Welcome to the IFB stop on the Dream Slayer blog tour, hosted by SupaGurlBooks. Check out my review below:

The Dream Slayer

by Jill Cooper

ebook & Paperback, 312 pages

Published: June 25th 2012

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

*ebook provided by the author for an honest review.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

When your dreams come true, sometimes you get more than you bargained for...

Natalie Johnson has always dreamed she’s someone else; calm, beautiful, in control. A chosen warrior with a maniacal arch nemesis and a dreamy boyfriend, the type that can make your knees melt and your heart quiver.

Real life is much different. She’s tormented by a bully and endures the sharp tongue of her father, but finds solace in her dreams.

When her bully ends up dead, de ja vu from a dream hits her hard as everything around her begins to fall apart.

Whatever killed Sarah in her dreams is now in reality, hunting her from the shadows. And it wants her dead.

Somehow as the lines between reality and nightmare blur, Natalie must discover hidden strength to pull her friends and family back from the brink of madness.

~My Review~

Sometimes dreams are far more exciting than our reality. Jill proves that in her adventurous and exciting new novel. Why open your eyes when you have a stronger sense of purpose only in your sleep? That's if it you don't lose sight of the difference between the real and the unrealistic.

The story opens up with, you guessed it right, a dream. It's all fun and exciting, totally badass at start, but then we're taken back to a reality where Natalie constantly gets the shit kicked out of her. So, basically its like this: in her "dreams", she's strong, unafraid, and considered pretty, while in "reality", Natalie is seen as beyond average; she's bullied daily physically, emotionally, and verbally. One can understand why she doesn't believe in herself with her peers and father constantly bashing her feelings. She didn't have peace in her home or in school.That sucks!

As the story progresses you get the sense that these aren't exactly dreams but are more like two separate lives. It gets intense when both paths are crossed and that's when things really take off. Where the plot's concerned, I liked it. This is different from what I've been reading lately and certainly fresh for the summer. The author was narrating, and not the main character, which made sense being that the story plays out from two different personalities.

Character wise, I felt that Natalie was such a mouthful that I couldn't focus on anyone else. I was too distracted by her. Not a bad thing, but it seems there wasn't much depth to the others to appeal to me.

I have to talk about the romance aspect, which was sweet while it came up, but again, Natalie's battles with her dual self as well as with her enemies kept me preoccupied to even enjoy her relationship.

Overall, I liked the novel. Even though it's over 300 pages the writing style is very fast paced and engaging. I must say though, if you don't keep up well you will get confused by what's taking place, but that makes the story even more interesting. Alternate realities is not easy to write about I should think, but the author did an exceptional job keeping me tuned in.

About the Author:

Jill loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love, through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundaries, but most of all strives to entertain.

She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances.

Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats.