ARC Review: Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Title: Reverie 
Author: Ryan La Sala
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT
Source: Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley / BookExpo 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: January 7th 2020

Summary: 

Inception meets The Magicians, except with better wigs and a maniacal drag queen sorceress attempting to unravel the reality of Connecticut (yes, the state) and replace it with something…well something better than Connecticut. Ryan La Sala’s debut fantasy is an #OwnVoices story following Kane Montgomery, a gay teenager piecing his life back together after an attack robs him of his memories. As Kane searches for who he was, he uncovers a war for the creative rights to reality itself, each battle played out in an imagined world turned real: a reverie. Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work, but it’s what Kane and The Others do. Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power. But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her? Reverie is about the seduction of escaping inwards, about the worlds we hide within ourselves, and the danger of dreams that come true.

I was so bummed when I had to miss the Friday of BookExpo because I had broken my ankle the previous morning leaving our hotel. I literally have the best co-bloggers because they surprised me by snagging a copy of Reverie that is one of my anticipated reads for 2020. Ryan La Sala a debut author, did not disappoint. This book was everything I hope for it to be and more. I don't  know about everyone else but I am obsessed with the cover and I think it captures the vibes of Reverie relativity well. Side Note: Ursula would have this cover with a burning passion, why you may ask? Well you'll have to read to find out. But I hope Ursula isn't too disappointed in the cover. 

*This GIF gives me serious Posey vibes*

I'm still trying to find the correct words to describe this book, because I don't think that the words I write down will even do it an ounce of justice. Reverie is unlike any book I have read before, and I have read a lot of books. Ryan La Sala’s debut fantasy is an #OwnVoices novel about Kane, a gay teen living in Connecticut who is trying to piece his life back together after loosing most of his memories. Only, Kane loosing his memories isn't simply amnesia as everyone thinks and there are darker things at play. 

"Inception meets The Magicians, except with better wigs and a maniacal drag queen sorceress attempting to unravel the reality of Connecticut (yes, the state) and replace it with something…well something better than Connecticut."

What are Reveries you ask? Reveries are basically someone's dreams, nightmare or inner fantasy that becomes a reality that sucks in the people around it. Each Reverie has its own unique plot to follow and if you don't follow them they become extremely dangerous and unstable. There is a set of rules and they must be followed, at all costs. The only way to  unravel a Reverie is by resolving the conflict. But what happens what the evil maniacal drag queen sorceress gets a hold of the Reveries? Well, lets just say it isn't pleasant.  

I liked Kane from the start of the novel. Part of me felt bad for him. Kane explains early on in the book that he was outed at a young age and because of that he was always distant from his peers and other people his age. Has some memories start coming back and her begins to learn new things, he finds out that the people who were suppose to have his back: Ursula, Adeline and Elliot betrayed him by wiping his memories and all but setting him up to be found at the scene of his "accident." You can imagine how much that betrayal probably hurt. Kane and his friends are part of a group called The Others and they deal with Reveries. (But that is all I am going to tell you because I don't want to spoil the book for those who plan on reading!)

I want to take a moment to say that even though Posey is the villain in this novel I LOVED her character with all my heart. Posey is the villainous drag queen that we have heard all about. Sassy, eccentric and ruthless there was part of me that couldn't hate her even though I probably should have. 

I loved every moment of this book and the intricate and creative worlds Ryan was able to create. As I said earlier, this book is everything I hoped for plus more and I super eager to see what Ryan has in store for his readers next. Reverie is a not to be missed novel of 2020 and Ryan is an author who should be on your radar. 

(4.5 Stars!)