Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Penned byHannah
19 Comments
Strange the Dreamer by Laini TaylorStrange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Strange the Dreamer #1
Published by Little Brown Books For Young Readers on March 28, 2017
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eBook
Source: Library


The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way aroundβ€”and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteriesβ€”including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.


I think my brain suffered more than enjoyed reading Strange the Dreamer.

Laini Taylor’s newest novel is definitely not my cup of tea. At all. I don’t know if I’m disappointed with that fact or not, because everyone keeps saying THE BOOK IS SO GOOD.

And I’m over here shaking my head.

This is probably an “it’s not you, it’s me” scenario.

Strange the Dreamer is SO slow

I know a lot of people will probably agree, but OMG this dragged so much, and I lost patience eventually. I don’t know when it gets better and picks up, but holy monkeys, the pacing sure doesn’t pick up in 44% of the book. That’s nearly half the book! 🤔

Note: Maybe it does get better? I won’t find out… but just know this review and rating is based off 44% of the book.

Taylor’s writing is really pretty though?

I loved the writing and descriptions… for the most part! But the writing was too much and didn’t help the pacing at all. At some point, I glossed over the writing and the book went completely over my head. What even is reading?

Strange the Dreamer focuses a lot on world building

There is no denying Taylor’s newest series is great for those who really want to visualize the world and don’t care much about the plot or action. OR they have a lot more patience than I do because maybe the sequel will be more action-packed. I’m wondering why I had the patience for The Bone Witch then. Curiouser and curiouser.

Personally, I felt Strange the Dreamer is overhyped, but I think I can see why? Laini Taylor’s novel just isn’t for me, even though I wish I enjoyed it like the vast majority.

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Hannah has a penchant for chaos, which is probably how she ended up blogging since 2012. That, and she was probably too expressive for her parents to handle, so it had to go somewhere. She can be found occasionally at The Arts STL. If you’d like to fuel her boba addiction or just enjoy her posts and want to support her, stop by her KoFi or Buy Me a Coffee!

19 Comments

  1. I’m very curious to read the book. My sister loved it as did some friends. Then some didn’t love it. That always intrigues me to try the book. LOL

  2. I agree. I think I gave this book 3 stars? It seemed very insta-love-y (though laini taylor made it seem otherwise with her longggg descriptions). The book could have been 200 pages shorter and I would have liked it a lot more. It’s like she was getting paid for the word lol! The world was interesting enough and the characters were fine but it got sooo boring because of her long descriptions.

    1. I completely agree! Maybe even 150 pages shorter and I would have made it through the book (and possibly enjoyed it more).

  4. This is really the first negative review I have seen for this book. I have only heard people gush about it, but since I am not a big fantasy reader, I have not read it myself. Sorry it didn’t work for you, but at least the writing was pretty.

    1. It was a very big disservice. *sniffs* I was hoping for so much of the amaziness that everyone said, but I guess Strange the Dreamer isn’t the amaziness I’m looking for.

  8. Sorry this one didn’t work for you. I haven’t read any of Laini Taylor’s book yet. Too bad it was really slow and never picked up, I dislike books like that. I hope your next read is much better.

  9. I haven’t read this book just yet, but I’ve heard SO much praise about it all around, it’s good to see someone with a different opinion, for once haha πŸ™‚ I only read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by the author and overall enjoyed it, but didn’t quite fell in love with it. I’m still curious about that one, but thanks for the heads-up about how slow it is haha πŸ™‚
    Lovely review! <3

    1. I felt the same about Daughter of Smoke and Bone! I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t… I didn’t fall in love with it either like everyone else. It might be because I did the audio version instead?

    1. Oof. Well, if you enjoy a lot of time world building and possible action at the end (don’t know when and if), Strange the Dreamer might be up your alley. Plus if you like overly prose writing. If you’re like me and you like prose (but not too much) and world building (but not “here’s an info dump!”), then nawh. Definitely avoid it.

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