Review: Dreams by Daniela Sacerdoti (Sarah Midnight #1)

Publisher - Black and White Publishing
Publication Date - 17th May 2012
Paperback - 432 pages
Genre - Young Adult

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Seventeen-year-old Sarah Midnight has never had a normal life. To the outside world she is a typical teenager, but on the inside, Sarah holds an unimaginable secret. Her parents are demon hunters, part of a web of Secret Families who have sworn to protect the world. When they are mysteriously killed, Sarah's world is shattered but she knows she must now take up their fight.

Unprepared for the task ahead, she finds herself thrust into a world of incredible danger, full of things she never even knew existed. Including her enigmatic long-lost cousin who, out of the blue, turns up on her doorstep just when she needs him most. He claims to be there to help and protect her, but how will she know who to trust in this perilous new life? And can she stay alive long enough to complete her parents' quest when they have left her so defenceless?

Sarah has to learn, and learn fast - the demons are all around her and death waits for no one...

My Thoughts - I really enjoyed this first instalment of the Sarah Midnight trilogy. Sarah is a complex and interesting main character and I really loved reading about her. She belongs to a Secret Family - families with special powers who help to rid the world of demons. Each family has a dreamer, a person who dreams about demon attacks before they happen, so that the demon can then be hunted. Sarah is the dreamer for the Midnight family. For years she has suffered horrific dreams and then been left alone at night whilst her parents run off to fight the demon. The anxiety of the dreams, as well as never knowing if her parents are going to come home alive, has caused Sarah to suffer from severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is the first time I've come across a character suffering from this affliction and it not only made for interesting reading, but also made Sarah seem so much more real.

At the beginning of Dreams we see Sarah trying to come to terms with her parents death, just as she realises that her parents have kept a lot from her over the years and that they have left her completely unprepared to deal with demons on her own. At times, Sarah shows herself to be very naive, despite her upbringing, and this was very endearing. But sometimes it was taken a little too far - like the times she would try and negotiate with a demon who was intent on killing her just because she didn't want to kill. Each time I would be thinking 'Huh? Really?' and then luckily her cousin, Harry, would intervene and save the day. But other than this minor gripe I found Sarah to be a great main character.

Harry is another interesting one - something you can say about Ms. Sacerdoti is she certainly knows how to create intriguing characters! He is keeping a very big secret from Sarah. The reader knows from the start what this secret is and it certainly adds a whole new dimension to the story. On the whole, I really liked Harry. He is fearless and strong and does everything he can to keep Sarah safe. There were a couple of times when this protectiveness bordered on possessiveness, and although it is obvious he does this because of his need to keep her safe, it still made me feel a little uncomfortable whilst reading it. But I'll admit that Harry did still manage to have a funny effect on my heart rate whenever he was around *sigh*

The storyline is fresh and imaginative, with a great mixture of action, intrigue and romance. At times, near the end, there is a very dark feel to the narrative and it is easy to get sucked into the desperate mood of the story.

The one thing that, for me, made Dreams lose a star was the sheer number of POV's this story is told from. There are a lot of characters in this story and it felt as though everybody got a turn to have their say at least once. While it was interesting to hear the other character's views on the events, I did feel as though it was a bit too much. But this was the only major gripe I had with the book.

Summary - Dreams is a great start to what promises to be a fantastic trilogy. It's got demon hunters, forbidden love, tragedy and betrayal and in a lot of ways it reminded me of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The ending is fantastic and has left me wanting more of Sarah Midnight!

Other reviews of this book:
Jera's Jamboree / Midnight Reads / YA Yeah Yeah

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #33  for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Guest Post with Daniela Sacerdoti: Writing From the Heart

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Daniela Sacerdoti to Once Upon a Series. She is the author of Watch Over Me and her second novel, Dreams, will be out in May.

Writing From the Heart

As a new writer, I’ve been faced with a choice: write from inspiration, following my heart, or trying to nail a successful book by giving the market what it’s looking for? It didn’t take me long to find the answer.

In the beginning, there were vampires: everybody wanted to write the new Twilight. Now it’s the Hunger Games, and everybody wants to write dystopian. In between, there were zombies and angels.

Problem is, when a trend is at its apex, it means it’s on its way out. The trick is to identify the next big thing, and write accordingly.

Is it?

I don’t think so. Not for a minute. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight wasn’t a cynical exercise: she wrote from the heart, weaving her dreams and her religious beliefs into a story that was innovative, and in its use of traditional folklore figures, entirely original. Millions of readers all around the world believed in the story, because Stephenie believed in it first.

Any reader, young or old, will know by instinct if the writer believes in her story or not – if she’s truthful with it. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by the stories written and published all around us – Twilight and the Hunger Games have bred a whole flood of books whose authors are genuinely moved by the scenarios depicted in those books. Far from being pale imitators or cynical market-followers, these writers have their imagination brought to life by the stories they inspire themselves to.

But those who sit at their desk planning a bestseller – the next Hunger Games, the next Shiver, the next this or the other, will fail. A cynical exercise in market taming, orchestrated by a skilled writer and an even more skilled editor, and aided by clever marketing, will only reach so far.

Because readers will know.

Readers like you and me, whatever our background, whatever our knowledge of literature or our education, will instinctively feel if a story comes from the heart and soul of the writer. Human beings are experts in stories – we’ve been telling them since time began, translating our reality, our fears and our desires into symbolic tales and quests. Fairy tales, epic poems, and more recently, novels, channel the souls of whole communities, and capture the spirit of the times. These stories aren’t only the product of their individual writers, but the product of our collective subconscious; writers seem to be able to channel them.

The ability to channel what the times are trying to tell us is an innate talent that comes rarely, and cannot be imitated; and the courage to dig deep into our souls, to really and truly bare our innermost fears and secrets to the readers, is even rarer. It can’t be reproduced artificially, it can’t be the product of a cynical exercise.

Writers must bare their souls, even when it’s painful. We must listen to the times we live in, listen to the voice of the community and the voice of the world, and dig deep, deep into our personal history. If that process guesses the trend and comes out with a best seller, good for us – if it doesn’t, at least we’ll have produced something we can be proud of.

Thank you Daniela for visitng us today with such a great guest post. I definitely agree that readers will know if writers are just striving to write the next best thing rather than something that they really care about.

If you would like to stalk Daniela, you can find her at her website and on Twitter.


About the Author

Daniela Sacerdoti is a mother and a writer. Born in Naples, but brought up in a small village in the Italian Alps, she lives near Glasgow with her husband and sons. She steals time to write when everyone has gone to bed, or before they wake up. She’s a Primary teacher, but she chose to be at home with her children. She loves being with her boys, reading anything she can get her hands on and chatting with her girlfriends. But she also adores being on her own, free to daydream and make up stories.

Spotlight On... Dreams by Daniela Sacerdoti (Sarah Midnight #1)

On Twitter I have recently come across a book that is being released here in the UK in May and it looks so good I thought I would share it with you all. Dreams by Daniela Sacerdoti is the first book in the Sarah Midnight Trilogy and I just love the cover!

Ever since her thirteenth birthday, seventeen-year-old Sarah Midnight’s dreams have been plagued by demons – but unlike most people’s nightmares, Sarah’s come true. Her dreams guide her parents’ hunt as Sarah remains in bed, terrified but safe, sheltered from the true horrors of the Midnight legacy. But all this is about to change. After the murder of her parents, she is cruelly thrust into a secret world of unimaginable danger as she is forced to take up their mission. Alone and unprepared for the fight that lies before her, Sarah must learn how to use the powers she’s inherited and decide whom to trust before it’s too late . . .