my true buckaroo @olivieblake has a new book out today. it is called DREAMLAND and it is full of hollywood gothic wonder. CHECK IT OUT. LOVE IS REAL

DREAMLAND is available now (image description: gothic woman running from castle.jpg)

I received an e-ARC of this book from Net Galley in return for an honest review, so thanks to Net Galley and Pan Macmillan.

This book was decent Hollywood thriller fare with a side of supernatural flair that Olivie Blake tends to do well. I just never really found myself gelling with any of the characters all that much, and sometimes had trouble following which chapters were from whose point of view. This got a little easier as I went along, but not by much.

Thanks to @torpublishinggroup for the free copy for review.

✩🎞️🩸Review: 

A mind-bending, Hollywood Gothic about fame, fortune, and power. 

“Dreamland” follows Anya Morris, an aspiring actor, after she receives an invitation to work for the de Witt family, one of LA’s most influential film dynasties. Despite the warning signs, she cannot resist spending time with Jude, the family’s heir apparent, in the strange villa. In this city, everyone cuts a deal with the devil. When Anya comes face to face with a devil of her own, she’ll learn just how far she’s willing to go to get everything she’s ever wanted.

Blake’s exploration of what we are willing to sacrifice for the spotlight is eerily gripping. She paints a deeply unsettling portrait of Los Angeles, the intense changes in the weather and the gruesome string of murders instilling a sense of foreboding. The tension only heightens when Anya, desperate to jumpstart her acting career, is easily lured to the de Witt villa in the Hollywood hills. At the start of the novel, Anya goes through life playing the part of many different characters, putting on a performance to be the person others want her to be. With her dreams in reach, she takes to the stage and purposefully ignores the bad omens. Interestingly enough, it takes stumbling into the world of the occult to step into the role of herself. The journey of her character’s transformation is both thought-provoking and fascinating. 

The de Witt family and their villa is shrouded in mystery and the atmosphere becomes more menacing with each chapter. The reader is as much in the dark as Anya when it comes to the secrets the de Witt’s have been keeping. The more time she spends with Jude, the more Blake peels back the curtain, which ratchets up the suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed puzzling together the family’s bloodstained history and discovering the origins of the demon that lives inside Jude. Each twist makes it harder and harder to put this one down as earlier oddities begin to make more sense in the latter half. 

The ending will leave readers with more questions with than answers, but the ambiguity prompts deeper reflection about the hard truths Blake brings to light.