This is the second book in the Starcrossed series.
Book 1: Starcrossed
Book 2: Dreamless
Book 3: Goddess
When I finished Starcrossed, all I wanted was to keep reading. I was dying for this to be released and horrified that I would have to wait months, MONTHS before reading Dreamless. Well, it’s been 2 years, so clearly life got in the way a bit. But 2 years did not make my anticipation any less.
Helen is on a mission. As the Descender, she is one of the only Scions with access to the Underworld, and therefore, the only one who can find the Furies. Some Scions want nothing more than to be released from the anger and bloodlust caused by the Furies. Others warn that there are reasons the Furies should not be stopped. Helen enters the Underworld each night to complete her quest, believing she will be alone there forever. Soon a champion shares her quest and starts helping to heal her broken heart. But will this new friendship cause her even more trouble?
Helen is still closely tied with the Delos family and her friends Claire and Matt, now in on her secrets become a part of the mission as well. In a slightly too neat package, everyone finds a sweetheart who’s part of the group. I can’t fault Angelini for it too much, because it’s awfully difficult to keep track of all the characters to begin with, so introducing even more romantic interests would possibly make my head explode.
I did really enjoy Dreamless (and in fact have already put the next one, Goddess on hold). I love the ties to myths, the action and adventure and the romance. But (and I wish there didn’t have to be a but here) Helen’s relationships with men are all kinds of dysfunctional.
For instance, something I keep encountering in books and yet loathe beyond words? The storyline where the guy tries to makes the girl hate him by treating her badly, but really he loves her and it’s all for her own good. No. Just no. This is even worse than raising girls to believe that there is some magical Prince Charming who will come in and save them. Teaching them that guys that treat them badly probably are secretly in love with them is sincerely damaging. In real life, guys that treat you badly are jerks and to be avoided at all costs. They are nearly never secretly in love with you and if even if by some strange twist of fate they are in love with you, you should not ever settle for a guy who treats you badly!
The other main love interest has an ability to manipulate people’s feelings and romantic desires. Of course, this translates to super hotness and passionate feelings! But, since he’s a good guy, he’d never actually change people’s feelings or make them love him or want him. We know this because he tells us this, every time he’s just done it. Oh, I never do that, I never change people’s feelings towards things, except this once. Dude, I am not buying what you are selling.
Final gripe? A family tree / chart of the houses (updated chapterly) would not go amiss here. It can be intensely difficult to follow the relationships between Scions and the houses and would go far in helping people understand.
Ultimately, Dreamless is far more violent than it is sexual. While Angelini has built the sexual tension high in these books (oh so high. Oh so many longing stares and desiring feelings. SO many) there’s still not any major action happening save some passionate kissing and embracing. And in terms of the violence, well, that’s all pretty battlefield Greek standard, so not particularly traumatizing. Also, thank the heavens, Angelini has steered clear of the F word, dropping happy little “frigging” and “fricking” bombs instead. I’d nearly forgotten it was possible to write YA without an endless stream of highest level profanities! I’m marking this one teen and tween, because if you’ve got an advanced tween reader, this may be terrific. I would have swooned for this when I was in middle school.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – A couple had been intimate, including kissing, although we aren’t sure how much else, before they learned they were first cousins. At first, we don’t know whether they have continued their physical relationship after learning about their family ties. A boy wants to kiss a girl. A couple embraces and the male is shirtless. There’s talk about the historical prevalence of incest among Greeks and that the children born of incestuous relationships are insane. Evidently, it is necessary for all Scions to procreate (recreational relationships that do not bear children are unacceptable) to keep the Olympians from starting wars and raping women. A couple is not officially dating, but is close. There is handholding. Cassandra of Troy wanted to remain a virgin. There are many couples who are not quite coupled and therefore flirt and ask each other out and are referred to as “hormonally fraught” etc. A girl thinks about brushing up against a boy. A married couple kisses. A boy makes a joke about an orgy. Someone offers to share Julius Caesar’s favorite dirty joke. One person thinks that other boys are sleeping with every hot girl. A couple shares a passionate kiss. A character has certain powers over the heart, it is a concern that this person could make another feel whatever he chose regardless of that person’s own feelings. See page 227. This power to force love or control emotion and sway feelings is discussed as manipulative. There’s another kiss. A couple shares a bed, but the covers are between them. A man is naked to the waist . There’s talk about how someone has become “a hottie.” A man tries to seduce someone by taking different forms. In those forms, there is kissing and holding. He pushes the girl on her back and jumps on top of her – nothing sexual happens at that point, the girl ends it. There’s a whole lot of longing and “what I want to do…what I wouldn’t do…what they might do…” talk but it is left vague. It is clear that a couple can have sex but not a long-lasting relationship. A girl can’t keep her hands off a boy. There’s lots of kissing and some of it occurs in a laying down position.
