The Dream Protocol: Descent from Adara Quick

(Alternative title: the day in which I fell in love with a dystopian book)

It’s a bird, it’s a plane – no, it’s a review! =D Hello, hello! Nice Friday to you all. Mine was really exhausting, but at least I got to relax now during the night. Hope you all are relaxing ❤ But enough with the babbling, right? Right. Let’s talk about today’s book: The Dream Protocol: Descent, from Adara Quick! I had added my name to the Xpresso Book Tours Blog Tour before my break down and I can’t tell how happy I am for being able to read, finish and review the book on time ❤ Okay, almost, as this post was supposed to go live this morning.

ANYWAY, I received the book in exchange for an honest review and I thank you Xpresso Book Tours forever for this ❤ Thanks, guys! Let’s talk about this dystopian adventure that stole my heart =D

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GET OLD.

In fiery young Deirdre Callaghan’s home of Skellig City, no one has dreamt their own dream in over a thousand years. Dreams are produced by the Dream Makers and sold by the Ministry, the tyrannical rulers of the city. In Skellig City, years of life are awarded equally and the ruined are cast away beneath the city on their 35th birthday.

Unbeknownst to the Ministry, Deirdre’s handsome friend Flynn Brennan is afflicted with a terrible disease – a disease that accelerates the aging process. Knowing his fate if the Ministry should ever discover his illness, Flynn has lived his whole life hiding from their watchful eyes. When Flynn’s secret is finally discovered, Deirdre is determined to free him from the Ministry’s grasp. But to save him, she will have to reveal herself to a shadowy enemy…one that none of them even knew existed.

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I need to start by making a confession: dystopian is not my thing. I tried a lot, but I never encountered that one book that made me stop the eye rolls at the genre. Well, until The Dream Protocol, that is. This book surprised me in every aspect and made me ache to keep reading it, to know what came next. It was a fast and fluid read, just what I needed to fall in love with the genre. It has some small problems that bothered me nevertheless, so four stars 🙂

The narrative was third person with that kind of narrator that floats from character to character, the traditional guide of the story. Despite third person being my favorite type, this time, I admit that I got really confused in several parts during the beginning. There was nothing indicating that the point of view had changed, so I didn’t know who was thinking what. Eventually, this problem was one of the things that made this book lose a star. What I really like is how Quick’s writing makes us fly through the pages, how she slowly introduces us to this alternative reality sometime in the future. She never dumps tons of information at her reader and then move on. There is always a new details here and there, something that you sense more than learn. Honestly, this woman is a genius.

The plot also was awesome. So many twists without the obvious outcomes! =O Every time I thought I had catch how Quick worked [haha], she metaphorically winked at me and called me loser, HAHAHA! The Dream Protocol was one of the few books in which every prediction that I made was wrong and it drove me nuts, hahaha! Annelise, darling, you get upset when you can guess things and when you can’t? Get a grip and make a decision, please!

I know, I’m weird. I can’t explain, but I always feel ridiculously happy and disappointed at the same time when books hit my theories with a shovel and laugh at my face. You know, metaphorically. I never heard of anyone getting a shovel in the face from a book. Oh, well, I’m babbling, sorry. Back to business!

In case you didn’t guess, Quick’s society is built on dreams, quite literally, and that’s what drove me to this book. I was a bit taken aback at first thanks to my previous experience with The Dreamer (review here – not dystopian, but fantasy with dreams), but it is a pleasure to inform that Quick delivers everything a reader could ask for in matters of world building and scenery. Besides, a big plus is that the story is on Ireland ❤

Now, characters. This is the other place in which the book failed me a little. I didn’t understand where does Deirdre’s rebellion comes from. She has a good social position on her society, she has loving parents, a sister to fight with and friends. She is rebel simply to be and I found this shallow. She doesn’t have solid reasons to be against the society. I know her parents produce the dreams and that’s how she knows that the things that she dreams about are real, but she doesn’t have a strong case to be so hostile. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Deirdre because she isn’t your standard YA female heroine, but she has a weak construction. Funny enough, all the other people around her seem to have strong motives to be as they are, haha! Oh, well.

To wrap things up, I must warn that this book ends on a MAJOR cliff hanger and I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK OMG! *–* If you like YA, dystopian and almost unpredictable books, just stop wasting time on my babbling and GO READ THE DREAM PROTOCOL!! ❤

Thanks for choosing to spend your Friday night here with me, I do appreciate the company, and hope you liked this review! Once again, thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for my review copy 🙂 If you guys want to learn more info on the author, the book or see where you can purchase it, visit this link.

Love you all and see you again soon,