of emotions and heartbreak, but it simply wasn't enough to keep my mind and heart hooked on the story.
The storyline and the way Helen spends most of the book, in the underworld -a barren and colorless setting- trying to break free, appeared sluggish and uneventful to me. Even if something happened, it didn't affect me at all.
One day when Helen descends into the underworld, she hears a voice. And unfortunately soon we'll meet the source of that voice. Orion. His character itself wasn’t that bad. He is protective, smart and helpful, but in context with Lucas and Helen's romance crumpling, I just didn't need him there as her new kind of love interest. I would've easily accepted him as someone else's new companion, but not Helen's! Love triangle stay in the underworld where you came from!
Whereas the secondary characters, especially Ariadne, Hector, Jason and Claire, and their relationships had more power to hold my attention, the enemies and their view on parts of the story in DREAMLESS were rather enervating.
Josephine Angelini continues the story of Scions and Greek myths in DREAMLESS. The most significant in DREAMLESS are definitely the furies. Be prepared to learn more about their unfortunate fate and help Helen find a way to free them, herself and all the other Scions from their violent fate of hatred. There are magical items, new myths to uncover and the Delos' enemies don't keep quiet either.
THE VERDICT
2,5/ 5 **/* DREAMLESS - Only a shadow of the first STARCROSSED book. What happened to the epic romance of Helen and Lucas?
DREAMLESS comes along with only a weak development of plot and action. Furthermore there are annoying enemies and an infuriating love triangle that kept me from adoring this sequel as much as STARCROSSED. The enormous solidarity of the Delos family, their undying love for Helen and the main romance between Helen and Lucas are things I am counting on in the next book. I'm expecting GODDESS to end the series with a bang!
Anonymous
Posted January 20, 2013
Such a roller coaster ride of emotions and angst and knee-jerk decisions/ bad decisions..... so much happens without Helen finding out the truth about her mother and Lucas..... i need the third book to fix that fast!
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Posted December 16, 2012
this book both made me so happy n angry lol. totally worth the read
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Posted November 29, 2012
This sequel to Starcrossed is as compelling as the first one. With Helen now attracted to a new boy, she has to forget that Lucas is her "cousin" even though we know he's not. This was a very entertainig book with action, romance, plot twists, and new powers. Will Helen become the Goddess or will she fall?
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.After Josephine Angelini's epic debut with Starcrossed, I could not (but, alas, had to) wait to receive my copy of Dreamless. You can imagine my excitement when my ARC of Dreamless arrived in the mail. From book one, I knew where the story was going, but I had no idea how Angelini would bring us to its conclusion. This is how she does it: action, reaction, and characters. Dreamless is not one of the transition middle books in the series; no, Angelini delves right into the heart of the plot and kept me glued to the sofa until she brought the novel to its stunning conclusion, leaving me breathless and anticipating book three (Goddess).
While there is a prophecy and destiny driving the characters, the characters themselves, with their complex personalities and relationships, also drive the plot. Book one left my heart tearing up for Helen and Lucas. Book two broke it two pieces, as I watched the two mature and try to forget each other. Another guy is introduced, and he seems to promise a way to move on. While I typically hate love triangles, this one melds beautifully into the plot.. Dare I say that I might have a crush of my own on the new guy? For Helen, however, forgetting is far from easy. Other conflicts arise as Lucas's relatives fall for mortals, Hector comes into contact with family, and Cassandra grows more distant. Every character found its way into my heart, even the nasty villains (I just loved to hate some of them).
Helen's duty as the Descender seems pretty simple. She has to find the Furies and eliminate them. However, as always, that isn't all there is to it, and Helen's journey in the Underworld reveals that there is more to her quest that she initially thought. Helen's inability to dream wears her down gradually, threatening her health and mentality, rendering her unable to make the decisions that she needs to make. The fate of the Scions rests on her actions. Dreamless captivated me from start to finish. I absolutely cannot wait to read book three!
