The Lord of Dreams

By: C. J. Brightley

Narrated by: Corinne Shor

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

When a fairy king grants a human wish, there's more at stake than dreams.

Claire Delaney has a good life, despite her adolescent angst. But she wants more. In a moment of frustration, she wishes to be "the hero."

What she actually wants is to be the center of attention, but what she gets is a terrifying Fae king demanding that she rescue an imprisoned fairy, facing fantastical dangers and hardships she could not have imagined.

Yet the dreams - and the rescue - are only the beginning of her journey. She is at the center of the king's audacious gamble to end the war that has raged in Faerie for half a century.

©2017 C. J. Brightley (P)2018 C. J. Brightley

Fun

This was a fun story with a great performance. Definitely recommended for fans of Alice In Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, and Labyrinth!

In her dreams...

Lord of the Dreams takes us into Faerie with a human girl. When the story starts, she is a child near 10 years old. She makes a wish and it is heard by the Seelie King. It initiated her first visit to the land of the Fae. The story jumps forward to her teen years and tells of her next excursion and crossing paths with King once again. Then to her college years. Each time she learns more about Steele and about herself.
C.J. Brightly creatively weaves a tale of intrigue and magic while we share in the growth of the girl and of the Seelie King and the evolution of their relationship. This tale is far from what I consider romance even though there are components of the main characters getting to know more of each other. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t stop listening.

Connie Shor did a fantastic job of narrating this story. Characters were given diverse voices and accents. It was easy to recognize the characters from the voices given. Even voices of other genders were well done. If you are looking for an enjoyable read and joining humans as they visit Faerie is something you enjoy, I would strongly recommend this tale. I was given this audiobook, by the author, with no requests asked. However, I enjoyed it so much I was compelled to leave this review.

Excellent story

I read this story before listening to the audio book and found that experiencing the book for the second time was enjoyable and exciting. The novel is unique with two memorable main characters. Corinne Shor's performance is memorable. Her voice is clear and pleasant to listen to. Her interpretations of the characters' voices is interesting and distinct. I would definitely recommend this book is any fantasy lover.

Absolutely incredible.

Most importantly, plan to be confused as this starts out. This is an adventure that you experience with Claire and she doesn’t get all the answers until the very end. However, it is so worth the journey. It was beautifully written and so engaging. The narrator did an incredible job. I love how the story starts when Claire is 16 but ends when she’s 25. I just loved this small romantic, huge adventure of a story!

Didn’t meet my expectations

I really found the fae king and Claire to be equally frustrating characters, which is disappointing because the Erdrmen Honor trilogy have lively, insightful, developed characters.
Within the same breath, Claire can be bratty, standoffish, caring or infatuated with the fae king. I’m not looking for a strong heroine in every book, but I do want someone who grows or develops or at least realistic.

The time skips and place/reality hopping were also nerve wracking and confusing.

I love the author and this cover had me intrigued. However, I’m avoiding future elven fantasies and will only listen to her longer novels, which don’t disappoint to this depth.

The narrator was exceptional.

Beautiful, captivating story

This is an amazing story that captivates you right from the start with its unusual storyline and appealing characters. A beautifully captivating story that transports you to a world of dreams, danger, fantasy, hope, longing and romance, while still being wrapped in reality. The narrator was amazing and suited the story superbly. The smooth, slightly seductive voice she used for the Seelie King created just the right images in your mind. One of strife, need, intrigue, beauty and magic. I loved every minute of it.

Dreams are the reality.

The Lord of Dreams by C.J. Brightly is a compelling fantasy about a girl who keeps getting sucked into a confusing fairyland, where reality has layers and your will controls the chaos.

I loved the story's dream like quality. it was both whimsical and dangerous. Even with the unpredictable environment the plot was still pretty easy to follow.

The narrator of this novel really brought her best to it. She has a great range of voices that she pulls out for all the different fairy creatures. Her reading is also clear, distinct and emotive.

All around, an entertaining experience for fans of Him Henson's Labrynth.

Claire in Fairyland

One must be careful of what they wish for, for the fae are always listening.
The story follows young Claire from a child to an adult as she stumbles and weaves her way through the land of Fairy, where one childhood wish to be a hero was capitalized on by the Seelie King. Rescuing a fairy is no easy task amidst the trials abounding at every turn. Nor when grappling with dream ventures, riddles and human error, while spans of time grow forgotten. Yet in a captivating tale of dreams, Brightley paints a novel where time and place is of no consequence, and every character in the Fairy realm is as foreign and captivating as they are dangerous. Impossible to ignore and quaint enough to feel transported to another world, the novel would be well loved by fans of Alice in Wonderland, or Inkheart.

The narrator, Corinne Shor has a lovely charm with character accents and genders, creating a unique voice for each that remained pleasantly consistent throughout the story. Though at time the narration is slightly jumbled or confusing, that is the nature of the story itself; Where dreams seldom act as reality.
In whole, it is a delightfully unique and colorful tale with a relatable main character and enough mystic, hidden lore to pique even the most tentative of curiosities within the realm of the Lord of Dreams.

Well-written and well-performed!

I had seen this book likened to The Labyrinth, but otherwise I went in with very few expectations of where it would go. I'll admit at first it seemed like a girl's random adventures in Faerie, but I'm so glad I kept going because it turned into so much more! Every encounter that appeared random at first came full circle later in the story, and the world of Faerie became increasingly fun to explore. The writing was beautiful, and while I at first found the transitions between the real world and dream world a bit confusing, the narrative worked really well if I was just willing to stop thinking so hard and go with it. :) My absolute favorite part of the book was the rapport between Claire and the Faerie King - their interactions were so charged with emotion and fun to interpret, and their relationship became so much more profound than I anticipated. The ending completely satisfied my reader's heart, plus made me want to read it all over again to put all the connections together better in my mind (and to relive some favorite moments!).

If you enjoy a mingling of dreams and reality and exploring a unique vision of the Faerie world, I would highly recommend The Lord of Dreams! I also highly recommend the audiobook - the narrator had a wonderfully soothing voice and did a great job bringing the characters to life with different voices and accents.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook*

A magical, fantastical story

There is a certain magic to dreams, as well as confusion and disorientation. The Lord of Dreams captures this feeling well with its fantastical and romantic story about an alternate magical world and the dreams that bring the worlds together in one special girl.

This story is appropriate for both adults and children.

The narrator does a nice job bringing the story to life.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.