Book Review: Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) by Josephine Angelini

Release Date: May 29, 2012
(Thanks to ATWT for letting me participate in this tour!)
Published by: Harper Teen

Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) by Josephine Angelini

As the only Scion that can enter Hades at will, Helen descends to the Underworld in search of a way to overcome the Furies and end the cycle of revenge that has cursed the Scions. But she’s running out of time. Each descent weakens her both in mind and spirit. A mysterious stranger might be her only salvation, but the price may be her love for Lucas Delos. 

As an unforgettable love triangle emerges, Josephine Angelini’s compelling saga becomes ever more intricate and spellbinding. The eagerly awaited sequel to the internationally bestselling Starcrossed, Dreamless delivers with a huge emotional impact that will leave readers satisfied—and longing for more.

Ten Likes/Dislikes


1. (+) Helen, the protagonist - Helen bothered me in Starcrossed, but she matures a lot in Dreamless. She's still ditsy (after meeting Orion, there was a line about her looking up at the sky and thinking "hey dude") and makes some stupid mistakes but she recognizes her errors and tells herself that she needs to be stronger. Also, I think the sheer vastness of the task she has ahead of her made me sympathize with her more. Some of the obstacles she encounters are really gruesome but she stays determined and goal-oriented which makes me admire her for growing up and gaining strength.
2. (+) World-building - I don't know much Greek mythology, so I can't tell you whether or not Dreamless matches accurately to it, but what I really enjoyed in Dreamless was its world building. Knowing more about the gods, the prophecy, the Underworld, which myths were true and which weren't, which gods do what, what kind of soldiers there are, the Hundred Cousins, the Rogues, the other Houses, and more was a delight. And I can't wait to see what else there is.
3. (--) Marketing - I can't believe they're marketing the love triangle. What Starcrossed really had going for it was the idea of Scions and the Trojan War and Helen & Paris. Unique ideas. Love triangle, not so much. And not only that but Orion, aka the mysterious stranger, doesn't spend enough time with Helen for me to believe it's a triangle. Lucas got all of Starcrossed and some of Dreamless; Orion got part of Dreamless. It's clear which guy is going to end up with Helen, and if it's that obvious, why bother even including a love triangle? Why market it?
4. (--) Character Cast - Last book, you got a sense of who the characters were, but in Dreamless, it felt like only Matt and Jason got developed, and Matt sounded stupid. Some of the things he says... I'm sorry, you said he wants to be a lawyer, so why is he asking about the most obvious thing?  On a positive note, Daphne got more developed. She's one of the interesting characters. I'd love to know more about her.
5. (+/-) Romance - Orion has way more personality than Lucas and comes into Helen's life when she's having a difficult time & is sympathetic in that regard. He has a huge burden, and part of his past with his family (and Scion cursedness) haunts him a lot, yet despite that, he's somewhat of a cheerful kind of guy. I liked Orion and am WAY more intrigued in their romance than the Helen/Lucas one... If you thought Lucas was taking on an Edward role in Starcrossed (which I didn't actually notice), he gets worse in Dreamless (aka this time I did notice). Lucas: time to say nasty stuff to Helen to make her hate me because that's the logical response since we can't be together. Meanwhile I'll go ahead and stalk her from afar, just to make sure she's safe, and my family is worried about me since I'm so not-me all the time now after being separated from her....... The romance kind of felt like choosing between the haunted brooding type and the Edward stock, and what I really didn't like was Helen once saying something along the lines of "why was Orion there?" in a fantasy she had, like she doesn't understand what's going on. They kiss. How can she still wonder about that? I mean, she even gets the butterfly feeling in her stomach when she texts Orion... It just frustrates me because I'm anticipating her being clueless up until someone points out her feelings to her in the last book.
6. (--) Stupidity - How haven't the characters realized that the age difference - Helen's age now and how long Ajax died - makes it physically impossible for Helen and Lucas to be cousins?  The whole time I kept thinking, okay, this is going to get resolved soon, right? But no, it wasn't. H&L long for each other despite the fact that it's incest (like in City of Ashes, but Jace & Clary had nothing as proof otherwise VS. Helen & Lucas--Pandora realized it in the last book. Why didn't Pallas & Castor look more closely into it? Why does everyone just accept these things?). And I'm sorry, but if you guys are cousins (and there are added consequences to Scion cousins being together), no matter how pressing the desire is, why do you still entertain the idea of being together?  Are you that selfish?  I just feel like this whole situation is a ruse that's only there to establish the love triangle, and it made me dislike the characters sometimes.
7. (+) Unpredicability - It's a sign of the huge and developed world-building that I wasn't able to predict what came next, and despite how annoyed I am by other things in the book, I'll probably still look into the third book because I'm curious to see how she will wrap everything up.
8. (+/-) Writing - It's still the same as in Starcrossed, still overwriting, though it has improved a bit. I actually think that it's better to overwrite because at least the info. is there if the reader wants it (though I skimmed over most of her descriptions)... but something else I realized about her writing: not just overwriting--she tells us so, so much. She kept telling us Helen was frightened or this and that and in a way, it doesn't let you experience things with the gang. It pulled me out of the story because there were sometimes when I wanted to know how Helen felt but I didn't and other times when it was obvious but still I was told.
9. (+/-) Pacing - The story took SO long to really get going. In the beginning, you get Helen descending into the Underworld, it keeps sapping her strength, Lucas acts like a dick, okay but when do things change??? It was frustrating to say the least, but when the story did pick up speed, thankfully it stayed that way.
10. (+) The Cover - I like the shadows on Helen's face, the toga dress, and the colors for the dry underworld. It's a great depiction of Helen and her duties.

Sorry to say that except for the entertaining world-building and the promise of a final showdown, Dreamless was a disappointing sequel.