Profanity – “frigging”, “hell,” “what the hell,” “damn,” “crap,” “god-awful,” “ass,” “son of a bitch,” “sucks,” “badass,” “dickhead,” “heck,” “bitch,” “jackass,” “dick,” “stupid,” “nasty-ass,” “asshole,” “bullshit,” “My God,” “bastard,” “fricking,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Someone is dangling from a ledge to the Underworld, blood under the fingernails, in danger of falling. Someone has a broken leg. People are compelled to kill each other to pay a blood debt and they work to stop this. There are mentions of many killings during the Trojan War as well as other killings during the time of ancient Greece. A metal girder pins a character to the ground, breaking some bones. A character needs to do something that will poke out that character’s own eye (it will be healed due to magic, so it’s not at dire as it sounds). A character’s sister was killed. A character punches another. An innocent person bleeds as a result of a fight. A character is trapped in quicksand and comments that the remains of all creatures are in the quicksand as well. The person touches a human face and notices other dead and decaying bodies. A man with a dagger is slashing at a Harpy who is trying to rip at him with her talons. Swords are used to attack and fight. A woman is hit with an arrowhead but is not injured. Lightning bolts are used to stun people who then fall convulsing to the ground. It takes effort to not simply kill people. People try to chain and bind a man. A curse means that a few people are destined to want to kill each other each time they see each other despite the fact that they actually care for each other. A girl’s wrist is injured. Someone is attacked by a giant snarling dog who leaves jagged bloody scratches on him. It is killed by a blade to the back of the skull. Someone’s palm is sliced open with a dagger in order to swear a blood oath. A woman has taken a blood oath to kill her husband’s murderer. A man had to murder his nephew to protect his son. A cage of small birds are beheaded and burned as a sacrifice. A woman has broken 4 ribs and her wrist. She has a gash across her forehead. She loses consciousness. Creatures called Myrmidons are soldiers created from ants who are unusually strong and merciless. They are used as assassins. In the Underworld there are lots of bones, small ones, big ones that are like a forest of bones. It is an entire battlefield transported to the Underworld which only occurs when all the soldiers fight to the death. A man in the underworld has blood bubbling out of his skin including his nose, ears and scalp. He smells of rotting meat. Someone has a head injury. The Furies cause people to want to kill each other. While commanded by the Furies, a couple fights, one straddling the other, pinning him between her knees and hitting him. The battle includes a fist down the throat, someone being pushed onto his or her back, a stabbing. The Furies raking their fingers down their own bodies, tearing at their clothes and leaving welts on their skin. Two characters are concerned another is dying. A character was supposed to be killed as a baby. Three cousins of a character are killed. A character steps in a puddle that also contains a dead squirrel. Furies are born of the blood of a son who attacked his father. Two gods incite a riot. Someone kills a man/ant warrior thing. A man is bleeding from the head. A man is unconscious. A child is thrown through the air. He suffers broken ribs, a broken arm and a cracked skull. Someone’s father is near death. A person’s ribs are covered in black bruises. Someone is poisoned with venom. Someone is hit across the mouth and kicked repeatedly while bound up. Someone’s hair is ripped out slowly. Someone’s throat is slit in a shallow cut that will bleed slowly before killing. More people are stabbed. Someone is killed by a blade thrown through the chest. Someone tries to behead someone else.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Cassandra comments that the author of a scroll must have been high. A woman drinks a glass of wine.
Frightening or Intense Things – A character is trapped in the Underworld at times, trapped in a labyrinth. A creature? watches someone, observing that person even during sleep, creeping into that person’s bedroom. Someone is made a slave. There is a real risk of a character developing mental illness. A character has the power to cause earthquakes.
