Flashbulb Review | Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

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.

It has been awhile since I’d last seen Lucas & Helen, so I’ve been eager to get back to their story to see what happened on the heels of Daphne’s shocking revelation and the epic-Olympic-sized showdown on the streets of Nantucket. This book, in a word, is hard. It’s hard to see Helen and Lucas separated, especially given the fact that we know that Daphne has lied to them. It’s also hard to see Helen gradually become isolated and alone as her relationship with the Delos family, her friends and her dad become more strained, and as her nightly trips to the Underworld being to take an increasingly physical, mental and emotional toll on her. The only bright spot in her life becomes the charming, mysterious Orion who takes on the duty of becoming Helen’s protector as she descends each night, and with whom she works to defeat the Furies.

I have to admit, while I ultimately enjoyed this story, it was a little difficult to get back into due to a prevalent tendency to tell vs. show, the multiple third person perspectives, and some of the overly extreme reactions the characters seemed to have to certain situations. (i.e. Lucas. Slow your roll there, dude.) I also found the building romance with Orion to be a little weird when all was said and done… not to mention that… <ahem> scene with Morpehus. (Ummm?) While I really liked Orion and the relationship he had with Helen, I felt in some ways that it was a little too automatic and underdeveloped. And really, just in general, I wish the relationship development between numerous characters had been stronger. However, the plot pleasantly surprised me when it all came together, it was subtle and well-planned, and left me with that wonderful “AHA!” feeling.

Overall. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what’s next for Helen & Co., so bring on Goddess!