I took one look at the cover of this one and jumped all over it. I just wish life had given me a bit of an opportunity to read it sooner than I did… -sigh-
But, I always read my NetGalleys!
Thanks to the author, as well as Orbit for the review copy.
Wren is a a deadly manifestation of the frightening dreams of humans. She is forever bound to the insidious Para Warwick, the only night creature who can cross the boundary between the dream and waking realms. When she fails to retrieve information on a weapon that could finally end Warwick’s reign and is severely punished, she makes a snap decision to aid the growing rebellion in finding it. Here, she meets Alaric, another nightmare hell-bent on atoning for his sins. Though wildly suspicious of one another, they form a tentative pact to take down Warwick once and for all.
The waking world is no better off. Prince Caine Fallon, Warwick’s ignorant human son, prepares to wed Ila Enevoldson, the young queen from a neighboring kingdom. But Ila is more than she She is a weaver, a protector of the ancient Boundary that separates the realms, and she has lost a precious weapon entrusted to her. She will do anything to retrieve it, including agreeing to an engagement with the son of her sworn enemy.
When Caine catches Ila opening a portal to the dream realm and follows her through, he finds himself in a universe stranger than he could have imagined, where his father is more monstrous than he could have fathomed. Their destinies collide with those of the two lethal nightmares, and they are forced to band together to stop the vicious dictator—and prevent the very fabric of reality from unravelling.
Nightstrider takes place in a universe where two worlds, the waking world and the dream world aka the Reverie intersect. Certain people called Weavers who are gifted with special powers can cross the border between the two realms. One man, known as the King in one world and Para in the other rules both worlds with an iron fist.
In the waking world, King Warwick’s son Caine is set to marry the queen of a foreign land. Ila Enevoldson is the Queen of her own country but circumstances lead her to need to marry. She meets Caine, and before they know it, they find themselves on an adventure together.
Mainly though, this story follows the titular Nightstrider. She is a Nightmare, a dream creature of the reverie created and enslaved by Para Warwick, made to keep the other dream creatures in line. But Nightstrider, or Wren to her friends, doesn’t want to work for evil anymore. There’s a rebellion brewing in the Reverie, and people from both worlds are becoming involved.
It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but once I did, I was reading well last my bedtime in order to find out how it ended.
I didn’t start out liking Wren very much, but she grew on me as the story went on. I did like Caine from the beginning so the chapters about him were always engaging. The relationship between Caine and Ila was interesting and kept my attention. Alaric, another Nightmare, was one of my favorite characters from start to finish. I’m excited to see where this story goes.
All told, I enjoyed Nightstrider. I’d recommend it to people who like a unique fantasy story with multiple POVs. 4/5 stars!
superstardrifter 
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