Dreamless(Starcrossed 2)Publisher: Harper Teen, 2012Genre: YA Mythology
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.
Helen travels every night to the Underworld in the hopes of finding the Furies and stopping the endless revenge cycle. But her searches are in vain. Every day she grows weaker for lack of dreaming and Lucas can no longer be her pillar of strength. Anyone would have given up by now, but Helen isn’t just anyone. It’s her fault Hector became Outcast, and she’ll do anything to change that even at the risk of her own life. Things get dangerous in the Underworld and when she thinks the end has finally come, a handsome scion comes to her rescue. Even with his help, Helen is on a race against time. The Hundred Cousins are keeping an eye on her, and Tantalus enlists the help of a myrmidon to get revenge. Will she be able to save everyone and herself before the world comes to an end?
Josephine Angelini’s Dreamless has everyone one could ask for in a sequel! More action, more mystery, more romance, and a whole lot of kick ass.
I’m still in love with Helen’s dream-like sequences in the Underworld, but this time I think they were a bit too much. The beginning felt a little bit choppy because of it. The many horrors of the Underworld were pretty much awesome, and what makes it even scarier is that Helen’s powers don’t work there. But that doesn’t stop her one bit and she asks the Deloses for combat training. Hell yes! Even with all the drama going on in her life, Helen is focused. Not for one second does she forget that people are depending on her. Where other heroines stumble because they’re too worried about love, Helen puts love aside and focuses on the task at hand. It is really admirable.
On the love front, they still believe Helen and Lucas are cousins. Daphne knows the truth and still refuses to come clean. I swear, she’s the worst mother in the whole world. I don’t care about her reasons. So, tormented by their feelings, the kids try to stay away from each other but they fail. Lucas does a horrible thing to push Helen away for good. I wanted to slap him right then or something, but then…hehe. Lucas promised to keep her away, he didn’t promise to stay away. Yes!
Then, Orion comes into play. This tall and buff adonis is the perfect distraction for Helen. He becomes her protector in the Underworld, and inevitable feelings surface. I found myself loving this guy even though I didn’t know much about him. That’s how charming he is. It’ll be interesting to see what role he plays in the next book, now that he’ll be working alongside Lucas.
The rest of the cast was fabulous too. Helen’s friends (the humans) Matt and Claire played a bigger role this time. Matt takes combat training with Ariadne, and Claire pushes her way in also to help Cassandra and Jason with research. They are such well rounded characters, and I love that Angelini keeps giving them secondary but not less important roles than those of our heroes.
The solution for the Furies was brilliant. That last part was a riot, both literally and in a laughing my ass off sort of way. Who knew the effects of the Lethe could be so much fun? Also, Angelini’s interpretation of Ares was refreshing. I liked seeing him as slightly deranged, yet still strategic and calculating as the maker of war. Once again, Helen shows she is truly a badass as she pwns a couple of people in the end. Le sigh for the big cliffhanger. All I could think of was WHY!? Need book 3 now!! At least May 2013 is not that far away…right?
Favorite Quotes:
~Meeting Orion~
“Do you always wander around hell in your pajamas?” asked a sardonic voice. Helen whirled around and saw Haircut, standing just a few feet away.
“What?” Helen stammered, looking down at herself. She was wearing a nightshirt and shorts with gap-toothed pumpkins and hissing black cats all over them.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like the short shorts, and the Halloween motif is hilarious, but I’m getting cold just looking at you.”
~What Lucas does when he sees her…~
“Where’s Lucas?” Noel asked, craning her head anxiously to look behind Helen.
“Jumped out of a window,” Helen answered. She got a mug and poured herself some coffee. Lifting her head, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. “I’m not kidding. We bumped into each other in the hallway and when he saw me, he literally jumped out of a window. Anyone want coffee?”
~Ares~
“You are exceedingly quiet,” Ares sighed as he began to slowly braid the chosen lock. “That is a problem. How will the other Heirs find you if you don’t holler and yell like you’re supposed to? You’re supposed to shout SAVE ME, LUCAS! OH, SAVE ME, ORION!” He momentarily adopted the soprano register of a damsel in distress before immediately switching back to his normal voice. “Just like that. Go on. Try it.”
