The Nightmare Affair - Review & Giveaway

	Title The Nightmare Affair Author Mindee Arnett Genre Young Adult, Urban Fantasy Publisher  Tor Teen Publishing Date March 5th, 2013 How I Got This Book NetGally Hardback 367 pages Stand alone or Series The Arkwell Academy #1    My Average 10 pages/day    Reading Difficulty 2 (on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)
Dreams Aren't Always What They Seem

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.



Woohoo!:
This book had an excellent opening chapter. You are instantly drawn into the book with the first sentence.

 "Breaking and entering wasn't as easy as it looked in the movies." 

This sentence not only draws you into the book, but also foreshadows what's to come later in the novel, and it only highlights the fast, exciting pace of this novel.

What a great idea for a novel. It had the feel of an older Harry Potter audience for supernaturals that are not only witches/wizards but demons, and mythological creatures like Sirens. It's fun to read about all of the different magic types and how they interact in a "normal" high school setting. I love the idea that the super-human powers of the main character is to feed off of dreams, and to predict the future in one specific person's dream.

The cover art, though not as flashy as most YA novels out there, is eye catching and mysterious. It definitely gives off a YA detective feel.

The dialogue is entertaining and realistic. I really like the chemistry Arnett has created between Dusty and Eli, and I can't get enough of their interactions.

Lastly, there are some amazing plot twists and back-stab's. Some shocking things happen. 


Meeh:
There was very little that I didn't like in this novel. The only thing I really had a hard time with were the amount of characters you had to keep track of. It was to the point that it took me several pages to realize who the killer was, even though his/her name was mentioned as soon as he/she revealed themselves. Maybe the author could have set that up a little better. Spent more time interacting with that character in the earlier parts of the book.

Some of the POV word choices are a little off from the character's personality. For some reason, I feel like this kick-ass, don't-give-a-shit personality would not use the word tummy. It really bothered me.

Rating: A

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About the Author
Mindee Arnett
@mindeearnett


Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

Horseback riding is my therapy. I’ve ridden all my life, and am now preparing for my first 3-Day Event.

I have a BA and MA in English Literature from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
I believe in ghosts, aliens, angels, demons, God…and the Winchester Brothers.

Whedonite and Whovian.

I once was in training to be an amatuer boxer until I broke my nose sparring. Twice. Yeouch.
My license plate holder reads: Leaf on the Wind, Wash is my Co-Pilot (and if you know what this means, you and I can definitely be friends.)

Apparently, I’m the world’s most comfortable animal sofa.
In high school, I sometimes did Civil War Reenacting, which might make me the biggest geek ever. But, come on, hoop skirts, ballroom dancing? What’s not to love about that?