Gone by Lisa McMann

Gone is the final book in the Dream Catcher trilogy, following Wake and Fade. Some spoilers for both of those books ahead, Fade in particular!!

After the events of Fade, turning in three of her teachers as rapists after a daunting undercover operation, and everyone knowing all the details after the court case, Janie just wants to be left alone. She needs a break. And Cabel isn't helping things with his nightmares, his fears of coping with Janie as she deteriorates thanks to her dream catcher abilities. And yet, he'd do anything for her. She knows she's lucky to have him, but her future is dark and she wonders if it's really something she can put him through.

But Janie isn't getting a break. There is a man in a coma and it turns out he's her father. A man she's never known. He's dying, and suddenly Janie is forced to face her mothers past, the relationship that resulted in Janie's existence. She thought she knew what she was doing. But his secrets could change everything.

I loved Wake and Fade. They sucked me in within moments and I couldn't put them down, I just wanted more, so of course I was really looking forward to starting Gone. Overall, it didn't really disappoint. But I didn't love it as much as Fade. Fade was incredibly intense, dark and just fantastic. Gone isn't so intense. I still couldn't really put it down, I was still hooked, but it didn't, for me at least, have the same kind of intensity of Fade. It wasn't that Janie was having an easy time, far from it, but it was more personal turmoil. This book was about Janie, where she's from, her future and the decisions she has to make.

My heart ached for Janie as she tried to deal with things and I was very proud of her at times as well. I love Cabe, always have, but he plays a little less of a role here. Not a bad thing, it's how the story had to work, but I did miss him. Captain...gotta be one of my favourite side characters full stop. I love the way she cares, the way she pushes, and generally how she's just totally awesome.

Despite not being the intense, dramatic, heart-pounding ride Fade was, I still loved this book and had a hard time putting it down. Like the two books before it, it moves along quickly. I confess that to a certain extent I was a little disappointed with certain aspects of this book. The mystery that surrounded Wake and Fade wasn't here. I could easily guess what was going on and I wondered on more than one occasion why Janie hadn't. I've read several reviews since finishing Gone from people who weren't happy with it, who felt the characterization was off, and to a certain extent I can understand that. But for me, I could see why Janie and Cabe were acting the way they were. It worked for me. I wasn't always happy with them, unlike the previous two books, but I could see where they were coming from and I like that it's not been plain sailing for them.

And yet, despite Gone's flaws, I was satisfied with the ending. I felt it wrapped the issues from the trilogy well and ended with the right attitude with Janie and Cabe. I still wanted more though. I just love this series, the way it's written, grabs out and doesn't let go. I love Janie and her struggles, her strength and of course I adore Cabe. He's so much stronger than he realises and I just love him. I'd love for there to be more from these characters, and I'd especially love for there to be a full book from Cabe's perspective, but it was a good ending for them here. Another great read, even if I didn't find myself adoring it as I did Fade. I'd highly recommend this trilogy.


Rating: 8/10

Fade by Lisa McMann

Dream Catcher #2. Contains spoilers from book #1, Wake.

"Some nightmares never end.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open - but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behaviour has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability - and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared..."

I  loved Wake, the first book in this trilogy, and was told by one of my very good book buddies that Fade was, in her opinion anyway, even better. Honestly, I wasn't sure, because I adored Wake and good as second/third/whatever books in a series can be, quite often (with me at least) first books which hook me far harder than expected, leave too big a lasting impression for them to be easily bettered. Turns out, my bud was right, because Fade was immense and I loved it even more than Wake!

It's been a month since the huge drug bust Cabel and Janie got to the bottom of with the undercover cops they work with and Janie is only just recovering from the affects of it. But now the Captain has a new case for them. She's certain something is going on at the school, something dark and sinister, but she needs Janie, with her dream catcher skills, and Cabel's easy way of blending in and getting people talking, to try and get to the bottom of it. But it's not a simple task. And dangerous for Janie. Meanwhile, she's also searching through Martha Stubin's old files, trying to learn more about what she can do. But that too carries dark, dangerous secrets for her.

Yeah, I so totally got sucked in within moments of starting this book! I love the way Cabe looks out for Janie, but how they're both still so vulnerable, not used to affection, that they find it a little difficult and awkward negotiating some of their relationship. I love how Janie wants to help others in their dreams, but that it comes at a cost. Nothing in life is free or easy and Janie's abilities are no exception. It adds a realness to the book I really like. Janie and Cabe are both awesome characters to follow, together and apart, dealing with their own issues and insecurities. I came to love them even more with Fade, and I think we get to know them a lot better. I also loved the developments of Janie's dream walking, how it affected her, how she's learning control and the cost. I was willing Janie on as she worked to figure out what was going on in her school, and I was so, so proud of her for how she handled things. I wasn't too sure what to really make of the Captain in Wake, but I enjoyed getting more on her in this book, and I really like her now as well, particularly for the role she played towards the end of the book.

Fade continues themes from Wake, but it's also a whole new crime story as well. One that thoroughly creeped me out at times I have to say. But I kind of love books that creep me out without making me love the rest just the same. It's fast paced like Wake, with some good twists and is written in that same short, gripping style than helps with the can't-put-down factor. I very literally couldn't put this book down from about halfway, and I'd barely put it down before that. I just had to find out what happened. I just love everything about these books. The darkness, the realness to Janie's relationships, how she, and Cabe, grow from what they've learnt and faced. I love the protectiveness and love between them, the soft caring nature of their relationship. Suffice to say I can't wait to read Gone, book #3 of the trilogy. No cliff hanger here, it was a very satisfying conclusion to this stage of their story. And yet I wanted more soon as I was done anyway. Sadly, I have to wait a week before I'll have Gone in my hands. This was an awesome read, great characters, fast pace, even some great humor in places taking the edge off the darkness for a moment or two. One of my favourite reads so far this year.

Rating: 10/10

Wake by Lisa McMann

"Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does - they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that shills her tot he bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant..."

This is another book I've had sat on my shelf for a while before actually reading. And oh freaking hell I wish I'd read it sooner!! It was very easy to get sucked in to Janie's world. The way she falls in to dreams and really wishes she was simply normal. It's easy to understand her fear of others sleeping, she gets pulled in to their dreams even if she's awake, and she's certainly never wanted to be in them.

It starts off showing a little of how Janie's day-to-day battle with others dreams goes, and has a few little flashbacks to when she first started getting sucked in to dreams and what it was like for her. Then Janie ends up in a dream far more violent and twisted than she's ever ended up in. After that, things change drastically again.

I couldn't put this book down and finished it within a few hours. The way it's written just sucks you in and hangs on tight, I had to find out what happened. What the dark, twisted dream was really about, and how things were going to work out. Sometimes the reality had an almost dream like quality to it as well, slipping from one to the other almost seamlessly. Janie has always been an outcast thanks to finding herself in others dreams and despite having a best friend who she spends a fair amount of time with, she is mostly alone. Her mom is a drunk who spends most of her time passed out and her dad is long gone. Janie changes and grows a lot through the book, and I always love being able to see the changes in a person over the course of a single book. Janie is pretty easy to like and oddly easy to relate to as well. She's got a lot of depth to her, though it takes a little while to really show. Some of the side characters are a little flat, but it's easy to ignore that with the focus elsewhere. I can't really explain whats so compelling about this book. I just couldn't put it down. Janie, her problems, the dreams and the guy involved just got to me and I couldn't get enough.

It's a really great read with good characters, a fast moving plot and some good twists. It's got a pretty dark tone to a lot of it and it's easy to get lost in. I wish I'd read this sooner, but at least it means I can get Fade and Gone (books 2 and 3 of the series) and read them together. Great book!!

Rating: 9/10