Dreams, Sarah Midnight Trilogy #1 by Daniela Sacerdoti

Received for review

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Black and White Publishing (17 May 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1845023706
ISBN-13: 978-1845023706

• “You’d never think it could happen to you. You’d never think that one day you’ll stand in a graveyard, rain tapping on a sea of black umbrellas, watching your parents being lowered into the earth, never to come back. It’s happening to me. They said it was an accident. Only I know the truth. My parents were hunters, like their parents and grandparents before them, hundreds of years back, scores of ancestors behind me, fulfilling the same call. I must follow in their footsteps. I am the only one left to keep the promise. I can never give up the fight, this fight that has been handed down to me, thrust upon my unwilling shoulders. I’d rather be buried with my parents, my brave, fierce father and mother, who lived and died by the Midnight motto: Don’t Let Them Roam.” 
  
  Ever since her thirteenth birthday, seventeen-year-old Sarah Midnight’s dreams have been plagued by demons—but unlike most people’s nightmares, Sarah’s come true. Her dreams guide her parents’ hunt as Sarah remains in bed, terrified but safe, sheltered from the true horrors of the Midnight legacy. But all this is about to change. After the murder of her parents, she is cruelly thrust into a secret world of unimaginable danger as she is forced to take up their mission. Alone and unprepared for the fight that lies before her, Sarah must learn how to use the powers she’s inherited and decide whom to trust before it’s too late...
• Cover:A great match for the protagonist Sarah, and I really like the dark colours and the creepy atmosphere.

I'm finding it hard to sum up my thoughts and feelings towards this book.

There was so much that I really loved about it...but then there are some things that I am not so sure on.

Ok...

I'll start with the great stuff.

The villains in this book were definitely creepy and sinister, and I loved that we got parts in their perspective.  One in particular you even start to feel sorry for, you understand what motivated her, and you become quite conflicted.

I liked there were different types of demons, and the I loved that it was set in Scotland.  I haven't read a  YA paranormal romance set in Scotland so it made a really refreshing change.

The pacing was also amazing.  Drew me in straight away and I was never bored.  There were also a number of twists that I didn't see coming.

However Sarah's character frequently annoyed me.  She knows she's in danger and yet she goes shopping with her friends like normal, knowing she could potentially get them killed.  What?!?!

I also disliked the sheer amount of names in this book.  I had to keep flicking back to keep track of everyone.

I also found the explanation of the Secret Families and Gamekeepers too rushed and confusing.

Also the romance is kind of on the light side.  I feel that it's being set up in this book and will be developed more in the next two books.

The romance is different to most YA romances.

How Sarah treats Sean at the end of the book, despite his saving her life on numerous occasions, bugged me.

This book was full of action, I do have a lot of unanswered questions, but I know these will be answered in the next two books in the trilogy. 

I know I sound really negative about this book, but overall I really did enjoy it and I'm really excited for the next book.

3.5/5 stars.  I definitely recommend it to paranormal fans, I think fans of Cassandra Clare's Moral Instruments series will really love it.