Perchance to Dream

Perchance to Dream is the new sequel to Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, and is the second book in the Theatre Illuminata trilogy.

Okay, right off the bat I have to scream from the rooftops (or in this case, the blog screen), "I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!"

Whew. Alright. Now that I've gotten that off my book addict chest, how about a little summary of the Perchance to Dream plot? But, WARNING! if you haven't read Eyes Like Stars - the synopsis will ruin awesome plot twists from Eyes Like Stars.

Now, Bertie and her hilarious fairy besties - Peaseblossom, Mustardseed, Cobweb, and Moth - and her ever-so-enigmatic-and-sexy kinda-boyfriend Ariel, are off in the real world for the very first time in their magical lives. Until now they've lived and flourished in the Theatre Iluminata, a place where every single play ever written is alive and every character penned is flesh and blood and ready for the stage - but a place where every one of them is trapped inside the Theatre in order to keep the magic alive and the Theatre afloat. Not that any of them seem to mind all that much. Except, ya know, Ariel.

Bertie has never been one of them, yet has grown up among them. However, Bertie has abilities that have become desperately needed by the Theatre Illuminata when Ariel tried to escape the confines of the Theatre and tore all the pages out of the Book in Eyes Like Stars - the object that stores all the magic of the place.

Confused yet? Well, forgive me if I am not explaining the basic plot very well. My mind and ability to summarize are befuddled by my adoration for the book! :)

Anyway, Bertie found out at the end of Eyes Like Stars that her mother is Ophelia (a shock that was extremely well-written!)- and left with the above-mentioned comrades (she managed to release Ariel and her fairy friends) - with a quest to rescue her other kinda-boyfriend: the hunky, handsome, swashbuckler Nate, who was taken prisoner by Sedna, the Sea Goddess. Also on her agenda is to find her father, a man her mother's fuzzy memory cannot recall, and bring him to the Theatre.

Okay - I seem unable to properly detail the concept of Perchance to Dream, but in a way it doesn't even matter. There is no way to truly justify the fantastical originality of this novel, nor its predecessor Eyes Like Stars.

If you like theatre, if you like fantasy, if you like hypnotic, shockingly different, amazingly magical novels - read this YA masterpiece: Perchance to Dream.

Both Perchance to Dream and Eyes Like Stars are inching ever closer to my top ten favorite books - which is saying something when I love hundreds of novels!!!

The characters are vivid and engaging. Our heroine is more than likable - she is strong, feisty, funny, and interesting. Her abilities are so different from anything I've ever read - and the adventures and experiences she goes through are both sympathetic and beyond entertaining to follow. Perchance to Dream managed to touch, entertain, surprise, and floor me - all in one reading. Not to mention the laugh-out-loud moments!

And the Theatre Illuminata trilogy has created the first love triange that actually has me not picking sides!!! I love both Nate and Ariel equally - something that has never happened if my personal reading experience.

Without giving anything more away, I implore you to check out Perchance to Dream and I can almost bet with a surety that you will be like me by the end: practically frothing at the mouth for the third and final novel!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Lisa Mantchev!