Scan barcode
A review by keysmashhh
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Relationships: 3/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: Generally I really liked the plot, I love books that jump back and forwards between time and that definitely fleshed out the storyline, especially as bits became revealed that all made sense later on. The conclusion felt a bit rushed but generally I was fine with it. I liked the premise and I think most of the plot points made sense (sometimes books like these have a lot of unessiscary plot) I will say there were some pretty outlandish moments, that defiantly push the boundary beyond believable but generally it worked.
Characters: OK so the only one I liked was Jack. Like literally all the rest of them got on my nerves. Epsecially with their motivations and their actions. I hated our MC, she was just so toxic and ugh. Like I get that they are all supposed to be morally-grey and no one is a good person but I don't think all of them should be downright desipisable. Even the "good" ones like Caro really didn't vibe with me. Jack was great though, I REALLY wish he was actually there throughout the whole book because I think it would have elevated it. Lastly, Heather's brother (I've forgotten his name) was both the most pointless character and yet the book wouldn't function without him, I don't know how to describe it but it just was.
Relationships: So no relationship in this book was my fav. In fact I literally hated all of them but that was what made it quite good. Like clearly Coop and Jessica were the endgame couple but... no. And like why would Coop marry Caro, they just wouldn't. Some relationships weren't explored to their fullest potential (Jack and Frankie) and some relationships were just random plot points (Jack and random new boyfriend, and Cato and random other guy) and therefore didn't really have a lot of value which was disappointing. It wasn't all bad there were some complex parent-child relationships, which honestly I wasn't a big fan of reading, it just felt too private.
World-Building: I do love a good dark-accademia setting, like the elitist private school was a really nice setting. I really liked how the author delved into different bits of uni culture (especially Greek life, which I have like no knowledge of) and generally it all felt very authentic.
Genre: As a good entry point to dark academia - I'm not so sure, it has the setting and themes of dark academia but I think it's more of a psychological thriller with the focus being not on romanticising education but almost de-romanticising it. The thing is I really enjoyed reading this book, but it's not the best book, like in hindsight there are a lot of issues but I found it really captivating.
Characters: 3.5/5
Relationships: 3/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: Generally I really liked the plot, I love books that jump back and forwards between time and that definitely fleshed out the storyline, especially as bits became revealed that all made sense later on. The conclusion felt a bit rushed but generally I was fine with it. I liked the premise and I think most of the plot points made sense (sometimes books like these have a lot of unessiscary plot) I will say there were some pretty outlandish moments, that defiantly push the boundary beyond believable but generally it worked.
Characters: OK so the only one I liked was Jack. Like literally all the rest of them got on my nerves. Epsecially with their motivations and their actions. I hated our MC, she was just so toxic and ugh. Like I get that they are all supposed to be morally-grey and no one is a good person but I don't think all of them should be downright desipisable. Even the "good" ones like Caro really didn't vibe with me. Jack was great though, I REALLY wish he was actually there throughout the whole book because I think it would have elevated it. Lastly, Heather's brother (I've forgotten his name) was both the most pointless character and yet the book wouldn't function without him, I don't know how to describe it but it just was.
Relationships: So no relationship in this book was my fav. In fact I literally hated all of them but that was what made it quite good. Like clearly Coop and Jessica were the endgame couple but... no. And like why would Coop marry Caro, they just wouldn't. Some relationships weren't explored to their fullest potential (Jack and Frankie) and some relationships were just random plot points (Jack and random new boyfriend, and Cato and random other guy) and therefore didn't really have a lot of value which was disappointing. It wasn't all bad there were some complex parent-child relationships, which honestly I wasn't a big fan of reading, it just felt too private.
World-Building: I do love a good dark-accademia setting, like the elitist private school was a really nice setting. I really liked how the author delved into different bits of uni culture (especially Greek life, which I have like no knowledge of) and generally it all felt very authentic.
Genre: As a good entry point to dark academia - I'm not so sure, it has the setting and themes of dark academia but I think it's more of a psychological thriller with the focus being not on romanticising education but almost de-romanticising it. The thing is I really enjoyed reading this book, but it's not the best book, like in hindsight there are a lot of issues but I found it really captivating.