Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Pages - 502

Published by Macmillan Children's Books in July 2012

On Monday morning, school was cancelled. Power still hadn't been restored to certain parts of the island, and several streets in the centre of town were impassable due to damage done by the storm.

Yeah, right, Zach thought, as  he walked out his front door. It was the 'storm' that demolished half the town, not the freaky new family that can outrun cars. 

Goodreads Summary

Can true love be forgotten?

As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.

Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out--a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies' cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen's sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

*******

Oh Helen! What is going on with your love life??? You can't see me, but I am shaking my head in despair! 

If you haven't read Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, then stop right here and go read it first. I'm serious, go visit your nearest book shop and buy it! You really need to read the first book before you attempt to read Dreamless, as their is very little back story to aid your journey through this book. 

In this book, we bite our lips as we watch Helen descend into the Underworld night after night after night, trying to stop the Furies from ruining every relationship among the Scions. I found it quite upsetting watching Helen suffering so much as she is one of my favourite characters in a YA series. As the book progresses, you have to just watch as her health deteriorates. Now you would think the love of her life, Lucas, would be on hand to help her through such an ordeal, but oh no! He has his own issues to deal with, which are generally tearing him apart and making Anakin Skywalker's transformation to Darth Vadar look like child's play!

If you haven't guessed it yet, I really love this series.  I adore the way Josephine writes. She brings Greek mythology into modern society and makes it believable. Her characters are so well written, they could almost walk off the page. The plot has various strands of sub plots going on, where you realise that a lot of the characters have their own hidden agendas  and your fingers just can't turn the pages fast enough to find out what is going on. 

There are some new characters within the book, increasing the level of testosterone to a high . Firstly we have Orion, descendant of Adonis! Do I need to say anymore?? I don't think so. Just make sure you have applied your makeup, smoothed down your hair and got rid of that stain on your T shirt before you introduce yourself.  Secondly we have Morpheus,and no, not the one from the film, The Matrix. Morpheus is basically caretaker of the dream world, and he smooths his way into the book, entrancing Helen with his velvet tones. In my eyes, I was imagining a God like version of  Barry White, singing as he spoke.  Along with the addition of Ares, Hades, Persephone and the Furies  they really brought the story alive. 

I love how the Scions begin to interact more with Helen's friends, who are determined to stand up and fight for themselves. Matt and Claire refuse to play the victims and really push themselves to be as strong and helpful as they can be. 

 I was upset to see that the relationship between Lucas and Helen had deteriorated so badly. Their relationship was just so powerful in the first book, I felt lost without it in this one. They NEED to be together! Although Orion did do a fantastic job at filling the gap left by Lucas, I really want to see Helen and Lucas get back together. 

The plot really heats up in this book, and I found myself clenching my fists as I swiftly read through the final chapters.  I refused to go to bed until I had finished reading the book.  The ending left me yearning for the next book. 

Josephine Angelini has created a very strong and well written second book in the series,  an area where other authors often fall short. I now have to wait a whole year for the next book! Knowing the ladies of Pan Macmillan have a copy on their Kindles,  I may taking up mugging publicists!