Anonymous
Posted November 19, 2012
Great read! Although i really wanted to kill everyone for not realizing that helen wasnt ajax's daughter and lucas wasnt related to helen b/c ajax was killed 19 years ago and helen was only 17 but besides that it was a great book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I enjoyed this book much more than the first book Starcrossed. However there were parts that just frustrated me and wanted to slap some of the characters for idiocy.
This story picks up a couple days after the aftermath the what happened in the previous book with the big fight that led to deaths and a towns destruction. In this story Helen descends into the Underworld to try to help the Furies and break the age of curse of the four family houses. The curse is a blood feud each time a person of the opposite house sees each other they feel the furies hatred and try to kill each other. The only way to end this is by helping the furies in the underworld. This pretty much takes place throughout the entire book. We meet new characters. Orion who is the Heir to two houses, Morpheus, then we also meets some others who are the bad guys. Also throughout the book we see Helen and Lucas fighting their need to be with each other and also coming into some more unknown powers. We also find out that something said in the previous book is not true. This is what really pissed me off the most. I wanted to slap the person.
Let me tell you though people may be pulling for Lucas and Helen but I am pulling for Orion and Helen. When we meet Orion in the book I immediately fell for him. There just something so much more about him that I liked. He treats Helen wonderfully and will do anything to help and protect her. Others will probably tell that Lucas will too and their situation is sad and that's the reason why they should be together. If Orion doesn't get to be with her then I hope I get to see his book next!!
PS: Morpheus..... Yum the dream god.
Sorry for such a short review. I did enjoy this book. I liked that we meet some many more characters. We get to see their powers evolve in this book. We also see new information revealed. For this I cannot talk about or it will ruin the book. I highly recommend reading this sequel. Can't wait for the next one.
Happy reading!
It seems the first book was either a love it or hate it kind of thing. Since, I liked it a lot I was eagerly awaiting the next installment. I kept my hopes in check because that second novel can be brutal. While it had it's downfall moments, for the most part I really enjoyed this book.
Helen is a really unique lead character for this book. And it's no wonder because she travels literally into Hell every night. Would you be a bundle of joy the next day? Add to it that she no longer has Lucas by her side. I sometimes wondered if the story was going to follow this pit of despair storyline for the entire book, and if I could take it. But, Helen is resilient and determined. She may wander Hell every night, but she's also got some help to get her on the right path.
Lucas...he's trying so hard to do what everyone is telling him and fight his feelings for Helen. It's obviously not working. His actions are in hopes that Helen will hate him and that it's turning him into something else. Even when he caves and finds a way to help Helen in Hell, it's too late to reverse the damage done to him. I do admire him for going to any length to help Helene despite what others are telling him. I have a hard time with the idea that they can't be together. I get that they're cousins, and from different houses. But, it's Helen and Paris and that's got to count for something.
I liked the introduction of Orion. At first, I really wasn't sure if we could trust him. He just pops in out of nowhere. No one knows anything about him. I couldn't help but think that he might get Helen in a situation she didn't want to be in. I was happy to be proven wrong on all accounts. He helps her figure out what she needs to do and pushed her to get it done.
I think my favorite part of of this book is the story development. I loved how Hell is laid out for us. By Helen wandering so much, we get a great view of how it works. I liked how the Fates needed to drink from one of the rivers. I loved how Persephone was persuaded to help. I liked the brief meeting we get with Hades. I liked the dream god (I can't remember his name). I really loved how the minor gods get a little bit of action in this story. I was wondering why everyone was acting so crazy, turns out gods have a major play in that. Especially when Chaos and Terror show up.
It's long, and it does drag on in a few parts. But, I really enjoyed this installment in the series. I'll eagerly await the next one.
Overview
StarHearts, as fans of Josephine Angelini call themselves, will stay up all night reading Dreamless, the second book in the bestselling Starcrossed series. The saga mixes mythology, romance, action, and intrigue in a completely original way.
Dreamless continues the story of Helen Hamilton, a shy girl living on Nantucket Island whose desire for an ordinary life was ...