Of course, it hasn’t stopped people bootlegging and making their own liquor. Because some people are stupid enough to take the risk—after all, you don’t dream every time you sleep.

It’s set in Newham (a city so crime-ridden it makes Gotham looks tame by comparison) and follows nineteen year old Ness, who has an irrational fear of nightmares (and of becoming one) ever since her sister turned into a man-eating spider and went on a killing spree. This book begins quite unassuming. The reader follows Ness, a terrified girl who wants nothing more than to feel safe and secure. Unfortunately for Ness, safety is just an illusion in the corrupt and dark city of Newham, and she soon finds herself caught in a conspiracy that would see her dead. I really enjoyed how the book started almost quietly—introducing us to Newham and all its horrors, while still shielding us from some of the grimmer parts of the city. Gradually, though, and almost imperceptibly, the stakes were raised so high that it became impossible for us or for Ness to ignore. Each chapter increased the anticipation that little bit more, so skillfully I didn’t always notice until I felt suffocated by the suspense.The twists in the plot are decent, particularly in the first 3/4 of the book. I'm not a big fan of the very end, because the book enters the paranormal realm there more distinctly than sci-fi, but overall it works.

Priya’s mouth clamps shut and she frowns, casting me an annoyed look. I’ve won and she knows it. She may not like this gig, but she needs it.So in this book the main character, Ness, had an older sister who turned into a giant spider and ate their dad alive. It was a super traumatic experience ya know, your older sister turning into a giant spider and eating your dad alive. Did I mention that he was alive while his daughter, who, and I cannot stress this enough, turned into a giant spider and ate him. Yep, a giant spider. She turned into one. And ate her dad. Deeply traumatic event, your sister turning into a giant spider and eating your dad that is. Did I mention that she turned into a giant spider and ate her dad? Her older sister, that is, turned into a giant spi- D) What if I never became my nightmare but close family and friends did, would I be able to physically survive this new world? Priya rolls her eyes. In Priya’s world, everything is practice for an interview to join Nightmare Defense. I love that this book essentially despite being about people turning into their worst fears had so many great scenes and points about conquering those fears, self agency and consent. It was honestly just such a good book I loved everything about it and I just couldn’t put it down! I just loved how Ness grew and changed in the book and really evolved as a main character, it was refreshing to get such a strong transformation!

And people always seem to think that Nightmares are a thing that happen to other people, not themselves. So I thought that thread of character realism in this caricaturized, fictional version of our real world's dark side was awesome. It lent a dose of grounding to the sensational world building. And it made for a very good reading experience. A large wooden telephone watches me from the wall, the two brass bells on the front eerily resembling eyes and a long speaker dangling beneath like an elephant’s nose. Goodreads Description:Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

In the city of Newham, no one is safe. Corruption is rife, violence is commonplace, and if people dream when they sleep, they become their worst fear. Ness's sister Ruby dreamt once, for once is all it takes, and became a giant man-eating spider, killing her father and leaving Ness traumatised. Mrs. Sanden.” My voice is gentle and patient, experienced at this. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I know exactly how it feels to lose someone you love to a Nightmare.” Oh, and then there's the Nightmare that ends up in (and on) the same boat she's in, who just might turn out to be her only friend.

Mrs. Sanden crumples my leaflet into a ball. “I’m sure your little cult would like that, me going in so you can brainwash me into believing my husband’s death was a good thing.” Ever since Ness her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town Ness has been terrified of nightmares, wether this means another nightmare murdering her or being turned into one. No one is safe in Newham, Ness will do anything to avoid being turned into a nightmare or being killed by one. Rebecca Schaeffer delivers another dose of morally ambiguous, delightful chaos - Xiran Jay Zhao, New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow Ness herself is a great protagonist. She's decidedly NOT brave, or strong, or clever, or anything that distinguishes many other protagonists; she's a girl trying to do the best she can after withstanding awful trauma. Her arc with trusting Cy was believably paced.One of my favorite books of the year! Phenomenally fun, with a vivid, vicious world that's stuffed with monsters (both human and otherwise) and a heroine you'll root for. I absolutely loved it!" — Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia series Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified - terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear. This gets especially annoying as the book becomes a vehicle for moral and philosophical ranting. It confuses me that this is marketed as being "morally gray" as Ness is so clearly someone you're meant to root for with all her ranting about how everyone has agency to choose good and why vampire movies are perpetuating abusive relationships. This is both confusing and ironic considering Schaeffer's previous series actually did allow characters to be morally gray and did so without preaching morality. As a nightmare whose own fear turned him into a vampire, Cy was definitely a character I enjoyed getting to know. Unlike the romanticised versions, Cy is pretty much the complete antithesis of what vampires are expected to be—and even argues against the widespread media coverage that glorifies them. Even bringing up some very valid (and thought provoking) points on the ethics of consent within the vampire mythos-such biting/ feeding without consent (or mind controlling them) and then wiping the memories being no different than date rape.