09/15/17
Strange the Dreamer is one of those books that I still think about pretty much everyday, even though I finished it a couple months ago. I both loved and hated this book. I want to say that I loved it more than hated it but honestly I'm not really sure

What I loved the most about this book was Lazlo. Lazlo Strange is easily one of my all time favourite book characters. I fell in love with him instantly, he's the Gansey that I've been searching for ever since the Raven Cycle left a hole in my heart that will never truly be filled. Lazlo got as close as I can ever hope to loving a character as much as I love TRC characters. Same with Eril Fane, I loved him so so much, I really hope the next book will have more of his story in it.

The first half of this book was everything that I wanted. The pure magic and wonder that Lazlo made me feel while he talked about Weep made me feel like I was with him in the story. I felt so much pride when he left on his journey, and every friend he made along the way made me so happy. If Lazlo was happy, then so was I

I wish Strange the Dreamer had stayed like that. I wish it had been a book about Lazlo going to Weep, fulfilling his lifelong dream of seeing the city, helping defeat whatever was going on, and then spending the rest of his days travelling the rest of the world but always going back to Weep. (I also wish I hadn't been queerbaited like that, because I 100% thought that Lazlo was gay in the beginning, but that a whole other topic that I'm not going to get into)

Unfortunately, Strange the Dreamer did not remain the wonderful magical book that made me fall in love with it. And the thing that ruined it, without a doubt, was the moment Sarai saw Lazlo. The insta-love ruined everything, to the point where I actually considered DNFing it. One part that really pissed me off was when Lazlo said the best day of his life was meeting Sarai. Not the day where he left the library on a magical horse while all those who mocked him watched with their jaws on the floor. Not the day where he finally, after 15 years of waiting, looked at the lost city of Weep for the very first time and all his dreams came true. Nope. It was when he met a girl in a dream. I'm still so mad about that. The romance absolutely killed this book. If it weren't for Eril Fane, I most likely would have DNF'd it, to be honest.

I still gave it four stars because of how much I loved it in the beginning, and for all of the side characters that I fell in love with. Those are the only things that redeemed it. I'm still going to read the second book, but I'll pretty much just be reading it for Eril Fane at this point

06/07/17
WAT. WHAT. WHAAAAAAT.

COHERENT REVIEW WILL BE WRITTEN LATER I CAN'T RIGHT NOW